Helaerus III
| Name | Helaerus III |
|---|---|
| |
| Sub-Sector | Secundus |
| Type | Hive World |
| Population | 12.2 billion |
| Climate | Temperate |
| Status | Imperial |
About Helaerus III
The vast majority of the surface of Helaerus III is covered in a thick forest, covering 80% of the planet's landmass. However, due to the infrastructure present on Helaerus, the planet is classified as a Hive World. If it wasn’t for the well built hive cities and rapid transport links, Helaerus III would actually be classified as a Death World.
The population of Helaerus live inside one of several dozen hives, spread geometrically across the planet’s surface. Each city is linked via a series of rapid transport lines, built along geoformed earthworks, laid down by the planet's early colonists. Each transport link is a plascrete tunnel 5km wide which contains a dozen or so grav-lift train lines. The transport links are nearly perfectly straight, allowing the trains to reach speeds in excess of 1,000 km/h. Passengers are able to get from one hive to another in a couple of hours with relative com
The Hives of Helaerus are built into gigantic plascrete bowls, buried deep into the planet’s surface. These provided a solid foundation for the hives to build upon, but also limited their maximum size, forcing most of the Hives to grow higher than most hives on other planets. As per many other hives, the lower sections of the cities are devoted to manufacturing, and storage. These lower sections are also home to the many Hive Gangs that cause trouble for the Arbites. It is common for these gangs to try and attack transport trains as they approach the hive cities, or even midway along their routes. While underhive gangs remain a problem throughout, the cities of Helaerus are notable for the greater than average role the pleasure guilds play in curbing organised crime, at all levels of society.
The forests seem serene at first glance – yet, were it not for the stable hive arcologies on the planet, it would be classified a ‘death world’. Though the term applied to forested worlds summons up images of dense living jungles where every inch of land is hostile to civilised life – like Vannin – Helaerus’s surface is a temperate coniferous forest, densely populated by vast evergreen steelwood trees. These trees are prized as a major export of the planet, but such industry is only possible with convoys of heavily armoured land crawlers to protect loggers – for on Helareus, every plant and animal is deadlier than it seems.
The single most important export of Helareus, the Steelwood tree, has been known to grow to sizes of over 150m in height and 15m wide. However, their main feature is their incredible density, causing a single tree to have a weight of nearly 100,000 tons. Steelwood is relatively common on Helaerus, but is difficult to find and harvest due to the dangers present within the forest. Steelwood can be used to make a wide range of items, and can be as strong and damage resistant as most steel products. It is seen as a sign of prestige and standing for a household to have a set of Steelwood knives in their kitchens.
Other exports include incense - mosses and plants in the steelwood underbrush are collected by desperate foragers on the edges of the Hive cities. Such brave souls generally have a life expectancy akin to Guard recruits, but the rewards are great and the most skilled of these ‘forest divers’ compete to hold the record of who can spend the longest within the trees. Aromatic teas and dyes are also gathered in this way - alchemists and magos biologists speculate that other botanicals might be found deeper within the forests, could the loggers be persuaded to explore.
Worship of the emperor on Helarus places more emphasis on self-reflection, meditation and contemplation than it does on scripture and confession. Temples tend to be smaller than on planets where there is more room to build, and all homes will have a small domestic shrine where most worship is carried out - often with small offerings of tea and incense. Intriguingly, there is a more than average proportion of the population who gender the Emperor as female.
Recent History
In late 594.M41, Helaerus was the focus of a vast Regency fleet's push out of hidden enclaves at the Rimward edge of the sector simultaneous to the thrust made at Lerwick in the same year. This led to a protracted space battle to try and deny the Archenemy void supremacy over the world which would enable it to make surface landings. Although the last-minute intervention of the newly-arrived Lions of Nemea saved the world from what seemed to be the edge of near-certain defeat in the void, the Archenemy have managed to make several landings on the surface of Helaerus.
Imperial strategy thus far has been to force Archenemy forces to make landings as far away from the Hive Cities themselves as possible and allow the local flora and fauna to decimate them as them as they try to reach Imperial lines. However deep-forest expeditions are sometimes necessary against the Archenemy's forces and this has precipitated a series of contacts with hitherto unknown Xenos inhabitants of world.
The Imperial Forces are rapidly discovering that the inhabitants of Helaerus have always shared their home with a species of anphibiform humanoid xenos who appear to live in tribal groups deep within the forests away from civilization. Despite their barbaric appearance these beings seem to be armed with weapons far more advanced than their primitive culture would suggest and have proven hostile to Archenemy forces that have trespassed on their territory as well as Imperial forces that have not heeded the warnings they have been given where the Archenemy have been attacked on sight. The Ordo Xenos has taken an interest in this species of sentient Xenos and are rapidly analysing the future threat they might prove to the Imperium.
Until the Archenemy are repulsed however it seems unlikely that this alliance of convenience will be broken by both Imperium and Xenos in their mutual fight against the Archenemy.