Nivalis: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 16:30, 14 October 2022

Name	Nivalis

Sub-Sector	Primus
Type	Shrine World, Disputed
Population	3.5 billion
Climate	Subarctic
Status	Non-Compliant, Conflict

“We arrived deep in local winter and stayed for nearly a week. C complained, of course – unpredictable ground, foul weather, all the usual Voidborn grumbles. Secretly I think he was as impressed as I was by the capital. The holy statues are too vast to comprehend, even for someone used to Navy ships. More like mountains than artefacts. Went hunting in hill forests – unsuccessful but hugely enjoyable; hired snow gear from native guide, wasted a lot of ammunition. Local wildlife faster than expected!” – Travel Diary of Lucius di Firro, 575.M41

See Also:

History of Nivalis

About Nivalis

Nivalis is an inhospitable but beautiful planet just far enough inside its sun’s orbit to avoid the designation of Ice World. The habitable zone on the planet is restricted to a mountainous strip a few hundred kilometres wide at the Equator, with the rest of the planet locked in permanent glacial cold. Settlement on Nivalis was well-established prior to the arrival of the Imperium - the mountainous regions were home to a hardy, hospitable breed of Ruwwad called the Qawm'Aljibal who greatly prize physical courage and cunning. Their favoured hobby is hunting, and anyone of birth or breeding on the planet is expected to prove their worth by tracking and killing one of the many dangerous mountain beasts. Native Nivalian Mountain Folk view the wearing of furs, or jewellery made from the teeth or claws of one’s kills, as a status symbol, and tend to look down on those who do not wear them. They also revere the discipline of healing, and pilgrims have been known to visit their shrines seeking cures for all manner of injuries and maladies.

For much of its history, Nivalis has been a Shrine World first and foremost, with piety driven into the very bones of the land. Travellers and pilgrims say that every valley and secluded peak boasts its own shrine to the God-Emperor and His saints. Some of the highest peaks have been carved into massive likenesses of the great Heroes of the Imperium, the greatest of these visible from distant orbit. The constant presence of pilgrims travelling to and from the planet has led to extensive development in the urban centres. In happier times, the capital and many secondary cities boasted all the facilities that the discerning and pious citizen might need, and there was an extensive transport network connecting the most popular pilgrimage sites. It was once said that one could walk into a cathedral in the capital and find worshippers from every world in the Sector at prayer together.

Despite a history of tensions between native and Colonist populations, many Nivalian colonist families have adopted local habits and dress. Colonists have a reputation for hardiness against the icy temperatures of their home, and a spirituality and tendency towards the medicae arts acquired from the Qawm'Aljibal. Until its destruction in the rioting of 584.M41 the Nivalian capitol held a very respected Medicae Schola, with data rumoured to be drawn from the ancient Ruwwad repositories in the mountains. Many Nivalians with no Ruwwad blood at all wear furs, claws or teeth, even discreetly, as a mark of family pride.

Nivalis has been an unsettled planet since the mid 580s. In 584.M41, planet-wide riots broke out after an attack by heretics on the Navigator enclave in the planetary capital. An order of Adepta Sororitas were deployed to quell the riots and conduct counter-insurgency operations; it was during this deployment that the Sorors experienced the miracle leading to the founding of the Order of His Sanguine Tears.

Recent History

Main Article: History of Nivalis

Since 592, Nivalis has been devastated by nearly a decade of constant conflict, its once-pristine shrines wrecked, its lowlands torn up by fighting with the Archenemy who have deployed onto the city from the Space Hulk Durovera's Pain which still looms in orbit in the planet's skies. Nivalis fell under the rule of the excommunicate heretic Cardinal Grulge for most of this period, whose Fidelis Templar forces fought off Archenemy attacks while brutally repressing the local population. Several factions fought back against the Heresiarch's rule, including both local Qawm'Aljibal and local Ecclesiarchy faithful centring around groups of Gearwrights who had landed on the planet as refugees.

While Ignatius Grulge was arrested and officially executed by Imperial forces on Nivalis in 597.M41, the planet remains scarred and bloodied from its battles. Archenemy forces very nearly breached the Cathedral Precinct itself before being fought back by the valiant efforts of the Lions of Nemea and Crusade forces including the Letiferan First Armoured. Scores of leaderless Templar units remain stationed on the planet until the Crusade can find a home for them.

The hereditary nobility of Nivalis has been substantially altered, with many of the powerful Houses which supported Grulge's ascendancy stripped of their lands and wealth. Much of this land has been returned to the Ruwwad communities and families it was originally seized from. Many Qawm'Aljibal, meanwhile, have found themselves co-opted into the Adeptus Arbites in an agreement which many see as resetting the balance of power across the planet. The Gearwrights, meanwhile, have made themselves at home in the planet's slow recovery from violence; in the city’s defence and the wake of the fighting, the former Olethran refugees quickly emerge as a functioning logistical infrastructure, arranging mutual aid and sharing the words of their Saint with a population hungry for reassurance.

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 | '''Sub-Sector''' || Primus
 |-
-| '''Type''' || Shrine World
+| '''Type''' || Shrine World,<br>Disputed
 |-
 | '''Population''' || 3.5 billion
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 | '''Climate''' || Subarctic
 |-
-| '''Status''' || Non-Compliant
+| '''Status''' || Non-Compliant,<br>Conflict
 |}
 ''“We arrived deep in local winter and stayed for nearly a week. C complained, of course – unpredictable ground, foul weather, all the usual Voidborn grumbles. Secretly I think he was as impressed as I was by the capital. The holy statues are too vast to comprehend, even for someone used to Navy ships. More like mountains than artefacts. Went hunting in hill forests – unsuccessful but hugely enjoyable; hired snow gear from native guide, wasted a lot of ammunition. Local wildlife faster than expected!” – Travel Diary of Lucius di Firro, 575.M41''
+''See Also'':
+* [[History of Nivalis]]
 === About Nivalis ===
-An ancient seat of nobility in the Sector, Nivalis is an inhospitable but beautiful planet just far enough inside its sun’s orbit to avoid the designation of Ice World. The habitable zone on the planet is restricted to a mountainous strip a few hundred kilometres wide at the Equator, with the rest of the planet locked in permanent glacial cold.
+Nivalis is an inhospitable but beautiful planet just far enough inside its sun’s orbit to avoid the designation of Ice World. The habitable zone on the planet is restricted to a mountainous strip a few hundred kilometres wide at the Equator, with the rest of the planet locked in permanent glacial cold. Settlement on Nivalis was well-established prior to the arrival of the Imperium - the mountainous regions were home to a hardy, hospitable breed of [[Ruwwad]] called the Qawm'Aljibal who greatly prize physical courage and cunning. Their favoured hobby is hunting, and anyone of birth or breeding on the planet is expected to prove their worth by tracking and killing one of the many dangerous mountain beasts. Native Nivalian Mountain Folk view the wearing of furs, or jewellery made from the teeth or claws of one’s kills, as a status symbol, and tend to look down on those who do not wear them. They also revere the discipline of healing, and pilgrims have been known to visit their shrines seeking cures for all manner of injuries and maladies.
-The mountains are home to a hardy, hospitable breed of Imperial citizens who greatly prize physical courage and cunning. Their favoured hobby is hunting, and anyone of birth or breeding on the planet is expected to prove their worth by tracking and killing one of the many dangerous mountain beasts. Nivalians view the wearing of furs, or jewellery made from the teeth or claws of one’s kills, as a status symbol, and tend to look down on those who do not wear them.
-Nivalis is a [[Shrine World]] first and foremost, with piety driven into the very bones of the land. Travellers and pilgrims say that every valley and secluded peak boasts its own shrine to the [[God-Emperor]] and His [[saints]]. Some of the highest peaks have been carved into massive likenesses of the great Heroes of the Imperium, the greatest of these visible from distant orbit. The constant presence of pilgrims travelling to and from the planet has led to extensive development in the urban centres. The capital and many secondary cities boast all the facilities that the discerning and pious citizen might need, and there is an extensive transport network connecting the most popular pilgrimage sites. In happier times, it was said that one could walk into a cathedral in the capital and find worshippers from every world in the Sector at prayer together.
-Nivalis’ peaceful existence came to an abrupt end in 584.M41. According to official records, a group of [[heretics]] disrupted the traditional annual religious festivities, leading to widespread panic and rioting. The riots spread in an uncontrolled wave across the planet, taking the meagre [[Planetary Defence Force]] by surprise and shattering the once-peaceful planet into civil chaos. The Ecclesiarchy called in the [[Adeptus Sororitas]] to suppress and control the unrest, with the [[Order of our Martyred Lady]] supplying a large operational deployment of [[Militant Sororitas]].
-While engaged in counterinsurgency and stabilisation, the Sisters reported a miracle whose echoes are still felt in the religious and political hierarchies of the Sector. Every statue of the [[God-Emperor]] on the planet, from tiny household icons to the kilometre-high colossus at the heart of the planetary capital, was witnessed to weep tears of blood. In the wake of this miracle, the Sisters engaged in offensive operations to return Nivalis to order with a bloodthirsty piety unlike anything seen before on the planet.
-Nivalis fell under the rule of [[Cardinal-Emissarius Grulge]]. The ongoing civil conflict was suppressed – often brutally – the insurgency kept to a quiet simmer by the security presence of the [[Sisters Militant]].
+For much of its history, Nivalis has been a Shrine World first and foremost, with piety driven into the very bones of the land. Travellers and pilgrims say that every valley and secluded peak boasts its own shrine to the [[God-Emperor]] and His [[saints]]. Some of the highest peaks have been carved into massive likenesses of the great Heroes of the Imperium, the greatest of these visible from distant orbit. The constant presence of pilgrims travelling to and from the planet has led to extensive development in the urban centres. In happier times, the capital and many secondary cities boasted all the facilities that the discerning and pious citizen might need, and there was an extensive transport network connecting the most popular pilgrimage sites. It was once said that one could walk into a cathedral in the capital and find worshippers from every world in the Sector at prayer together.
-Despite this Nivalis was no longer the safe haven for pilgrims that it once was, with scattered groups of heretics and planetary nationalists – bitter at the long arm of the Ecclesiarchy “usurping” their government – still holding out in the rural mountain areas despite the Sorors’ best efforts.
+Despite a history of tensions between native and Colonist populations, many Nivalian colonist families have adopted local habits and dress. Colonists have a reputation for hardiness against the icy temperatures of their home, and a spirituality and tendency towards the medicae arts acquired from the Qawm'Aljibal. Until its destruction in the rioting of 584.M41 the Nivalian capitol held a very respected Medicae Schola, with data rumoured to be drawn from the ancient Ruwwad repositories in the mountains. Many Nivalians with no Ruwwad blood at all wear furs, claws or teeth, even discreetly, as a mark of family pride.
-=== The Invasion of Nivalis and Subsequent Conflicts – 592.M41 Onwards ===
+Nivalis has been an unsettled planet since the mid 580s. In 584.M41, planet-wide riots broke out after an attack by heretics on the [[Navigator]] enclave in the planetary capital. An order of [[Adepta Sororitas]] were deployed to quell the riots and conduct counter-insurgency operations; it was during this deployment that the Sorors experienced the miracle leading to the founding of the [[Order of His Sanguine Tears]].
-In 592.M41 the Space Hulk Durovera’s Pain appeared from the warp above Nivalis, bringing multiple renegade vessels in its wake, exiting close to planetary orbit. This foul fleet made short work of the Pilgrim and System Defence vessels, and soon the orbit of Nivalis burned with the hulls of ruined vessels, in a swift four-hour campaign, the Enemy established orbital control of Nivalis.
+=== Recent History ===
-Recognising the danger, of orbital attack [[the Order of his Sanguine Tears]] evacuated their Fortress-Covent knowing it was vulnerable to orbital attack, letting [[Archenemy]] fire destroy it while the Order made its way to the the Cathedral-City of Nivalis and reinforced there beneath its protective void shields alongside the [[Fidelis Militia]]. Insurgent Nivalian forces, no friend to the [[Archenemy]] or the Cardinal and his Allies, realizing something significant was approaching, retreated from conflict zones.
+'' Main Article: [[History of Nivalis]]''
-The [[Archenemy]] hordes rained from the skies sparing no one, hordes of diseased barbaric scum charged against Imperial lines, advancing from their dropsites towards the many shrines and places of worship across the planet's surface. Rapid reaction forces of Sorors and [[Fidelis Militia]] swept into place swiftly, experienced veterans of the counter-insurgency efforts on the planet [[Ecclesiarchy]] forces slowed the [[Archenemy]] advance. The second wave of dropships did not hit Imperial lines however, but rather fell upon insurgent-held territories, rapidly wiping out what little resistance remained, and driving a flood of desperate refugees towards Imperial lines with fantastic tales of engaging heavily armoured barbaric warriors.
+Since 592, Nivalis has been devastated by nearly a decade of constant conflict, its once-pristine shrines wrecked, its lowlands torn up by fighting with the Archenemy who have deployed onto the city from the Space Hulk [[Void Hazards|Durovera's Pain]] which still looms in orbit in the planet's skies. Nivalis fell under the rule of the excommunicate heretic Cardinal [[Grulge]] for most of this period, whose [[Fidelis Templar]] forces fought off Archenemy attacks while brutally repressing the local population. Several factions fought back against the Heresiarch's rule, including both local Qawm'Aljibal and local Ecclesiarchy faithful centring around groups of [[Gearwrights]] who had landed on the planet as refugees.
-[[The Order of His Sanguine Tears]] retreated from Nivalis in 593.M41 after Archenemy Forces broken their defensive lines at the Cathedral City and ransacked it, only for Cardinal-Emissarius Grulge to return to the system at the head of a host of fanatics and [[fidelis militia]] raised from the worlds of the [[Prosperitas Sector]] declaring a holy war to retake the world from the [[heretics]] that had fallen upon it.
+While Ignatius Grulge was arrested and [[Sector_Report_X|officially executed]] by Imperial forces on Nivalis in 597.M41, the planet remains scarred and bloodied from its battles. Archenemy forces very nearly breached the Cathedral Precinct itself before being fought back by the valiant efforts of the [[Lions of Nemea]] and Crusade forces including the [[Famous_Regiments_of_the_Prosperitas_Crusade#Letiferan_First_Armoured|Letiferan]] First Armoured. Scores of leaderless [[Templar]] units remain stationed on the planet until the Crusade can find a home for them.
-Since 593, Nivalis has been devastated by nearly a decade of constant conflict, it’s once-pristine shrines wrecked, it’s forested stripped barren by traitor and faithful bombardments, though there is a stable area around the ruined Cathedral City of Nivalis controlled by the [[Cardinal-Emissarius]] the frontlines of the fight shift back and forth between traitors and the faithful daily, and few pilgrims come here without anything more than the intent to join the fanatical faithful hosts on the planet to retake it from the [[Archenemy]].
+The hereditary nobility of Nivalis has been substantially altered, with many of the powerful Houses which supported Grulge's ascendancy stripped of their lands and wealth. Much of this land has been returned to the Ruwwad communities and families it was originally seized from. Many Qawm'Aljibal, meanwhile, have found themselves co-opted into the [[Adeptus Arbites]] in an agreement which many see as resetting the balance of power across the planet. The [[Gearwrights]], meanwhile, have made themselves at home in the planet's slow recovery from violence; in the city’s defence and the wake of the fighting, the former Olethran refugees quickly emerge as a functioning logistical infrastructure, arranging mutual aid and sharing the words of their Saint with a population hungry for reassurance.