Difference between revisions of "Isstvan III"
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|Name=Isstvan III | |Name=Isstvan III | ||
|Segmentum=Unknown | |Segmentum=Unknown | ||
| − | |Sector= | + | |Sector=Unknown |
| − | |Subsector=Unknown | + | |Subsector=Unknown |
|System=Isstvan | |System=Isstvan | ||
|Population=None, was 12 billion pre-Heresy<sup>2,3</sup> | |Population=None, was 12 billion pre-Heresy<sup>2,3</sup> | ||
Revision as of 13:16, 10 November 2008
| Map | Basic Data | Planetary Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Name: | Isstvan III |
|
| Segmentum: | Unknown | ||
| Sector: | Unknown | ||
| Subsector: | Unknown | ||
| System: | Isstvan | ||
| Population: | None, was 12 billion pre-Heresy2,3 | ||
| Affiliation: | Imperium | ||
| Class: | Dead World | ||
| Tithe Grade: | Unknown | ||
Isstvan III was a Hive World. Its destruction and the surrounding circumstances was the first overt sign of Warmaster Horus' turn to the forces of Chaos, and the first battle of the Horus Heresy.
Baron Vardus Praal, Imperial governor of the Isstvan system, had risen in revolt against the Imperium. The Emperor and the Senate of the High Lords of Terra, ignorant of the change in Horus, charged the Warmaster with crushing this rebellion. Under his command were four Space Marine Legions; his own Sons of Horus, the Emperor's Children of Fulgrim, Mortarion and his Death Guard, and the World Eaters led by Angron. Horus and these Primarchs had fallen to Chaos and took this opportunity to purge all suspected Loyalists from their Legions.
All suspected Loyalists were deployed with Drop pods upon Choral City, the capital of the planet. Not using the traditional Stormbirds, and cutting their communication lines to the fleet, Horus tried to ensure that none of them would survive.
Afterwards, he ordered a massive Virus bombardment upon the planet. However, Captain Saul Tarvitz of the Emperor's Children, working on a hunch, had managed to remain in the fleet. To his horror he discovered the planned bombardment and managed to seize a Thunderhawk to save his betrayed brethren. The bombardment caused 12 billion deaths among the inhabitants2,3, every Loyalist that couldn't reach shelter in time (World Eaters suffering the greatest losses) and the utter consumption of all organic matter upon the planet. Thanks to Tarvitz's warning a few hundred loyal Space Marines managed to survive inside airtight bunkers and bomb shelters. As the putrid gases resulting from the rapidly decaying organic matter filled the atmosphere, Horus ignited a firestorm on the planet which melted the hives and razed the cities. The psychic death scream of the 12 billion is said to have been louder than the Astronomican2,3.
Despite this, many Loyalists of the four Legions managed to survive, and an enraged Angron, acting against Horus' orders, led his Legion to the surface to slaughter the survivors. Horus, trying to salvage the situation, sent detachments of all his Legions to slay the Loyalists.
The Loyalists, fighting tenaciously, turned the planned slaughter into a full-scale battle. Under the command of Captains Garviel Loken and Tarik Torgaddon of the Luna Wolves, Saul Tarvitz of the Emperor's Children, and Ehrlen of the World Eaters, the Loyalists were able to mount a surprising defense in the ruins of the capital city.
Ultimately, the Loyalists were completely crushed, in part to Lucius' betrayal and the orbital bombardment of the Choral City, but made Horus pay dearly. The battle lasted for three months and inflicted huge losses upon the Traitors. It was a Pyrrhic Victory at best.
While the battle raged upon the planet, a handfull of Loyalists led by Captain Nathaniel Garro of the Death Guard managed to commandeer a vessel, the frigate Eisenstein. The Eisenstein quickly fled into the Warp, and Garro managed to warn the Emperor of Horus' betrayal.
Horus prepared a trap on the planet Isstvan V, which was much more successful.
Isstvan and Istvaan
The system and planet's name is alternatively spelled Istvaan3.
