Gathalamor
| Map | Basic Data | Planetary Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
  Gathalamor |
Name: | Gathalamor | 
|
| Segmentum: | Segmentum Solar | ||
| Sector: | |||
| System: | Gathalamor System[6e] | ||
| Population: | |||
| Affiliation: | Imperium (Ecclesiarchy)[8] | ||
| Class: | Cardinal/Shrine World[6d] | ||
Gathalamor is a very rich Cardinal and Shrine World[6d] located in the Segmentum Solar, to the galactic south-west of Terra.[1b] The planet is very important within the hierarchy of the Ecclesiarchy and some consider it to rival even Ophelia.[8] It is also an important pilgrimage destination and a part of The Grand Pilgrimage.[1a]
Overview
Gathalamor is known mostly as being the diocese of the heretic Cardinal Bucharis during the Age of Apostasy, whose heresies reached such an extent that they became known as the Plague of Unbelief.[1b] During the latter decades of the Age of Apostasy, Forge Worlds of Baas-Mem and 50-Aguna made alliance with Gathalamor.[8b]
The planet itself is filled with gargantuan labyrinthine crypts and tombs, reaching deep into the planet’s crust and out under the seas. These crypts are filled with the honored dead of the Imperium, buried head to toe in stone-carved galleries. Near the surface, the newer crypts with their clean-swept marble floors and candlelit shrines, are maintained by legions of sanctified servitors, while below, the older places are left to ruin[6b] as the corpse-eating annelids of the catacombs feed on the dead.[14] Collapsed sections are dug through again and again to make new catacombs. The crushed and compressed crypts and their dead form an ugly strata of bone-rock, hard as rockcrete.[6b]
Gathalamor is also known for its imagists who produce icons and pictures of the Imperial Palace. The pilgrims who journey to Gathalamor pay a lot for these images. Even the smallest and crudest of Gathalamorian icons may still cost a week’s meals for a pilgrim, while the rich nobility pay fortunes for the largest and most lavish paintings produced by the image-crafters.[10] Other quality goods produced on Gathalamor include Amasec.[11]
The planet has also an Inquisitorial Fortress of the Ordo Hereticus[7], a Preceptory of the Order of the Argent Shroud[6a] and a force of Imperial Guard. Known Gathalamor regiments include the Gathalamor 24th[5] and Gathalamor Heavy Grenadiers.[12]
History
Plague of Unbelief
The world's population was not rich and many lived in abject poverty. Bucharis took over and enslaved the population, forcing them to build a gigantic Cardinal Palace. He also took a large number of thugs and cut-throats and assaulted the nearby world of Rhanda. The resulting empire made Gathalamor fairly rich, although Bucharis' ideals of survival of the fittest meant many of the poorest died.[1b]
Gathalamor is the site of the tomb of the Great Confessor Dolan Chirosius, who was martyred on the world by Bucharis. His martyrdom quickly inspired the population to rise up and kill Bucharis. At the end, all that remained of his body was a small pile of ashes. From then on, the world was back under the rule of Terra and remains so to this day.[1b]
The next cardinal after Bucharis, Asclomaedas, had a profound fear of the heretic cardinal’s legacy. Asclomaedas had Bucharis' remains and his personal items buried in a psy-vault. A small band of Bucharis’ followers later destroyed the records of the vaults location and collapsed the surrounding catacombs to prevent the remains of their anti-saint being desecrated by a more vengeful successor.[8c]
The sermons at Mount Amalath
At the opening of the 41st Millennium, many great figures assembled at Mounth Amalath on Gathalamor. There, the highest leaders of many institutions renewed their vows of piety and devotion, and in doing so inspired their peers to do the same. Many cardinals, admirals, generals, lords, praefects, Inquisitors and allegedly as many as eight hundred Chapter Masters of the Adeptus Astartes, attended the sermons.[13]
In the aftermath of the sermons at Mount Amalath, the Imperium entered a phase of expansion and renewal. Most notably, this new age saw the Macharian Crusade, led by Lord Solar Macharius, claim a thousand new worlds for the Imperium. A group of Inquisitors present at Mount Amalath were also inspired by the sermons. They would go on to form the Amalathian faction of the Inquisition.[13]
Later history
Later, Gathalamor was infiltrated by a Chaos Cultist known as the Manskinner. He corrupted the Gathalamor 24th regiment before escaping the planet and going on to form an army of the Lost and the Damned that carved a path towards Macharia. The Ecclesiarchy tried to suppress knowledge of this, unable to admit that the piety of Gathalamorians was not absolute.[5]
Dark Imperium
Gathalamor was invaded by the Forces of Chaos, in the aftermath of the Great Rift's creation. The world was only saved with the intervention of the Indomitus Crusade.[2]
Since then, the planet has come under new threats and is receiving aid from the Space Wolves.[9]
Geography
Continents
Known Places
- Ascension Stair[6f]
- Bastion Famulous[6f]
- Canyon of Countless Blessings[6c]
- Essenia[6f]
- Fort Bastabus[6f]
- Gathalamor Imprezentia[6g] - A city.[6h]
- Mount Amalath - Site of a great Inquisitorial conclave that saw the creation of the Amalathian ideology.[4]
- Petitioner's Palace[6f]
- Sanctic Citadel
- Temple of the Emperor Exultant - A macro-cathedrum.[6c]
See also
Sources
- 1: Codex: Sisters of Battle (2nd Edition):
- 2: Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition), pg. 20 — The Indomitus Crusade
- 3: Codex: Adeptus Custodes (8th Edition), pg. 64
- 4: Codex: Inquisition, pg. 22
- 5: Words of Blood (Short Story) - Let the Galaxy Burn (Anthology)
- 6: The Gate of Bones (Novel):
- 7: Grey Knights (Novel), Chapter Four
- 8: The Wolftime (Novel):
- 9: Ashes of Prospero (Novel), Chapter 1
- 10: Cypher: Lord of the Fallen (Novel), Two, The Imperial Palace
- 11: Malleus (Novel), Twenty
- 12: Deathwatch Core Rulebook, pg. 339
- 13: Dark Heresy Second Edition: Core Rulebook, pg. 316
- 14: Throne of Light (Novel), Chapter Twenty-Four