Atargatis Prime
| Map | Basic Data | Planetary Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name: | Atargatis Prime[3] | 
| |
| Segmentum: | None[3] | ||
| Sector: | None, de facto Ghoul Stars[1] | ||
| System: | Atargatis System[2a] | ||
| Population: | Unknown | ||
| Affiliation: | Ashen Claws[2] | ||
| Class: | Adeptus Astartes Homeworld[1][3] | ||
| Tithe Grade: | None[2] | ||
Atargatis Prime,[2a] often shortened to just Atargatis, is the homeworld of the Ashen Claws, and the center of their pocket empire in the Ghoul Stars.[1] The planet lies outside the boundaries of the Imperium's Ultima Segmentum.[3]
Overview
The Atargatis System is a desolate location, heavily affected by massive asteroid fields and blasted by radioactive solar winds from its red star. Accordingly, Atargatis Prime has been described as a "bleak and barren" location, its lands dominated by grey tundra, black rocks, and little sunlight. Its surface was once subject to heavy tectonic activity, carving great canyons into the planet. The Ashen Claws' Fortress-Monastery, dubbed the "Lost Eyrie", is hidden in a small mountain on the planet.[2a]
Despite its harsh environment, the planet is home to a substantial human population, split into tribes that are vassals to the Ashen Claws.[2b] These tribes align themselves with different factions within the Ashen Claws, and even influence the Renegade Marines' operations.[2b][2c]
History
After the 18th Chapter of the Raven Guard Legion had been exiled by Primarch Corax, it went renegade, renamed itself to "Ashen Claws", and carved out an independent pocket empire in the Ghoul Stars.[1] By the late Horus Heresy, the Ashen Claws ruled a substantial realm,[3] with Atargatis serving as its capital world.[1]
By M41, the Ashen Claws had been diminished in power and their culture been changed by ten thousand years of relative isolation beyond the Imperium. Thus, the Space Marines and local humans had begun to intermix to the extent that the local tribes had an influence on the Ashen Claws' decisions, with a human woman ruling Atargatis alongside Ashen Claws Chapter Master Nehat Nev. In the 800s.M41, the Ashen Claws agreed to trade 3,000 of their homeworld's young boys as well as limited military assistance to the Carcharodons in exchange for technologies, weaponry, and fresh gene-seed of Raven Guard origin.[2b]
Related Articles
Sources
- 1: The Horus Heresy Book Six - Retribution, pgs. 128–146
- 2: Carcharodons: Outer Dark (Novel)
- 3: Campaigns of the Age of Darkness: The Battle of Beta-Garmon, Map inside cover