Gilead System

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The Gilead System is a System of Imperial space on the inner border of the Gothic Sector[1] that contains many different Human-inhabited worlds and was conquered by the Imperium in M34, while in the midst of a protracted Crusade. Due to the creation of the Great Rift, the Gilead System is now located within the Dark Imperium.[2]

The giant Warp Storm has also caused the Absolvers Chapter to become trapped within the System and they are now fighting to protect it. Due to the numerous threats facing Gilead, however, the Chapter is spread thin and they have increased their recruitment of Aspirants. The citizens of Gilead's Heartworlds, though, whisper of the righteous wrath of the Absolvers, as the Chapter is relentless and draconian in their fight against Heresy. Though they have had great success in defeating Daemons, the collateral damage in doing so has been significant.[3]

History

What would be known as the Gilead system was once part of the Eldar Empire. They would turn one of its barren worlds into a lush maiden world, which they named Aral'dha, meaning 'flower of dawn'. These ancient aeldari would eventually depart from this living monument to their gods, returning to the heart of their empire. These aeldari sensed something off about their society upon their return but thought little of it until the depraved rot was readily evident. Most of the aeldari who crafted the world would choose to depart their society, making their exodus aboard the craftworld Ul-Khari for their true home, Aral'dha.[5]

Sometime prior to M30, Ul-Khari returned to the Gilead system where they found humanity deeply cemented in the system. Rather than attempting diplomacy or engaging the system in outright battle, the lone craftworld would instead choose subtler means to unseat the Mon-keigh squatters. Before these plans bore fruit the Fall of the Aeldari Empire occurred, and eldar across the galaxy were forced to salvage what they could in the aftermath.[5]

Great Crusade and Horus Heresy

The Gilead System was thought to have been initially discovered and colonised during the Great Crusade, designated by crusaders as SKN-71-L-009, though it was quickly forgotten as a result of the Horus Heresy and its insignificant location in the galaxy.[4a] Imperial records show that it was rediscovered in the first century of M31 by the Mechanicum Explorator Fleet Tsuruoka, who designated the system NNE.59021, colonised Avachrus, and noted non-Imperial humans living on Ostia and Primus. The Mechanicum explorers discovered archaeotech and xenos ruins on the worlds, both of which they covered up, all the while expanding Imperial colonisation efforts. However, the natives of Ostia and Primus initially resisted assimilation.[4b]

During the Great Crusade, the Gilead System was reconnected with the rest of Humanity with little bloodshed. During the Horus Heresy, a battle group of Emperor's Children on their way to the Siege of Terra devastated the entire system. Although the struggling Imperium again laid claim to the system after their civil war, this was fleeting, at best. The scouring by Emperor's Children had marked it for desecration and the system had drawn the eye of dark powers.[5]

Gilead Crusade

By M34, the Gilead System was a Chaos bastion firmly under the grasp of Slaanesh, hunting any remaining citizens for sport.[5] The Imperium's NNE.59021 system drifted back into obscurity until the Gilead Crusade, named for Saint Julyanna Gilead, arrived in M34 to scour the system of heretics and corrupt Space Marines residing there. Both the system and the world known as Primus were named after Gilead in her honour. For the next six thousand years, the Gilead System was a bastion of loyal Imperial citizens.[4b]

The Asuryani of craftworld Ul-Khari aided Julyanna Gilead's crusade significantly in a variety of ways, doing so unbeknownst to the humans. They had hoped the crusade would continue to other nearby systems, leaving Aral'dha lightly defended and an easy target for the eldar to retake. However, the humans instead fortified the system, vindicating the opinions of the craftworlders who stood opposed to aiding the humans.[5]

Era Indomitus

With the creation of the Cicatrix Maledictum at the end of M41, the Gilead System found itself completely cut off from the rest of the Imperium by the resultant warp storms surrounding the system. After three years without any respite or news of the wider galaxy, a Rogue Trader named Jakel Varonius arrived. They managed to break through with a flotilla of ships, along with news and material supplies, but he had arrived with only a third of the ships he had departed the Imperium with. To make matters more complicated, Jakel had seemingly arrived to install himself as the de facto head of a new provisional Gilead government, but struggled with leveraging his own authority over the other prominent individuals and factions in his own flotilla, let alone the planetary governors of the system.[4b]

With the emergence of Warp Storms caused by the Great Rift's birth, two new worlds have been vomited from the Warp and now sit in irregular orbits within the system. The new planets, dubbed Trollius and Vulkaris, have become known as Membrane Worlds, and both are subjects of terror and discovery. Vulkaris is a world full of mutants and plagues, and it follows a highly erratic orbit with the Gilead star that brings it close to the Heartworlds then back out beyond the limits of Gilead's pull. Trollius orbits on the far limits of the system and is home to its own mysteriously frozen terrors, alongside the crashed craftworld Ul-Khari.[1b]

Worlds

Trivia

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The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.

The Gilead System is the primary setting for the Wrath & Glory role playing game series where the majority of their books take place.

Sources

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