Zhao-Arkkad
| Map | Basic Data | Planetary Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
  Zhao-Arkkad |
Name: | Zhao-Arkkad | 
|
| Segmentum: | Segmentum Tempestus[2] | ||
| Sector: | |||
| System: | Zhao System[2] | ||
| Population: | |||
| Affiliation: | Adeptus Mechanicus[2] | ||
| Class: | Forge World, Death World[2] | ||
| Tithe Grade: | Tertius-1[3a] | ||
Zhao-Arkkad is a Forge World of the Imperium. It is one of the Mechanicum's most far-flung and isolated Forges.[1]
It has only recently been re-consecrated, and the Forge World's Techpriests are noted to be the possessors of the STC template that allows for the production of the Praetor Armoured Assault Launcher.[1]
History
Zhao-Arkkad was settled in the late days of the Dark Age of Technology by a Martian expedition, perhaps accidentally from a fleet blown off course in the Warp. The atmosphere was highly toxic and the planet's surface filled with heavily canopied rain forests, but nonetheless the human settlers managed to colonize the world. Titans accompanying the settlers defended them from the beasts of the planet, eventually becoming the Legio Xestobiax. In the First Conjunction, Zhao-Arkkad managed to become mostly self-sufficient and functional Forge World. In the Second Conjunction, Zhao-Arkkad's three moons were colonized. Soon Zhao-Arkkad managed to expand further, establishing several outlying planetary outposts.[1]
In 827.M27, a civil war between the Kiarii and Eminarii Forges decimated the planet, but it nonetheless managed to eventually recover.[1]
During the Great Crusade, the expeditionary fleet of the Thousand Sons' Fifth Fellowship discovered Zhao-Arkkad and bloodlessly assimilated it into the growing Imperium. The newly arrived Space Marines managed to drive off Xenos invaders that had been plaguing Zhao-Arkkad for centuries. The Thousand Sons established a close relationship with the Forge World thereafter, providing the Legion with war material.[3a]
During the Horus Heresy, Zhao-Arkkad was pledged to the Thousand Sons and fought alongside them in the Burning of Prospero under the command of Magos Tacitus Proctor.[3b] They were declared heretics by the Imperium for the act, but no retaliation would come, due to the Isstvan incidents. Some Forges on Zhao-Arkkad allied with the traitorous Warmaster, while others simply wished to be left alone by the galaxy at large.[3b] In 013.M31 a Dark Angels fleet arrived to take control, commencing the Battle of Zhao-Arkhad, in which the Dark Angels were repelled by purportedly Loyalist Thousand Sons, aided by Legio Xestobiax. Despite their victory, the Forge World would be subjected to a brutal blockade by the Dark Angels afterwards.[4]
During the Great Scouring, Zhao-Arkkad was conquered by the Imperium; during this invasion, the plans for the Crassus Armoured Transport were allegedly "reclaimed".[5] Though Zhao-Arkkad has remained loyal since this time, the Forge World's ancient ways were not forgotten. Accordingly, when the planet's authorities eventually discovered hidden Titans of Legio Xestobiax which had been sealed away as they contained heretek, Eldar-influenced technology, they sought to reactivate them instead of destroying the machines.[6]
In the Era Indomitus, Archmagos Belisarius Cawl is generally considered persona non grata on Zhao-Arkkad, and those on the forge world who subscribe to Cawl's beliefs might be found guilty of being a heretek.[7a] Multiple members of the Lords Dragon are also present on the forge world.[7b]
See also
Sources
- 1: Imperial Armour Volume Eleven - The Doom of Mymeara, pg. 90
- 2: Codex: Imperial Knights (6th Edition), pg. 12
- 3: The Horus Heresy Book Seven - Inferno:
- 4: White Dwarf 478, pg. 109
- 5: Imperial Armour Volume One - Second Edition: Imperial Guard, pg. 128
- 6: The Spirit of Cogs (Short Story)
- 7: Flesh and Steel (Novel):
