Editing The Atalantos Worlds (section)

====Morania, the Grudge====
{{Infobox 40k Planet
|name= Morania
|bgcolor=black
|fgcolor=white
|image=
|class= Paradise/Maiden World
|orbdist= .97 AU
|gravity= 1.02 G
|temp= 20 C
|pop= 500,000 Eldar Exodites, 500,000 Humans 
|governor= None
|system= Morania
|sector= Atalantos
|subsector= Nolannov 
|segmentum= Ultima Segmentum
}}

Morania should not be here. The Galactic Core should have destroyed this verdant world's vibrant ecosystem millions of years ago. Some invader should have burned it to the ground and looted the ashes in distant eons. And yet, Morania lives. First colonized by Eldar Exodites who chose to hide in the Core rather than follow most of their kindred into the dark Galactic Fringe, then receiving human colonists fleeing the Men of Iron, Morania rests in an uneasy balance. 

Though unimaginably fertile, the planet offers few resources by which either party could return to the stars. The long ages have worn away its inhabitants technical knowledge. More than once, Ork raids have been turned aside by Eldar sorcery. And Necron attacks, equally blunted with Dark Age relics. And so both tribes have come to rely on one another for survival though locked in deepest hatred. The clans are descendants of fiercely independent pioneers and loathe that they must rely on another's skills. The population is held in check through a careful balance and whenever births outnumber deaths, both sides send their excess to fight and die in gruesome bloodsport tournaments. To the winners go status, wealth and breeding rights, to the losers a bed of earth. 

Without this safety valve, the slow-breeding Eldar surely would have been overwhelmed. It is in the humans' interest to continue the bloodsport as well, for without Eldar management the planet would swiftly grow barren and die. Dark Age weapons the humans have, but not Dark Age terraformers. Despite mutual animosity, these ancient rituals carry far more force than any written law, and are adhered to absolutely. 

When the War Scribes arrived on Morania, the Primarch's first thought was to exterminate these Eldar at once and remove them from the Galaxy like the vermin they are. At the advice of his command staff, he stayed his hand. They had a much more devious plan in mind. The Legion's hate for the Eldar runs deep and strong, and inspires their darkest brilliance. What better way to flaunt their superiority than to assume rulership over the proud Eldar's distant cousins? They would hold the planet in their hands like a priceless gem, daring anyone to take it from them. And what better way to keep some ''lab rats'' safely contained for experimentation? The tournaments produced plenty of invalids and corpses, after all. Greedy Mars might appreciate such... resources. 

And for the Space Marines, they harvested recruits tempered against Eldar more physically powerful and savage than any others. Craftworld Eldar lived too deeply entrenched in their rigid caste systems to truly abandon restraint and unleash everything their xenos bodies were capable of, but not so their tribal brethren. Where else in the Galaxy could Marine Aspirants gain such valuable experience? No, even through the red haze of Arelex's hatred, the logic was beyond challenge. Morania became a protectorate of the Second Legion, and remains so to this day. Holding Morania has come at immense cost in gold and iron, and thousands of War Scribes have died over the long millennia to secure their rule, but to this day no Eldar strike force has been able to breach the perimeter and rescue their errant kin.