Ghalhal

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

Ghalhal
Segmentum	Pacificus
Sector	Al-Sherar
Sub Sector	Janis
System	Janis
Population	8,000,000,000

Ghalhal is a forgeworld in Subsector Markia, and the major supplier of the Markian Pact, in which it is an honorary member of the alliance. As a forgeworld Ghalhal has at its disposal a variety of military forces, including the Taghmata, the djinn-thallaxi of the Ordo Reductor, the titans of Legio Cataegis, and enthralled knights of House Goda.

History

The Age of Strife

Ghalhal's roots date back to the end of the Age of Technology, when the world was still only an industrial colony of the old human confederation. It was a red world colonized by descendants of a holy man, whose teachings sundered the old Terra's faiths over twenty millennia before. Like the rest of the galaxy, Galhal too fell into the depths of unrest at the onset of the Age of Strife. Witches and dissidents plagued the planet, engulfing it in strife. The citizens of Ghalhal took drastic measures, hunting psykers relentlessly to prevent their world from being devoured by the forces of the Immaterium.

After centuries of infighting and witch hunts, Ghalhal exhausted its resources. Before they could starve Ghalhal would have to expand into an empire, and much to their luck, there was a "warp bubble" nearby, free of witches and ripe with supplies. Ghalhal's fleet of twenty set off for these worlds, beginning on the rocky planet of Lemartia. However, if the fierce resistance and harsh terrain were not enough, Ghalhal discovered too late that Lemartia stood alongside four other worlds in this sector, in an alliance that divided and conquered, destroying the Ghalhallan fleet one ship at a time. The invaders retreated to their home world, only for the Markians to chase them and bomb Ghalhal back to the stone age.

Later in M28, new lords came to Ghalhal. Explorators from Mars came to Ghalhal and absorbed the few surviving Ghalhallans. The Martians turned the planet into an industrial powerhouse, a forge world, a center of economy in the subsector. The new Ghalhallans made contact with the nascent Markian Pact, not seeking war but trade, equipment for food and metal. It could be said that besides Gaspard Lumey's own handling of the situation, Ghalhal was the key factor in the Markian Pact's introduction to the Imperium.

The Great Crusade

When Markia returned to the Imperium, Ghalhal returned to the Mechanicum, bringing Goda and Tannhäuser with them. As eternal allies to the Markians, Ghalhal often joined campaigns with the Fifth Legion and later Markian Corps, where the Mechanicum's might helped bring worlds into the Imperium's fold. In the Al-Sherar and Core Worlds campaigns among others, Ghalhal fought alongside Winged Victory auxilia, and in the Mortekaiser and Nightkill Sectors they played a key role.

In the Nightkill Sector the Taghmata and Legio Cybernetica served as the anchor for Markian forces, while the Legio Cataegis and Ordo Reductor spearheaded the offensive. It was Ghalhal's void missiles that destroyed the hive-emperor, and it was Archmagos Khazal ibn Tekhalla who discovered the fragmented nature of the Arakan. Without Ghalhal, the Markian Corps would not had liberated the Nightkill Sector.

The Mortekaiser Campaign was decided by the presence of Ghalhal as well. Fueled by hatred for the tech-heresy of the Intax Empire, Ghalhal purged the sector with steel and fire. Though Verdun was famous for destroying of an entire titan section with only three tactical weapons, it was Legio Cataegis and the knights that faced and destroyed the lion's share of Intax titans. Likewise, it was the skitarii who relieved the 78th Grand Corps. The Ghalhallans were instrumental on the Burning World, where their immunity to the planet's sulfuric atmosphere met the cyborgs' and automata's.

Geography and Culture

Ghalhal is a red desert filled with dust and pollution. The surface, pockmarked with craters, still shows signs of Markia's historical bombardment of the old world, unusual volcanic activity remaining from the earth-shaking shockwaves of their voidships. Though the oceans are many, they are polluted with chemicals from Ghalhal's many manufactorums which the undrinkable water is now used to cool. Ruins of Old Ghalhal and its ships reside on the planet still, waiting under layers of sand to be uncovered by thieves or fools.

Beneath the cities of Ghalhal are abandoned tunnels left by the ancients, connecting everything together in a web of circuits and lines. Within this massive metro lies buried treasures hidden by Old Ghalhallan refugees, secret passages into ancient cities, tombs filled with the untouched corpses of Old Ghalhallans, all manner of goods desired by the Ghalhallan underground. Stalkers explore the lines between cities, charting paths and shuttling wares while keeping an eye for treasure. But the metro is a mess of tunnels, and it is all too easy for one to get lost in it.

Forces of Ghalhal

Legio Cataegis

Legio Cataegis is the pride of Ghalhal, titan-princes of Subsector Markia. The legion is average-sized, but in tonnage it is smaller than other legions, for it consists primarily of smaller but faster titans such as warhounds, with only a handful of warlords and one reaper. The wise commander uses the large number of warhounds to their advantage, outmaneuvering enemy titans and heavy armor, keeping up with faster armies, and luring witless foes into the range of the legion's few battle titans.

Knights of Ghalhal's Realm

The vassal of Ghalhal is House Goda. It is one of noble brawlers, who charge their enemies with a thirst for blood. Supported by their retainers, the knights of Goda strike hard and fast. The only issues are House Goda's fragmentation, as the seven houses fight each other with words as much as they do enemies with swords; and their bull-headedness, which often causes great risk when unnecessary.