Editing Isstvan V (section)

==Overview and History==

When the Imperium first found the Isstvan system during the [[Great Crusade]], it was evident that many of its planets had undergone some type of terraforming in the far distant past. Several of these planets were habitable for humans and had native species of flora and fauna with similar genetic origins, suggesting that someone had been seeding the system for colonies. [[Isstvan III|One of these planets]] was home to a thriving human civilization, but Isstvan V was a desolate, lifeless rock, its former inhabitants apparently driven away by generations of tectonic instability and volcanic eruptions. Traces of the xenos species that had once called the world home were still extant, including fragmented road networks, collapsed dams, and the shells of long-abandoned fortifications.

Aside from these traces of civilization, Isstvan V was a bleak and barren world of volcanic mountain ranges, black-sand deserts, tainted seas, and windswept moors. This made it the perfect spot to set up the mother of all Space-Marine-killing traps when [[Horus]] and his boys rolled up to the system to get their heresy on. While the loyalist elements of the [[Sons of Horus]], [[Emperor's Children]], [[World Eaters]], and [[Death Guard]] were being [[Battle of Isstvan III|purged on Isstvan III]], Horus dispatched [[Fulgrim]] and the unengaged Emperor's Children to Isstvan V to begin fortifying the planet. Fulgrim, who'd been a prissy little shit even before falling to Slaanesh, bitched about being given the drudge work until the Warmaster stroked his <s>dong</s> ego a bit. The Emperor's Children, who were also less than pleased with the job, dug in at the foot of a volcano on the Urgall Plateau, creating a vast network of trenches, bunkers, redoubts, and weapons emplacements around one of the ancient xenos fortresses, which was established as Horus' HQ for the coming engagement. The fortification complex was so powerful and well-defended that it was impossible to completely destroy from orbit, meaning that the loyalist forces would have to come down and do things the hard way.