Editing Avalonus (section)

==Jaranoct==
'''Hive Jaranoct''' is the third great hive of the Conurbation of Avalonus. Younger than Gildwynn and Calivere, it was only after the Age of Apostasy that it was recognized as an independent hive, having played a key role in overthrowing the rule of the Vandiran Loyalists during the Reign of Blood. In the millennia since, Jaranoct has become the beating heart of the Conurbation's manufactories, delving ever deeper for the ores that are the lifeblood of the continent-spanning hives. 

An atypical Solar-type hive, Jaranoct is crowned by the '''Wurm Mountains,''' a great range of red sandstone peaks. The ancient hivers carved out labyrinthine hivewarrens, transitways, and mineworks through them, rather than levelling them as might be expected, and were rewarded with great seams of ore and precious fragments of a fallen empire. Ever disdainful of the ancient nobles of the Conurbation, the merchant-lords of Jaranoct seized their moment during the Reign of Blood, and were rewarded with an equal place as their hive-cousins in the rule of Avalonus.

Such is the public history of Jaranoct, the history celebrated in elaborate, geometrically-precise blazons across its spires. The truth is somewhat different.

Jaranoct was originally a slum of the Conurbation established by displaced laborers in the disruption caused by the '''Shuddering Stars Crusade.''' Inspired by the charismatic Magos Jara, the slum-dwellers delved beneath the benighted soil and found wealth and riches beyond imagining; not only of ores and fuel and raw chemicals, but also the greatest expanse of untouched Falxian ruins since the Conquest. Fueled by the dark riches found within the nocturnal depths, Jara's Nox quickly became the fastest-growing hivezone on the planet. Rivals were destroyed with contemptuous ease as dark artifacts found their way to high-ranking techmagi, jaded Rogue Traders, and, it is whispered, unseemly and ambitious Inquisitors. Such allies allowed the reclamator moguls, Archmagos Jara foremost among them, to escape censure for centuries.

These alliances were ended by the unhinged reign of Goge Vandire. All mankind declared for or against the mad High Lord, and the moguls of Jaranoct defied him and his chosen catspaws. The fell technarcana of the Falxians unleashed bloody chaos upon Avalonus, keeping the Vandiran rulers from clamping down on the wars spreading throughout the sector. In the aftermath of ''The Seventh Battle of Avalonus'' the untouchable reclamator moguls were slain to a man. A sanitized version of Jaranoct's history was promulgated, possibly by the same hands as once protected it, and a new hive born. The influence of the Adeptus Mechanicus fell into steep decline, and the survivors of the hive turned to the reformed faith of the Adeptus Ministorum, eventually turning Jaranoct into one of the firmest bastions of Ecclesiarchal influence on Avalonus.

Today, Jaranoct is a bustling, productive hive that holds its secrets close and buries the darkness in its depths. The upper hive, particularly those gleaming blades closest to the Conurbation transitways and the towering cathedrals of the Wurms, are as gilded and blazoned as any in Gildwynn, if somewhat colder and less tasteful. The middle hivers living in the great ring of plainer, more utilitarian blades bordering Hive Calivere to the north and the dark seas to the southeast, as well as the primary cavern-hives below the surface, lead lives of gray, twilight drudgery only briefly lit-up by blood duels, rail-races, and the frequent battles between the '''Knights of Avalon''' and hive gangers.

Jaranoct's underhive is entirely underground, a constantly-shifting patchwork of abandoned mines, shadowy ruins, and unworked caverns from whence the deprived, the insane, and the tainted lead sinister lives in the dross of their betters. Here, the struggle for life takes on a far darker turn than elsewhere on Avalonus, and much attention is paid by the Inquisition to the terrors lurking in its tenebrous depths. Occasionally they manipulate the Knights of Avalon or Redemptionist cults to purge particularly noxious dens, though more often than not the denizens will flee and re-establish themselves elsewhere. 

===Notable Locations===
*'''Cathedral of The Wurms:''' The Wurms are home to what is almost assuredly the second longest cathedral in the Imperium. Carved out of the peaks of the mountain range, the '''Cathedral of The Wurms''' rears up to 6 kilometres above sea level and is 18 kilometres long, with more than 700 shrines dedicated to the saints of every major world within the Victorum Sector. A relic of each saint is ensconced in a dedicated shrine, each reflecting the unique culture of the planet or region they originate from, and the Sector Synod has declared visiting the stations of the cathedral a pilgrimage in its own right, spiritually equivalent to worshiping on the worlds of the saints themselves. From the cathedral, Arch-Deacon Yeonsgate balances countless ledgers and accounts to ensure that every individual church and planet-bound hierarch receives their cut of the never-ending flow of tithes and donations that flow along the Path of the Wurms.

*'''Knightsgrave Command:''' Once known as the Knightsgrave Schola, '''Knightsgrave Command''' became the general headquarters of the Knights of Avalon in the mid-300s.M38. Originally a training center for the Knights, it grew to become their largest precinct command as the difficulties of enforcing the law in Jaranoct's vast sprawl became clearer and more resources were drawn into the maze of hivewarrens beneath the surface of the hive. Eventually, given the near-permanent presence of the highest levels of Knight command, Knightsgrave became the permanent headquarters for the Knights of Avalon and the site of their largest training complex. Lord Commander Sir Davin Leonine spends as little time at Knightsgrave as he can, knowing that any time he spends away from the court of Gildwynn is an opportunity for enemies of the Knights to undercut their resources and influence.

*'''Jaraville:''' Perched over a great shaft plunging into the depths of the earth, this cluster of hive blades serves as the heart of Jaranoct. Here, the movers and shakers of Jaranoct gather daily to set quotas, dispute laws, and ensure the demands of the Imperium are met. Merchant lords, guild nobles, and inky bureaucrats decide the life and death of thousands in the shadow of the original minehead from which Jaranoct sprouted, proof that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

*'''The House of The Hole:''' A particularly dank and dismal den of the underhive, '''The House of The Hole''' has managed to evade the purging fires of the Imperium for millennia. Here, the person/cabal/entity known as "Daktar" sponsors expeditions into Falxian ruins still lying untouched beneath Jaranoct. The lucky survivors are rewarded with a cut of the profits from secret auctions held in the hives above. The recent '''''Incident of the Exsanguinated Blade''''' can be traced back to an artifact originating from one of these auctions, and, not for the first time, the Inquisition has set its sights on the secrets of The House of the Hole.

===Culture===
A more proletarian hive than its two older neighbors, Jaranoct is ruled not by the nobles who take its seat at [[Avalonus#Notable Locations|the Grand Court]] but by the great guilds of tradesmen, artisans, and commercial agents who know its commercial heart inside and out. In Jaranoct, money matters as much as blood, and the merchant-lords care not where either comes from. 

In Jaranoct, everyone wants their cut. It is said that nothing in the hive is done without coin changing hands, a statement so true it might well be a commandment from the Emperor. From the most ink-stained Administratum drone to the most gilt-encrusted lord, every Jaranoctian has an opinion on the value of their time and labor, and will be damned before they are paid for it. This attitude fosters an air of what would in other places be called "casual corruption," but in Jaranoct it is simply good business. No Jaranoctian would dream of signing a contract without exchanging gifts of great value, or dream of passing a holiday without treating a potential client or obstacle to an extravagant meal. As a result, many oridnary hivedwellers are wealthier and better off than you'd expect; the gentle corruption of daily life serving as a de facto form of welfare or noblesse oblige.

Jaranoct is the beating heart of Avalonus' economy. While other hives have their role to play in production or exploitation, Jaranoct is the one place where new, planet-spanning, star-faring companies are chartered on a regular basis. That a good deal of these companies are the creations of grifters or fail within a decade doesn't change the fact that Jaranoct, unlike all other hives on the planet, is the one place where an ordinary hivedweller can dream of success and, thanks to the relative wealth of its citizens, find investors to make it a reality.

Jaranoct fashion tends towards the garish, with each converted mineshaft, light-studded hab-cavern, and towering blade sponsoring its own uniquely indentifiable parti-colored pattern. Such colors often reflect the ruling house or dominant company, or reference a significant historical event. Even the usually somber Ecclesiarchy is involved, with many temples and cathedrals using increasingly elaborate costumes to inspire the faithful and reinforce the lagging.