Hopes Fall

Hopes Fall is an agrarian Knight World, lying in some relatively unoccupied chunk of space within the Eastern Fringe. At some long forgotten point in history an ancient Rogue Trader ship, simply named the Hope was trapped in a warp storm in an unexplored section of space. When it was finally released from the maelstrom it had sustained heavy damage and was forced to crash land on a previously undiscovered world. Over the next several millennia the thousands of people who had survived the crash landing onto the planet managed to build a flourishing society on what turned out to be a verdant and bountiful Agri-world.

History

When the Hope first crashed onto the planet, the survivors found themselves on a promising looking world, with vast green fields ripe for turning into farm land and pastures, and many valuable minerals and ores running deep into the ground. However they were not alone on their new home.

Long before Imperium of man was made whole, the planet that was to become Hope's Fall was occupied by human colonists, who, over many thousands of years, had devolved into degenerate, feral savages, living in the planets dark forests and worshiping chaotic gods.

The Hope was under the ownership of a Rouge Trader dynasty by the name of Carthagga, who were devout believers of the Imperial Creed, and had close ties to both the Ecclesiarchy, and the Ordo Hereticus. Needless to say, when they set foot on a planet that would provide bountiful tithe to the Imperium and found it to be harboring savage heretics, the Carthaggan's were none to happy, and decided to remove them in the manner they felt most appropriate.

After dealing with these undesirables, under the leadership of House Carthagga, the survivors set out exploring their new home. Their ship had crashed in what they discovered to be the northern hemisphere of the planet, as was right on the edge of what came to be known as the White Mantle, and massive granite plateau that occupied almost the entirety of the nothern hemisphere. Around their crashed ship they built their first city, simply named Carthagga, and from here they set out, settling the surrounding lands.

Soon, a feudal society began to establish itself, with serfs working the vast fields in the south, giving all their earnings to the nobility, who in turn gave it over to the Carthaggans and the Ecclesiarchy, and when the Imperium was able to once again make contact, over to the greater imperium. In exchange, they were given homes in which to live, land to call their own, and protection from the beasts and feral people that lived in shadowy outer lands. Alternatively, some of the settlers resided in the northern hemisphere, working the planet's mines, pulling up marble and other valuable minerals for the Imperial nobility to decorate their homes with.

While the planet was more or less left alone by the greater galaxy, there were a few incidents that had affected the planet. The most notable of these was toward the end of the Damocles Gulf Crusade. Due to the planets location in the Eastern Fringe, and it's proximity to the Gulf, when Hive Fleet Behemoth passed through the system and splinter hive that fell off of the greater fleet happened by random chance to land on the planet. The ensuing conflict was one that caused many casualties and untold destruction for the humans, but after several long years of brutal and horrific warfare, against all odds, they managed to completely purge the xeno invaders.

Culture

Similar to most other Imperial worlds, the culture of Hope's Fall is one that is built upon a rigid caste system, with thick societal lines dividing every group of people.

Most importantly, at the top are the patriarchs of House Carthagga, descendants of the original dynasty of Rouge Traders that owned the trading ship that crashed upon the world in the beginning. The Carthaggans have great economic and political power on their world, and in the surrounding system. The head of the Ecclesiarchy on the planet, as well as the Inquisition are both blood members of the upper Carthaggan nobility, and the planets military leadership answers solely to the throne of House Carthagga. On top of this, due to the vast wealth and ancient STC templates recorded in the data banks of the families libraries, they have a number of Imperial Knight titans at their disposal, whose loyalties are sworn strictly to the House, and whose pilots are all members of the Carthaggan nobility.

Members of the House who are to become Knight pilots are known as The Highborn. While not fully Carthaggan in blood, they come from mixed families of noble stock, who at some level are distant blood relatives of the Carthaggans. These Highborn are the only people on the planet trusted to wield the awesome power of these ancient suits, and historically, many of them also saw service as military commanders of the revered Carthaggan Guard.

Alongside the Highborn are the Highborn Storm Troopers. Originally bred of the same stock as the Knight Pilots, the need for more and more soldiers resulted in open recruiting into the House's Storm Trooper regiment. While few in number, their training and experience rivals that of the Militarum Tempestus. In combat they make use of asymmetric tactics and guerrilla style warfare, ignoring battle lines and bringing the fight to the heart of the enemy's formations. They spend years training in the harsh climate of the White Mantle, in an unending night and an unforgiving blizzard. Because of this, they don bone white carapace armor, forever connecting them to that frozen hell. They also wear berets of a dark blue, the colors of the House to whom they have sworn their allegiance.

While the Storm Troopers can technically be recruited from any level of society, the only candidates that ever succeed in making it through the rigorous training are drawn from the elite ranks of the revered Carthaggan Guard, the force that makes up the bulk of Hope's Fall active military. Officially, the Guard are openly recruited from all of the planets citizens but in practice their numbers are heavily drawn from the so called Low Guard, often at the encouragement of the officer cadre. The Carthaggan Guard are sworn to protect and uphold the laws and authority of House Carthagga, much like the Storm Troopers. Their training takes place in the White Mantle, over the period of a year, after which they are immediately sent off world to campaign for the Emperor. During their training they are forced to survive on their own, in harsh unrelenting conditions, with little direction from their superiors. At this time, each squad is watched over by a junior commissar, who instructs them in combat, drill maneuvers and the Imperial Creed. Each Carthaggan Guard that leaves the White Mantle is as much a missionary as they are a soldier. Their combat doctrine mimics and rivals that of the Vostroyans and the Mordians; They are line infantry, and make limited use of armor or heavy weapons, preferring to march on their enemies under an unrelenting volley of lasgun fire, as ministorum priests and commissars follow behind them, spouting rhetoric into the fray.

Their dress is similar to that of the Vostroyans, both in quality and style, as it serves them well in the cold environs of the icy hells where they campaign. They main difference is that their great coats are the same dark blue as the berets of the Storm Troopers, showing their loyalty to the House.