Vallidan Prime

'''Vallidan Prime is the Capital World of the Vallidan System, within the Urient Sub-Sector. It is a Timber producing agri world best known for the brief war waged there against the Pilgrims of Rust.'''

Vallidan is like many thousands of worlds throughout the Imperium, a rough outpost of mankind producing resources for the ever hungry mechanisms of the Imperium's expansion and maintenance. It has a feudalistic society and save for the primary habitation at Hive Valiposa (the planetary capital) the world is largely pre industrial, with most citizens living as bonded servants to local lords and working the land with either hand tools or in hereditary guilds trained in mono-tasked functions aboard large lumber gathering rigs. These woodcutter rigs are prized possessions and writ of ownership over these ancient machines can make a lord wealthy indeed, as such they often become the sight of pitched battles as jealous nobles or guilds look to press claims or just outright conquer their rivals.

Hive Valiposa, however would be much more recognizable to an Imperial citizen of a more "standard" technological level, though the cities gothic edifices and Mechanicus engineered constructions, now tower over a sprawl of timber frame homes and hand built stone walls. It is from Valiposa that the planetary governor (colloquially referred to as High King) resides and passes edicts down on the governance of the planet to regional commanders and lords, (referred to as Kings) who in turn disseminate this further to regional lords, barons and other nobles to effect planetary compliance with the High King's wishes.

The Vallidian PDF is made up of this noble class and is equipped with standard pattern Kantrael Lasguns, which are provided by the Sub-Sector Munitorum to ensure some level of viable defense is maintained. The planet has a cadre of Mechanicus, Eccelssiarchy and Commissariat Personnel to ensure that the PDF formations and the basic operations of the worlds long range communications and its ability to continue to provide tithe are not found wanting. The basic troopers within the Vallidian PDF (and the worlds few Astra Militarum Regiments) are referred to as Yeoman, with all NCO's being referred to as Knights (variations in ranking among these officers varies widely depending on Knightly Order), and Commissioned Officers being referred to generally as "Lord" followed by a landed title of birth.

The Black Pilgrimage
Many years before the onset of the Great Rift, the Vahland Sector was dealing with a major Chaos incursion lead by the Insurrectionist Antilo Rust, and his ever expanding throng of Traitor Guard, Rebel Militias, Cultists and other miscreants. By the time of their arrival in the Vallidan system, this collection of traitors (known as the Pilgrims of Rust) had tallied numerous victories on key worlds in both the Kalomyr and Urient Sub-Sectors, notably on Inceli Attican and in the Cyrus system. Caught on the back foot, by the speed and scale of the rebellion, Battlefleet Vahland and the Astra Militarum were still amassing in preparation for a Campaign to neutralize the threat. Seeking to get ahead of the situation the 4th Company of the Executioners Chapter deployed a strike force to Vallidan to hopefully dissuade the traitor forces for a time, while reprisal forces could be amassed.

Invasion Week 1.

Valiposa falls to Pilgrims Heavy Infantry in the first three days, and the High King is executed by Col. Merda of the Yurien 7th Armored. The Valladian PDF are beaten back into the wilderness on almost all fronts by the scale and ferocity of massed planetfall by a technologically superior force, all save for 14 towns in the Mountain Range known as the Blackenvold.

Invasion Week 2.

The Pilgrims launch a massed attack on the central town in the Blackenvold, creating a bluge in the lines of both armies, referred to as "The Gap". The PDF are able to hold, but suffer 68% casualties as a result, and exhaust almost all ammunition stores. The Blackenvold turns into a massive siege, as Rust orders millions of men and tanks to block off all approaches into the mountain range.

Invasion Week 3.

An Imperial Liberation fleet arrives, and engages the Pilgrims in orbit. As the fleets tear each other to pieces, a strike force from the 4th Company of the Executioners Chapter, deploys via Thunderhawk into "The Gap" to bolster the defenses there. However Anti-Air from the besieging Pilgrims forces back many of the gunships. Those who made it to the ground are scattered further off course than had been expected, all but a single team of Scouts under the command of Sgt. Adrankus.

Invasion Week 4.

Adrankus gathers local Serf's and Guildsmen together into a desperate militia regiment to try and hold "The Gap" from any additional advances by the Pilgrims. Other scattered 4th company units move to towns across Blackenvold, and bolster PDF wherever they are needed.

Invasion Week 5.

Action in orbit dies down to a stalemate. Frustrated at his admirals inability to rebuff the Imperials from the system, Rust turns to his ground commanders to offer him a swift and decisive victory. Pressured by their High Command, these officers send thousands of men at the "The Gap" to wrestle control from the defenders. The Imperials hold for several hours before the militia flee the town for the protection of the Kastels (ancient crumbling bastion complexes near the summit of the mountains), leaving Squad Adrankus alone in a sea of heresy.

5 hours later...

Adrankus looked up into the skies out of the roof of the shattered sawmill, he and his squad had been hiding in for the past 30 minutes. The sound of tanks grinding down the street was getting closer and he knew it wouldn't be long until he had to order them to pack up and move again. With communications down there was no way of knowing if the locator beacon was being picked up or even for that matter, if the fleet had been driven from the system by the heretic Pilgirms. He glanced back down and was just about to issue the order to move out when above him he heard a piercing whistling sound and saw the dark outline of 4 drop pods screaming in from upper orbit.

The din of entry into the atmosphere of a planet via drop pod was always unpleasant, and this time was no exception. A shrill mechanical voice rang out "10 seconds to impact". Captain Thorgan smiled at the thought of killing these heathens that awaited them, to shy away from the Emperors beneficent light was intolerable to him, and these men would pay in blood for their atrocity of thought. The bone jarring slam of impact scattered his thought for a faction of a second, as the charges blew open the hatch, then with a roar he led his men into the heat of battle.

Adrankus watched the Full-Brothers pour from their drop pods and move to advantageous positions around the sawmill. Looking up into the distance he saw the outlines, not of traitor chimera as he had expected, but of Rhinos adorned with markings of the great enemy, he went cold at the thought of the dark warriors within those transports.

"Brother Captain!" Adrankus urgently spoke into the strike force Vox-Network,

"The Pilgrims have allied with Traitor Astartes!"

The fighting that ensued was vicious, surprised at their sudden appearance within the Traitor forces, the Loyalist marines opted to enact a bloody withdraw to further assess the size and composition of the Heretic Marine contingent of the Pilgrims. Their scattered units would regroup atop the mountain range, in Kastel 2, with massed formations of traitor humans hot of their heels.

The Battle of Kastel 2.

With the majority of the Executioner's 4th Company holding position within the ruins alongside Vallidian PDF and Serf Militia the Kastel held firm against numerous waves of attacks by units of the Jacobin Cults, Yurien Motor Infantry and Mutant Rabble. Soon though, Traitor Basilisks had been moved into position, blasting open the millennia old walls of the fortification and forcing the Astartes to withdrawl into the woodlands around the Kastel, where they fought a tenacious hit and run campaign in the warrens of the Kastel, costing the Pilgrims II Corp a great deal in machines, particularly Self-Propelled Guns.

As the Battle for the Kastel entered into its 4th day, Battlefleet Vahland's 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Wings arrived in system to support the Executioners flotilla. Seeing that the world would not be won now without significant cost, and wishing to confront the Imperial Navy on ground of his choosing, Rust and his now revealed Heretic Astartes allies opted to withdrawal from Vallidan

The Aftermath of War.
Following the War Against the Pilgrims, Vallidan struggled to rebuild, its primary Hive had been smashed and much of its ruling elite were dead. The remaining lords congregated in the Blackenvold, and built atop the Kastel 2 Battle site which was renamed Executioner's Bluff in honor of the planets saviors. Contact was lost with the world for two decades and was reestablished by Tactical Squad Eradades of the Centurions of Innocence Chapter, sweeping through Urient's Agri-Worlds in the wake of the Pilgrims defeat at Rall, looking for any evidence of traitors having gone-to-ground.

They found that the population had begun to recover, bouncing back to pre-invasion population levels, but with much of the planets knowledge base gone, the remaining population had fallen further into ignorance and lacked sufficient understanding to operate all but a handful of the woodcutting rigs, though they had continued to go forward in producing lumber for tithe which they had consistently housed in Hive Valiposa's Voidport despite the absence of traffic.

After filing their report, local trade houses within Urient, looked to jump on the opportunity to reestablish trade with Vallidan. Many of the sub-sector's Agri-worlds had been severely damaged as the Heretic Astartes of the Knights of Decay withdrew from the Pilgrims' defeat at Rall, hoping from world to world salting the earth, to keep their throngs of mortal survivors fed and cause as much damage in defeat to the Imperium as possible.

As a result, Vallidan experienced a bit of a golden age, as offworld traders provided an influx of money, and goods to trade for Vallidian Lumber, which had become a luxury good, thanks to its scarcity in the Sub-Sector markets. This allowed for the refurbishment of Hive Valiposa, and the founding of several true manufactory centers on Vallidan itself.

By the time of the Indomitus Crusade, and the Ork War on Jornath, Vallidan's population had doubled from pre-invasion levels and in some circles, there was talk that the world could someday rival Jornath as a sub-sector economic hub, should both worlds respective luck of late continue to trend the same.