Tarsus Tertius
| Map | Basic Data | Planetary Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Name: | Tarsus Tertius | 
|
| Segmentum: | Tempestus | ||
| Sector: | Eternum | ||
| Subsector: | Gothar | ||
| System: | Gor | ||
| Population: | ~200,000 | ||
| Affiliation: | Imperial | ||
| Class: | Feral World | ||
| Tithe Grade: | Solutio Tertius | ||
Overview
A brutal world even by feral world standards, Tarsus Tertius's primary residents are the primitive Death Cultists of the Martyred Dawn. When Imperial Missionaries first arrived on Tarsus Tertius, they discovered significant deviations from the Imperial Cult and an obsession with death and blood that very closely resembled heresy. The Death Cult tribes were slowly walked back through demonstrations of Imperial might (the Missionaries, using their rosaries and chainswords effortlessly demolished native challengers), and all cults but one were extinguished. The Martyred Dawn was allowed to continue to exist as they viewed fighting and dealing death as carrying out the Emperor's will, which was satisfactory enough for the Imperial Missionaries.
Thousands of years later, tribes continue to hunt and farm primitive fields, training their warriors for the annual Martyr's Trial. Each tribe is visited once per year by the Death Cult and is expected to fight in a ritualistic combat that sees the tribe's best five warriors against five representatives of the Martyred Dawn, one on one. The tribe is expected to best at least one member of the Death Cult to show their faith and loyalty to the Emperor, and any warrior who slays the Martyred Dawn cultist they fought takes their mantle and accompanies the Death Cult until they meet a similar end. Those tribes who do not slay at least one Death Cultists will instead be the toll, with the Martyred Dawn slaying as many tribesmen or women until they're sated. Each tribe is also expected to make an offering of food, with failure punished the same way. The Martyred Dawn thus serve as the only unifying force on Tarsus Tertius, with the tithe paid by their members. The Inquisition and Ecclesiarchy are the recipients of this world's tithe, taking the best Death Cultists for their own every collection. Tarsus Tertius Death Cultists are an incredibly nihilistic and reckless people, and therefore most kill themselves charging unspoken horrors though they certainly are effective until they meet a grisly end.
