Antikus
| Map | Basic Data | Planetary Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Name: | Antikus | 
|
| Segmentum: | Tempestus | ||
| Sector: | Eternum | ||
| Subsector: | Richmon | ||
| System: | Wakaflok | ||
| Population: | ~7,000,000,000 | ||
| Affiliation: | Imperial | ||
| Class: | Civilized World | ||
| Tithe Grade: | Decuma Extremis | ||
Overview
A hot desert world, Antikus nonetheless has a large population of Antikuns who can be found throughout Eternum as hired guns, bodyguards, prize fighters, and other martial professions. The dark skinned Antikuns have a long history of fighting to survive, as Antikus was not always the civilized world it is today. The original settlers, already beaten down by the close and large sun, found they were not alone on their new home. Antikus possessed hordes of Basteti Lions, fiercesome fauna that possessed six clawed legs and a snake like head. The Basteti Lions had evolved in the arid deserts of Antikus locked into an evolutionary arms race with the grazing Stonphonts, large and thick hided animals who slowly traveled the world grazing off shrubs and using the sun's energy for photosynthesis. The Stonphonts were eaten by the Basteti Lions, leaving thicker hides alive, while the Lions starved when only thick hides lived and just those with sharp enough claws survived to reproduce, a process which repeated for millenia.
By the time Antikus was settled, Stonphont hides were solid as pastel, and the Basteti Lion claws as sharp as a power sword. With armor useless, the Antikuns were picked off and prey for the Lions, though eventually they formed hunting packs that relied on fast dunebuggies to perform hit and run attacks that eventually drove the lions to manageable numbers. Antikus prospered, though every citizen was a warrior in their own right as the Basteti Lions adapted to move stealthily through towns to pick off individuals, thus every Antikun is ready to fight and has their eyes peeled at all times, ideal traits for bodyguards and fighters. So ingrained is violence in Antikus that the only form of entertainment besides taverns are arenas of varying sizes, from small village arenas for one on one or small group combat, to gigantic Coliseums visible from space where armies of gladiators fight with weapons designed to draw blood for a better spectacle.
The warrior spirit is best represented by the Zulu, Antikuns who dedicate themselves to mastering the Kukri sword arts, with some so skilled they can parry power sword strikes. The warrior spirit is maintained in Antikus's PDF, where the best warriors are readied for service in one of the Antikun Zulu Shieldbasher regiments, who eschew all vehicles save for fast moving vehicles and long ranged weapon in favor of lascarbines, flamers, and Kukri Swords designed after the fearsome claws of the Besteti Lions. The Zulu are not a regiment that can hold a position causing some friction with certain commanders, but they are excellent offensive light infantry who can fearlessly charge and fight in melee. Likewise Rogue Traders and Inquisitors who prefer more violent solutions will oft have an Antikun Zulu in their retinue. Unbeknownst to Antikus and the Imperium at large, far more dangerous creatures lie beneath the sands. Below the deepest hole dug for water and prometheum on Antikus lie the dormant necrons, part of the dynasty that once claimed what is now sector Eternum and whose legacy is occasionally found by xeno-archeologists of the Ordos Xenos and Adeptus Mechanicus. The once still crypts have begun to stir once more with the advent of the Second Poxwar for reasons unknown to all but them, and time will tell if the Antikuns will be turnt to sand like their homeworld.