Irebus

Map	Basic Data		Planetary Image
	Name:	Irebus
	Segmentum:	Tempestus
	Sector:	Eternum
	Subsector:	Kalibras
	System:	Phobos
	Population:	~5,000,000
	Affiliation:	Imperial
	Class:	Death World
	Tithe Grade:	Solutio Prima

Overview

A freezing ice world, the only refuge from the unending blizzards and the large chunks of ice raining down from constant eruptions known as glacestorms are swampy tracts that formed from the heavy geothermal activity melting nearby ice. These swamps are filled with the only life resilient enough to survive, fungus forms all manner of monstrous life, from the tiny Sludteer parasites to Shroomcrawlers, gigantic crab like fungal colonies that appear to be a shroomtree from a distance. No true wood nor non-fungal life exists on Irebus except the hardiest of the original colonist's descendants, and the harsh climate of the world supports no farming, all food coming from either harvesting the fungal plants or killing native, hostile, fungal life. The humans on Irebus salvage what they can from crashed ships, unlucky explorers, or the odd destroyed mining platforms, and have banded together in different clans that constantly vie for resources, with a stark difference between the Icers, humans who eek out a cold miserable existence in underground igloo-like compounds, safe from the hostile fungal life but at constant risk of freezing to death or having a scouting party hit by a glacestorm, and the Gambiis, a corrupted version of a portion of the original colony ship the Howard's Gambit, who live in the swamplands - a warm but brutal existence, most roam between different stilt-towns built by their clan, avoiding the Sludteer parasite swarm migrations, harvesting the rare edible fungal plants, and banding together to fight off both hostile fungal fauna and Icer raids. Both share a unique rite of passage, on their 16th birthday each individual is equipped with a traditional Irebus icehook, a hooked daggar, forged through traditional processes passed down orally that is both sharp enough to pierce even a fearsome Shroomcrawler's cap and sturdy enough to dig into ice and be used as a handhold, and sent to the Mycilla Eye, a particularly long lasting and active geothermal vent that holds some of the fiercest and oldest Shroomcrawlers, Sludteers, and other hostile fauna. They have to sneak and fight their way to the geothermal vent, the Mycilla Eye proper, leave a carved adamantine plate with their name, and take a plate that belongs to a clan mate who died. The journey takes a week even from the closest clan's stilt-town, and the teenager must battle the elements while having to cross over the Mycilla Eyelid, a hard glacier ridge of ice that surrounds the Eye, wide enough to require camping for at least a night, then they must spend several days sneaking and fighting to the Eye proper, setting traps to protect their campsite at night. This rite claims half of those that venture out, but to decline the rite is to be banished, a certain death. The champions who return successfully can fight and sneak more effectively than any schola trained soldier, and the survivors almost always learn the importance of working with other aspirants, although the rarest 'Hypos', individuals who completed the rite all alone, are especially prized as experts in all respects. Irebus provides a small force of Guard as their only tithe besides Mechanicus automated outposts in the ice, though the Irebusians do not know much about the Imperium at large, they do believe steadfastly in the Emperor, deified as the geothermal vents that keep the planet technically habitable. Both Gambiis and Icers treat Imperial mustering as a ceremony, receiving the occasional food pallet or supplies from a general or rogue trader who wants the best melee fighters in Eternum. The Irebus Rippers are feared throughout the sector, as rare as they are deadly, they're particularly known for springing brutal charges out of nowhere, stealthed until the enemy is right on top of them. They do not, however, work well with other Imperial units, instead handling their assignment alone, not fraternizing with other regiments, and taking particularly gruesome trophies that the more fastidious regiments believe borderline heretical. Still, the Ecclesiarchy is satisfied with the missionaries sent, who the Irebusians call Ventfathers, as they're both loyal to the Imperium and no other priests can survive the harsh climate on Irebus. The Inquisition and Rogue Traders both recruit Irebusians as experts in melee who can be trusted to keep secrets, both as they speak almost no low gothic besides orders, and their natural isolatory nature.