The Discovery of Holy Terra
Protecting Mankind’s Cradle
As the gleaming adamantium walls of the star system’s last defensive bastion fell to the Emperor’s Light, the revelation came to the fleet’s Lord Admiral. On the auspicious day of the solar system’s compliant subjugation, long-range auspex scans had detected another world beyond Terra. A lush garden world orbiting an identical yellow star, teeming with life and cultures yet unknown. Could this be merely coincidence? Or had divine providence itself guided the fleet’s explorations to this remarkable discovery? Wasting no time to investigate further, landing parties were soon deployed under heavy escort. What they found upon breaching atmosphere shocked even the Adeptus Astra Telepathica’s hardened minds. Modern human civilization on an untouched world, resembling nothing less than Old Terra in her forgotten glory days. Yet here was Terra anew, a shining beacon of hope for humanity’s future. The God-Emperor himself must have preserved this sacred place unknown, until such a time as His empire could claim and protect Holy Terra Reborn.
Spreading the Imperial Truth
With their revelation coming to light, it was decided this newfound Terra must be secured. The mightiest strike force ever assembled was dispatched, hundreds of thousands of Imperial soldiers, tens of legions of Adeptus Astartes Space Marines, and uncounted dozens ofBattleships. All placed under the Lord Admiral’s indomitable command, with one sacred mission: shield this planet and her people at all costs. First contact commenced after months of careful planning. Though primitive and divided by dogma, humanity here was of purestock and sane mind. They accepted Compliance with open arms, seeing the glories of Mankind united under one banner. Missionaries of the Imperial Truth soon set to work, guiding young minds toward worship of the God-Emperor of Mankind. Barely a generation passed before new Terra became a shining Iconworld of His grace and glory, a haven of peace in a darkening galaxy.
Fortifying Holy Terra’s Frontier
With Compliance secured, attention turned to a more ominous task. Scryers of the Thousand Sons Legion had divined horrors yet to come. Forces of Ruin and Decay plotted even now to assault this holy place, greedy for its rich spiritual bounty. Formidable defenses must be raised, able to withstand any incursion from within the Immaterium itself. Grand engineers of the Mechanicus arrived in their legions, along with skilled artisans gathered from across the Imperium. Massive orbital facilities were erected, wielding technologies ancient and new. Titan legion footpads cratered Terra’s sister moon, as colossal void shields took shape. Entire regiments of the Astra Militarum dug in for endless warfare, should any dare breach the system’s formidable bulwarks. All was made ready - now nothing short of Armageddon itself could threaten Mankind’s new Promised Land.
A Pilgrimage to Holy Terra
Among the first visitors allowed to set foot upon Holy Terra were pilgrims of faith from every Imperial world. Making the long, arduous journey across the expanse of space, they came to pay homage at Humanity’s wellspring. Within Terra’s greatest ecclesiarchal cathedrals, awe and reverence gripped all who beheld the holy reliquaries. Sacred artifacts chronicling Old Terra’s earliest civilizations, remnants of the Emperor’s Unification Wars long thought lost. Most touching of all was the item preserved in a shrine atop the tallest spire. A single golden throne, wrought in Ancient Terra’s Old Gothic style and bearing lines of ancient High Gothic script. Translated, the inscription read: “This Throne upon which the Emperor of Mankind was Born.” Tears of joy streamed down weathered cheeks at beholding such a sacred icon of faith. Truly the God-Emperor had worked miraculously, allowing His faithful to commune with Humanity’s Holy Genesis once more.
Monitoring the Great Rifts
Even with its stout defenses raised, not all threats to Holy Terra could be countered. When the Cicatrix Maledictum tore open the galaxy, warp rifts spawned by the Great Rift assailed the system from afar. Gellar fields flickered under the onslaught, as daemonic entities tested the bulwarks for weakness. In response, the Adeptus Astra Telepathica mobilized its mightiest Librarians. Under protection of Potent Psyker Guardians, they communed nightly within the Immaterium itself. Through their visions and auguries, any new incursions could be waylaid before breaking realspace. Not all threats came from the warp alone. Stray comets and asteroids damaged by the Rifts’ energies also needed interception. Titan legions assumed their positions at the outer edges, ready to unleash volleys of macro-bolters at any sign of taint. Missile cruises kept constant vigil far out, scouring space for any anomalies indicative of Covert Threats from Beyond. With multilayered preparations of body and soul, Holy Terra was made to weather even galactic cataclysms as the Imperium’s shining light.
Expanding Holy Terra’s Influence
Though originally intended solely as a sanctuary, leaders saw opportunity in Holy Terra’s rediscovery. With its isolated position outside the trials plaguing the wider Imperium, this system could nurture hope even in the long centuries to come. Under the Lord Admiral’s steady guidance, slow colonization of nearby star systems began in earnest. Prosperous agri-worlds and industrial centers took shape, bolstering Holy Terra’s defenses and self-sufficiency.
Mission fleets traversed the space between, spreading Terra’s influence. Worlds that accepted the Imperial Truth found protection under its aegis. Those who resisted faced Exterminatus to purge the threat of future heresy, their peoples absorbed into Terra’s growing population. After many years, the foundations of a new sub-sector arose, answering solely to the Lord High Admiral and Terra herself. Holy Terra had at last claimed her due dominion as the spiritual and administrative heart of a vast region. Under her light, prosperity was restored even in a darkened galaxy.
