Templos

• World: Templos

  

  Templos' capital city of Ingot.

• Location: Core Worlds
• Type: Civilised Trade planetoid
• Tithe: [Moneteria] Templos takes a small commission from every trade that passes through, such wealth allows them to buy the Imperium's protection.
• Population: 672 Million [672 000 000] population and around 30-50 Million [30-50 000 000] visitors at any given time.
• Government: Imperial Dictatorship. Templos is officially ruled by Lord Eliam Belisarius of the Belisarian Dynasty. He is believed by many to be the single wealthiest man in the sector and he spends most of his time in the Sector Palace on Tachion Primaris, advising his young nephew and Sector Lord Gration Belisarius. As such the de facto governor of Templos is Eliam's seneschal, the aged Lady Noren Pilia.

Description

Templos was first colonised during the Dark Age of Technology when its incredibly rich seams of Adamantium were discovered. It has passed out of and back into Imperial control several times since then, and in any sector-wide conflict Templos was always a point of intense conflict due to the valuable adamantium deposits. Last retaken for the Imperium in the ​Belisarian Reclamation Crusade​, several later in early M39 the Adamantium deposits finally ran dry.

The planetoid's small remaining core of ultradense molten adamantium maintainted a livable gravity and atmosphere, but vast swathes of industry abandoned Templos, taking their money with them. Desperate to maintain relevance the nobles of Templos - chief amongst them a branch of the Belisarian Dynasty - turned the mining tunnels into a massive internal city, and constructed a massive framework of space docks and orbital spires around the planetoid. They then advertised Templos as an excellent place to conduct trade with minimal commission rates and excellent facilities.

Since then Templos has become the largest trade hub in Sector Deus, with traders from all over the sector gathering here to sell their wares and purchase items that take their fancy. The majority of the population make their living working in the trade districts, hauling goods, buying and selling, or indulging in the large and very powerful criminal underground of Templos.

In 337.M41 a stock crash caused rioting throught the planetoid, fortunately a task force of Space Marine from the Ghosts of Retribution, under the command of Lieutenant Kronos, swiftly and (relatively) mercifully pacified the rioters. As words of the Angels of Death spread further dissent was quashed, and for these actions the Ghosts of Retribution are known as the 'Riotcrushers' to the citizens of Templos.

In 367.M41 Inquisitor Onager Rearden purged a cult of Divinator-Speculators on Templos, triggering a crash in the antiques market that rippled through the entire economy - as valuable relics are a common form of reserve wealth for many Nobles.

• Technology: [VIII - Mixed] Officially Templos takes a hard stance against forbidden technologies, but so many things pass through that it's practically impossible to enforce such a law. Anything from strange, xenos plasma rifles to C'tan Phase blades have been through this place.
• Military: Templos has a small PDF force and a large Arbites presence, but primarily relies on protection from the vast customer base of Chartist Captains, the Merchant League and the forces of the Imperium.
• Strategic importance: [Media] Templos pays large tribute to the Imperium and is vital for the income of the Merchant League and Chartist Captains, whom the Imperium would do well to stay allied with.
• Loyalty: [Imperial 70%] Though the Adeptus Arbites maintain brutal order, there are large organised crime syndicates operating in this hotbed of people and goods.

Notable Locations

From the outside Templos is little more than a dull, grey, misshapen rock, absolutely covered in a massive cube-shaped network of interconnected docking arms and metal framework. The surface of Templos itself is pockmarked with enormous mineshafts - each so big they could accommodate a voidship if need be - descending into the depths of the hollow world. It is within these depths, within great artificial caverns hewn from the rock by millennia of imperial industry, that the cities of Templos reside. Massive orbital elevators descend from the docking network down these shafts, connecting to the cities beneath and allowing the swift transfer of megatonnes of cargo.

The surface of the planet has an unlivably thin atmosphere and is utterly desolate. However the interior caverns are quite habitable thanks to industrial air scrubbers filtering out particulates from the surrounding earth and the stronger gravity witholding a breathable atmosphere. The climate inside these caverns tends to be fairly humid, as water vapour has few avenues of escape and the warmth of Templos' molten adamantium core penetrates the rock beneath, though it is still fairly comfortable for most.

• Ingot​ - The capital city of Templos. Ingot is built within the first adamantium mines and shafts that penetrated Templos' surface, the vast artificial caverns widened and joined together to form a colossal internal space in which this massive city sits. Ingot is a bustling hive of activity as unimaginably vast amounts of cargo funell into the city non-stop via orbital elevators, before armies of dockworkers sort the cargo and prepare it for redistribution or load it in to send up to the docking network. Massive warehouses and container stacks surround the base of the orbital elevators, where resources may be kept for decades as various interests buy & sell them without ever even seeing them. The rest of Ingot is primarily a service economy filled with shops, markets and entertainment vendors of all kinds. Meanwhile beneath the surface is a large criminal underworld who acrrue wealth & power through crime, such as the theft of cargo from the docks, extorting protection money, robbing wealthy visiting traders or even kidnapping their family for blackmail (on rare occasions). Notable locations in Ingot:
  • The Belisarian Palace​ - The planetary palace of Templos. Despite its name it is not currently home to any Belisarians, but for centuries it served as the only refuge they had in the Sector. This large spire structure is opulently adorned and serves as the centre of the planetary government, and is filled with extensive historical records chronicling trading histories and more. Notable inhabitants:
    • ​Lady Noren Pilia​ - The seneschal of Eliam Belisarius who has been his right hand for centuries, Lady Pilia rules Templos in his stead. Noren is an aged woman with a vast experience in politics and the mercantile industry, and Eliam Belisarius trusts her completely.
  • ​The Central Merchant Exchange - See below
  • Precinct Primus​ - The main base of the Adeptus Arbites both in Ingot and the entire planet, Precinct Primus is a massive fortress where the dilligent lawmen of the Imperium live and work from. The frequent mass cargo exchanges that go on in Templos ensure there's always a large amount of illegal smuggling going on, and the Arbites of Templos are ever scouring the docks and streets in search of smugglers and contraband items. Templos has one of the largest Arbites presences in the Sector, and Ingot especially so. Arbites patrol the streets like local enforcers, keeping a close eye on the population and brutally punishing anyone found in possession of illegal and/or smuggled goods. Notable inhabitants:
    • ​Marshal Hamish Royce​ - The commander of the Adeptus Arbites on Templos. Marshal Royce wields almost as much power here as Lord Belisarius himself and is the bane of smugglers and legitimate traders alike for his extreme conviction and determination.
  • ​Castle Voidstone​ - The Temple-Stronghold of the Navigator House Morlok. This massive palace is surrounded by high walls constructed of jet-black, psychoactive stone that is impervious to almost any attack. The palace itself a magnificently opulent construction of glittering diamantine and gold, and an army of house serfs tend to the Navigators' every needs. Several hundred members of House Morlok inhabiit this place, including their ruling members, and it is protected by not only house serfs but also entire companies of the most elite mercenaries the House's merchant clients can afford.
    • Novator Julia Morlok​ - The head of the dynasty. When she was younger Julia Morlok piloted every type of transport ship imaginable through the warp, but now she never leaves Castle Voidstone. Those few chartists who have been granted an audience with her since her ascension to the throne of the house describe her as a bloated, sickly creature riddled with mutations, who has not lost any of her intelligence & cunning.
  • Giadornas - The most prestigious jeweller in Sector Deus. Giadornos is a large workshop & department store that sells the finest gems and jewellery to the Sector's Nobility.
  • Methus District - A dingy district in the capital known for being the centre of illegal operations. Black marketeers, illegal gunsmiths, and more call this district home.

​The Central Merchant Exchange

A colossal open-plan building of marble and granite, the Central Merchant Exchange is the home of the Sector Deus Merchant League and a place where any trader - rich or poor - can make deals over almost anything.

It consists of a large central plaza paved with patterned granite, decorated with exotic plants, and covered in free-to-use desks and cogitator banks where anyone can attempt to make a deal. Around this plaza is a vast ring-shaped structure several stories high that houses offices and meeting rooms, and while some of these are free for anyone to make private face-to-face deals in, most of them are leased to Mercantile Consortiums and Firms where their own traders & merchants work. In these offices merchants trade in large numbers, fuelling the sector's trade industry and generally turning enormous profit for themselves in the process.

Along with the ​Grand Economica​ on Tachion Primaris, this is where you can find most of the Merchant League in Sector Deus. The two facilities work closely with each other as the Grand Economica is well placed to hear the latest Sector news, while the Central Merchant Exchange is perfectly placed to facilitate mass trade agreements, and massive astropathic choirs transmit thousands of messages every minute between the two facilities.