[h1]The New Imperium[/h1] [h3]Leader[/h3] The Imperium is in technicality lead by Nova, the Star Child, the Reborn Emperor. However, Nova rarely leaves his chambers, as he is forced to face the Chaos Gods in constant mental combat. In practise they are lead by Kaldor Draigo, the Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights chapter, and one of the most powerful warriors in the imperium. The Grey Knights' authority over the troops of other chapters was one of Nova's final commands before retreating to the Golden Throne. [h3]Troop Forces[/h3] Far from all of the Imperium's might has made it to Caldaria, but some of the Emperor's favoured have travelled through the warp in order to fight by his side once more. These are the soldiers under his command. - Grey Knights Perhaps the greatest warriors of the Imperium, the Grey Knights function as the Chamber Militant for the Ordo Malleus, and they are tasked with defeating the forces of chaos. On Arcadia, they are the Imperium's greatest and most high-ranking warriors. They are only deployed to face grave threats, or to defeat the forces of Chaos whenever they emerge. Merely 100 of their number have arrived on Arcadia, but those are 100 of the best the Chapter had to offer. - Ordo Custodes The personal guardians of the Emperor himself, the Custodes are the most powerful warriors in the Imperium. A Custodes is a custom-built superhuman, a process far more refined than the mass-engineered Astartes. But 12 of their number exist in Arcadia, but they are each terrifying warriors, able to level entire armies. During their time in the Imperial Palace, the Custodes refused to wield weapons or armour, containing a Chaos Rift spewing horrific abominations with nothing more than their bare hands. Now that Nova has told them to stop being idiots and use their fancy combat gear, they are truly a force to be reckoned with. - Dark Angels The first chapter to have been created by the Emperor, the Dark Angels serve him loyally. They were split during the Horus Heresy, and many of their number fell to the influence of Chaos. This has made them secretive and dedicated to redeeming themselves, hunting down those individuals that betrayed the God Emperor. In Arcadia they arrived at a time of need, their great battleships hovering over the battlefield and annihilating the enemy. Now they are mainly in charge of the air defences of the New Imperium. While they have but few ships, each is like a fleet unto itself, and it is speculated they hold the combined firepower to cleanse the planet of all life if they wish to do so, and potentially even destroy the planet itself. They number 400. - Salamanders The sons of Vulkan are perhaps the kindest, and strangest of the Astartes. They live on Nocturne, a planet that would be called unlivable by practically any other group. The entire planet is covered in lava-spewing volcanoes, and liquid water is practically nonexistent. The adapted space marines have jet black skin and red glowing eyes, as well as an immense resistance to heat, considering burning napalm and flame throwers no more of a threat than a warm wind. Contrary to their demonic appearance they are also the kindest of space marines, and they take great pains to minimize civilian casualties. They are also well known for their skill with technology, even standard tactical marines being accomplished smiths and engineers. Originally the most numerous of the Space Marines on Arcadia, two companies of the Salamanders were slain in the great battle with the Conquerors as they took the Imperial Palace. They number 300. - Legion of the Damned The souls of those who die in battle against the Emperor's foes serve even in death. These phantom warriors are born from the absolute loyalty of the Space Marines, as their will to fight is reborn in new bodies. They materialize where they are most needed, their bodies nearly indestructible and their conviction absolute. The Legion of the Damned is legendary, and one of the most terrifying weapons of the Imperium, as there is nothing but a momentary psionic ripple to prophecy their coming, and they appear to be able to manifest at any place on the planet, provided there are other Astartes there in need of assistance. Their numbers are indeterminable due to their nature, but it is believed that no more than 100 can manifest at a time. - Black Dragons The mutated successors of Vulkan, the Black Dragons possess long bone spikes on their body. Like all Space Marine bones these are harder than steel, and warriors of the Black Dragons often encase them in Adamantium to turn them into lethal blades. The chapter specializes in it's jump pack tactics, moving rapidly into melee and annihilating vulnerable locations. They are used in strike teams, moving in and annihilating an important target such as a leader, engines of war, or important fortifications, and then moving away before enemy troops are able to rally against them. Their use has declined since the end of the Multiverse War, but they remain an everpresent threat, a looming sword aimed at all who would oppose the Imperium. They number 150. [h3]Strategic Advantages[/h3] - The Kolon Project Early on during his days on Arcadia, Nova managed to befriend a group of beings collectively and individually referred to as 'kolon'. While these are merely clones, and the original escapes him, the clones proved to be of incredible use. These curious and amiable creatures are innately immensely talented with engineering and technology, and find great joy in putting things together. While their nature makes it impossible to employ them in mundane work, such as mass-produced weapons, Nova makes sure to psychically send them ideas and blueprints for exciting new conceptual devices. This allows the Imperium to construct incredibly complex and dangerous devices in very short periods of time, although there are often a few.... quirks. Such as it being pink, or shooting rainbows instead of plasma. Most within the Imperium believe that the Kolon Project is merely an acronym, or the name of a laboratory, and are unaware of the creatures' existence. - Fortifications As one of the first factions to truly dig in their heels in Arcadia, the New Imperium has some of the most impressive fortifications. Their realm is protected by great walls, turrets, and many outposts. To attempt to conquer the new Imperium one would have to march through tons of highly fortified locations, an uphill battle with seemingly endless enemies. Their vast artillery cannons also make settling anywhere near their borders a dangerous prospect. - The Golden Throne One of the most powerful psychic beings most would ever encounter, the Emperor of Mankind has the power to strip entire worlds of life with a single burst of psionic energy. Or at least he did, at his prime. The Golden Throne he now sits on vastly augments that power, allowing him to manipulate the fabric of reality itself. Most of his time is spent fighting the Chaos Gods with this immense power, but if the Imperium is ever in grave danger, he can perform acts of 'divine intervention', although such things are rare. Furthermore, the side effects of his battle with the Chaos Gods is a protective force that severely weakens psionic beings attempting to harm servants of the Imperium while on Imperium soil, as well as warding off demonic or chaos-aligned beings and weakening them. This great beacon can easily be sensed by any even remotely magical or psionic being on the planet, as well as being picked up by technology designed to study energy fluctuations, the fabric of space-time, or other such matters. - Unity Originally, the Golden Throne was created so the Emperor could carve passages through the Warp which could safely be used to transport ships and people without having to brave the wrath of Chaos. Effectively, he wished to emulate the Eldar Webway. While he was interrupted then, he succeeded in Arcadia, calling these passages Unity. Unity can be used to travel from any one location within the Imperium to any other, so long as one has access to a functioning terminal. Transportation is vastly faster than light making it effectively instant on a planetary scale. Terminals for Unity could hypothetically be used from anywhere, although few exits outside the Imperium. Beings directly opposed to the Imperium's wishes may find themselves ejected from Unity if they attempt to use it, leaving them stranded in the Warp. A quite dangerous prospect indeed. [h3]Strategic Disadvantages[/h3] - Civilian Population Most of those who were brought to Arcadia, or came there of their own volition, were powerful warriors. But some were mere mortals, and even many soldiers and fighters were unfit to face the impossible powerful threats of Arcadia. The New Imperium formed a safe haven for all who wished for sanctuary, and it's borders contain a large civilian population. While ethically the right thing to do, this puts them at a severe disadvantage, as they have far higher resource demands in the area of food and water and other such essentials, and need to protect this civilian population in the event of war.