Cretacia
From Lexicanum
| Map | Basic Data | Planetary Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name: | Cretacia |
|
| Segmentum: | Unknown | ||
| Sector: | Unknown | ||
| Subsector: | Unknown | ||
| System: | Unknown | ||
| Population: | Unknown | ||
| Affiliation: | Imperium | ||
| Class: | Death World | ||
| Tithe Grade: | Aptus Non | ||
The oversized world of Cretacia was the fourth planet in a system of seven, and at first approach it appeared to be uninhabitable. Finding Cretacia perpetually shrouded in dense cloud, the Flesh Tearers effected landings on the planet to discover what lay below. What the Space Marines discovered was a planet to rival any Death World known in its lethality to human life.
A trackless landscape of dense jungles and steamy swamps harboured many vicious reptilian, amphibious and insectoid forms of life. Many Space Marines were lost to these hostile creatures on the first day before effective perimeters could be established. Even so, patrols still reported casualties from insects as big as men with sharpened proboscises that could penetrate power armour, huge reptilian predators, almost as large as Scout Titans, that ripped through entire squads, and gigantic herbivores that could easily crush an unwary Space Marine with a massive foot.
The Flesh Tearers quickly fought back against these immense creatures. Squads were engaged in hunts to cull as many of the native monsters as possible, ostensibly to clear more landing areas, though garrulous Imperial Scholars now speculate that these hunts were for no other reason than to satiate the Flesh Tearers' lust for killing. As the patrol squads ranged further through the jungles and swamps, incredibly, humans were found.
The humans discovered were apparently descended from some long lost colony originally formed millennia ago during the Dark Age of Technology, but had since devolved into an extremely primitive state. Lacking all but the most rudimentary aspects of a language, these primordial humans had somehow managed to not only adapt to living amongst the titanic monsters that roamed Cretacia, but to actually thrive in the hostile environment. They proved to be incredibly strong and had superior reflexes to compensate for their more limited intellects, giving rise to a race that was fierce enough to defend itself against the largest of the creatures that preyed upon them.
The Flesh Tearers promptly rounded up hundreds of the ferocious humans and the Chaplains and Sanguinary Priests of the Chapter set to work, testing their minds and bodies in soul-destroying trials to determine any evidence of corruption caused by their long isolation from the Master of Mankind. Though extremely backward and primitive, the Flesh Tearers deemed them free of deviancy.
Chapter Master Amit saw the value of Cretacia. The inhospitable terrain and deadly creatures provided an ideal testing ground for his troops, whilst the primitive humans already inhabiting the world could easily be moulded into potential battle brothers. Declaring Right of Conquest, Amit founded a permanent home for his Flesh Tearers.
