Fortress of Hera
The Fortress of Hera is the fortress-monastery of the Ultramarines Chapter on Macragge.
Overview
The Fortress of Hera sits in the Valley of Laponis alongside the Hera's Fall, overlooking the Macragge's capital of Magna Civitas.[3] The fortress is a wonder of engineering constructed by Chapter's Primarch Roboute Guilliman during the days of the Great Crusade. It's structure contains graceful balconies, golden geodesic domes and slender glass walkways supported by silver-steel buttresses. The domed structures of the fortress are citadels in their own right.[1] Despite its power as a citadel is also a play of learning and culture, with many art halls and academies located within its walls. One of the most infamous troves of knowledge within the Fortress is the Library of Ptolemy on part with Terra's Bibliotekeion Magnifika or Luna's Esoterikon Livris.
Within its great halls is the Temple of Correction in which the Shrine of the Primarch preserved the body of Roboute Guilliman in a stasis field until his Resurrection.
The Siege of Hera
During the Psychic Awakening and after the Fall of Cadia, Macragge was put under siege by a massive Chaos fleet of combined forces from the Black Legion, Iron Warriors, Purge, Night Lords, and many others.[7]. Chaos forces breached the fortress and made it to the Shrine of the Primarch, but were stopped by Marneus Calgar and a detachment of 1st company Veterans. Cawl revived Roboute Guilliman in the darkest moment of the siege, who then led a counterattack and a change in overall strategy that relieved the Fortress and drove back the chaos forces.
"Like an impresario settling before his instrument, Guilliman spread his hands upon the strategium table and took a deep breath before beginning to command. With his every utterance, the invaders plight became more apparent. The Primarch's strategic acumen, his tactical genius, and miraculous mental acuity were unmatched. The leaders of the Ultramarines looked on in amazement as Guilliman marshaled the defenders like regicide pieces, drinking in reams of strategic data and issuing a steady stream of orders that turned one fight after another in the defenders' favor. Calgar and his lieutenants had executed a super-human campaign of defiance against the invaders, but the Primarch was operating on a different mental plane."[7b]
Notable Locations
- Hall of Maxellus made in the name of Maxellus[4]
- Gallan's Rock[5]
- Library of Ptolemy[6]
- Plaza of Attendance[6]
- Temple of Correction[7a]
- Sword Hall[6]
Notes
The Temple of Hera was the original name for the Fortress of Hera.[2]
Sources
- 1: Nightbringer (Novel) - The Ultramarines Omnibus by Graham McNeill: Chapter Two, pp. 44-45
- 2: Battle for the Abyss (Novel)
- 3: The Unremembered Empire (Novel)
- 4: Dark Imperium (Novel) Chapter 20
- 5: Consequences (Short Story)
- 6: Defenders of Ultramar (Graphic Novel)
- 7: Gathering Storm: Rise of the Primarch, pg 14-29
- 8: First Founding (Background Book), pg. 228
