47-16
Forty-seven sixteen was the Imperial designation given to a Human World destroyed by the Word Bearers during the Great Crusade. Its name before encountering the Imperium has been lost to time[1a]
| Map | Basic Data | Planetary Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Name: | Forty-Seven Sixteen | 
|
| Segmentum: | Unknown | ||
| Sector: | Unknown | ||
| Subsector: | Unknown | ||
| System: | Unknown | ||
| Population: | ~200,000,000[1a]; Unknown after re-population[1b] | ||
| Affiliation: | Imperium | ||
| Class: | Unknown, former Civilised World[1a] | ||
| Tithe Grade: | Unknown | ||
Overview
A beautiful, clean world riddled with crystalline cities, the people of 47-16 worshipped the Emperor as a god due to a copy of the Lectitio Divinitatus they had received. The society was advanced, using crystalized artificial soldiers in battle nicknamed Obsidians by the Word Bearers.[1a]
The human inhabitants of 47-16 could trace their history back for over four thousand years of separation from any other human civilization, and had come to think of Terra as a myth. As a result, they were overjoyed when the Word Bearers envoys, led by First Captain Kor Phaeron, arrived. The First Captain's initial impression, however, was less positive. He reported back that the entire population were heathen idolaters and considered them beyond redemption. While some of the senior commanders at the briefing (such as Sor Talgron) believed that the populace could be re-educated into belief in the Emperor, Kor Phaeron thought they should be exterminated. The First Captain, along with Erebus, communicated the news to their primarch, who finally emerged from his seclusion. Announcing that, in the light of the Emperor's proclamation that the Word Bearers moved too slowly in the Great Crusade, the world was to made compliant quickly, Lorgar unleashed the full combat potential of the 47th Expedition upon the waiting world.[1a]
In a 24 hour bombardment, every city was destroyed save the capital which was protected by shielding. The Word Bearers launched a ground assault on the city in cooperation with the Legio Cybernetica and a small contingent of Custodes led by Aquillon. Despite fierce resistance from its crystal soldiers which vomited lightning, the Imperial forces made rapid advances and soon the citizens of the city themselves began a desperate defense with crude small arms that could not harm Power Armour. The last gasp of the planet's old civilization came crashing down when the Word Bearers, on orders from Lorgar himself, massacred the confused planetary leaders and priests who had insisted they worshiped the Emperor and welcomed entry into the Imperium. Lorgar maintained that ignorance of the Imperial Truth was no excuse for heresy.[1a]
Shortly after news reached the Imperium of 47-16's Compliance, several settler fleets were sent to repopulate the world.[1b]
Source
