Tanith
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Tanith was a planet in the Sabbat Worlds cluster of Segmentum Pacificus. The planet's Imperial governor was known as the Elector, and he ruled from the hive city of Tanith Magna.
| Map | Basic Data | Planetary Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Name: | Tanith | 
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| Segmentum: | Segmentum Pacificus | ||
| Sector: | Sabbat Worlds | ||
| Subsector: | Unknown | ||
| System: | Unknown | ||
| Population: | Present Population Non-Existant | ||
| Affiliation: | Imperium | ||
| Class: | Agri World/Hive World | ||
| Tithe Grade: | Unknown | ||
Overview
Tanith was renowned for its forests of nal-trees, which were said to come alive and move around; nal-wood was also used in crafting. The Tanith honed their later-renowned skills in stealth tactics in these forests, learning how to move in the ever-changing woodlands.
Tanith is briefly visited in Ghostmaker, and described by the Ghosts in various novels. It is a heavily forested world located in the Sabbat Worlds, a cluster of planets in the Segmentum Pacificus. The main export of Tanith is nalwood, which becomes extremely rare after the planet's destruction. Nalwood trees are capable of uprooting and moving; entire forests migrating and making paths through the forests useless as the constant movement erases them. As a result of this, the Tanith have a strong sense of direction, bred into them by adapting to this environment. It is assumed that there is at least one major sea or ocean and polar ice caps. The capital city of Tanith - surrounded by a giant wall, presumably to keep the nalwood trees from moving into the city - is Tanith Magna. The world is governed by an Elector, and the main governmental building appears to be the Assembly (although Rawne mentions a place called the Elector's Palace when hypnotised on Monthax). It is unclear as to whether or not the Elector is elected as the title sounds, or if it is an inherited position like a king. Tanith is split up into counties, not unlike Ireland (Counties Pryze and Cuhulic are mentioned). Each city on Tanith has a Militia, from which a number of Ghosts (including Corbec, Larkin, Mkvenner and Rawne) are drafted into the Imperial Guard. Tanith's native wildlife include larisel, small animals hunted by woodsmen - presumably for food - and shoggy; small amphibian creatures with bulging eyes that dwell by woodland pools in Tanith's forests.
The Tanith people are always described as pale-skinned and dark-haired, with a lilting, sing-song accent. Most Tanith men (and youths) are tattooed with blue ink. No female Tanith are mentioned in detail, and it is presumed that none made it off-world, but if any did they did not accompany the Tanith First. The main Tanith curse-word is feth, which is used in the same context as "fuck", but it is also the name of an ancient Tanith tree-god. Sacra is an alcoholic beverage favoured by the Tanith, although it is not clear if it is native to Tanith. Many Tanith names begin with "Mk", a variant of "Mc" or "Mac" used by the Irish and Scottish, from whom inspiration for the Tanith appears to have been drawn.
There are also elements of Welsh in their language. Tanith pipes are described as a small clutch of spidery reeds attatched to a bellows bag which is squeezed rhythmically under the arm, and make a sound similar to Uilleann pipes. Their initial use on Tanith was to guide off-worlders through the shifting forests, but in the Tanith First they are used to rally the men and spook the enemy (although they have a similar effect on the Tanith's allies).
According to Scout Trooper Bonin, most old Tanith families (his own included) baptise and officially name their children at the age of eight, as naming children at birth was considered premature and a child would grow into the names he or she would need. Bonin also remarks that this tradition wasn't observed much in Tanith's final years. Tanith was home to the legendary Nalsheen wood warriors, a brotherhood of Tanith who used the martial art cwlwhl (pronounced kil-wil); using blade-tipped staffs to fight off multiple foes. The Nalsheen were responsible for overthrowing the corrupt Huhlhuch Dynasty and ushering in the free modern era of Tanith. Mkvenner is the only remaining Tanith to have been trained in cwlwhl, but has reluctantly admitted that he never completed his training. The Nalsheen used proto-Gothic - the early form of both High and Low Gothic used presently in the Imperium - as their private language.
On his deathbed, Warmaster Slaydo, commander of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, bestowed upon Ibram Gaunt - a commissar who had fought with distinction at Balhaut - the rank of Colonel-Commissar and dispatched him to Tanith to raise three regiments for the Crusade.
The Fall of Tanith
Following the death of Warmaster Slaydo, a splinter fleet of Chaos slipped past the picket set up by the Imperial Navy thanks to the newly-appointed Warmaster Macaroth's change of tactics. This small fleet attacked and conquered six worlds, one of which was Tanith. The Chaos armada bombarded Tanith from orbit, and deployed ground troops to kill whatever the shelling missed. The forests of Tanith burned under the crippling firepower of the fleet. It is not clear if Tanith had any functioning planetary defense artillery batteries, but it is likely that the Tanith Militia fought back against the invaders. Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt was one of the last people to leave the planet before its demise, and was saved by a youth called Brin Milo, whom he took with him in gratidude. Milo confirms that he was the only civilian to leave Tanith alive, being too young to join the Guard.
