Vostroya
From Lexicanum
| Map | Basic Data | Planetary Image | |
| Name: | Vostroya | 
|
| Segmentum: | Segmentum Obscurus | ||
| Sector: | Unknown | ||
| Subsector: | Unknown | ||
| System: | Vostroya | ||
| Population: | ~9.3 billion | ||
| Affiliation: | Imperium | ||
| Class: | Industrial World | ||
| Tithe Grade: | Unknown | ||
Contents |
History
Vostroya is a world in the Halo Zone beyond the Eye of Terror, famous for its Vostroyan Firstborn regiments. Vostroya swore allegiance to Mars during the Age of Strife. It is now ruled by a committee of Techtriarchs, a mix of Mechanicus Magos and more traditional Imperial planetary government.
Since the Great Crusade, Vostroya has acted as an industrial world, supplying arms and ammunition to the armies of the Imperium. In the ten thousand years after the crusade, the Vostroyans have continued the same task, living and dying on the production lines and complying with the endless schedule of manufacturing and assembly.
During the Horus Heresy, Vostroya refused to provide regiments to the Emperor, preferring instead to reserve the population in the manufactoria blanketing the world. After the Heresy came to an end the Vostroyans agreed to supply every first born son to serve in the Imperial Guard regiments.
Vostroya isn't technically a hiveworld. Neither is it a forgeworld. Instead, it falls somewhere in between (labelled an Industrial World). It has a population of about 9.3 billion. The birth and death rates are very high, keeping the population figures fairly stable (taking into account the fact that first-born sons are extremely numerous, providing a massive amount of soldiers for the founding and reinforcement of Imperial Guard regiments.) The landscape is extremely bleak - highly polluted. Life outside 'managed' zones is almost impossible. Animal and plant life is almost non-existent. Most food is imported.
There are seven large and distinct administrative zones/regions stretching around the planet's more temperate equatorial belt (e.g. The Magdan, Sohlsvodd, Muskha, etc). The far colder north and south are unlivable.
Vostroya has one moon - Turtolsky.
Culture
Vostroyan moustaches are viewed as a sign of adulthood and masculine virility. The importance of a moustache for Vostroyan men varies depending on the region they come from. The people of Muskha, for example, place extreme levels of importance on having a moustache. A man without one is considered to be openly rejecting his manhood. Beards are acceptable so long as they're accompanied by a moustache.
Vostroya has high born officers, and low born soldiers. Only rarely does a low born Vostroyan become an officer, an example of this is Captain Sebastev, whose officers are killed, and ends up with him leading first a comapny, and later an entire regiment consisting of approximely 23 men.
Terms
- ossbokn-vyar - a form of hand-to-hand combat .
- chevek - outsider, a non-vostryan.
- rahzvod - a clear alcoholic drink, much like today's vodka.
- khek - swear word
- ohxolosvennoy (ohx') - A thick and salty drink brewed like coffee,
described as being made from powdered grox meat with stimms and preservatives added. Manufactored primarily on Vostroya, the vostroyrian workers swear by it as it is the only thing that helps them through their double shifts.
- ushehk - seven string instrument played by a bow, the high pitched notes and
small sizes might make it attune to a fiddle or violin.
- Shiny - slang for a fresh from training into the Vostroyan Firstborn Regiments, a replacement.
- zadnik - derogatory term
- Treatis Elatii - Vostroyan religious text pertaining to the Grey Lady, Saint
Nadalya, the Vostyran patron saint.
Sources
- White Dwarf 327(uk) pg.44
- [1] (Interview with author of Rebel Winter)
