Mirza

Icefang is an Ice World, Feral World and Adeptus Astartes homeworld, located in Bassenheim Nebula within the Trail of Saint Seren. It is governed by the Tigers Argent space marine chapter and is therefore non-tithable.

Orbital charasteristics
Icefang or, in the Imperial records, 1088-BNc2, is a large ice world. It circles its star in roughly 170000000 km while planet's aphelion stretches in 174000000 km and periphelion in 168000000 km. Having relatively stable orbit, it makes no significance difference in Icefang's temperature whether the planet is orbiting in its peri- or aphelion. Planet's average orbital speed is somewhere around 90000 km/h and it takes approximately 1,363 Terran years (497,41 Terran days or 11938,05 Terran hours) for Icefang to orbit around its star.

Icefang has no remarkable satellites of its own and hosts no moons. There are nevertheless a large Trojan-fields approximately 180000000 km before and after the planet itself. These fields host a number of dwarf planets, not one of them being over 1000 km in diameter. Those dwarf planets, with asteroids, form the main defencive stations of the system when it comes to the chapter that resides there.

Physical charasteristics
1088-BNc2 has mean radius of 6,944 km being a bit pressed from poles making it slightly oval in shape. Due its size (area: 605939533,68 km2) it has a bit higher gravity than Terra but not so much it would be of any hindrancec to human settling on planet. The planet has rotation period of 1,942 Terran days, making one day on planet 46 hours, 36 minutes and 29 seconds resulting in a way that one year of Icefang is a bit over 256 Icefang days.

Icefang is terrestrial planet, having mild tectonic activity. Notable area of planet's surface is covered in ice-sheet but areas around equatorial to as far north/south as tropics of cancer and capricorn.

Geography
Icefang is not, even though its name suggest, covered in glaciers. As the surface temperature is quite low, lots of the planet is covered in ice or permafrost but it is not totally uninhabitable.

Icefang's tectonic acticity is mild at its best. It is thought, that the mountain ranges (like Heavenstairs) were formed hundreds of thousands of years ago and are now but degrading monuments of former tectonic activity. There are six tectonic plates that move in so slow pace that they hardly ever cause earthquakes, the worst eathquake was 6,4 in Richter scale and was registered no less than 800 years ago in 7.038.121.M41. This suits fine for the space marines who built their fortress-monastery on and under mountain range.

Because of the glaciers, these numbers are wuite controversial, nevertheless; in 900M41 51% of planet's surface was registered as bodies of water. Land area was only 15% (90890930,05 km2) and the rest, 34%, was covered by ice sheets and glaciers.

Flora & Fauna
Cold winters and mild summers have affected the planet to form evergreen plants. Most of the land area between tropics of cancer and capricorn are covered in taiga-like forests. Norther and southern many areas are in permafrost and only the hardest plants survive there. Deep-rooted trees and lichen cover the great northern/southern plains. Withdrawing glaciers have molded the planet's surface into countless of pools, ponds, lakes and eskers. Only the highest mountains have survived the planet's ice age making them truly magnificent sight in otherwise flat world.

Flora
Most of the flora on planet are lichens, grass, bushes and deep-rooted trees. Great number of different flowers cover the plains.

Fauna
Planet's fauna is evolved into the harsh conditions. Many have rich subcutaneous fat and are extreme survivors of this unforgiving planet. Most of the planet's fauna is considered to be living in the seas, hundreds of different fishes, dolphines, whales and seals populate the vast seas of Icefang. Trailed by thousands of different birds, seas of Icefang are the richest biodiversities on planet. It is why the human tribes have also settled (mostly) in the coastlines. The inland habitants are way more dangerous which is the main reason humans avoid the inland areas. Inland, even if covered in taiga and being mildly tempered, hosts terrifying megafauna-carnivores. Most of the planet's carnivores are feline-like but there are far inferior animals, such as "stareater-bear" that grows over 8 meters tall and is known to destroy whole villages of inland people. Not all inland species are carnivores, but even the herbivores and omnivores are dangerous on their own way. Most of the planet's land-animals grow into immense sizes though there are exceptions, but by definition, Icefang's fauna is big, dangerous and carnivorous.

Hediyeh
One of the most important "totem animals" of the world. Hediyeh tigers live aroun the Heavenstairs mountain range and are therefore known to all human tribes. Hediyeh tiger is respected for it plays great part in Tigers Argent initiation process. Tiger, in itself, possess no extraordinary skills, powers or traits, it is just a regular feline carnivore. The significance of this small animal is purely linked to the space marines. Hediyeh tiger's fur is deep, dark grey in colour and has black tiger stripes on it. It is not unheard of, though, to see a hediyeh without stripes, as the black stripes can be hard to spot from the dark fur.

Registeration
Planet's flora and fauna is categorized under the PSS1 -licence rather than AIS2 -licence. Some of the megafauna have been transported around the Trail of Saint Seren, as they have been proven to be great meat-producers and are therefore registered in AIS.

Humans on Icefang
As said, humans that live on Icefang, are mostly nomadic tribes. The most permanent settlements are located in the coastlines and those who live further inland are more nomadic by nature. Even the seas host many bigger and smaller islands, the humans of Icefang do not cross the seas. Even getting one in a boat would be quite a job, as they fear water over everything else, especially open seas. The seas of Icefang host so many huge beasts that humans have left oceans to be.

By nature, humans of Icefang grow somewhere around 190 cm tall and because of the harsh nature and hard life, are well suited for space marines.

Seers
For some yet unknown reason, the Icefang's residents have really low psionic levels as a whole. The whole population produces so few psykers, that the chapter's Librarium is almost always undermanned. This, nevertheless, is a good thing too, as the fear of warp-driven psyker wreaking havok on planet is really negligible. When native population happens to produce psyker of its own, they are usually referred as seers.

Most common ways that psychic powers appear to manifest on Icefang, are verminspeaking and divination. Many psykers form their own secretive patterns, habits and things to ensure their power over rest of the population. These seers are also used by Tigers Argent in a supersticious manner. Most notorious seer was the Gem-seer, who is known of naming the chapter's masters.

Planetary governorship
Planet is governed, or more appropriately - owned, by Tigers Argent space marine chapter. The chapter master, Great Silver Lord, is officially stated as the ruler of the planet and this is the case most of a time. For the natives, chapter's Master of the Recruits, known as Lord of Hunters, is a messenger of the Great Silver Lord which is why the Lord of Hunters has quite amount of power in his grasp.

Icefang's natives believe they are governed by five gods, Great Silver Lord, Crimson Lord, Indigo Lord, Onyx Lord and Lord of Hunters, of which four live in the Silver Citadel (chapter's fortress-monastery) and one roams the world to seek appropriate aspirants to join their heavenly party. Chapter's masters are seen as holding the ultimate power over the planet and the natives, which they in fact do hold.