Rhia'lien

"Let it be known that the world of Rhian is now declared under Imperial Quarantine. Travel to or from the planet is now forbidden, by order of the Ashen Thanes Astartes and the Senatorum Vigilius."

- King Eiglium of the Ashen Thanes A death world on the edge of the Viglius sector, Rhia'lien (formerly Rhian) was only occupied by the Imperium for it's rich ore deposits. Abandoned by the Imperium upon the ore drying up, the humans stuck on the planet were only too eager to accept the Tau's offer of aid.

Geography
Rhia'lien is a planet mostly covered by harsh sandy deserts and a single large saline ocean. Most water not in the ocean is in small oasis or underground severely limiting the inhabitable territory. Surrounding the ocean is a vast jungle, filled with toxic plants and venomous animals, prolonged habitation is next to impossible.

Flora and Fauna
Rhia'lien is a planet full of plants and animals unique to itself. Most of these are extremely dangerous and hostile, especially within the jungle.

Flora
Animals unique to Rhia'lien include:
 * Sand Hives - A strange form of what is assumed to be insects, the Sand Hives are composed of hundreds of billions or more of nearly microscopic animals that appear as a red cloud. Preying upon anything that strays too near the large stone hollow cones that make up their home, flesh appears to disintegrate upon contact with the Hive. Capable of even entering vehicles via air intakes and minute cracks in plating to devour the inhabitants, the Hives are avoided by the people upon the planet at all cost.
 * Toxic Penna - One of the more common animals within the planet's jungle, Toxic Penna are similar to Terran avians and hunt in large flocks. While they generally avoid humans unless no other food source is available, the worst part of the Toxic Penna is the fact that they are toxic for humans to eat and their feathered wings spread a poisonous dust capable of making humans ill.

History
Found by the Imperium in the years before the Horus Heresy. The planet's harsh deserts and poisonous jungles caused it to originally be designated uninhabitable. Upon Mechanicus scans revealing vast ore deposits underneath the surface, the opinions of the Imperium rapidly changed. Sending settlers to set up mines and food productions, the planet was forgotten as the Horus Heresy began. Only when the fires of the civil war settled did the Imperial forces return to see how the settlers were faring. While the mines had been set up as well as had been planned, any form of land not too dry or poisonous for farming was almost impossible to find, and many of the settlers had starved. In order to support the mines, food had to be shipped in from the sector's agri-worlds while looking for a edible food source on the planet.