Einherjars of Ymir

"To the spark of life, darkness is no more."

- The Poetic Edda of Halfdan. Born to the Feral World Ymir, the Einherjars are a brutal and savage Regiment of the Astra Militarum, the Hammer of the Emperor, the Imperial Guard. While there are many Guardsmen who are conscripted from Feral Worlds in order to fight for the welfare of the Imperium, the Einherjars of Ymir are distinguished by the fact that they are quite adaptable and do not shy away from technology. They are also renown for their complete lack of fear in the face of death. This behavior stems from the fact that the Einherjars believe that upon death the souls of worthy heroes who died bravely in battle will feast for eternity at the God-Emperor's own table.

Origins
The planet that is now known as Ymir was once a thriving Human settlement in times long forgotten. Then came the Age of Strife and Orks befell the planet, burning or looting any trace of civilization, leaving behind nothing but charred ruins and a faded memory. Some Humans managed to survive the onslaught and saw that technology is what attracted the Xenos to their land, thus they had forsaken it, adopting instead a primitive and savage culture, which lead to some of the Human populace to become Ogryn. In addition, the spores from the Ork invasion that toppled the entire planet remained and many Feral Orks started appearing on every corner of Ymir.

For thousands of years, the savage tribes of Men fought against the bloodthirsty Orks (which they call "Ettin") and the brutish Ogryns (which they call "Jotnar"). The Age of Strife served as a proving ground to the people of Ymir, as tribal conflicts and naval raids were a daily occurrence, becoming a way of life. For thousands of years, the people of Ymir (referred to as "Ymirfolk") did battle and shed blood. At first it was for survival, but as they grew accustomed to their savage world, savagery became tradition.

Then came he Imperium of Man which discovered Ymir at the heart of Segmentum Tempestus at 613.M36. The Ork infestation was present on the planet and thus a bloody purge was done by the Space Wolves Chapter, who battled Xenos while simultaneously teaching the Ymirfolk about the greatness of the Emperor. Although the greenskin's presence was already rooted to the planet, making it nearly impossible to thoroughly cleanse, it also did not seem as if they were capable of spreading to neighboring systems. In fact, they actually proved useful in keeping the Human stock of Ymir strong and sturdy. That is why the Imperium placed a lunar station on Ymir's only moon, which the natives call Hati. The station serves as both a surveillance outpost which would monitor the planet and its people, and a fortification where the chosen Ymirfolk were taken and trained to be proper Guardsmen. And that is how the Ymirian Einherjars Regiment was established.

The Planet
The great ocean Elvagar is a merciless and turbulent mistress which claimed the lives of countless sailors and sunk their ships to the bottomless depths. The reason for this is because the planet Ymir does an elliptic orbit around Skoll, the system's sun. During the winter Ymir is far from Skoll and the majority of the planet is enveloped by an arctic chill, but during summer Ymir is very close to Skoll which melts the ice caps and creates many powerful storms that ravage the planet's surface. Being born and raised in such hostile conditions turned the Humans of Ymir into hardy folk who can withstand temperatures that normal Humans would call extreme and possess the strength to weather any storm.