Au'rah, also known as the Garden Sept, is a Tau agri-world located within the Imperial Vigilius sector found in 692.M41. It was conquered during the Second Sphere of Expansion from the Imperium of Man by Commander O'Ghoro who remained within the sept by the order of the Ethereal Council.
A significant proportion of the sept's population is made of the Earth Caste as it serves a similar purpose to Tau Empire as agri-worlds do to Imperium. Commander O'Ghoro has voiced his dissatisfaction on the current state of affairs regarding his post, its defences and the close proximity of strong Imperial worlds within Vigilius sector. Now, with the recent demise of the Sept's lead Ethereal, the "Great Shepherd" Aun'Var, O'Ghoro's Hunter Cadre has all but seized control, directing the Earth Caste towards the study of the Da'noh'llasso, what the rest of the Sector knows as the Volhar Rift. The stated purpose of this research is the development of FTL technologies to counter the encroaching remnants of Waaagh! Morkdred, but given the Commander's erratic, almost un-Tau like behaviour in recent years, many suspect more sinister motives...
History[]
Colonization[]
During the initial push of the Second Sphere Expansion, several expedition fleets were sent out into the then-fringes of the Tau Empire in order to secure the resources and materiel needed to prosecute such a massive military endeavour. The planet that would eventually become Au'rah was one of many identified as suitable for the mass-production of foodstuffs to stock the campaign's larders. A relatively temperate world possessed of a desirable "Goldilocks" orbit and optimal gravitational mass, Earth Cadre construction clades within the fleet quickly set to work terraforming their new Sept world.
Swarms of disposable "Sower" Drones were deployed en masse to hyper-oxygenate the atmosphere, promoting more verdant plant growth even as Hunter Cadres stalked the surface, systematically eliminating any predatory organisms surveyors had deemed too dangerous or too invasive to co-exist within the new ecosystem. Forestation was mulched, fermented, then disseminated throughout the topsoil of less fertile regions even as atmospheric flyers released massive cloudbursts of seeds that, gene-edited for rapid growth, quickly flourished in meticulously-plotted rows to serve as the planet's new lungs. As a final touch, the Earth Caste jury-rigged a battery of fusion engines to drag a wandering asteroid into orbit, an artificial moon from which Tau technicians could monitor tidal fluctuations and air currents, negating any severe weather patterns through the use of orbital heat cannons. With diligence befitting of their Caste, the Flo'la accomplished all this within the span of a Terran year.
For the first few decades of colonization and production, the planet was initially named Ocyr'rah (Literally "Serene Garden"), and its new satellite D'anoi'vesa ("Newfound Companion"). The Garden Sept would later chronicle this period as the Rhen'au, the "Green" or "Growing Age", wherein the Sept served less its own power and more an auxiliary to more far-flung Septs on the borders of the Empire's advances.
The Garden Grows[]
In 742.M41, the Second Sphere Expansion finally came to an end, and with it ended Ocyr'rah dependence on the inner Septs. To officiate this event and the subsequent formation of the new Sept, the Ethereal Council blessed the Serene Garden with one of their own: Aun'O Var'rah Anoi'lo D'la'asso, the eminent and wise Aun'Var. It was he who renamed the planet Au'rah, the Enlightened Garden, following the construction of several universities within lands previous allocated to agriculture, now no longer necessary thanks to the lessening demands of the battlefront. Prospective Aun'la flocked to the Garden Sept and with each passing year planet became less a centre of agriculture and more and more a centre of learning. Its citizens took great pride in this transition; by laying down their tools Aun'Var had ushered an Aun'au, an "Age of Enlightenment", a halcyon that the Tau of Au'rah would look back upon with great nostalgia as the days grew darker.
Annexion of Mahapadma[]
The first harbinger of chaotic times to come would ironically be an event of unification; the secession of the Mining World of Mahapadma to the T'au Empire following years of neglect by their Imperium. Even before Aun'Var's arrival, the Sept's Water Caste envoys found fertile ground in the Mahapadmans' discontent to seed the truths of the Greater Good. In the wake of increasing neglect from the Imperium, the xenophile elements within the planet's government and military coordinated and executed a coup against those they considered irredeemebly loyal. With the aid of covert Fire Caste operatives and the majority of the PDF, those unwilling to comply to the Greater Good were either arrested or killed for resistance.
With the coup being orchestrated and supported by the planetary governor and his highest echelon, all means of communication were severed first, seeing the planet fall relatively peaceful and without immediate fear for imperial retaliation. Once starports and planetary defense platforms were secured, the waiting Tau flottilla descended and began the immediate fortification.
However, with the twin threats of the Imperium and Hive Fleet Tarasc bearing down from the west, it was determined that the Sept would require a much larger military force to defend its new borders. Thus a full Hunter Cadre was re-routed from the core Septs and seconded to Au'rah, led by an infamous Tau Commander by the name of O'Ghoro.
Name TBD[]
Where their Gue'vesa units fought members of the Novossian Rifles
Commander Deathblow[]
Vassal Worlds[]
- Is'soo - after centuries of neglect from the Imperium, this icy mining world gave in to the offers of the Water Caste envoys and joined the Greater Good in exchange for protection against the encroaching threat of a Tyranid invasion.
Notable members of Au'rah[]
Commander O'Ghoro[]
- "Relentlessness is the first mandate of the warrior. Do not give your foe the honour of your patience. Do not give them time to think. Do not give them time to breathe. Strike, then strike again, and again, until their muscles tremble and their tongues loll from their mouths in desperate panting. Once you have reduced them to the level of panicked, starving beasts, it is not murder, it is mercy."
- —O'Ghoro
Shas'O Au'rah Ghoro'ka Mesme Uil'monat O'Ghoro, or Commander Deathblow, is savage and seen by the Ethereal Council as a reckless commander. He has shown signs of lur'tae'mont which can be considered something of a mixture of post-traumatic stress disorder and war rapture.
The Blue Trade[]
Supplying weapons and Kroot mercenaries to the Lebennia Coterie
Notes[]
| Vigilius sector | |
|---|---|
| Sector Worlds | |
| Imperial Worlds | Turbela · Aclosos · Cerbera · Creid Lambda · Drucox · Erika's Retreat · Hos Calwor · Ivaldi Primus · Josux · Lazara · Lebennia II · Lova · Magna Cupal · Novoss · Rhahaz · Saint Antias' Hope · Sareen Cardinal · Tantalonia · Truman's World · Zaltor's Sanctum |
| Tau Worlds | Au'rah Sept · Is'soo |
| Others | Nereides · Volhar · Volhar Dredgeworlds |
| Related Forces | |
| Imperial | Battlefleet Vigilius · Legio Ardens Aestus · Legio Inferna Viridi · Cerbera Heavy Infantry · Lova Infantry · Novossian Rifles · Tantalonian Assault Troops |
| Tau | |
| Others | |