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- "Violence, Evil and Lies will only lead to your undoing. For once it isn't the old and wise that know the true path... Only with the Greater Good will any race find salvation. Surrender now, while you are still sane, before it is too late."
- —The Backbone of Tau society expressed by the Sept's past founding commander, Shas'O Aures.
On the northern border of the Tau Empire lies the previously widely-renowned Tau Sept world of Oresh'uan (i/ɒˈrɛʃʔuːɑːn/), which houses some of the finest warriors known to the Tau Empire. The force's conquests play a key role to the third sphere expansion, standing high in fame and glory amongst other fine commanders and septs.
The inhabitants of this world are famed for their extreme organisation and tactical skills as well as highly advanced technological prowess and knowledge in the art of survival (Especially geared towards Kauyon). They are also renowned for their generosity and staunch belief in equality and the greater good, focusing on the values on equality and teamwork as essential aspects to basic life.
Since the fall of 806.M41 and the death of their legendary commander Shas'O Aures, the Sept has lost all capability to defend itself, as well as the collapse of its economy. As a result, the Sept has been annexed by the Kar'das Sept, with the world becoming a satellite colony to their world. The world's only hope to regain their honour now lies through integrating with the Sept.
Geography[]
Oresh'uan is located in a binary system, being the second planet from its star. It completes a circular orbit around the twin stars every 2 Tau'cyr (Tau year), which is about 2.8 Terran Years, due to the star's rather weak gravity (being reduced to almost a mere skeleton of a star due to its parasitic brother star). It has a circular orbit around the sun, as well as only a 0.1 degree axial angle, and therefore there are no seasons on this planet, with the only major temperature changes occurring between night and day cycles.
Geographically, the world is a largely desertified death world, which is now almost 50% urban and military developments since Tau colonisation (Though, to aid in infiltration and defensive purposes, most of the constructs are subterranean). The topographical formations of the planet include virtually every kind of desert, from massive canyons and mesas to rolling dunes and varse plains.
The planet has a very low level of surface water, and therefore was lifeless before the tau came. The only water is frozen that does exist is in small amounts at the polar ice caps. The tau inhabitants are currently transporting in H2O from off-world suppliers, and melting the polar ice.
Being that there is little water, no clouds can form in the skies, and therefore It never rains. The lack of clouds also cause drastic temperature changes on to the planet's surface, it is extremely hot during the day, sometimes exceeding 70 degrees centigrade, and chillingly cold at night, as there are no clouds to trap the heat built up during the day. But, due to the slowly increasing amounts of water on the planet, the future might be a more hospitable one for Oresh'uan.
Like all death worlds, the planet's surface is dangerous and extremely hard to survive in, deep knowledge in the environment and conditions of the planet is crucial for extended life outside urbanised areas. The most inhospitable and disaster-ridden area is known as the Wasteland of the The North-eastern hemisphere, known is Tau as Mon'ash. Being that there are no cliffs for hundreds of miles, the wasteland is rocked by almost permanent sandstorms, a lot of the time thick enough to blot out the sun. It is forbidden for Tau citizens to enter, and is left clear as a testing ground for new weapons and for the training of Fire warriors.
Major Cities[]
Just above The Wasteland, near the north pole lies the capital city, Arn'uan. The city has grown to a considerably large size, taking advantage of the cooler climate, and also because a frozen water source is nearby. The city is cluttered with towering buildings standing amongst well-kept park lands and real estate, which are dedicated to air caste aircraft control and the ethereals, and outskirted by massive factories where the earth caste constructs and designs new weaponry. Forming an almost perfect square around the city, four giant Ion cannons lie ever vigilant against a planetary invasion.
On the equator exactly opposite of Mon'ash is the largest military base on the planet, T'eshuan, it spans many hundreds of kilometres wide, and houses some of the most powerful of defence platforms on the planet, it would be a very unwise decision to attack the planet via this direction. This base also houses the sept planet's main fortress, the centre of the planet fire caste military. The entire structure is reinforced and chemically hardened, to the point where is fit to survive planet strike attacks and even orbital bombardment.
The majority of the planet's fire caste spend their time here when not off world, and if they're not, they're doing rigourous training at the wasteland.
Another major landmark is the City of M'uan'esh, the trade capital of Oresh'uan. This city was the birthplace of Shas'o Aures, and is a flourishing marketplace for any kind legal of good known to Tau. Where Arn'uan has the towering white spires and interlocking rivers and parks, M'uan'esh has gargantuan sparkling domes, and its sky filled with hundreds of freight and trading ships.
History[]
Oresh'uan Sept came into existence towards the close of the second sphere expansion, before the Damocles Crusade. The planet was originally developed as an expeditionary colony, far from the initial front line of the second expansion, as a method of reconnaissance and as an outpost on the frontier of the empire.
Force Characteristics[]
Besides mastery of warfare in all forms, of the force are also masters of survival, being that their sept world is entirely an inhospitable wasteland. It has happened many a time a cadre has gone missing after a war, and not long after find their way back, sometimes months later, but all still alive and well.
Every tau from the lowest Shas'la to the highest Aun'o has extensive knowledge about surviving away from civilisation. The force's knowledge is revered by the rest of the Tau Empire, and are almost always called for support for wars on on death and dead worlds. Even if there is no source of water or food when they are stranded, they are equipped with enough rations to survive for a long period of time.
Uniforms[]
The entire force utilise desert colours such as bone, black and yellows, with turquoise as their sept colour which blends in with the skies of their planet. More varied schemes are used by others such as vehicles having several shades of bone and light browns, forming a camouflage. XV15 and XV25 Stealthsuits have the most detailed camo, which allow them to still hide if their stealth feilds were to fail. The are also experimenting with new designs of camo, like jagged polygons instead of irregular stripes, and also digital camouflage, very fine boxes and rectangles joined together forming a pattern, and from close inspection may seem to make a useless camo, but from a distance the shapes confuse most eyes into blending the colours together, making it one of the most successful camouflages available.
Ranking System[]
The sept uses the universal tau ranking system, but every rank is shortened to letters and numbers to avoid confusion on the battlefield. Every member of the Oresh'uan sept, including non-tau use the system, which also acts as an identification system. This also makes recognition by computers much easier, allowing the warriors to simply present a ID tag inscribed into their armour (On the barrel of pulse rifles and the inside of the helmet) which can be scanned.
An example of the in this format is: SOCB1-1, which is Shas'O Crisis Battlesuit 1-1, in long terms it acts as an identification tag, in that format the previous appears as SOTATCB1-1, Shas'O Tau'n Aures Taan Crisis Battlesuit team 1-1.
The ranking symbols start off with the caste of the individual: S (For Shas, or fire), then the rank: O, then the name, which is skipped in short term: TAT, Tau'n Aures Taan, and finally their squad/team type and number: CB1, which is a Crisis Battlesuit team, it is the first battlesuit squad, and then followed by their place in the squad, 1.
Other races use a similar format, for example the highest Kroot Shaper is identified as SKC1-1, Shaper Kroot Carnivore squad 1-1, the main Vespid Leader uses SLVST1-1, Strain Leader Vespid Stingwing Strain 1-1, and an example of a typical human warrior: GLGV5-2, which translates to Gue'la Gue'vesa squad 5-2.
Symbology[]
Technology[]
Weapons[]
Ion lance[]
Heavy duty Pulse Rifles, Ion lances fire much larger silicon pellets in plasma form with an almost 2-3 times larger barrel (acceleration field), but with the result of a larger kick and cool down time. The weapons are usually mounted into vehicles or light class battle suits, or even in rare cases heavy weapon teams with the weapon mounted on a tripod. They are a heavy variant of the rather light weapon, being greatly multi-purpose and easy to manufacture, and with a considerable range.
Ion Blaster[]
Similar to Ion Lances, except with a shorter barrel, allowing for a faster firing rate. Iron Blasters are better used for larger groups of targets within a close range.
Squad equipment[]
La'rua (Fire Warrior team)[]
The Fire Caste are making use of many new equipment. Every warrior has reinforced armour plating, incredibly strong, yet very lightwieght. Their soft armour is also remade to a material similar to Kevlar, which can resist bolter shells (to a certain extent). They are equipped with standard pulse weapons such as rifles or carbines, and every warrior has a pulse pistol with ten pre-loaded rounds in their inventory for the direst situations. Along with the pistol, they are equipped with solar-powered water filtration and harvesting systems built into the backpack, which assist tremendously in wasteland survival, and other essentials such as first aid kits, rations and tools.
Other features include Global Positioning Sytems (GPS) fitted on their wrists, when orbital support to scan the environment is available.
Every suit of armour is fitted with Electronic Identification Systems (EIS), chips only readable by tau networks (which can be disabled if needed, such as in the event of a database hack and such). They pin the location of the warrior if he ever were to get lost. last their helmets are equipped with computers which scan others nearby with EIS chips, and warn the user if something without one is nearby, which on the battlefield, will most likely be a threat.
Ta'ro'cha (XV8 Crisis Battlesuit teams)[]
Though overall very similar to standard Empire-wide XV8, Oresh'uan battlesuits utilise the same EIS and GPS systems like the Fire Warriors
Vehicles and battlesuits[]
XY5 Sniper Bike[]
The XY5 is a newly released vehicle into the Oresh'uan arsenal. It is a high speed anti-grav propelled vehicle with a weapon built directly into the main frame of the vehicle. Its main purpose is to greatly increase the mobility of Tau pathfinders, similar to that of the Tetra, allowing them to infiltrate deep into enemy lines at astoundingly greater speeds. They are often seen on the battlefield zooming past and around obstacles like birds of prey.
The bike is configured to support the basic Rail Rifle used by pathfinders, as well as a heavy duty scope and markerlight system built above the main weapon. It can also be equipped with other weapons such as Ion Blasters, Ion Lances, Fusion Rifles or even Smart Missile Systems.
Notable Characters[]
Team Aures (disbanded)[]
Although other, equally successful teams exist within the fire caste, this is the most famous group of Tau in the sept. Today the surviving members of the team have now disbanded and lead their own individual teams.
Shas'O Aures Killed in action.
The founding commander of the force, the inspiring Commander Shas'O Tau'n Aures Taan, who is also known as Commander Darkstorm, was a promising warrior ever since first promoted to a Shas'la.
When he was a Shas'saal back on his birth sept, Tau'n, he was like any other fire caste child on the planet; energetic, confident, and eager to serve the Fire Caste. Then came the day he was given his first pulse rifle,and then he knew in his heart that this was his destiny. After induction into the military he flew through the ranks, he then was bonded into a team of other fire warriors, and was given the duty to bear the ceremonial bonding knife, today even though only six of the original twelve have survived the years through the ranks, and one has mysteriously disappeared, they share a bond that very few can break.
Only after four years, he earned the place of a Shas'vre in Tau'n, but his battle force's guide ethereal, Aun'tares, knew that this wasn't enough to make proper use of his talents, and he made him commander of a new and insignificant sept, Oresh'uan.
Aures had made the weak sept a very strong and feared force of the greater good, and the squad he was bonded with years ago still stand by his side as bodyguards and veterans. Also, even O'Aur'es's guide ethereal Aun'tares, has now taken the position as the sept's lead ethereal, even he was inspired by his student's success. O'Aures is now so successful that he was offered a place as a Commander of a new battle force in the Aun'va coalition, named the Desert Hunters. He abruptly refused, and unintentionally started the famous rivalry between the two forces. The other team members, and close friends of Shas'O Aures make a very powerful spearhead to the already strong sept of Oresh'uan.
Shas'vre Mat'au- Alive, a bodyguard of Aur'es, he speaks rarely, most of his activity is in his mind, but throughout all his life, he has kept his ground and refuses to fall back, even when the odds are utterly impossible, and always rises victorious among the wreckage. He always equips a shield generator, and his choice weapons include cyclic ion blasters, plasma rifles and sometimes fusion blasters.
Shas'vre Ornesu- Alive, another bodyguard, he and Aures are like minded people, but knows that Aures has a lot more potential for the service of the greater good due to his unparalleled confidence and tactical skills (a quality Ornesu Lacks), and chooses to be his bodyguard. On the battlefield he is a feared individual, acting in sync with Aures, he knows exactly what plans will go underway and exactly how it will be played, sometimes without any consult from Aures himself. He prefers to strike his enemies while hidden, and his enemies are always ducking for cover as the blows seem to have come from ghosts. The secret to his success is the new weapon, the airbursting fragmentation projector, which fires deadly shrapnel in the air, and landing on the enemies from above.
Shas'el Tan'keu- Killed in Action, he was a very bold warrior, his battlesuit was adorned with warpaint and other honours, and always chose a fusion blaster with a plasma rifle. Sometimes if the situation demanded equipped another, twin fusion blaster. He was killed in a war with space marines of the Salamanders Chapter, and his body is now preserved in the Sept Planet's main Fortress.
Shas'vre Arasan- Killed in action, during a battle with Kh'err'akh'an's raiding fleet the was instantly killed by a poisoned splinter round. Vre'arasan was most comfortable fighting while horribly outnumbered, and went to war equipped with twin flamers, and a multi-tracker so he could use them at the same time. He was also known to utelise twin burst cannons instead.
His battlesuit was wrecked beyond repair, but his cremated remains are housed in the Sept Planet's main fortress.
Shas'vre Nes'kaan- Alive, he has always been a risk taker, even on the battlefield, and today he has a bionic eye, parts of his body are aided by cybernetics, and his lower left arm has been replaced by a mechanical one. Today he is helping others survive what he has gone through, in the position of an advanced medic. He even though is injured, he still fights with full faith, and goes by the saying.
"Even though the enemies try to blast me to bits, because of bionic replacements, they wont be able get rid of me!"
Shas'vre Kar'nes- Alive, Vre'Kar'nes is an excellent sniper, he reluctantly left the position of a pathfinder sniper when he was given a battlesuit, but now his battlesuit has been upgraded to a XV88 broadside, and now annihilates his enemies miles away with his twin shoulder-mounted railguns, all while protected by impenetrable battlesuit armour.
Shas'vre Ares'kai- Disappeared, Ares'kai was last seen fighting head on with another battlesuit of the Farsight Encalves. His opponent's dead body was recovered, but Ares'kai didn't appear. It is belived he has been taken prisoner by the Enclaves, and Commander Darkstorm is planning a reconnaissance mission into the enclave's territory to try and rescue him.
Shas'vre E'shen- Killed in action, Vre'E'shen was utterly outnumbered by orks and was eventually killed. During a defence against an ork waaagh on the planet Oresh'uan when it was still a small and insignificant world, he was managing to hold off the green tide alone, but they eventually came up close enough to assault him, he was quickly killed, as all tau are weak in close combat. His body hasn't been recovered, but like all tau killed in service of the greater good, will be remembered.
Shas'vre Kor'vesha- Killed in action, back when the team was mostly shas'la, she was the team's Devilfish pilot, she had almost unshakeable faith in her transport, skimming it across the battlefield and doging enemy fire while Ui'Aures navigated. She then served time as a pilot of an XV9 Hazard Battlesuit, and in record time has killed so many enemies that her right shoulder pad ran out of room for any more kill markings. She was unfortunately killed during a planet-strike attack.
Shas'vre Nash'va- Died as a result of injury. Vre'Nash'va was a master of stealth, and while his skill had not much use as a Shas'la, was used in full throttle when he became the pilot of an XV15 stealth suit. He and the members of his squad captured objectives and sabotaged enemy strongpoints and communications kilometres away from the rest of the army. He was killed on one such of these missions, because of a stealth field malfunction, he was spotted and shot. His body has fortunately been recovered, and lies buried on Tau'n.
Shas'el Kyan'al- Alive, second in command of Oresh'uan. Kyan'al is a master of heavy weapons and the construction of vehicles. These two traits are a recipe for destruction, and has blasted his way to the rank of Shas'el. Today he is leading an tank hunter crisis battlesuit team. His choice weapons are of course the heaviest, a plasma rifle and twin-linked rocket pods. {C Kyan'al is an extremely serious and uptight commander, duty to the greater good always overrides all other matters no matter the cost.
Ethereal Aun'tares[]
Aun'O T'au Korva Tares Onuesh (His shortened name pronounced "Orn-tar-rees") is the lead ethereal of the sept. He is about 78 terran years (about 77 tau years, or Tau'cyr), he has the wise knowledge of his years, but on the battlefield has the agility that can be likened to a 20 year old Fire Warrior.
The twin blades of his honour blade are made of an extremely rare metal compound, known as Ankavus.
Traditionally, Auntares prefers to onlook the battlefeild and provide spiritual guidance to those in need, but if he were to come under the threat of danger, or be in the presence of a fellow Tau falling under danger, then he will not hesitate to take action.
He is accompanied by a shield drone and 1-3 gun drones, seeing live bodyguards as a pointless waste of valuable life and resource.
Relationships with other Factions[]
Alien Auxiliaries[]
As Shas'o Aures has great belief in the Greater Good, there are a lot of alien auxiliaries fighting alongside the Tau. Below are overviews of the alien forces.
Kroot[]
Anrok Krana, the master shaper of the kroot of this world, is unlike other kroot. He believes the best way for the kroot to survive is to stay united with technology. His force is now officially part of the Tau empire, unlike the other kroot serving as auxiliaries, and has partnered with Oresh'uan, seeing Aures's methods closest to his.
Vespid[]
The vespid have major interest in the force as the planet's surface has the right texture and composition that can support strong, deep vespid hives. Plus the fact under the surface of the planet, the crystals that power Vespid Neutron Blasters can be grown with the aid of teperature regulators. Because materials required for their training do not need to be imported, the vespid from this world are very powerful and highly trained. The force is led by Vespid Strain Commander Arvetak'al'kor.
Humans[]
There are two contingents of humans that operate on this world
- The Space marines that were part of the Space Hunters Chapter. An extremely rare, if not unique sight in the Tau Gue'vesa, Space Marines. They play a major role in some battles due to their expertise in war and survival.
- The 13th Oresh'uan Contingent, joining the Sept not long after Oresh'uan was founded, the former Imperial Guardsmen prove to be strong and resilient fighters, going to war with aeon-old imperial technology re-invented with Tau ingenuity
Demiurg[]
Demiurg of this world are in a trade agreement, they are allowed to mine the vast mineral deposits found in the planet, and in return provide offensive orbital support when it is needed.
Nicassar[]
The Tau and Nicassar have had a strong relation ever since a major Dhow (Nicassar Ship) had crashed on this planet, and the Tau played a big part in bringing its systems back online, and making it space-worthy again.
Tau Allies[]
Kor'tael Sept- Because of being a frontier wold, and wasn't strong enough to fend for itself, Oresh'uan offered to protect this world, and they have been allies ever since.
"Rivalries"[]
Aun'Va Coalition- Even though they do help each other on the battlefeild, Oresh'uan and the Coalition try to out-do each other, doing everything from kill count to bigger guns.
Enemies[]
Although any race that oppose the Greater Good is an enemy, the Sept shares some bitter rivalries with certain factions in paticular:
The Necrus IV Tombworld and Hive fleet Erebus.
Relationship with the Kabal of Shadows.[]
The Sept and the Kabal are bitter enemies, but under an agreement they have formed a temporary alliance to kill off Hive Fleet Erebus. Like all eldar, the kabal has only made the alliance for their own selfish reasons, and Oresh'uan are keeping watchful for any treachery.
Major Conflicts[]
The Deffclaw Clan Ork Tides[]
The very first major conflict the planet encountered after Shas'O Aures took leadership of the world. The ork clan, "Da Biggest and Bestest Waagh!"had invaded the planet, led by the dreaded Warboss Deffclaw 'Umie Stompa. The Warboss was famed for his massive waaaghs, which was divided into hundreds of factions, each one big enough to be declared a small waaagh by itself. The planet had only just managed to hold them off, and lost many warriors, including Shas'vre E'shen. Victory was brought by heavy use of both the schools of tactics Kauyon and Mont'ka, which was the ork's weakness as they have no definition of 'tactic' whatsoever.
Incursion of the Emperor's finest[]
The following attack was by the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines of both the Salamanders and the Space Hunters Chapters. The Salamanders attacked for unknown reasons, but the space hunters were doing what they were famous for, destroying aliens. The war raged for months, while the planet was getting more and more scarred, in fact, 'the wasteland' part of the planet was a result of this war. After many failed attempts at victory manouvers on both sides, the Tau rose victorious. The Salamanders retreated via the Warp, but the space hunters were almost completley destroyed.
The remainder of the chapter, which were only 167 marines from all companies were held captive by the tau, and after being asked by water caste officials, they betrayed the imperium, and joined the Tau Empire. The story of their quick transferrence, was apparently the remaining marines had failed the imperium and the emperor, and their honour was completley destroyed, impossible to rebuild, and had the common sense to go with the only other alternative. The chapter now serves the fire caste, and go to war with the tau as heavy shock troops, their invulnerability to the perils of war is second-to none.
The following is a quote several years after the "incident" by a Space marine Chaplain of an undisclosed identity, after seeing the marines fighting alongside the Tau:
- "Bah!.. The.. the aliens they hated and obliterated with rightous fury, they now... "serve"!? There's no turning back for them now - they have sinned, they have fallen to the Xeno's malevolent ways. They deserve nothing less than being smited into a pulp by the TRUE sons of the emperor!"
- —Anonymous Chaplain
Resistance against Chaos[]
During one of the many wars Oresh'uan has fought for the third sphere expansion, the most devastating battle was with Chaos space marines from the legion known as: The Reborn. They were overwhelmed and had to retreat, but they killed many of the foul chaos, and a major achievment of sending a Daemon Prince back to the warp. The current whereabouts of the legion is unknown.
Defence against Kh'err'akh'an[]
This was a famous, and desperate defence against an entire dark eldar fleet, led by the dangerous Archon Kh'err'akh'an. While on a search to his keys to immortality, the Archon found himself on Oresh'uan, But eventually was detected, and attacked by the entire force on the planet. Even though the resistances were matched, the battle was just won, resulting in the Archon calling a retreat.
Wars on Kor'tael[]
Most of Oresh'uan has currently been occupied fending off the Necrus IV Tombworld, this in itself would be a suicide mission, but the strength of Oresh'uan, with the help of the Kor'tael Sept, are holding them back.
War with Erebus[]
The sept has crushed all opponents on other planets, but now the planet itself has been against an overwhelming threat, against a tyranid hive fleet, codenamed "Erebus".
Unlike most fleets encountered by the Tau empire, the resistance hasn't been originating from the east, instead this fleet had come from below the galactic plane. It is unknown why the tyranids have chosen the planet, as it has very little organic matter, but it seems the insects are desperate for any kind of biomass after their long crawl though the void, and Oresh'uan happened to be the first planet they encountered.
The vast tyranid organism has proved itself to not just be dumb insects yet again, every major city and strongpoint (Besides T'eshuan) has fallen under the grip of the hive mind, with the glorious capital of Arn'uan is experiencing the thickest of resistance. The planet from all aspects the planet seemed to be doomed, but with aid from the Aun'Va Coalition, and an unlikely partnership with Kh'err'akh'an, they Triumphed.
The Crusade of Redemption[]
A minor confrontation by Oresh'uan standards. The Bulk of Oresh'uan's forces had rushed to a defence on Darktun Secendus, an orphan world that was unfortunately flung into Tau space, once again the Tau had crossed Paths with the Necrus IV Tombworld, but after heavy resistance, chose to left the planet as the roiling chaos of dozens of armies crumbled the planet apart. The planet has been since monitored by the Aun'Va Coalition during its pass through Tau space.
The Fall[]
- "Possibly the greatest lack of judgment Oresh'uan has seen since the founding - I should have known to never trust humans so naivley. This was a true test for my morals, for it questioned even my deep faith in Tau'va"
The Space Hunters uprise from deep within the Tau ranks, and it unfolds as a desperate conflict and battle for power on the planet.