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| - In the the wake of the Angevin Crusade, the colonists and Administratum tithe assayers swept through the newly conquered worlds of the nascent Calixis Sector, cataloguing planets and determining their usefulness to the Imperium. The world designated Orcus was found to be unsuitable for colonisation due to its high gravity, yet, paradoxically, was already inhabited. Administratum Census Proctori and Adeptus Mechanicus Genetors confirmed within one solar year that the human-descended denizens of Orcus were stable Abhumans, classifying them as Ogryns. The representatives of the Priesthood of Earth began the task of bringing Orcus into the Imperial fold. He classified the planet, its native flora and fauna, and its Abhuman inhabitants; but it would be many standard years before the Administrat
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| abstract
| - In the the wake of the Angevin Crusade, the colonists and Administratum tithe assayers swept through the newly conquered worlds of the nascent Calixis Sector, cataloguing planets and determining their usefulness to the Imperium. The world designated Orcus was found to be unsuitable for colonisation due to its high gravity, yet, paradoxically, was already inhabited. Administratum Census Proctori and Adeptus Mechanicus Genetors confirmed within one solar year that the human-descended denizens of Orcus were stable Abhumans, classifying them as Ogryns. The representatives of the Priesthood of Earth began the task of bringing Orcus into the Imperial fold. He classified the planet, its native flora and fauna, and its Abhuman inhabitants; but it would be many standard years before the Administratum found an appropriate purpose for the inhospitable world. Orcus is a largely barren planet of rocky crags and plateaus. The native animal life tends toward the large and dangerous, while the flora consists primarily of hardy grasses and mosses. Saltwater oceans cover approximately a quarter of Orcus' surface, fed by freshwater streams that flow from the craggy mountain peaks. Orcus' native inhabitants primarily live on the equatorial region's rocky highlands and lowland plains, although smaller communities can be found in the mountains and even wandering the frozen tundra of its poles. The native Ogryns are hearty enough to survive almost anywhere on the world's surface. The Ogryn inhabitants of Orcus live a primarily hunter-gatherer lifestyle, following the herds of gonar beasts in their migrations across the plains. The tumbled and ruined remains of ancient human colony complexes are largely buried beneath millennia of earth and growth and, though the native Ogryns claim that the ruins have always been there, the clear semblance to known STC patterns indicates that these structures were the abodes of the Ogryns' forebears. However, by the time of the Angevin Crusade, the Ogryns' technology level was profoundly primitive, with most groups lacking even the knowledge to forge basic metals. Stone or bone weapons dominated, and what few trees grew on Orcus were made into massive spears for hunting the great beasts of the plains. Even if the Ogryns had the mental capacity to utilise the surviving equipment of their ancestors, their oversized and clumsy fingers could hardly manipulate it. Despite a few initial incidents, the majority of the native Ogryn population welcomed the Imperium, not unlike the way a child might enthusiastically welcome a returning parent. The Missionaria Galaxia introduced the Imperial Creed to the population far more quickly than they expected, as the Ogryns wholeheartedly embraced the worship of the Emperor. It soon became apparent that the Ogryns craved the Emperor's approval, interpreting His status as the Father of Mankind quite literally. The gargantuan inhabitants of Orcus flocked to hear the word of the Ministorum priests, hanging on their every word, though failing to comprehend many of them. Despite such success, throughout this initial contact the world's crushing gravity was a constant problem for the Imperium's agents and Adepts. Consequently, much of the work of assimilation and governing had to be done from orbiting spacecraft, and later from permanent orbital facilities. Those devoted missionaries and priests who proselytised to the Ogryns could endure only brief periods on the surface, returning frequently to the starships and void stations in orbit, much to the Ogryns' disappointment. In 609.M40, the Adeptus Administratum found a use for Orcus. With its high gravity acting as both a natural form of restraint and unusual punishment, the Adepts decreed that Orcus would serve as a Penal World. Immediately, construction began on massive penitarium complexes -- much to the bemusement of the natives -- and Adepts of the Administratum and Adeptus Arbites began drafting the native Ogryns to work as guards and custodians. The crushing gravity ensures that ordinary humans can tolerate only short spans on the world's surface, and so the Arbitrators who manage the Penal World cycle through brief rotations on-planet, with the rest of their time spent aboard Orcus' two orbital stations, situated in geosynchronous orbit above each pole. During their terms on-world, the Arbitrators act primarily in a supervisory capacity, leaving the day-to-day guard duties to the Ogryn custodians, whom they often refer to as "guard dogs", or similar derogatory terms. Yet most insults go unnoticed by the Ogryns, who are happy to serve in any capacity, as long as they believe it is the Emperor's will.
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