Aurelian IV

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Aurelian IV (奥勒利安四号)
Species/Race	Human-inhabited planet
Affiliation	Imperium of Man; nominally under the Imperial Eastern Fringe 10 29
Status	Under temporary Iron Hands administrative and military command following the Warp-heretic crisis 100
First Appearance	4

Overview

Feature	Details
Classification	Frontier World with a semi-Hive World social and technological structure 19 76
Population	23.5 billion after eighty years of post-purge decline; formerly 32 billion 101
Major resources	Promethium, megasore ore, and rare crystals 90 101
Moons	Two: one red and one white 88 90
Imperial era	Late M30, at the height of the Great Crusade and before the Horus Heresy 29
Principal crisis zone	Industrial District 7, site of longstanding Warp contamination 37 100

Geography and Locations

Hive Cities and Settlements

Location	Description
Arlu City	A Hive City and stronghold of the Hissman Merchant Guild; its upper hive houses the guild's headquarters and ruling conferences. 90 91
Hisman City	Headquarters of the Simans Chamber of Commerce and meeting place of the Supreme Council. 37
Dawn City	Former capital of the Black Royal Family; later headquarters of the Adons Knight Family. 90
Holy Hymn City	Location of the Planetary Governor's palace and a major base of the Khomo Psionic Family and Cult of the Machine Thought. 90
Vodia	City near Abandoned Pre-processing Workshop No. 7, where 5,000 players first appear. 4
Industrial District 7	Ruined industrial area containing a Warp rift linked to the Arar Family's past attempt to summon the entity known as Father's Dream. 100
Crimson Bright Wasteland	A radiation-contaminated wasteland containing Crimson Dawn Base. Imperial records attribute its contamination to the destruction and crash of Dawn City's Seventh Administrative District. 65 90 102
Red Rainbow Town	A wasteland settlement with severe radiation sickness and mutation problems among its inhabitants. 76 82
Merida Town	Gang-controlled mining town with bunker-like fortifications. 83
Bordeaux Town	Former industrial stronghold and base of the Iron Claw Gang before its capture by Crimson Dawn. 87 88

Crimson Bright Wasteland

The Crimson Bright Wasteland is officially classified as an abandoned radiation zone where settlement is not recommended. For eighty years, Mechanicus observation records noted only mutant beasts and scavengers in the area. 90 102

Within roughly three years, Crimson Dawn established a fortified settlement there with double-layered walls, water purification, air filtration, radiation shielding, farmland, industrial areas, and housing for at least 20,000 people. 101 102

• The wasteland contains hostile native mutants, including Razor Dogs and radiation-frenzied hyenas. 51 85
• Its radiation-resistant conditions make conventional settlement difficult, but improved crop seeds and purification technology enable cultivation. 72 102
• The wasteland's remoteness initially allows Crimson Dawn to develop while the major factions concentrate forces around the industrial zone. 90

History

Black Royal Family and Iron Hands Purge

Aurelian IV was formerly ruled by the Black Royal Family. Eighty years before the present storyline, the family refused to join the Imperium and was accused of worshipping a heretical deity through sacrificial rites. 68

Ferrus Manus and the Iron Hands Legion conquered the world through seven days of orbital bombardment and ground purges. District 7 was bombarded, while the Black Royal Family and the Arar psionic family were believed destroyed. 29 68

The purge failed to eliminate all Warp-tainted remnants. The Arar Family's earlier attempt to summon Father's Dream left behind the Warp rift that would later endanger the planet. 37 100

Eighty Years of Local Rule

After the Iron Hands departed, the planet's four major powers rose to effective control while the Imperial Governor became largely a tax-collecting figurehead. 10 29

During this period, Aurelian IV's population fell from 32 billion to 23.5 billion; its planetary defense equipment regressed by two generations; and its functioning orbital defense platforms fell from 23 to nine. Meanwhile, the private assets of the four ruling powers increased by 22,400 percent. 101

Warp-Heresy Crisis

The outbreak in the Crimson Bright Wasteland industrial zone exposed the surviving Warp threat. The local factions formed the Aurelian Warp Heresy Threat Joint Response Command, with the Adons Family handling military command, the Khomo Family psyonic affairs, the Cult of the Machine Thought technical support, and the Chamber logistics. 37

The joint forces fought the heretics and daemons for twenty-eight days, suffering catastrophic losses. Ferrus Manus later cited approximately 400,000 PDF dead, 180,000 local guardsmen dead, 31 destroyed Knight walkers, and the complete loss of the planet's psyker forces. 91 101

Iron Hands Intervention

Responding to the distress signal, Ferrus Manus led the Iron Hands to Aurelian IV. He personally destroyed the Rage Slaughterer and sealed the Lord of Change and Mystery, ending the immediate daemonic threat. 68 98

Ferrus then invoked Article Seventy-Three of the Great Crusade Theater Management Regulations to assume temporary administrative and military command, citing Mechanicus dereliction of duty and the planet's compromised defenses. 100

Government and Politics

Imperial Authority

Before the Iron Hands' return, Aurelian IV nominally belonged to the Imperium but exercised extensive local autonomy. The governor's principal duties were collecting the tithe and avoiding an overt rebellion that would draw Imperial attention. 10 29

Governor Harrington exploited this arrangement, submitting false promethium figures, making private agreements with the local powers, and using claims of instability to seek greater resources and authority. Ferrus Manus removed him from office and transferred him to the Adeptus Arbites for investigation. 101

Major Powers

Faction	Role on Aurelian IV
Simans Chamber of Commerce / Hissman Merchant Guild	Controlled commerce, civilian life, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, retail, and much of the planet's mineral export trade. Its Alru Pharmaceutical Group subsidiary conducted illegal genetic experiments, organ trafficking, and contraband-drug production. 9 29 100
Adons Knight Family	Controlled mining and major local military forces, including Knight armor formations. 29 37 100
Khomo Psionic Family	Controlled education, high-level talent, and local psyker affairs. Its ancestors were psykers removed from Black Ship rosters by the Mechanicus after the earlier purge. 29 100
Cult of the Machine Thought	Local Adeptus Mechanicus branch responsible for technology and heavily embedded in the other powers' infrastructure. 29 100

Ferrus Manus concluded that these were not truly independent powers: the Adons Knight armor, Hissman trade routes, and Khomo Family's psychic role were all ultimately dependent on Mechanicus systems and patronage. 100

Following the crisis, Ferrus ordered each major power to forfeit 60% of its assets to the Departmento Munitorum while continuing basic civic and purification duties. 101

Society

Aurelian IV's lower classes endure extreme exploitation. Workers face wage theft, corporal punishment, forced labor, human trafficking, organ harvesting, and illegal experimentation under the commercial faction's rule. 9 13 54

Despite the world's technological capacity—las weapons, aircraft, synthetic industry, Knight armor, and heavy artillery—lower levels and wasteland settlements rely heavily on manual labor and lack reliable food, clean water, or medical care. 19 76 82

Crimson Dawn offers an alternative settlement model in the wasteland, organized around labor compensation, communal facilities, militia service, education, worker representation, and the Aurelian Youth League. 54 62 103

Economy and Resources

• Promethium — The planet's most strategically important resource; its exports were placed under temporary Iron Hands control after the crisis. 100
• Mining — Controlled primarily by the Adons Knight Family and supported by labor settlements such as Merida Town. 29 83
• Megasore ore and rare crystals — Resources described as famous across the sector. 90
• Industrial production — Includes pharmaceuticals, weapons, armored vehicles, artillery, basic synthetic industries, and Mechanicus-linked technical infrastructure. 9 19 91
• Agriculture — Limited by radiation and poor soil outside controlled settlements; Crimson Dawn demonstrates that improved seeds, irrigation, and soil treatment can sustain crops in the wasteland. 72 102

Military Forces

Force	Notes
Planetary Defense Force	Nominal Imperial defense force with equipment and training inferior to the local factions' guards. Hundreds of thousands were expended during the industrial-zone offensive. 91 93
Local Guards	Armed forces of the four major powers; fielded tanks, artillery, Sentinel mechs, Knight armor, combat servitors, and psyker units. 37 90 91
Iron Hands Legion	Arrived under Ferrus Manus to purge the Warp threat, then remained to conduct planetary purification and restore Imperial authority. 98 100
Crimson Dawn	Wasteland-based armed settlement with 5,000 gun-capable fighters, modified vehicles, homemade lasguns, heavy weapons, and a native militia reserve. 73 103

Relationships

• Imperium of Man — Aurelian IV is an Imperial frontier world, though effective control was weak until the Iron Hands intervention. 10 29 100
• Iron Hands Legion — Conquered the planet eighty years earlier, returned to destroy the daemonic threat, and assumed temporary command. 68 98 100
• Adeptus Mechanicus — Maintained deep influence over the four major powers and was held responsible by Ferrus Manus for mismanaging the world. 100 101
• Crimson Dawn — A growing settlement and military force in the Crimson Bright Wasteland; granted a conditional opportunity for legal recognition and service to the Imperium. 102 103
• Warp Heretics — The surviving contamination of District 7 created the planet's most severe recent military and political crisis. 37 100