Ever since the expedition Guilliman had dispatched more than a century ago discovered Pharos, it had been cautiously kept in an undeveloped state.
Since no one knew whether the alien construct within posed any threat, there was only a small settlement on all of Sotha, while the Ultramarines' camp was located on a nearby mountain.
The Ultramarans settled on Sotha were merely ordinary farmers. They cultivated the land and raised livestock on this paradise-like world, living rather contentedly.
The Ultramarines had assigned these settlers only one task: whenever the vegetation near the entrance to Pharos grew too lush, the farmers were to gather with sickles and hoes to cut back the excess brush.
The caves of Pharos were generally off-limits, but as time passed, there were always people who wandered in, whether lost or seeking adventure and excitement.
They relaxed within the caverns. Some played psalteries in those natural echo chambers; the twisting, intersecting caves carried reverberations beautifully, making music performed there especially melodious.
The psaltery music and mysterious reverberations Guilliman had heard in the city of Macragge had originated here.
"War is everywhere across the galaxy now. The people living on Sotha are already very fortunate. At least they are still alive and have not been harassed by the enemy," Lox suddenly remarked.
From the mountaintop, they could see the fertile valley fields and paths built along the slopes. The people here lived a primitive, peaceful existence, and did not even use machinery to aid production.
Their methods of production differed little from those of humanity's first millennium.
Because Dantioch had recently activated the device within Pharos, the residents at the foot of the mountain had been forbidden from entering those mysterious, labyrinthine caverns. The Ultramarines had advised them to remain home and rest for a time.
The drones