Tallarn
Tallarn is a harsh desert planet in Segmentum Tempestus mostly known because it houses everyone's favourite Space Taliban sandpeople, the Tallarn Desert Raiders. It is, for all intents and purposes, 40k's answer to Tatooine.
History and Overview[edit]
It should be noted that Tallarn wasn't always a desert. It, like its Star Wars counterpart, used to be a verdant agri world when it was first settled in the 29th millennium. However, shit went tits up during the Horus Heresy, where Perturabo and his Iron Warriors dropped several metric tons of Virus Bombs on the planet, rendering it an inhospitable desert. Only then did the Chaos Space Marines land. Tallarn's few survivors emerged from their underground bunkers to stop the Iron Warriors' invasion much to Peter Turbo's surprise.
Soon, reinforcements from both sides arrived and the Battle of Tallarn became a giant, deserty moshpit. Since the poisoned environment made it impossible for infantry to operate outside of protective shelter, the only available option of battle was that of armored tank warfare. The largest tank battle in human history therefore erupted on the surface of Tallarn. We are talking billions of tanks here, on both sides.
Eventually, it was revealed by the work of Alpha Legion spies, including their operative Jalen, that Perturabo invaded Tallarn in search of the "Black Oculus" (aka the Cursus of Alganar), a portal that would allow the Iron Warriors to make a pact with Daemons and gain power. The Alpha Legion freed Horus's emissary, Argonis, in order to tell Perturabo to stop fucking around on Tallarn and help with the wider rebellion. It took a few tries as Perty was a stubborn bastard, but by the end of it, the Iron Warriors were forced to withdraw by command of Horus after it proved to be too much of a meatgrinder, and the wreckage of over a million tanks littered the sands. Tallarn still remains to be Perturabo's biggest loss and embarrassment because of how much the Virus Bombing failed to kill the inhabitants of Tallarn, before forcing the entire Iron Warriors legion into a quagmire and a stalemate.
Approximately twenty years after this, the official Tallarn Desert Raiders military force was formed. These regiments specialised in desert fighting, and were highly adept at ambushing enemy forces in the desert. The Tallarn Desert Raiders continued their attack on various worlds which had turned to Chaos until sometime around the 30th Millennium, when they were recalled.
Ten thousand years during the Thirteenth Black Crusade, Tallarn was caught within the Great Rift and was invaded by Daemons. It was only thanks to Roboute Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade that the world was saved and afterwards numerous Tallarn Desert Raiders Regiments joined the Crusade's forces.
Religion[edit]
It should be noted that Tallarn has a unique form of the Imperial Cult that is different from the mainstream. Rather than exclusively sucking Big-E's golden mummified cock, Emprah worship is done through an Orakle, a position that is venerated by a number of the tribes of Tallarn. The first Orakle was a sanctioned psyker who brokered a truce between the warring tribal alliances of the Doraha and Makali. Subsequently, the greatest of the astropaths of Tallarn (by virtue of the close bond they are seen to share with the Emperor due to their Soul Binding) is chosen to act as a religious guide and mediator, with those tribes that recognise their authority venerating them in the manner of a Living Saint.
Many tribes reject the notion of the Orakle, believing that worship of the Emperor does not require an intermediary. As such, the religious differences can fuel tribal vendettas as in the case of the Banna (who revere the Orakle) and the Turenag (who it is alleged killed an Orakle). This is based off the schism between Sunni and Shia Islam.
Worship of the Emperor can be conducted in a sacarius chamber, consisting of a washing pool where communal bathing and prayer is undertaken along with ritualistic tattooing.
Also, Jimmy Space is called the Aba Aba Mushira in Tallarn. Yeah we know, it sounds offensively Arabic, but it actually roughly translates in Arabic to "Father-Father Good News", or "Grandfather Good News"...so that doesn't make it any less weird.
