Harakon is one of the oldest regions of Lenehen, scarcely younger than Holy Terra itself, and is renowned for it's sprawling tropical jungles and forests, as well as the quality of it's Imperial Guard regiments.
Harakon[]
A Harakoni patrol on a sweep of the jungle.
When the first explorers arrived, the region was a deceptive, calm green land from a distance but when the first ships carrying the hundreds of colonists crashed and were broken beyond repair, the colonists had no way to escape, and they awoke to find themselves in one of the harshest places in the world. The colonists only barely survived, holed up in their fortified towns against a living, besieging jungle, a battle for survival in which many undoubtedly died. Between the hostile wildlife, poisonous flora and a wide variety of various terrible diseases, the whole colony would have been wiped out in a matter of weeks were it not for assistance of the locals. Taking pity on these strange, poorly-equipped foreigners, the native Harakonis helped the Lenehenese to survive in this harsh new world in exchange for medicine and fire-arms.
A swarm of Lashworms overwhelm and consume a Lenehenese hunting party.
All of the animals and plants in Harakon are geared in some way to destroy humans and any other invaders. Every plant is poisonous, making foraging impossible. Some plants secrete poisonous pollen into the air which clogs air-filters whilst others secrete sticky liquid to capture passing animals and slowly dissolve them. Other plants poison the ground and turn the immediate area around them into boggy wasteland to trap invaders. The native animals are as deadly to humanity as the plant life- hives of flesh-eating Borer Beetles and Lashworms flood out of the ground to consume any foolish enough to venture near their territory whilst Carrion Bats and Firewasps patrol the jungle canopy in large swarms, tearing and stinging intruders. Perhaps the most feared of all creatures is the Harakon Black Viper, whose venom can kill a man in under thirty heartbeats. The colonists quickly learned that to live in this environment was a harsh and bloody fight for survival, the native species had only survived by being faster, stronger and more venomous than their predators.
The native Harakonis were no exception to this rule, the loinclothed 'savages' that lived in this jungle had not survived through sheer luck, each one was as tough and cunning as was required to survive in a living nightmare. The potential of these people was quickly realised by the colonists and soon regiments of Harakonis were raised and shipped off to Lenehen's battlegrounds. Interestingly, despite its abundant wildlife and minerals, Harakon's only useful resource is its people, who (having grown up in such conditions) are natural recruits for the Lenehenese Imperial Guard.
Lifestyle[]
Harakonis exist in the native habitat in tribes of several hundred, farming herds of wild Grox from within walled cities. In such dangerous surroundings, children are quick to learn survival tactics and only those who are fast, strong and have a good natural aim survive to adulthood. It is often said that children learn to shoot before they walk, as 60% of the population do not survive to adulthood. Harakoni cities are well-known for their practice of gladitorial combat, the strongest sons of the tribe are pitted against each other for dominance and prestige. It is the winners of these brutal fights that are recruited into the Imperial Guard, some Harakoni scripts speak of Armoured Giants (Lenehenese Kasrkin in Carapace Armour) who descend from the heavens and take their strongest sons into the sky. Since the culture of every tribe is different, the methods of recruitment are often different- some tribes give the sons that survive the gladiatorial combat, others offer them as a gift to the Kasrkin collectors (Believed to be Gods by some) in exchange for their favour, whilst the more savvy tribes exchange them for long-arms and other goods. No matter the method, the stream of recruits from this seemingly-inhospitable region remains high, even above the average.
Due to the ever-present dangers of Harakon, the actual Imperial prescence in the region is fairly low, only a few thousand soldiers are ever stationed there, usually to oversee recruitment and to break up particularly bloody inter-tribal wars. These wars are not discouraged by the Lenehenese, far from it in fact- these wars prevent any one tribe from becoming too powerful and are an excellent way to 'blood' the potential recruits before they are sent to their warzones.
Imperial Guard Regiments[]
Harakoni Warhawks engaging Panzermee forces during the Cytherian Annxation.
Naturally tough and brutally cunning, Harakonis make perfect soldiers and they are formed into Native-only regiments. Because of their upbringing, many are already impressively able with both blade and bullet and it is not unknown for some recruits to be immediately sent to a battleground, as the need for formal training is negated by their histories. Native Harakonis are known for being extremely loyal to the Imperium, having an unshakable and almost childlike faith in the Emperor, seeing him as watching over their every action on the battlefield, and regarding every order as being passed down the chain of command from the Emperors mouth to their ears and such is to be followed without question to the best of their abilities. It is for this reason that the Emperor has a personal bodyguard of the most elite Harakonis found from every regiment, along with his Adeptus Custodes. However due to their tribal backgrounds, Harakoni regiments are regarded as extremely brutal and scalping is common in some regiments. Their preferred method of fighting is close-combat, where they can wield their blades to deadly effect.
Notable Regiments[]
- Harakoni I: Wiped out to the man in the Macharian Crusade during an infamous assassination attempt of the Babylonian Emperor, reputedly wounding him with a shot to the shoulder before being slaughtered by the palace guard. The name Firster is slang in Harakoni regiments for someone who has gone mad.
- Harakoni II:During the Siege of Babylon, the Harakoni 18th were nicknamed the 'Red-Skulls' by the Babylonian defenders because of their habit of scalping any Babylonians that were unfortunate enough to cross paths with them. It is said that they are the only enemies that even the famed Varangian Guard fear.
- Harakoni III: No data
- Harakoni IV, V, VI, VII: Destroyed attempting the stem the outbreak of The Infected.
- Harakoni XVIII: The Harakon 18th "Black Vipers" fought in the city of Cytheria after it's governor defected to the Panzermeemian Empire. Snipers from the regiment eliminated the traitorous governor, striking a critical blow to the defenders morale.