Pythos is a jungle death world in the Pandorax system, Ultima Segmentum, and the setting of the Horus Heresy novel The Damnation of Pythos. It’s a planet where humanity clings to mountaintop strongholds while massive saurian predators rule the lowlands.
A death world of jungles and saurian predators
Pythos is classified as a death world, with dense jungles covering most of its surface and occasional patches of scorched grassland. Its oceans and lowlands are home to enormous saurian creatures that make travel on the ground or across water extremely dangerous.
The planet’s human settlers avoid the lowlands entirely. Instead, they live in mountaintop mining colonies, scattered across the mountain chains in hundreds of strongholds, each housing only a few thousand people. These colonies extract precious minerals, but life there is precarious and meagre.
Atika, the hive-port
Pythos’s only major city is Atika, a small spire city on the coast of the planet’s largest ocean. Its main habitation zones sit in dome-like upper levels, high above the surrounding swamplands, with the aptly named deathglades pressing in on the landward side.
Travel between Atika and the mountain strongholds is done by sky barges, dilapidated lighter-than-air dirigibles that lumber through the skies above the ferocious creatures below. It’s not a comfortable way to get around, but it’s safer than walking.
The Damnation of Pythos
Pythos is the setting of David Annandale’s novel The Damnation of Pythos, the 30th book in the Horus Heresy series, released in July 2014. The story follows a battered force of Iron Hands, Raven Guard, and Salamanders who regroup on the planet after the Drop Site Massacre at Isstvan V.
As the Space Marines carve out a sanctuary in the jungles, they encounter human refugees fleeing the war, and a darkness gathers that threatens them all. The novel features a daemon bound to Pythos, waiting for victims to arrive.
Key characters and factions
The Iron Hands contingent is led by Captain Durun Atticus of the 111th Clan-Company, commanding the strike cruiser Veritas Ferrum. Other notable figures include Sergeant Khi’dem of the Salamanders and Veteran Inachus Ptero of the Raven Guard.
The human cast includes legion serfs like Agnes Tanaura, who preaches hope through the Lectitio Divinitatus, and colonists such as High Priest Tsi Rekh. The daemon Madail is bound to the planet itself.
- Iron Hands: Captain Atticus, Sergeant Galba, Techmarine Camnus, Apothecary Vektus
- Salamanders: Sergeant Khi’dem
- Raven Guard: Veteran Inachus Ptero
- Emperor’s Children: Captain Kleos, Ancient Curval
- Colonists: High Priest Tsi Rekh, Priestess-novitiate Ske Vris
Key facts
- Pythos is a death world in the Pandorax system, Ultima Segmentum.
- Its surface is mostly dense jungle, home to massive saurian predators.
- Human settlers live in mountaintop mining colonies and the hive-port of Atika.
- Travel between settlements uses sky barges, lighter-than-air dirigibles.
- A daemon named Madail is bound to the planet.
- It’s the setting of The Damnation of Pythos, a Horus Heresy novel by David Annandale.
FAQ
What is Pythos in Warhammer 40k?
Pythos is a jungle death world in the Pandorax system, Ultima Segmentum. It’s the setting of the Horus Heresy novel The Damnation of Pythos and is known for its deadly saurian predators and mountaintop mining colonies.
What kind of planet is Pythos?
It’s a death world covered mostly in dense jungles, with scorched grasslands and oceans inhabited by massive saurian creatures. Human settlers live in fortified mountaintop strongholds or the hive-port of Atika.
Which novel features Pythos?
The Damnation of Pythos by David Annandale, the 30th book in the Horus Heresy series. It follows Iron Hands, Raven Guard, and Salamanders survivors after the Isstvan V Drop Site Massacre.