A Brief History of the Helstrom Protectorate

The Helstrom Protectorate is a small planet on the western fringe of the Perdian Expanse in Segmentum Pacificus. Its original name long forgotten, the Protectorate has been cut off from the Imperium for countless generations.

The von Helstrom family had ruled for as long as anyone could remember. Legend says the planet was originally goverened by local chieftains united under a elected king. As the story goes, the planet was at one point suffering from terrible famine and the people were starving. The situation was extremely dire until one of the chieftains - Ludwig von Helstrom - was elected to leadership and ushered in a series of agricultural reforms that eventually solved the food crisis and restored order among the people. When Ludwig died many years later, his brother was elected to lead. His brother ruled for a long period of time and eventually his son was again elected as king, and so on and so forth until the people just expected the von Helstroms would continue to rule as they always have. Eventually the elections were forgotten and the von Helstrom family inherited a prospering Kingdom.

The day the Imperium came, everything changed.

The Helstrom Protectorate as the planet was now called was ushered into the new Imperium with much celebration. To the von Helstroms, it was a relief. Things had not been going well lately and many people were getting restless. Food stocks were low and resources becoming scarce. Belonging to the new Empire was going to solve a lot of problems.

The Protectorate did its Imperial duty - it contributed a meager tithe, engaged in minor trade with other local planets, and maintained a small regiment of the Imperial Guard ready to be called upon to fight for the Imperium. The King, Maximillian von Helstrom III, was happy to receive Imperial equipment and materiel and took great interest in his new army. Fancying himself as somewhat of a great general despite the fact his military experience was relegated to history books about ancient wars, the King took command and busied himself with its organization. Dubbed the 1st Royal Expeditionary Legion, the army practiced and drilled constantly in anticipation of being called to the Emperor's service.

Kings came and went and the Protectorate prospered but the army had still not been called to duty. Generations went by, and unbeknownst to the Protectorate, the Imperium had entered into the Age of Apostasy. The von Helstroms became very worried and increasingly paranoid as Imperial contact dwindled to nothing. Soon domestic problems arose once more and the populace was once again restless. But this time things were much worse - riots were spreading through some of the larger towns and people were raiding warehouses and stealing from local merchants.

Unfortunately, the current King Gunther von Helstrom IV was not as understanding as his predecessors. Fearing the collapse of his Kingdom and the repercussions of not fulfilling his duty to the Empire, the King gathered bands of thugs under local community leaders to keep the peace. Using fear as his weapon, the populace was beaten into submission and his kingdom narrowly escaped collapse. Problems persisted and food was scarce, and eventually the various bands of thugs were formalized into a state police force that exists to this day.

The current ruler of the Protectorate is King Maximillian von Helstrom IV. He has been on the throne for the last 30 years and rules with an iron fist. His distrust of his own subjects and fear of a mass uprising has forced him to reform the 1st Royal Expeditionary Legion as the Helstrom Royal Guard. The King only knows of the Imperium from history, and blames them for his kingdom's troubles. He and his army are prepared for their eventual return, although this time he intends to send them back from wherever they came.