Paragon



Paragon is in truth not a single world, but a confederacy of inhabited moons, void-stations and other inhabited asteroids spanning the entire Paragon System. Most commonly, the name refers to the most prominent of these settlements, the sixth moon of Paragon VI, a gas giant locally referred to as "Mater Maxima" -- or "Great Mother" in Low Gothic. As seat of its designated Imperial Governor, Aronis City, Paragon's greatest settlement is generally considered as the system's capital. Combined, the population and industrial output of these moons are roughly equivalent to that of an Imperial Hive World or a small Forge World which makes it a vital recruitment zone for the Astra Militarum. Paragon's wealth and levels of industrialization is famed throughout the entire Sub-Sector and beyond, which explains why most of the Paragonian Regiments raised there are Armoured Regiments or Regiments of Mechanized Infantry. Although not under the jurisdiction of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Cult Mechanicus is firmly implanted in Paragonian society and is commonly venerated alongside the Cult Imperialis. Most Paragonian therefore carry both the emblem of the Imperial Aquila and the Cog Mechanicum. Since the Geratomran Reconquest, the model of Paragonian society has successfully been exported to the point that the former world of Geratomro has now been re-designated New Paragon.

The Paragonian Year
As Paragon is but one of several natural satellites orbiting the Mater Maxima, the moon spends much of its time in the shadow of its planet, which has a considerable impact on life and the measurement of time on the moon-world. It is also important to notice that stark contrast to Luna, Terra's own moon, Paragon also resolves around its own axis, giving it a natural day and night cycle common to most worlds inhabited by humans.

Fundamentally, the Paragonian year is divided into two main seasons, Winter and Glory, each one roughly equivalent to the greater part of two Terran years. A full Paragonian year therefore equals closely to four Terran years, which explains why most Paragonians prefer to use the standard Imperial calendar. Obviously being the fairer season, Glory is subdivided into several smaller seasons commonly referred to as the Glory Seasons. These are respectively called Growth, Little Summer, Second Growth, Little Fall and Little Winter. This cycle corresponds to the time where Paragon is directly exposed to the light of its yellow sun. The last sunset for a twenty-three months period marks the beginning of Long Winter, when Paragon passes into the shadow of Mater Maxima and sees no sunlight at all. While technically Long Winter is also divided into five sub-seasons, with typical pragmatism the Paragonians have no names for them. Knowing no sunrise during Long Winter, "daytime" or "nighttime" refers to the time where Mater Maxima's faint glow may illuminate the sky, while "Zero Night" refers to the time when the moon's surface faces the void and everything vanishes in darkness.