When you ask First Councillor Aryz about the Quartoks he is willing to explain much of their history. He begins by telling you that there was once twelve different peoples of Quartoks, each having a different skin colour and originating from a different region from their homeworld, a vicious deathworld that reminds you of Elysium in many ways. The twelve tribes have been in conflict with each for much of their history though by the time that they had made it into space open warfare was rare and the conflict was usually scientific, sporting and economic. This continued after they stated making off world colonies with each colony being settled by members on a single tribe, though having multiple colonies in a single system or even on a single world was common. The twelve tribes of the Quartok only united after Waagh Scarfang in late M43 which force the twelve tribes to work together under the heroic Nektis the Unifier, the leader of the Gold Tribe and one of the greatest heroes of the Quartok. Nektis managed to unify the tribes after the total destruction of the silver tribe and led his people against the Orks for three decades before dying to wounds sustained killing Warlord Scarfang in the decisive battle of the war. The eleven remaining tribes formed a loose federation after the war and agreed to work together against external threats. For the next five hundred years this federation slowly fell apart as few threats that required the entire force of the Quartok were met. This changed when the Quartok met humanity.
Here Aryz's voice became strained and you could tell that he had trouble with the what he was about to admit.
"I should tell you at this point that I was alive during the war with the Imperium and fought in the front lines and as such witnessed the atrocities that were preformed on my people. It is due to this that I hold such a hatred towards you, shameful though it is, and I am trying not to blame you for the actions of others but it is hard when I see symbols such as the Aquila." He informed you, his voice thick with emotion and his eyes glazed with memories of horrors once seen.
As he got back to explaining the history his voice took on a more dispassionate tone as if he was trying to separate himself from the emotions that this period awoke in him. He tells you that the first contact with the Imperium was with a Rouge Trader who left with a cargo of exotic animals from the Quartok homeworld, which you have noticed that Aryz has never named. For the next hundred years there was only the occasional contact with humans which gave the Quartoks the impression of humans as arrogant Xenophobes that were willing to compromise their morals for the sake of profit.
This changed when Warmaster Belamont and his Crusade attacked the Quartok federation. This attack caught the Quartoks totally by surprise and four entire worlds fell within the first few months of the crusade. It was the total massacre of the population of these worlds that provided the impetus for the Quartoks to throw everything that they had into the crusade as well as begin the preparation of a dozen colony ships to preserve some of their people in the case of defeat, a contingency that is the main reason that any Quartoks survived. The Gold tribe once again led the combined force of the Quartoks to war and managed to hold the Crusade at bay for over two decades before the Imperial Crusades endless reserves and superior technology allowed Warmaster Belamont to launch a strike that broke the back of the Quartok defence. He launched simultaneous assaults on each of the Gold tribes worlds using reserves that he had been holding back from the crusade. These attacks utilised Exterminatus weaponry and were able to almost wipe out the Gold tribe in a single week.
To explain exactly how important that this was Aryz tells you that the Gold tribe had always been the greatest of the twelve tribes and the most militaristic. Despite this they were also the tribe that sought hardest to prevent wars breaking out between the tribes and to unify their people. It was the Gold tribe who provided the largest, bravest and best equipped proportion of the Quartok Federations force and it was the Gold tribe that had turned the tide in many key battles. The annihilation of the worlds of the Gold tribe had simultaneously destroyed a major portion of the Quartok Federations military-industrial complex and killed off many of their best troops, though the majority of the Gold tribes soldiers were on the front lines.
After the Fall of Gold, as those events came to be know the Quartok Federation realised that it had no hope of victory and turned its plans towards survival. The began to send out the colony ships as fast as they could be readied, with the first leaving a mere two years after the Fall of Gold and the last two years before the destruction of their homeworld. The Quartok fought a desperate delaying action during these years with the warriors from the Gold tribe always on the front lines, fighting with a level of fury and determination that had never before been displayed.
Over the course of those two decades the remaining hundred worlds of the Quartok Federation fell, with each world fighting a ever more desperate attempt to delay the humans and protect the homeworld, which Aryz still has not named. He also tells you that every last survivor of the Gold tribe refused a place on the colony ships and elected to hold back the humans for as long as possible to allow others to get off safely.
Aryz tells you that the final colony ship, which he was on, was sent out when there were only eight Quartok worlds remaining and only two years before their homeworld was destroyed by cyclonic missiles. He tells you that the imagery that was relayed of the Homeworld being scoured of life by a series of massive explosions is one that he will never forget and will always hate the Imperium for. The destruction of their homeworld scarred the Quartoks greatly and in their shame they have forbidden its name from being used except to be told to a new adult in their coming of age ceremony. The Quartok have also abandoned their original name for themselves and taken up a version of the humans derogatory nickname for them until they have redeemed themselves for their failure.
Aryz pauses for a moment here to reflect on the events described before resuming with a description of how the Quartoks who avoided the Imperial scouts trying to hunt down any survivors by being deep in the interstellar void, with each of their colony ships having no clue about the location or destination of any of the others to ensure that if one was found others might escape. This led to the colonist being surprised when it turned out they all of them had landed within the same cluster of stars far from where they set out. The Quartok set out to rebuild their civilisation in this area, which Aryz carefully avoids leaving any clues to the location of, with a focus on rebuilding better and stronger then they were before.
It is during this period known as the age of rebuilding that the Quartok finally became one people, with the tribes becoming ethnic groups rather then administrative organisations and people beginning to think of themselves as Quartoks first and as members of a tribe second if at all. This change along with several others were made in honour of the Gold tribe, whose sacrifices held back the humans long enough for the Quartoks to survive. One of the other great changes that was made during this period was the agreement to never become like the Imperium, never to let mindless hate overrule morality or to judge without reason or to hate others for being different.
At this point Aryz admits how tempted he was to have the Avernites who found his people in "Death's Harbringer" killed and how it was only the "Code of Gold" which stayed his hand.
The age of rebuilding also signified a great militarisation of the Quartok people with everyone being trained in combat and their worlds fortified to an impressive degree. Aryz goes on to tell you how he had been appointed the military leader for one of the second wave of colony ships since the age of rebuilding started and was on the ship when a massive warpstorm spat out "Death's Harbinger" on top of it. He tells you that the majority of the half a billion Quartoks on the colony ship were killed by the Orks within a few days but he managed to hold a defensible position for long enough that the Orks got destructed by Warp Horrors. That was two years ago and since then he had been defending an ever smaller portion of the hulk from the Orks.
Once histories have been exchanged you begin to discuss other matters such as religion, law and order, psykers and similar matters. You found that the Quartok justice system has some similarities to the Avernite one with the main difference being that the Avernite justice system is stricter, finding people guilty with less evidence then the Quartok system. You find that the Quartoks are ruled by a council of twenty, half elected members with twenty year terms and half representatives of certain segments of society. From among the council a High Councillor is chosen who leads his people and has total authority in certain matters, such as war. Aryz was selected as the High Councillor of the colony hip that he set out on and was the army representative.
The Quartoks are mildly religious with a religion that is a mix of ancestor worship and worship of their original homeworld which is the reason that its destruction hit them so hard. They know about the threat of Chaos, or the Horror in the Warp as they call it and have their own, fatal, methods for dealing with Chaos worshippers. However due to their low psychic sensitivity Quartoks are less susceptible to Chaotic corruption than humans and do not have as many problems with cults. The total lack of Quartok Psykers also helps them avoid the attention of Chaos.
During this period of discussion you also ask a bit about Quartok biology and find that they are a lot more long lived with humanity and that they do not die of old age, or at least that no Quartok has ever died of old age. Aryz tells you that Quartoks reach adulthood fifty years after being born and are general about one thousand two hundred and fifty Zhaar, or around two and a half meters. He tells you that after reaching adulthood a Quartok will grow by one Zhaar per Zha, the Quartok year around two standard years, from that point on. This means that you can approximate the age of a Quartok by its size and that Aryz is almost fifteen hundred years old.
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