Vargenheim City Centre

"I still remember those early days. Back when i had to be up before the birds began chirping and start my daily routine of paperwork and bureaucracy. What i wouldn"t have given for a job involving sawing metal geodes into pieces with powersaws. At least, i got the oppurtunity of slicing demons into pieces not long after"
Larkan Viggo, reminscing about his days at the Vargenheim city centre

In the very heart of Vargenheim, one can find a towering structure that is a laybrinthine mass of rooms, armouries and other features. This is the city centre of Vargenheim. Originally a building set up to administrate mining operations on the cold steppes near the city, the building has since expanded to include everything from an armoury to research labs who carry out studies on demons.
It is chiefly noted to be one of the most significant centres of resistance during the four hundred years that Mikelgaard was cut off from the rest of the Imperium. Despite having early warnings, the military forces fell just as easily as those of the other cities. Only a few survivors were left from the force, alongside the civilian personnel of the city. The building became a shelter for them, where they built an armory to store their weapons and also fortified the building. They managed to build weapons from mining tools which hit hard and could drop demons in far fewer hits than the military grade weapons used by the security forces.
The weapons later evolved to include coilguns, gauss rifles, power swords and other weapons which would eventually be adopted as the standard issue weapons of not only the Vargenheim defence forces but also of many military units of the Imperium due to how effective they were at killingdemons.
As their conditions improved, the survivors built turrets in the upper reaches of the building, which were later automated to save manpower costs. These turrets ensured that demons would have a hard time passing through a perimeter, allowing the inhabitants of the building to carry out various activities in relative peace. A short while later, a greenhouse was built so as to ensure the food needs of the survivors and it would prove to be very useful considering that food was in shortage in the region they had lived in
Next came habitation facilities since the inhabitants had grown an odd attraction towards the building. At first they lived in bunk beds but as resources became more plentiful, the denizens had gotten their own rooms where they could live in relative peace. The situation improved even more as time came and slowly, their morale was raised further, giving the city a workforce that was both happy and motivated
In the meanwhile, the inhabitants also dug tunnels and bunkers underneath the building. In the case that the surface sections were destroyed, the leaders of the human "resistance" as well as other important people could relocate here, allowing them a second chance to fight. The bunkers are a tourism spot these days and some of them have become museums where artifacts and souvenirs from the early days of the planet came to be displayed, including the power sword that was used by planetary governor Larkan Viggo to kill a greater demon
Last but not least came the research wing. This would prove useful not only to the Vargenheim inhabitants but also to the wider Imperium due to the groundbreaking discoveries that were made here. From figuring out the early weaknesses of demons and their servants to developing weapons that could hit hard, the research wing was both a lab and a library of knowledge. When the Imperium set up its anti demonic agency known as the holy order, they benefited tremendously from the knowledge that was gathered in these labs. To the point that some scientists were recruited into the science division team so as to further research into better ways of killing the most nightmarish and deadly foes of the Imperium.
In the centuries that passed by and even after Mikelgaard and its sister planets had been reincorporated into the Imperium, the building had become a symbol of hope for the people of the Imperium. Everyone went to see this building, where the very first discoveries about the weaknesses of the demons occured. As a famous saying goes "It was deep in the metal bowels of the building, surrounded by ion lights that man first discovered the secrets to conquer the monsters from the beyond"

Purpose / Function

From a mining outpost administration role to killing demons and poking around with their carcasses, we have sure come a long way in the field of demon hunting. No wonder why the Holy Order decided to locate their HQ here"
A senior official in the Vargenheim administration, talking about how the building has changed its purpose over the centuries

The building was originally meant to administrate the mining operations in the cold steppes surrounding the early city. A large load of minerals was found in this region and it was thought that they could use them to further develop cities located in the more temperate and warmer regions of the planet. It consisted originally of a tower and a few other blocks with numerous computers storing information about the minerals as well as their types and how they could be extracted, whilst others contained information relevant to other mining processes.
The other blocks were usually recreation areas where workers could take a break from the rather monotonous job of always sitting around in their chairs. They included coffee and food lounges, a small movie theater and also a room where they could do some gaming and pursue their creative interests, which were provided for free as an incentive to make them work harder

Alterations

"It began as a place where we supervised mining operations and goofed around. Then we built an armory where we stored as well as worked on weapons. We got gauss rifles, coilguns and heck even swords that radiate with plasma and can cleave throw starship hulls like butter. If we also include the research labs and greenhouses, then we could possibly brag about being the most innovative building in the Imperium"
An inhabitant of Vargenheim, talking about the city centr

The city centre was originally built as a place where mining operations could be administrated from. It was mostly a patchwork of numerous linked computers containing information about mining processes and other stuff. It also included a few recreation areas that were intended to make the workers happy and motivated. After the first demonic invasion however, the building slowly expanded

The Armory

"We knew from the very beginning that we needed someplace to stockpile weapons. Where we could easily retreat to and fight back when the monsters came again. Larkan was wise to instruct the others to set up an armory from the very beginning"
Rorik Viggo, brother of Larkan Viggo talking about the setting up of the armory

Vargenheim Armory by Hawk17015

The survivors had at first set up an armory under instructions from their unofficial leader Viggo. They collected whatever weapons they had, both tailor made and improvised and stored them in a makeshift armory that they had hastily constructed. There were some facilities to repair and also upgrade the weapons, and it was here that the survivors built their first improvised weapons. At first, they were nothing but crude repurposed versions of mining tools, but the fact was that they dealt much more damage and could pierce through the armour of the various demons far more easily than the military grade weapons availiable to the security forces
As the survivors gained more ground and resources, it was decided that a weapons lab be set up in the armory or near it so as to carry out research into more advanced versions of the weapons they wielded and make new strides in weapons technology. From here arose the iconic Vargenheim pattern railgun, which shot mass accelerated "bolts" of tungsten that would wreck havoc on the innards of any being unfortunate enough to cross its path. It also gave birth to the power weapons, melee arms that could easily cut through the flesh and armour of demons and vaporize their blood from the superheated field of plasma surrounding them
These were but a few of the inventions by the weaponsmiths and savants of Vargenheim, which would become so effective against the demons that they would become the standard service weapons of the planetary military forces, alongside being used by many other imperial military units in their war against the breaker

The Greenhouse

"After setting up the armoury, we thought we should get some food production done. The grass in the steppes was all we had to eat, asides from the pre packaged foods and the occasional hunting of the local wildlife. It helped us because indeed armies march on their stomachs
Rorik, talking about the setting up of the bio plant

Bio Plant by Thiago Klafke

After the setting up of the armoury, there was much discussion to set up a bio plant. This would provide the survivors with their food needs, as well as eventually allow them to research methods into how to grow food and crops in the cold steppe region they were in. The bio plant was an immense boon, and it kept the survivors well fed for a long period of time. When their manpower began to increase, they set up more plants, fully dedicated to growing food for the ever increasing population of the city. The bio plant at the city centre was not ignored at all however, and it had also become somewhat of a tourist attraction as time passed by

Research Labs

"Deep in the heart of the tower, in the midst of shining lights of dazzling blue did they first discover the secrets. The secrets to scaring away the creatures that attacked in the dark"
A father, telling his child a story about the research labs of Vargenheim

Vargenheim Research Labs

At some point, when the people of the city had gotten enough resources, they had set up a lab within the city centre building as well as others all around the city dedicated for research into demons and their weaknesses. The labs had made some groundbreaking discoveries in the centuries that the Mikelgaard star system was isolated, which include the demonic host discovery ( that demons often infiltrate a humans body to carry out their work secretly) as well as ways to counter the demons strength, such as strict monitoring of suspicious subjects as well as ensuring guidelines on how to use magic and not attract demons.
When contact was restablished amongst the citizens of the system, the research labs of Vargenheim became a huge boon for the recently established Holy Order. They even recruited some of the scientists who had worked in the labs as civilian personnel, whilst some of the most promising fighters were inducted into their special forces, and even more promising candidates soon became the Void Knights, a transhuman supersoldier unit dedicated to be the greatest warriors of mankind against the demonic forces of Kerr

History

The buildings history can be divided into a few major parts, which overlaps with the rest of the city and planets history

Before the Imperium came

Founding Date

2211 AD

Alternative Names

Farantas, Big old tower, Vault 666

Type

Ministry / City hall

Parent Location

Vargenheim

Owning Organization

The Imperial Terran Federation