Before we begin, this article contains major spoilers for The Tithes series on Warhammer+. If you’ve not yet watched the final episode, now is the time…
After the events of the series, you might be wondering what the deal is with that planet at the end of the third episode – the inglorious final destination for that shipment of vital ammunition.
Munitorum Depot AN06.01 is a storage world run by the diligent adepts of the vast Imperial bureaucracy. There are many such Munitorum worlds throughout the Imperium – they are hubs for essential supplies and resources that fuel the many wars of conquest, faith, and survival that rage constantly across the Emperor’s domain.
The order to deliver tithes to this lynchpin planet was given to many worlds long ago, an unbreakable imperative enshrined in the Lex Imperialis that would be enforced mercilessly by the many arms of Imperial power. And so the citizens of those worlds dutifully set about collecting, mining, manufacturing, and recruiting their assigned tithes – and sending them to AN06.01. From there, they would travel onwards for some grand and distant purpose or other.
These tithes came and went for many years, sustaining the great Imperial war machine in that part of the galaxy.
Fun fact – this scene includes some two million munitorum crates!
But the fleets that collected the tithes for their onward journey one day stopped coming. Perhaps the ships were lost, or a crusade failed. Maybe an adept logistician in the grand bureaucratic labyrinth didn’t file a form correctly.
The tithes, however, did not cease.
These stockpiles grew over the centuries, always delivered and never collected. So the local authorities built up and out, eventually covering the entire surface of the planet until the very tectonic structure of the landmasses was compromised.
With each new tithe delivered, the adepts dutifully note down the offering, thank its donor, and the planet that bled its vital resource, and then systematically destroy the cargo, adding yet another entry into the obliteration slate. The trials of those that paid that tithe are forgotten, their sacrifice just another futile gesture in an uncaring universe…
All three episodes of The Tithes animated anthology are available to watch now on Warhammer TV for Warhammer+ subscribers.
