One of the poorest worlds in all the Empire, Cadavus is a tragic planet, a tangible reminder of the sins of humanity. Cadavus has been the site of ongoing rebellions for centuries now — few planets can claim such a long history of bloodshed and pain. From space, Cadavus appears much as its inhabitants see it: a cold, barren and dusty ball of dirt, with the only lush vegetation located in the polar regions. Otherwise, most of the plant life exists only in some of the deep valleys, shielded from the frigid windstorms. Drinkable water is scarce, as much of the oceans are corrupted by heavy radioactive contamination. Cadavus is a world that House Decados has come to care for like a crippled child: desperate and in pain, but reassured by the presence of a loving parent.

Cadavus’s history is a litany of chaos, but much of it is sadly lost to posterity. Over the centuries records have been destroyed, hidden, lost and dubiously “discovered” to the point that undisputable facts are rare. Reliable archives are uncommon, and those that exist are in private noble collections, often of questionable worth. In researching the his tory of Cadavus, I was forced to rely primarily on private collections of historical documents, incomplete and poorly maintained by local minor gentry. Bear in mind that I am no trained scholar in this field, and my knowledge is little better than that of a layman. Humanity’s first arrival on what is now Cadavus was sometime in the 24th century by Sathraist pilots seeking refuge from Urth’s central authorities. They named it Sonatath, at that time a lush world, thriving with life — in sharp contrast to the barrenness of today. Unfortunately for the Sathraists, zaibatsu scouts from Urth discovered the new jumproute only 20 years later and their forces arrived to claim the new world. There was a brief war over Sonatath, which forced the Sathraists to flee and disappear into the jumpgate, never to be heard from again. Modern historians suspect that these first Cadavans may be the ancestors of House Masseri, which would make their recent settlement all the more ironic. Sonatath was purchased by a zaibatsu corporation called Ramses Solid Ventures. The planet was far more than it could have hoped for. In addition to its new lifeforms, the planet also bore significant mineral wealth. Under direct corporate control, mining colonies and plantations peppered the surface of the planet. Ramses was a family business,