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 In researching the his tory of Cadavus, I was forced to rely primarily on private collections of historical documents, incomplete and poorly maintained by local minor gentry.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, small but extremely wealthy, and willing to take great risks for a profit. As new noble families across human space began claiming entire worlds for their own, the Ramses attempted to do the same, but were instead betrayed and destroyed by their corporate partners and subsidiaries. The circumstances of the destruction of House Ramses are unclear, but they led to decades of political chaos. At least one other corporate family here attempted to claim noble status but failed to hold power. Sonatath was finally won in a savage guerilla conflict by partisans funded by a commercial coalition on Criticorum.

For the next thousand years, the planet changed hands dozens of times, either through invasions from the stars or by revolutions from the planetary populace. No regime lasted long enough to secure itself, and each such conflict took its toll on the fragile world. The worst of these was in 3293, when a desperate House O’Niell resorted to heavy nuclear bombardment to defend itself against Li Halan invaders, creating a winter of nearly 10 years and wiping out almost all natural life on the planet. Only the life in the polar regions survived, already accustomed to long winters. This was how the planet reached its present state and earned its present name — Cadavus, the dead world.

It was during this period that the Universal Church newly established itself across the jumpweb. Cadavus had gained early note for the Prophet’s confrontation against the antinomist Durargo in Chroniculae III, 6:12-18. The tale of the epic battle later attracted missionaries, holy warriors and disreputable fanatics from a hundred faiths to Cadavus to seek any unholy threat that might still infest the wounded planet. Instead, they found each other, and the world exploded into religious conflict. House Koprul, rulers at the time, abandoned the planet for safer worlds. Eventually, most of the religious fervor on Cadavus died down, but the casualties from the violence were horrendous. Many of the survivors fled to the wastelands, eking out a meager living and eventually forming the myriad monasteries that still dot the landscape to this day.

During the Second Republic Cadavus came under the control of the Criticorum-based Bashshar Corporation, bring- ing the planet into the al-Malik sphere of influence. Some of the present al-Malik estates on Cadavus date back to this time and maintain continuous records which, though often biased, make research into the planet’s history far less difficult. The Bashshar Corporation strove to repair much of the ecological damage that Cadavus had suffered during its centuries of warfare. It also introduced a massive level of mining and industrialization, creating vast company towns to house its workers. Toward the end of the Republic, the planet became known for violent worker revolts and savage repression as working conditions suffered from neglect and corporate sabotage. As the Republic collapsed, an organization of egalitarian workers and low-level managers defeated the corporate security forces and seized control of the planet’s administrative centers, declaring a new, communist government. This was also the period of the fading of Cadavus’s sun, which reduced the amount of heat the planet received.

The rest of the universe did not react well to the news of the Cadavan Revolution. House al-Malik’s attempts to retake the planet were near constant, and neighboring House Decados arrived and occupied the planet to administer its industries and protect them from al-Malik retaliation. Unfortunately, some recalcitrant rebels saw the Decados as invaders no better than their former masters, and cowardly bombed the baronial manse at Thebes, killing dozens of innocent courtiers and servants and nearly killing Baroness Ivana Decados herself. Enraged, Baroness Ivana vowed to crush the world with the entire weight of the Decados military from Severus. In desperation, the rebels seized some few ships, broke the blockade to reach the jumpgate and shut it down before Decados reinforcements arrived.

Cadavus became a Lost World. Cadavus reappeared to the Known Worlds some 70 years later, when a Charioteer exploratory vessel from Criticorum discovered the reactivation of the jumproute. The minor House Aviz purchased the route for an exorbitant amount, and found a planet long-suffering from neglect. Republican terraforming engines were ruined beyond repair, the mines were depleted, industry was in shambles, agriculture was nearly non-existent, and entire ecosystems had been ruined by the sun’s change. Humanity was reduced to a fearful existence in the polar regions and the valleys along the Agwe coast, and the Aviz found that at last the Cadavan people were willing to accept noble rule. House Aviz began a program to rebuild the shattered infrastructure, only to be cut short by an invasion from House Trusnikron. The ancient pattern of conquest and reconquest reasserted itself and Cadavus once again fell into the misery of war.

It was the Church that brought a lasting peace to Cadavus. By 4272 successive warfare, colonization and industrialization had maimed the planet to the brink of total devastation, so that the Patriarch declared the noble class unfit to govern so fragile a world as Cadavus. Church fleets arrived and the resident Hazat were forced to remove themselves from the planet. Cadavus came under direct Church control. To steady the precarious balance of life, the entire polar regions of Locko and the Aziyan were declared fallow, so that they might begin the healing process free of the threats of a chaotic humanity. The Ayizan’s protected status was only withdrawn in the 50th century to allow the refugee House Masseri to settle there. The Church governed Cadavus well for nearly 200 years, returning the populace to a simpler way of life, free from the demands of industry. Unfortunately, this created a great deal of unrest, as so much of the populace had lived off the mines or in the polar regions. The result was continuing social problems, sporadic revolts, widespread crime, and poverty above all. In the end, desperate, the Church turned the planet over to the newly converted Li Halan, who enforced the peace with an iron fist within a velvet glove, until Halvor Li Halan’s disastrous seizure of the Imperial Throne.

Part of the Li Halan’s peace settlement after Halvor’s death was the cession of Cadavus to the regency. Like Stig- mata, Cadavus was ruled by governors appointed by the regent, to be replaced whenever political winds changed. Ev- ery Royal House, as well as several minor houses, administered Cadavus at some point during this regency period. Due to the temporary nature of their presence, most houses took this opportunity for quick, short-term resource extraction operations rather than the long-term development currently being advanced by my family. Fragile forests were harvested to destruction. The few stable fertile farmlands were cultivated until desertified. Entire species were poached to extinction, a holocaust from which the Cadavan ecosystem has yet to recover. Only the protected polar regions survived.

The modern Decados administration of Cadavus began in 4969, when my house invaded the Cadavus system seeking a cell of Hawkwood-backed terrorists responsible for the firebombing of the Transvaalite Palace on Severus. Initially, there was a short war between House Decados and the League over possession of the Cadavus system, but the League withdrew its claim quickly, as its regency grant was not proving as profitable as it had expected. Since then, House Decados has introduced pilgrimages to Cadavus, as the monasteries are of considerable spiritual value to many. The planet’s people are left largely undisturbed, busy with the concerns of survival on a difficult world. The Decados rulers only reveal themselves to collect a moderate taxation and to repress those levels of violence that exceed the people’s tolerance.

Despite the light hand of Decados rule, unrest is again rampant as elements of the population attempt to advance their own agendas with terrorism, usually by battling other terrorist factions. The Mechanique Agro Organization desires the reintroduction of terraforming technologies to create a viable agricultural base for the planet. The Collectivist Honor Elite seeks the expulsion of all off-world domination in favor of a self-governing egalitarian society. The Movement of Anti-Royalist Xenocrats is a quasi-mystical order entirely opposed to the rights of high birth. Duke Franz and Duchess Ursula, rulers of Cadavus, bear the grave responsibility of protecting the planet from itself.

Atum: The closest planet to the sun, Atum is a barren world, orbited by Khepri, a moon almost as large at the planet itself. Astronomers believe that the two were originally one planet, rent asunder by a cosmic collision or other major event.

Gendenwitha: A red planet, Gendenwitha is easily visible in the Cadavus evening and morning skies. There is little of value on this planet, though Sosondowah, its moon, bears considerable mineral wealth. During the Ukar War a number of old nuclear reactors on the moon detonated, possibly due to Ukari sabotage, and the moon’s entire atmosphere was contaminated with intolerable levels of radiation. Only in the last few centuries has Sosondowah’s radioactivity declined enough for mining to resume. Many Muster and Reeve mining entrepreneurs remain undeterred, paying exorbitant fees to the Engineers for radiation-proof energy shields, or less-expensive sums to the Scravers for their cheap lead shielding.

Cadavus: Cadavus has two small moons, Joh and Chons. Chons is the larger, and houses a Xanthippe moonhaven that often sells its power surplus to the planet below.

Ati-bon: A small world made almost entirely of ice, Ati-bon is frequently visited by Prospectors guilders for its water, which is dearly needed on Cadavus.

Damballa: Easily the largest planet in the system, Damballa is a Jovian world with a great many rings and moons. Pirates have been known to establish temporary bases on these moons.

Kauket: A smaller gas giant with an extremely violent internal atmosphere, Kauket is a dangerous navigational hazard when its orbit brings it near the jumpgate. Occasional atmospheric storms sometimes flare out into space, endangering nearby ships. The planet has no satellites, which is unusual for an orb its size. Theories state that the planet’s storms make orbits unstable, and any satellites have been expelled away from Kauket or swallowed by the planet’s atmosphere.

Bacalou: A small world, Bacalou lies on the other side of the jumpgate. No successful survey has ever been made of this world.

The Cadavan peoples are a hardy lot, sometimes overly violent and usually suspicious of strangers, especially off- worlders. Many Cadavans are irrationally opposed to any group, be it house, Church or guild, which attempts to control their lives. Still, none will ever fault their determination to improve their lot in life and to survive the harsh world they call home. The Decados nobility of Cadavus are some of the most well-traveled and socially connected, as they often seek positions as ambassadors to other houses. Additionally, the presence of Temple Avesti has made these nobles the most conservative of their house, at least in public.

Cadavus’ extreme axial tilt (88°) produces a number of unusual conditions in both the natural environment and the people of the planet. In the polar regions and their outskirts, there are only two seasons. Demira, the summer, is also called the “Long Day” that lasts for months. During this time, activity is feverish, as both animals and humans attempt to take maximum advantage of the heat and light. Demiset, the winter, is also called the “Long Night.” Cities rely on power and food reserves and occasionally interstellar trade to survive this time.

In the equatorial and mid-latitude regions, entirely different labels are used. Benu is the calm season, when the planet’s axis lies nearly along its orbital path. The equatorial regions are exposed to direct sunlight, and so experience a true 26-hour day-night cycle. Apophis is the storm season, as the planet’s axis lies perpendicular to its orbital path, so that one hemisphere is exposed to constant sunlight while the other is in shadow. During this time, fierce windstorms assault the non-polar regions. Many communities retreat for months into underground shelters, large cities maintain massive windbreakers, and the smallest villages move en masse to seek shelter in larger communities, producing horribly overcrowded conditions.

Numid comprises the region north of the Medicadavan Sea between the Shadda Mountains to the east and the Si- erra de Bacoruco to the west, south of the Ayizan polar region. The central part of Numid is known as the Numidian Badlands, and is almost barren of life, barring the occasional discovery of once dormant and ravenous Severan hull rats. These vermin were accidentally imported from Severus by Decados ships and have survived and multiplied in Numid, causing some trouble among the inhabitants. Along the western edge of the region, extending partially into the Sierra de Bacoruco, is the wide Diapis river basin, which hosts Thebes, the planet’s largest city. The south coast has a few unhealthy fishing villages, which are constantly troubled by cases of radiation poisoning from their tainted fish. Along the fringes of the Diapis basin and the Ayizan there are a number of largely self-sufficient monasteries. Infrequent trade caravans from Thebes and New Daishan are often their only link to the rest of the universe. During our time here, my confessor, Brother Ricardo, and the Scraver, Raphael DiCaprio, joined a four-month caravan. They returned with no end of praise for the faith and dedication of the monks and of their fine trade goods, which would fetch a fine price off-world.

The Shadda Mountains to the east are volcanically active, periodically erupting clouds of smoke and ash. As soon as the benu season begins and the weather clears, great bands of miners and landless farmers rush to the region seeking any valuable minerals eruptions may have produced from deep in the planet’s mantle. Farmers know that volcanic ash is an excellent fertilizer for many crops, so they plant temporary fields, ready to flee before the cold windstorms of the apophis return. What results is the hasty erection of transient boomtowns that last for only a few months. These scrounging operations are often threatened by terrorist guerrillas, such as the Front for Impartial Democracy and Environmental Liberty. Though risky, such ventures are lucrative if events go well, so the Scravers have frequently funded the mining and farming expeditions in exchange for a portion of the profits, if any.

Ruling over all of Cadavus are Duke Franz Decados and his wife and first cousin, the Duchess Ursula. These two are also direct rulers of Numid. Having enjoyed the ducal couple’s company, I fear that they may not be the best rulers Cadavus could hope for. However, much of the day-to-day administration of their fief is conducted by their respected vassal, the Count Andrei Mandin Decados of Keirnova. Former Severan nobles from the Transvaal, Franz and Ursula were rewarded with this fief by Prince Hyram for their actions in the Emperor Wars. It is rumored that the world is actually an exile for their alleged participation in an attempted covert coup against the Prince. At any rate, the two clearly miss their homeland and its people. Unlike people in the Transvaal, Cadavans have little inbred loyalty to House Decados. Such loyalty must be earned, and the rebellious aggression of much of Cadavus must be crushed until that loyalty develops. Duke Franz is a gaunt, sallow man, and seems unable to endure the burden of ruling this sad world and the actions into which its people force him. Always hungry for distractions, he spends much of his time entertaining guests, and no noble visiting Cadavus is unwelcome in his home. Duchess Ursula has grown bitter and hard, and some of her comments have indirectly criticized the Decados Way. Still, that having been said, both husband and wife are kind hosts and extremely knowledgeable about the latest in Imperial politics, Cadavan terrorist activities and Decados court gossip.

The largest city on Cadavus and capital of the planet, Thebes is a dangerous and unpredictable city. At different times, thebes appears to be alternately an overcrowded ten- ement fairly teeming with needy masses or a half-empty ghost town littered with abandoned buildings. Indeed, Thebes is truly both. During the benu season most of the city is empty, as traders, farmers, miners and herdsmen leave the city to tend to their work abroad while the sun yet shines. Entire districts are abandoned for the season, and scaven- gers and looters forage for anything left behind. When the apophis arrives, the city is filled to overcapacity, as every- one in the region returns to weather the storms in relative safety. Plagues and famine are not unknown during this time of year, as the masses of refugees tax the city’s re- sources to their limit. There are a number of Avestite missions within the city. During both phases of the city’s existence, the resident monks and pilgrims are constantly busy. The Avestites act both to

comfort the spirit and to protect the bodies of the faithful, serving as defenders of public order as well as caretakers of the soul. This was the environment that produced my own dear confessor, Brother Ricardo, whose compassion and understanding are a fine example to others. Many hard, zeal- ous Avestite novitiates arrive fresh from Pyre, and must learn the arts of compromise and insight to survive on these streets. Once they leave, these monks are renowned off-world for their courage and fairness. Thebes partly lies in the valley of the Diapis River, be- low the peaks of the Sierra de Bacoruco and near the shores of the Agwe Sea. The Agwe provides a great deal of food for the city, and Theban fishermen are known as both cautious and skilled seamen. The Sierra provides vital protection from the apophis and so is legally protected from mining, which might threaten the shelter of the city. Needless to say, not all residents agree with the ban. Indeed, dozens of dissident groups, both non-violent and otherwise, have members in this city, and there are often incidents of conflict between them. The wise do not visit certain sections of the city at night.

The province of Hyksos lies south of the Medicadavan Sea, and is completely circumscribed by the Grandmont Mountains. Sheltered by the mountains and nourished b

the tributaries of the Nile Beta River, Hyksos is some of the most fertile and valuable land on the planet outside of the polar regions. Farmers maintain their own underground shelters to weather the comparatively mild apophis. Mining is less common, as the mountains are not volcanically ac- tive and have been largely stripped of wealth. To the south, part of Hyksos extends into the polar region of Locko. This passage is patrolled by Decados rangers and Avestite monks, guarding Locko against trespassers. The western bank of the Nile Beta is part of the famous Grimson Protectorate, which extends to the Grandmonts in the west and south. Countess Elena has set apart this land for the house’s demobilized Grimson veterans of the Em- peror Wars. Here these genetically engineered warriors may live in peace, with only nominal obligations to their Decados overlords and creators. In exchange for access to the high- tech medical facilities of Luxor and protection from persecu- tion, fair taxes are collected. In addition, all Grimson chil- dren must be inspected by Decados Genetechs for unviable Changes and possible combat potential. Like any other Decados subjects, Grimsons are also subject to conscription at any time. The ruler of Hyksos is the Countess Elena Decados, known far and wide as the most beautiful woman in the Decados worlds, and rumored to possess ancestry among

House Thana. In her youth, she spent several years travel- ing with the Charioteers and seeing many worlds, and her palace is decorated with a great many mementos of that time. She still maintains notable ties with that guild, and is a fer- vent advocate of House Decados’s close ties with the Chari- oteer De Vatha hong. Countess Elena has also become well known for her recent diplomatic dealings with House al- Malik, involving a substantial increase of trade and the re- duction of tariffs and inspections. My pilot, Jeanne Hillaire, became the subject of the countess’s interest, as it seems they have common acquaintances on Byzantium Secundus.

Capital of Hyksos, Luxor is easily the most technologi- cally advanced city on Cadavus, as befits its countess. This is especially true concerning medical technologies. Treatment for radiation poisoning is easily accessible, since many cases occur this close to the Medicadavan Sea. These treatments can be expensive, and so are often beyond the means of the poor, who live in lead-lined buildings to stave off radiation. As a consequence, lead poisoning is very common among the poor, but since its treatment is far less expensive than that for radiation, it is merely an accepted part of life. Clinics especially designed for Grimsons can also be found here. The Apothecaries Guild is very powerful in this city, and constantly attempts to discredit the few Amaltheans in the region. Luxor’s people are somewhat less hostile than those of the rest of the planet: comparatively mild factionalism, a strong Avestite presence and anxiety about the neighboring Grimson Protectorate have created an extremely pro-human atmosphere, with a strong antipathy toward aliens, the Changed and psychics. There is some ill feeling about Count- ess Elena’s protection of her Grimson veterans. Humans may enjoy some wonderful hospitality, but aliens are advised to avoid this city entirely. In fact, my Vorox bodyguard, Ishbi- Benob, was forced to kill a number of assailants who ac- costed her alone at night. If such people were willing to as- sault an armed Vorox in the entourage of a Questing Knight, they would have little hesitation in attacking any alien at all.

The vast region known as Sudania covers most of Cadavus’s southern hemisphere, excluding only Locko and Hyksos. This is an uncommonly barren region, subject to fierce and frigid apophis windstorms. Minerals are extremely scarce, and mining is limited to scrounging amid the Shadda Mountains, much as in Numid. Such operations are con- stantly threatened both by nature and by human sabotage. Very little can exist for long in the wastes, and human habi- tation is densely concentrated about the region’s capital city of Vesta.

Sudania is a chaotic land, as guerrilla activity is com- mon in these wastes. Violent acts of terrorism and sabotage are common in the temporary scrounger mines and planta- tions along the southwestern Shadda Mountains. Sudania also borders Locko, the fertile polar region protected by Church edicts from sentient habitation and exploitation. Of course, there are always a number of squatters and vagrants making their way to the green land, but the few who evade Trusnikron patrols usually die from exposure or predation. There are a few known monasteries in Sudania, hidden along the edges of the Grandmonts and the Shadda Moun- tains; they live on their own gardens and herds, fed by scarce mountain streams. Many of these monasteries have had little contact with the outside universe for centuries, and have developed unique and possibly dangerous ideologies. The worst such is the legendary Temple of the Communion, an infamous monastery dedicated to Sathraism. Rumors have alternately placed it deep within Locko’s wilderness, hidden in the Eastern Grandmonts, and on the shores of the south- eastern Medicadavan. No report has ever been confirmed, though there are always paranoid fears that Sathraist psy- chic infiltrators would suppress any such revelation. However, the most famous monastery whose existence has been confirmed is the House of the Eternal Flame, on Sudania’s western edge, on the shores of the radiation- tainted Medicadavan Sea. These monks live simple, low- tech lives, constantly suffering from the poison they ingest with every drink of water and every morsel of fish. The monks accept such illness as part of a mortification of the flesh, as they attempt to distance themselves from their cor- poreal needs. Many outsiders consider the monks quite mad to endure such suffering, but the monks attest that the very fact of the monastery’s continued existence is a sign of the Pancreator’s blessing. Despite its high mortality rate, the House of the Eternal Flame draws scores of priests and pil- grims from a dozen worlds to test their faith against the radioactive embers. Lord of Sudania and the Lucise Marches is Vis-Marquis Kovann Trusnikron, a foul-tempered, ill-mannered, preju- dicial, arrogant, boorish young upstart. Though none will question the ability of his troops in maintaining order and protecting Locko from intruders, Lord Kovann is not a sub- ject I enjoy discussing. Apparently the boy lost his father to a Decados raid that violated some trifling technicality of the Treaty of Thebes governing relations between Houses Decados and Trusnikron on Cadavus. Since then, Lord Kovann has harbored an immature grudge against the Decados and does as much as possible to vex that house without directly violating the Treaty. This includes the ex- ceedingly poor hospitality I enjoyed in his company.

Second largest city on the planet, Vesta is a sad place. The city maintains itself in the middle of the harshest waste- land on Cadavus, surviving on sheer determination to over- come all obstacles, including the planet itself. Graffiti and pamphlets of anti-Decados nature are all-too common on the streets of Vesta, and Lord Kovann’s troops do little to stem their flow, though the Treaty of Thebes indirectly re- quires otherwise. Water itself is a precious substance, as it must be expensively imported from space or elsewhere on the planet, so most poor folk have developed unique meth- ods of water conservation. On the outskirts of the city are the lyocel pens, where Trusnikron nobles raise and train the feline beasts for them- selves and for House Decados. The lyocels are normally mi- gratory, traveling from Locko to the Ayizan each benu sea- son, following the reindeerlike oshogi herds. Both species are creatures of the demiset, so they travel from one polar region to the other to breed and forage in the long night. Tame lyocels come to Vesta rather than Locko, to enjoy the care and company of their human handlers for almost half the year.

The Lucise Marches is a wide strip of barren land be- tween the Shadda Mountains to the west and the Sierra de

Bacoruco to the east, lying directly north of the city of Vesta in Sudania. The land is largely useless, save for volcanic activity in the Shadda Mountains to the west, which brings scroungers from Thebes to the region. It is a lawless place; terrorist and bandit activity is common, and threatens both scroungers and the oshogi herds and lyocel prides that mi- grate through the region twice yearly. The most valuable of these beasts are accompanied by Trusnikron rangers, pro- tecting them from human predators. On the northern edge of the Marches, near the Ayizan, there is a large monastery dating back to mid-Diasporan times that comfortably houses the Trusnikron troops as they see their animal charges to the safety of the Ayizan.

Surrounding the northern pole of Cadavus is the green cap of the Ayizan, a valued and fertile land that is home to most of the remaining wildlife on the planet. The Ayizan is a fascinating place — seemingly two separate places at once. During the months of the demiset, animals such as oshogi and lyocels roam, forage and hunt in the long night. As the hemisphere’s slow dawn breaks, they leave for the long trek to southern Locko while the benu season calms the lands between. Meanwhile, species dormant during the long night awaken to retake their home under the midnight sun. Wildfire plant growth, fed by uninterrupted sunlight and the detritus of the winter species, creates a vibrant, thriving ecosystem for as long as the day lasts. When the sun finally sets, the animals, fattened from months of gluttony, return to their slumber and plants shed their leaves for the long sleep. Migratory beasts return, devouring dormant lifeforms to cull their numbers for the next season.

The Ayizan is aggressively defended and governed by the impoverished House Masseri, bound to House Decados for survival. Less than a century ago this proud house ruled the prosperous world of Daishan. Unfortunately, their jumpgate led to the hell-world of Chernobog, home of the Symbiot threat. Daishan was invaded and House Masseri evacuated. Only the brave and kind people of Cadavus offered the Masseri sanctuary. The noble house made its home here, building a prosperous community and declaring the Ayizan to be its sovereign fief, with the approval of the Church and the acquiescence of House Decados. Both factions believed that, had House Masseri been compromised by Symbiosis, then their taint could be more easily purged on barren Cadavus than elsewhere.

Masseri trackers patrol the wilderness of the Ayizan, always on the alert for poachers, unwanted settlers or invaders. During the Emperor Wars, House Masseri was twice forced to arms to defend this, their last holding: the first time against House Trusnikron, the second against House al-Malik. In both cases, Masseri commandos distinguished themselves against larger and more powerful foes, using their knowledge of the terrain and savage guerrilla tactics to good effect. There are critics who claim that such strategies are unbecoming a noble house, but their results are effective: since their arrival, no force has managed to violate the Masseri fief for long. I believe that, although they may often fail to live up to their titles, the Masseri should be counted among the most valuable allies that House Decados possesses.

The Ayizan is ruled by the head of House Masseri himself, the Marquis Claudio Masseri, last human ruler of the now-Symbiot world of Daishan. It was this proud noble who led the Masseri refugees from their world. His people wandered for years in space before being allowed to settle on Cadavus. Claudio is a bitter man, bearing fully the hurt of his house at the loss of its treasured world. He is understandably poorly-tempered and often a poor host, repelling even members of his own family to the point that they renounce their impoverished fiefs and seek new opportunities elsewhere among the stars, some of them in the service of House Decados, who is glad to welcome them. Despite his social shortcomings, the marquis is an able ruler, protecting the Ayizan from intruders by any means necessary.

As its name suggests, New Daishan is the capital of the Masseri fief of the Ayizan. Though officially considered to be a city for administrative purposes, New Daishan is actually little more than a trappers’ outpost, a way station for trade from Thebes. The city did manage to defend itself from an al-Malik army during the Emperor Wars, repelling their assault using a surprising number of advanced artillery weapons, brought with the Masseri as they fled their rule of Daishan. New Daishan is an open city, free of the storms of the apophis that plague the southern climes. Instead, its people must contend with scorching heat and frigid cold, adapting to difficult conditions as best they can. These people are a hardy breed, toughened by their environment and largely sheltered from the political struggles of the rest of their world. Many sport the Masseri house emblem, tattooed onto their flesh to show their servile status. Still, compared with much of the rest of the planet, these are a fortunate people.

Locko is the region of the south pole of Cadavus, the last remaining virginal wilderness on the planet, protected by two noble houses and by the edicts of the Universal Church. Although similar to the Ayizan in many ways, Locko is home to a much greater diversity of flora and fauna, such as the beautiful and intricate medla tree which, during the dark and cold months of the demiset, becomes carnivorous, trapping unlucky beasts within its tangled branches and roots, tearing their carcasses asunder and digesting them in its warm heartwood, prized by woodworkers for its beautiful, rich color. Another are the little carib lizards, beasts who are only active during the weeks of twilight between the demiset and demira, devouring any animal too groggy from the change to defend itself against their swarms.

Alhough Locko is monitored on all sides by Decados, Avestite and Trusnikron forces, desperate homesteaders occasionally breach its borders. Few survive for long. The weather and dangerous wildlife erase any trace of these criminal settlers. Still, most Cadavan commoners believe Locko to be a semi-mythical realm of lushness and ease, providing gifts from the world itself. Each person lost to Locko’s wilds simply creates more myths about the beautiful land that draws and keeps so many.