With the a glimpse at the new White Dwarf we see that the end times may be near for Cadia so let’s take a look at the society that will be destroyed!
Via our good friends at Lexicanum
Cadian society is heavily militarized, with 71.75% of its total population under arms, and a birth rate equal to the recruitment rate. Cadian children are taught how to strip, reassemble and shoot a lasgun before they are taught how to read. Prior to puberty they are sent to survive on their own on the isolated islands of the Caducades Sea during the Month of Making, and by age ten most can perform infantry field drills and are proficient in killing.
All Cadians must train in the defense forces, joining the Youth Armies (also known as the Whiteshields) to train alongside regular soldiers and fight mock battles with each other in the Cadian wilderness. Both men and women serve within front line roles in both mixed and single sex regiments, with all female regiments tending to serve within the Interior Guard rather than off-world
Cadia is under permanent martial law, leading to a number of differences compared to other Imperial worlds. The role of Planetary Governor is a military one, known as the Governor Primus, similarly serving as leader of the Cadian High Command.
In times of emergency, when the Governor Primus is incapacitated, a special military rank of Lord Castellan of Cadia exists which by common consent can take over as commander-in-chief of the Cadian military. As well, there are no Arbites on Cadia, with the role of policing the population falling upon the Cadian Interior Guard.
This martial theme extends its way into every aspect of life on Cadia. Civilian clothing incorporates camouflage patterns, available in a variety of urban and wilderness colouring, while the dwellings of both rich and poor are armoured against attack. Cities on Cadia, known as Kasrs in the local dialect, are fortresses in their own right. Each Kasr is protected by rings of massive earthworks studded with gun emplacements and weapons batteries and separated by an inner moat.
Passage over the moat is controlled by hydraulic bascule bridges, each one guarded by a heavily armed barbican, and defended by the many armored fortifications and shatrovies overlooking it. Once inside, the streets of each Kasr are laid out in elaborate geometric patterns, resembling from the air like an intricate puzzle. Given the Cadian’s mastery of urban warfare, this layout allows them to hold each Kasr for months, even years, should the outer defenses fall. Tens of thousands of different criminal gangs operate throughout the densely populated Kasrs, with ganger tattoos common amongst the troopers raised from these populations
Social class on Cadia is dictated by military rank, which in turn leads to the upper echelons of command within the Cadian regiments to be highly classist – importance being placed on being from a military family or one’s bloodlines as well as military competence
The ever-constant death toll from Chaos incursions, combined with the limited amount of land available, has also lead to the implementation of the Law of Decipherability.
Every graveyard on Cadia is maintained by local priests who routinely check the tombstones of the honoured dead for legibility. When a section of the cemetery is deemed illegible those graves are exhumed and the bones are added to a communal pit. Because their names are no longer known, the need to honour their memory has passed, and the space can be reused.
Find out more about Cadia
About the Author: Zeb Barrett
