Geography: Planet-spanning hive cities built atop and within an ancient, crumbling subterranean xenos architecture; perpetually smog-choked atmosphere.
Population: Estimated 45 Billion (Standard Hive World density, specializing in military and enforcement cadres).
Tithe Grade: Exactus Primus (Manpower Levies, Heavy Manufactures, Specialized Melee Weaponry).
Government Type: Hive Lord Governorship, maintained by powerful, martial noble houses focused on internal security.
Planetary Governor: Hive Lord Karrus Vane III.
Adept Presence: High (Adeptus Administratum missions focused on quota calculation and census; Imperial Guard and Navy liaisons).
Military: The Havarthian Gendarmerie, the Havarth Heavy Infantry (PDF), supplemented by the secretive martial orders.
Trade: Processed manufactured goods, vast human labour levies, and high-quality close-combat weaponry and armour.
"Emperor protect my soul, flak protect the rest."
– Common saying amongst the Havarth Heavy Infantry
Havarth is a dark and colossal Hive World anchored deep within the Stygies Cluster Sub-Sector of the Askellon Sector. Its metallic spires rise in smog-choked air, monuments to the colossal human population—billions of souls trapped in a relentless cycle of toil and urban survival. Like many great hives, its culture is defined by resource scarcity, overcrowding, and ever-present danger. However, Havarth possesses a particularly dark secret that dictates its internal politics and military structure: the planet’s human civilization is built upon the vast, crumbling ruins of a long-vanished, subterranean alien species. This proximity to forbidden xenos depths creates a unique, enduring threat that festers beneath the foundations of the hive.
The geological and structural complexity of Havarth stems from the presence of the Havat, a secretive, subterranean xenos species that once established an extensive underground civilization on worlds in the sub-sector. The massive human structures of Havarth’s lower and underhives do not rest upon solid bedrock, but instead infiltrate a labyrinthine network of ancient, alien-bored tunnels. These hidden depths, known colloquially as the Whispering Gorges, descend far below the officially charted limits of the Underhive.
The Havat are primarily known through the infamous Havat ringblade, a strange chakram that possesses a deadly corrosive liquid core. It is believed that this corrosive material was key to the alien civilization's architecture, used to create and maintain their vast underground infrastructure. This implies that Havarth's subterranean architecture is fundamentally unstable, having been chemically carved and maintained, rather than mined conventionally. The deepest chasms of the planet are likely permeated by lingering corrosive vapours and haunted by the decaying, structurally compromised xenos ruins. This instability necessitates a constant state of martial readiness and internal suppression to prevent the hive from literally collapsing into the alien-carved darkness below.
The ceaseless, hidden threats emanating from the subterranean realm have forged a terrifyingly effective martial tradition on Havarth: the Veiled Swordmistresses. This highly specialized and secretive order of warrior women is rumored across the sector, with tales of their skill reaching worlds such as Desoleum and Port Aquila. They are described as figures of lissome grace, unequaled in their mastery of the blade.
The Swordmistresses adhere to a highly ritualized and mysterious aesthetic:
They are always shrouded in layers of violet fabrics and wear diaphanous veils that completely conceal their faces, yet seem to allow them perfect vision. This secrecy suggests their true identities, or perhaps their very humanity, must remain hidden, possibly due to the nature of their combat or the dark places they patrol. They wield swords of purest gold, reflecting their elite status and immense, sanctioned wealth from the Hive Lords. This gold may be ceremonial, or perhaps a necessary ritual component in combating the unseen forces that emerge from the Havat ruins. The Swordmistresses’ mission is one of perpetual pursuit. They seek out anyone who truly worships the blade, whether they are high-ranking Rogue Traders skilled with elegant xenos sabres, or underhive gangers who have mastered hab-made chainswords. Their pursuit is driven by a quest for martial perfection that they claim they can "hear across the stars." They appear without warning, emerging from unusual circumstances such as flowing silverfall curtains, grand hive spire galas, or even on starships deep within the Warp, suggesting they utilize specialized transit or perhaps advanced, localized warp technology for their operations. This makes them the ultimate internal enforcement body, dedicated to neutralizing deadly martial threats and, perhaps, retrieving weapons tied to the corrupted subterranean architecture.
Life in Havarth’s dense, metal-encased cities molds its citizens into a resilient and dangerous populace. Havarthians, like other Hivers, are accustomed to crushing overcrowding and finite resources, driving those who survive to be both cunning and intensely resourceful.
The planet’s unique environment dictates its fighting doctrine. Warriors from Havarth excel at close-quarters fighting, a skill honed in the cramped hab tunnels, metal corridors, and verticality of the hive structure. This close-combat specialization is reflected in the heavy use of protective gear, leading to the local saying, "Emperor protect my soul, flak protect the rest," used by the Havarth Heavy Infantry. The Infantry are the core Planetary Defence Force, likely heavily armed and armored to endure the toxic conditions and suppress the constant uprisings and gang warfare that plague the deep hive layers. Given the prevalence of advanced melee artistry in the Swordmistresses, Havarth likely recruits extensively for shock and assault troops, capable of clearing cramped, contaminated, and constantly shifting urban and subterranean battlegrounds.
The world’s high population, combined with the presence of xenos ruins and the constant activity of secretive martial cults, means the Adeptus Administratum maintains a significant, detailed record of the populace. However, the true danger lies in the deep, unpatrolled levels, where gangs rule through brute force and cunning, and where the chaotic, corrosive remnants of the Havat’s civilization may still be waiting to be found.