The Kharadron Code is the sacred body of law that governs every aspect of life among the sky-faring duardin of the kharadron-overlords. Compiled over centuries and enshrined in countless articles, addendums and amendments, the Code dictates commerce, warfare, salvage rights, and the conduct of every airborne merchant-prince and skyfarer.
Born in the wake of the Age of Chaos, when the sky-ports abandoned the worship of gods in favour of profit and pragmatism, the Code replaced faith with rigid law. Its articles are memorised, debated and litigated with fervent devotion, for to a Kharadron there is no higher authority than the Code itself. Even in the heat of battle, an Arkanaut may pause to weigh whether an action is sanctioned by its precepts.
The Code is at once a shield and a chain. It has preserved Kharadron society through catastrophe and made their guilds fabulously wealthy, yet its rigidity can bind captains to ruinous obligations. To break the Code is the gravest of dishonours, punished by exile or worse.