Athar


Type: Undersettled World.
Region: Border Region.
Trade Route: Long Path.
Sector: Yaeger Sector.
Strategic Location: Toward the outer edge of the Yaeger sphere of influence.
Temperature: 13% above standard.
Atmosphere: Breathable, with a slightly lower than average oxygen percentage.
Hydrosphere: 62% of the surface of Athar is water, with an average salinity of 12%. Athar's primary groundwater reserves contain larger than average percentages of several toxic compounds, making it undrinkable by non-natives without purification.
Gravity: 102% standard.
Terrain: Athar has many fast moving continental plates, which cause enormous numbers of active faults and volcanic areas. This leaves the planet with a very jagged terrain, having incredibly high mountains and equally precipitous gorges. Due to it's substantial water reserves, high temperatures, and particularly tenacious native flora, almost all of this terrain is highly forested.
Mineral Resources: Athar has substantial reserves of calcium, bromidium, iron, silver and ornamental obsidian and marble. However, the instability of the planet's crust, and the inaccessibility of much of the planet have prevented large scale mining operations.
Length of Day: 23 standard hours.
Length of Year: 310 local days.
Sapient Species: The Atharin, a near human race, are the only native sentients.
Capital City: Kelthos, pop 2,843,212 (+/- 1%)
Other Cities: Tekral, Muthor, and Elibar are the other major cities of Athar.
Starport: All of the major cities have planetary class starports, and there are several other landing strip class ports scattered throughout the planet.
Population (within +/- 1%): 10,945,210
Government: Athar is ruled by a representative democracy, with a pair of equally strong executives, and a large legislative Senate.
Tech Level: Medium Space.
Major Exports: Soldiers, Military support personnel.
Major Imports: Technology, food.
System: Marlitan
Star: Marlit (Medium Yellow)
Name Planet Type Moons
IstiOcean World5
YslangToxic Wasteland2
CharbonDesert World0
AtharUnderdeveloped1
ThrasorGas Giant17

System Capsule:

Isti: Substantial amounts of algae give this water bound planet it's bright red coloration, and render it uninhabitable by any other life forms.
Yslang: Apparently inhabited several thousand years ago, Yslang is still uninhabitable due to the effects of the war that killed off it's original inhabitants.
Charbon: This pale lavender world is virtually sterile, inhabited only by a few varieties of microscopic life.
Thrasor: This silver grey world has a spectacular series of rings, as well as a pair of life bearing moons.

Planetary Capsule:

Flora and fauna: Athar's biosphere is fairly uniform, due to the rather warm environment, the perfectly spherical planetary orbit, and the large substrate aquifer. The lowland regions are characteristically heavily forested, and the rather precipitous mountains tend to have light scrub or bare rockface. The forests are primarily composed of broad leafed succulents, with a particularly thick underbrush layer, composed of shrubs and thick vines.

The wildlife of Athar is similarly homogeneous, with a few species inhabiting most of the planet. Some of these creatures are remarkably deadly, such as the barb fanged night adder, the giant hunting rachnid, and the king crescent. Others, such as the mountain dwelling blue rodan, and the herbivorous giant floaters are far more impressive, and also far less deadly. The general homogeneity of life on the planet would render it ideal for agriculture, were it not for the geographic factors that prevent large scale farming and animal husbandry.

Sentient Species: Athar is home to a near human race, the Atharin. Biologically, they qualify as a subspecies of homo sapiens, being genetically distinct, but capable of crossbreeding with ordinary humans. Their separation from mainline homo sapiens occurred recently, perhaps as recently as a hundred and fifty thousand years ago, and a fair amount of recessive sports with full human characteristics still appear among the Atharin. Generally speaking, Atharin are completely hairless with slate grey skin, though variations exist.

History: The early history of Athar is a matter of some dispute. Most historians believe that it was colonized during the pre-despotic area, and lost contact with the rest of humanity almost as soon as it was colonized, while others prefer either an earlier or later time of settlement. All agree that the Athar colonists quickly regressed to a hunter/gatherer society and then slowly worked themselves back up to near space levels of technology.

Almost 5,000 years ago, during the Yrotha War, the Yaeger established contact with the Atharin, who had been waging a rather effective guerilla campaign against the occupying Yrotha. Trade with the Yaeger began almost immediately, as did cooperative military actions, and military trainee exchanges. After the Yrotha were defeated, relations between the Yaeger and the Atharin grew closer, until in Y 6,233, the Atharin officially became members of the Yaeger Nation.

Since that time, the Atharin have been a fairly important part of the Yaeger nation, most notably in the armed services, were they typically serve with loyalty and dedication. Because of the emphasis the Yaeger political system places on military service, Atharin have often achieved considerable political power, with several Atharin having held seats on the Gii Yaeg, and one Atharin, Shinlag Atura, having served as Yaeger high commander.

The world of Athar has always presented difficulties for nature friendly development, and due to the relative wealth and high regard the Atharin have in Yaeger society, that development has not been attempted. While most Atharin are now civilized and live in the few large cities of the planet, there are still several tribes of hunter/gatherer Atharin, whose nomadic habits enable them to cover vast amounts of terrain, and to avoid those that wish to find them.
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