Inanna Harth
Jedi Knight
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To codify the Chaos canon for Lao-mon that I have amassed over the past four years of roleplay.
- Image Credit:
- Canon: Lao-mon
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Shi’ido
- Planet Name: Lao-mon (Shi’idese: Sh’shuun)
- Demonym: It is so rare for non-Shi'ido to live on Lao-mon that there is no widely used demonym other than Shi'ido, though the term refers specifically to the species.
- Region: Unknown Regions
- System Name: Lao-mon system
- System Features:
- Location: Lao-mon is located at the very edge of the galaxy, deep in the Unknown Regions. Its closest neighbors on the map are Crakull, Rhand, Tiantang, and Exegol.
- Major Imports:
- Major Exports:
- Wildlife (plants and animals)
- Precious gemstones
- Technology
- Most Shi'ido rely on biotech, which is better suited to handling the jungle conditions of the planet than most machinery (see the Technology section below for more information). Other planets and societies have recently begun to express an interest in these technologies. The growing business of biotech is considered beneficial to the planet's efforts to rebuild.
- Unexploited Resources: In the aftermath of the Mawite invasion and occupation of Lao-mon, the planet has been stripped of much of its natural resources. Forests were cut down for their lumber, fertile land was farmed until the soil was left barren, and the ground was split open to mine ores, natural gases, and other materials. Anything that could be exploited was milked dry. The process of rebuilding and restoring Lao-mon to its former glory is currently underway.
- Gravity: Standard
- Climate: Tropical
- Primary Terrain: Most of the planet is jungle, with some mountainous terrain. Instead of oceans, there are numerous lakes and other smaller bodies of water dotting the surface.
- Atmosphere: Type I
- Capital City: Goshen
- Planetary Features: A sizeable chunk of the population lives in the wild as primal polymorphs. Small villages built above (in the trees, similar to the elaborate Wookiee villages of Kashyyyk) or below ground (in caves) can be found on occasion, but this is usually reserved for large, established clans. Lao-mon has only one city in the modern sense of the term, Goshen, which serves as the planetary capital. Most Shi'ido would admit that Goshen exists mainly for the benefit of visitors from offworld, as very few Shi'ido actually prefer urban life. Even Goshen is best characterized by its organic architecture, which seeks harmony with nature. If a home can be built so that it disrupts the existing landscape as little as possible, it is preferable to one which requires the land to be remade to fit the home.
- Major Locations:
- Goshen
- Ku’sharna - A region which has been continuously occupied by the Shi'ido since the dawn of civilization. Due to its exceptionally fertile land, which is rejuvenated every year by flooding, plant life thrives and supplies a constant food source. It is known for being the birthplace of To'polism, the largest major religion on the planet, and for the Ku'sharnan shamans. It is also the setting of the famous opera The Heretic King.
- Rhamnusia - The birthplace of the nomadic Mician clan, it is exceptionally dangerous due to its abundance of predators, which are allowed to roam freely with their numbers unculled by the locals. Travelers are advised to avoid this area.
- Cythera - The legendary homeland of the Benandanti clan, and the seat of the Cytherai. This region is mostly mountainous, and much of the population lives underground.
- Ba’tae - A marshy region dotted with strange ruins. It is the only place were witch's emerald is found.
Above: Mysterious ruins located in Ba'tae, thought to have been an ancient temple or shrine.
POPULATION
- Native Species:
Sentient:- Shi’ido
- Micians | Nomads
- The Benandanti | Dreamwalkers
- Ku’sharnan Shamans
- Spirans - Clan whose members take the forms of Branchlurkers.
- Arborians - Clan whose members take the forms of trees/plants.
- Shi’ido
- Non-sentient:
- Plants:
- Immigrated Species: >1% Humans, Near-Humans, and other alien species
- Population: Moderate; Mawites engaged in genocide of the native Shi'ido during the occupation, primarily through the use of the Wretchedness. Billions of refugees fled Lao-mon, either resettling on other planets or crowding together in refugee camps across the galaxy. With the end of the SGHW, most Shi'ido have yet to return to their homeworld. It may take decades for the population to bounce back.
- Demographics: Non-Shi'ido minorities are negligible, making up less than one percent of the population.
- Primary Languages: Shi’idese
- Culture: The ways of the Shi'ido are notoriously mysterious. The following programs are currently available on various aspects of Shi'ido culture:
- Religion
- Customs
- Arts
- Government: Democracy
- Affiliation: Tarbisu Sh'shuun (Shi'idese: "Democracy of Sh'shuun")
- Wealth: Medium; it isn't so much that some people are "rich" and others are "poor" as there is a difference between the settled city-folk, who are fewer in number, and the more primal Shi'ido who remain in the wilds. The former is technically more wealthy than the other, but their style and quality of life is usually by choice rather than necessity.
- Stability: Low - Medium; the city of Goshen remains the least dangerous area of Lao-mon. The farther one ventures out into the wilderness, the more likely they will end up encountering one of the planet's notorious predator species.
- Freedom & Oppression: While history is a different story, the Shi'ido of today are fairly free. They are democratically governed, with most laws being voted on by the people. Citizens can also propose new legislation through a formalized process, though there are people elected for the purpose of rejecting proposals which are deemed unsuitable. Regional differences can also affect freedom; Shi'ido living in smaller cities or more isolated areas may be subject to local governments, which can impose their own laws to an extent. The planetary government is most effective and has the most power in the capital.
- Military: Lao-mon Planetary Defense Forces
- Technology: While standard technologies found throughout the galaxy were introduced long ago, Lao-mon also possesses its own unique tech. The biomechanical material known as nenuphar is the basis for most of the planet's vehicles, weaponry, and other machinery. Examples of nenuphar-based tech include the following:
Part I: First Contact and the New Republic
"Lao-mon (or Sh'shuun in Shi'idese) was the jungle covered homeworld of the shapeshifting Shi'ido as well as many large predators. The Shi'ido choose to remain private from the rest of the galaxy and noted that they would contact the New Republic when they felt comfortable doing so." - Wookieepedia
Lao-mon has always been shrouded in mystery. Even the native Shi'ido know little of their origins, as they have no true written language. History was instead passed down through oral tradition, with each generation distorting the truth into legend with every retelling.
While they are often categorized as shy and reserved beings, the Shi'ido past is as bloody as any other species. When they weren't being killed by predators, conflict between rival clans could lead to devastating destruction. The "Great Purge" of 738 BBY, which saw the killing of nearly a quarter of the total Mician population on Lao-mon, was a particularly infamous example. Rates of violence have gone down over the last millennia, but in some areas clan warfare persists even to this day.
When Old Republic explorers attempted to make first contact, the native Shi'ido hid from them, using their shapeshifting abilities to disguise themselves as trees, rocks, and animals until the intruders left. As the world was presumed to be devoid of sentient life, and efforts at colonization were discouraged by the distance and the abundance of predatory species, Lao-mon had minimal contact with the galaxy for many centuries. Occasionally ships would arrive to trade or survey the Unknown Regions; those few Shi'ido who expressed curiosity about what lay beyond their homeworld could hitch a ride aboard these vessels. But it would be a long time before the Shi'ido as a whole would feel any need to develop starfaring craft of their own.
In 4 ABY, a Ssi-ruuk cruiser fleeing the Battle of Bakura initiated a blind hyperspace jump, and wound up in the Lao-mon system. The Ssi-ruuk, unable to remain in their damaged ship, landed on the planet and explored, finding structures and technology which seemed to have been very recently abandoned. Meanwhile the natives, who had been hiding from the invaders, attempted to introduce themselves peacefully. The Ssi-ruuk were less than receptive; while they found the Shi'ido ill-suited to the entechment process, that didn't stop them from trying. The Shi'ido were successfully able to evade and defeat them, gradually picking off the surviving crew members one by one. They took apart their technology and studied it, eventually recreating their weapons and starships. This kickstarted a period of increased interest in the rest of the galaxy, motivated by a desire to progress.
By 424 ABY, the so-called "peak" of galactic civilization, Lao-mon was reaping the fruits of this golden age in its own way. While the planet remained more isolated than most, it was open to trade and visitors. The Shi'ido had begun building cities, seeking to tame the wilds. Business was booming, with the planetary capital of Goshen becoming a hub of commerce (if such a thing could be said to exist in the Unknown Regions). Lao-mon was, for all intents and purposes, becoming civilized.
Part II: The Four Hundred Year Darkness
"Dark Force Users stormed the castle grounds during the Age of Darkness, wreaking havoc and bringing what was once a just and peaceful planet into utter chaos." - Erinyes Draclau
With the spread of the Gulag Virus, Lao-mon once again closed itself off to the galaxy. Despite these precautions, millions of Shi'ido succumbed to the plague. Survivors abandoned the crowded cities which were now little more than a breeding ground for the disease. The hard-won trappings of civilization quickly fell away as the Shi'ido returned to the jungles they had once sought to rise above.
This era of history was marked by a sharp uptick in bloodshed, culminating in the rise of the Draclau family to power. Their patriarch, the Sith Lord Malice Draclau, proclaimed himself King of Lao-mon and initiated a reign of terror. With the aid of the Jedi Order, the Draclau dynasty was overthrown.
Part III: The Second Great Hyperspace War
"Lao-mon is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire, ash, and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. If any Shi'ido remain alive... I cannot say. All we learned in that dark place was the terrible cost of defeat." —Zark San Tekka
Around 867 ABY, a Sith Empire on the other side of the galaxy fell after a long and bloody civil war. This event would have far-reaching consequences, as the resulting power vacuum led to the creation of many rival factions seeking to fill the void. The ultimate victor in this struggle for dominance was the Brotherhood of the Maw, a vicious horde of barbarians and cultists led by Sith remnants. Establishing themselves on Exegol, they rapidly began swallowing up other worlds within the Unknown Regions, kicking off the Second Great Hyperspace War.
One of the first planets they conquered was Lao-mon. While the Shi'ido once again used their abilities to hide from the invaders, the Mawites proved far more ruthless than the explorers of old. The Shi'ido were slaughtered, captured and enslaved in droves, their minds broken so that they could be remade into the Fleshtakers, cunning spies loyal to the Maw. A rebellion was mounted, aided by the Silver Jedi Concord and their allies. But this uprising was defeated by the Maw, who then initiated a planet-wide genocide of the Shi'ido using a new bioweapon known as the Wretchedness.
Those fleeing the carnage went into hiding on other worlds, posing as natives and building new lives based on deception. But a sizeable number of refugees wound up in a camp on Erakhis. Thanks to the efforts of the Shi'ido representative Inanna Harth and the Organa family, the refugees were resettled on Alderaan, building their own city, Maranatha.
With the defeat of the Maw, efforts to restore Lao-mon to its former glory are now underway...
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