Dr.Terrani
c: Fake it 'til you make eet c:
SARGUS, SON OF NOVIS
"SARGUS NOVIS"
~ The Island of Methicea ~
~ The Daphis Iceway ~
"SARGUS NOVIS"
~ The Island of Methicea ~
~ The Daphis Iceway ~
Image Credit (in order of above appearance):
- Official Wonder Woman concept art for Themyscira, retrieved from SciFiNow
- Frozen Alaska landscape, retrieved from this blog
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Image Credit: "Ultra HD Planet Stock IV", by dadrian on Deviant Art
- Cloudy/white parts are ice sheets and/or continental glaciers
Canon: Terraforming
Links: Epistor
GENERAL INFORMATION
Planet Name: Sargus, son of Novis (Sargus Novis)
- Sargus, son of Novis’ people have named their planet like they would one of their own. The given name is that of the planet’s personification, Sargus, and the last refers to the god of space (i.e. Novis), his mother-father, as Novis has no gender.
- After discovery, it was shortened to Sargus Novis.
- The natives may refer to themselves of [The] Children of Sargus.
Region: The Tingel Arm
System Name: Novis System
System Features:
Suns – 2; Pasiph and Rhoda Novis
Moons – 2; Ariop Novis and Zoian Novis
Planet Order (out from the suns) – Alphesi Novis, Phaleam Novis, Sargus Novis, Perse Novis, and Fleede Novis
Note: All are terrestrial planets but Fleede Novis, which is a moderately-sized gas giant composed of mainly hydrogen and helium gas
Orbital Position – Habitable Zone
Orbiting Comet – Anycrates and Androcles
Orbiting Asteroids – Xanthippe, Kerknor, Euphrosyne, and Aenuleth
Rotational Period – About 34 standard hours
Orbital Period – About 406 standard days
Coordinates: AR-21, near the middle of the hex
Major Exports: None
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
Gravity: Slightly less than standard
Atmosphere: Type 1 (breathable)
Climate: Temperate [controlled, terraformed areas]; intense ice age [everywhere else] (i.e. frozen oceans, glaciated mountains with limited, unnamed extremophile/psychrophile lifeforms)
Primary Terrain: Mountains 5%, Ocean 81%, Islands 14%
Major Locations:
Largest Islands (also the names of the four terraformed settlement bubbles) – Hystranais, Amalos, Methicea, Vathicos
Main Cities/Towns –
On Hystranais: Thyreid (capital), Rhypam
On Amalos: Lukio, Tmol
On Methicea: Phasekion, Idridri, Ptely
On Vathicos: Orius
Main Temple/Governmental Building – Novikest (on Hystranias)
Spaceports – The Syennei Plainlands (on Hystranias), Temple of Aenuleth (in Thyreid)
Sea – The Kyllypser Supersea
The Wastelands – The Daphis Iceway (a planet-wide network of sea ice and continental glaciers outside of the controlled zones)
POPULATION
Native Species:
- Humans (Sargus Novians)
- Notable, unique flora and fauna:
- Sargusian sheep
- Catander (deer-like wildlife)
- Anncrea (wolf-hawk)
- Cebele Flower
- Guardians of Sargus (giant wolf-life wildlife)
- Oolaps (smaller, lynx-like animals, mostly pets)
- Skunea (water-born, leech-like parasite)
- Medon Grape (tart-tasting fruit that makes strong, dark-colored wine)
- Errois (tough reed used in basket-weaving)
- Other humans
- Twi'leks
- Rodians
Demographics: Humans (Sargus Novians) make up almost 100% of the population, excluding other flora and fauna. Immigrated species, while present, account for a negligible percentage (approximately 0.07%, or 23 beings).
Primary Languages:
- Cymothë (a written glyph language; letters in a word stacked on top of each other and interlocking; reads from bottom-up, right to left)
Culture:
Novian Games – Similar to the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece, the Novian Games are held quadrennially in the capital of Thyreid’s grand gymnasium. Popular events include the discus or javelin throw, the dioulos and the dolichos (400-meter race, and 140-4,800-meter race, respectively), boxing, pankration (martial arts form), and equestrian events--including races. Ball sports include disk field hockey (keritizein), rugby (episkyros), and basketball (aporraxis).
Religion – The Novious religion is a polytheistic faith worshipping a pantheon of gods and goddesses, and is centered around nature however one can observe it. Their mythology has little to no concept or an underworld or a hell, but instead looks to the stars or space for their understanding of the afterlife.
- The Religious Rational for Naming: Sargus Novians believe that all of the planetary bodies in their system are siblings descended from Novis, who embodies the space in between them, thus the naming conventions of and within their star system. Unlike planets, asteroids and comets are mythological heroes. The latter was said to have been thrown off the world and sentenced to endless pain by the gods in punishment, the former rewarded with immortalization for their deeds.
- Main Figures:
Alkest – king of the Sargus Novian gods excepting Novis; god of life and the stars themselves
Sargus – personification of the planet Sargus Novis
Novis – the ungendered entity making up the Star-Sea, or space
Aenuleth – demigod hero and master of the Star-Sea
Daphis – god of the Many Seas--those made of ice, of water, and of stars
Metioch – god of the wind and tides, as related to keeping on-course, and of long journeys; expanded to include solar winds
Cymothoë – goddess of knowledge, like language, and progress; also of diplomacy
Saytros – god of art, expression, deceit, and mischief; heavily associated with both communication and misunderstandings
Earis – goddess of love, especially romantic, and desire
Pylaris – goddess of the health, xenia, and friendships
Parthenope – goddess of the art of warfare
Agathonice – goddess of war as a means of protecting the weak and one’s home
Iamus – god of making war for the sake of bloodshed and bloodlust
Trophimus and Triompas – twin gods of competitions or of games (of the mind and of the body, respectively)
Otonia – nymphs that look over wildlife, including livestock
Chernothope – goddess of the wild places and agriculture
Pronedamna – Cymothoë's titans holding up the settlement bubbles; the main island within each bares their name
Astyoche– mortal-turned-goddess; wife of Daphis and mother of Aenuleth
Anycrates – hero that saved select Sargus Novians from certain doom by bringing them terraforming technology; loved by Cymothoë and reviled by the rest of the Gods
Kerknor – demigod hero that ended the Suffering War; son of Agathonice
Xanthippe – mortal hero and daughter of Euphrosyne that broke the landmasses apart into islands at the beginning of the Near-ending Wars in hopes of easing her kinsmans’ bloodlust
Androcles – misled steward of Xanthippe whose's blind loyalty and haste began the Never-ending Wars
Euphrosyne – deified mortal; martyred last queen of a unified Sargus Novis
Erennass – deified Jedi recruiter
Sargus – personification of the planet Sargus Novis
Novis – the ungendered entity making up the Star-Sea, or space
Aenuleth – demigod hero and master of the Star-Sea
Daphis – god of the Many Seas--those made of ice, of water, and of stars
Metioch – god of the wind and tides, as related to keeping on-course, and of long journeys; expanded to include solar winds
Cymothoë – goddess of knowledge, like language, and progress; also of diplomacy
Saytros – god of art, expression, deceit, and mischief; heavily associated with both communication and misunderstandings
Earis – goddess of love, especially romantic, and desire
Pylaris – goddess of the health, xenia, and friendships
Parthenope – goddess of the art of warfare
Agathonice – goddess of war as a means of protecting the weak and one’s home
Iamus – god of making war for the sake of bloodshed and bloodlust
Trophimus and Triompas – twin gods of competitions or of games (of the mind and of the body, respectively)
Otonia – nymphs that look over wildlife, including livestock
Chernothope – goddess of the wild places and agriculture
Pronedamna – Cymothoë's titans holding up the settlement bubbles; the main island within each bares their name
Astyoche– mortal-turned-goddess; wife of Daphis and mother of Aenuleth
Anycrates – hero that saved select Sargus Novians from certain doom by bringing them terraforming technology; loved by Cymothoë and reviled by the rest of the Gods
Kerknor – demigod hero that ended the Suffering War; son of Agathonice
Xanthippe – mortal hero and daughter of Euphrosyne that broke the landmasses apart into islands at the beginning of the Near-ending Wars in hopes of easing her kinsmans’ bloodlust
Androcles – misled steward of Xanthippe whose's blind loyalty and haste began the Never-ending Wars
Euphrosyne – deified mortal; martyred last queen of a unified Sargus Novis
Erennass – deified Jedi recruiter
Art – Painted pottery, fine rock sculptures, delicate fresco paintings, and theater are the main art expression forms on Sargus Novis. Tattooing as a medium of painting is not common, but is practiced. Almost every citizen writes poetry with differing levels of skill as a religious devotional act.
GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY
Government: True direct democracy, though not everyone is an active participant (by choice or geographical circumstance)
Affiliation: Undecided; currently neutral
Wealth: Medium
- On this world, coinage is more of a formality, a vestige practice from long, long ago. Most people now barter for goods and services, but every once in a while money will exchange hands on the occasion the buyer has nothing to offer or he or she is passing through without time to waste. Thus, most don’t go without and everyone is reasonably well-provided for, at least with what they need. The society may appear unequal by looking at, say, the different places people live or the clothing they wear, but actual they are more-or-less equal on the basis of wealth alone.
Stability: Medium to medium-low
- Sargus Novis is a near-utopian society though not without its divisions, controversies, and periodic isolated events of violence. One of those events happened when Epistor was recruited into the Silver Jedi Order. The recruiter, whom had been sent to retrieve her and the blessing of her people, sparked something akin to a planetwide scandal. Part of the populace regarded the newcomer as a gift or a prophet from Aenuleth, but the other half was either not convinced or unwilling to hand one of their people over to anyone, even the alleged courier of a demigod. The issue still partially divides Sargus Novians even with Epistor now gone.
- Today, two major factions, the Archaics and the Cultists, fight both metaphorically and literally to seize control of planetary intergalactic relations. The latter have existed since Epistor's trial. Believing her Force sensitivity a gift given by Agathonice, they began as a benign cult following. Their worship of Epistor and Agathonice soon was fueled by paranoia when the Cult learned of the revival of a Sith state relatively near the Novis System. They call for an allegiance with the Jedi Order and even preemptive attack on the Sith to protect Sargus Novis.
In contrast, Archaics wish to stick by the tradition of pacifism. To them, Cultists are modern heralds of war, as Androcles once was, and must be stopped.- Tensions have come to a head between these two groups in two major events already:
i - during an informal council in Lukio, a violent stampede broke out between members of the two factions after days of heatedd but peaceful discussion;
ii - during a speech given by Anepithymitos of Idridri on a market day in Phasekion, the gathered crowd of mostly Cultist-oriented minds was disappointed by Idridri's unexpected Archaic rhetoric and grew agitated, though not aggressive
- Tensions have come to a head between these two groups in two major events already:
- Off-worlders are now free to visit and roam as they wish. The Temple of Aenuleth Spaceport was originally built to provide Epistor with a safer way to return home, but it is now open for wider uses.
- Somehow, Sargus Novis operates without any leaders per se. Rather, a board of advisers guides the general population on certain matters, but voting is up to them and not the board. Natives operate under the highly-valued moral code found within their religion: to strive for peace, and to help one another.
- Not only allowed to think freely but encouraged to do so, Sargus Novians enjoy a high degree of personal freedoms, for their collective fate is ultimately in public hands. The only illegal acts are “making unnecessary war” when the public hasn’t declared an end to peacetime, or “obstructing the natural peace” by way of murder, thievery, fighting words, and the like.
- Sargus Novians are free to do almost whatever they want, provided that they are not causing harm to society. The worst crime that a civilian can commit is Conspiracy to Make War; this may include suggesting war, even in defense, at a city or town hall.
- Most other ideas, however, political or otherwise, are protected. Because Sargus Novia's government is by-the-people with informal oversight by advisers, the people need to be able to think freely and relatively unrestrained in order to make the best decisions for themselves and each other that they can.
- As for oppression, there rarely is any. It exists in the form of cruel and unusual punishment, mostly for so-called war-mongers (those whom are charged with Conspiracy to Make War), when they are cast out into the Daphis Iceway.
MILITARY & TECHNOLOGY
Military: Low military presence
- For centuries, Sargus Novis has been free from infighting, and outfighting because of its isolation and status as undiscovered. Emphasis is put on the word presence, however, because there are still those who practice the art of warfare--as it is called--as well as those who are city and town guards. Sargus Novian myths failed to predict the planet’s discovery or present it as a potential reason why Sargus Novis may begin to need its warriors again. However, they does put a great deal of importance on warfare, at least that of the past, as is evident both in its various war gods and its recollection of historic wars.
Technology: Mostly low/isolated high tech
- The planet possesses mostly low, Iron/Steel Age technology, but they have access to some things seemingly beyond their time (e.g. the settlement terraformers).
- The terraformers are oftentimes embedded within stone or metal spheres, held up by Pronedamna statues in their specific temples. Some sort of light shines up, extending into the air for kilometers. Where it stops is the point from which a dome radiates, made of some sort of poorly-understood power source. The bubbles do not function as shields, but cannot be pierced by a ship or projectile entering nor exiting. Destruction of the Pronedamna statue would fall the dome and the contained land would succumb to the extreme environment that it served to keep out.
- The settlement bubbles themselves join together in a network of great, covered bridges that can take hours to days to cross on foot. Not one remembers exactly how they were constructed, just as no one remembers how the terraforming statues were, but it's a detail that doesn’t matter to most.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Settlement occurred thousands of years ago. It is shrouded in both mystery and misrememberance, and slowly the peoples began to form their own stories of origin and explanation, first as oral traditions then as written stories. That being said, their post-'ancient' historical recounting are accurate to semi-accurate. The ones truest to history follow, though some events are portrayed as having been supernatural:
In the beginning, there was one land called Sarguidaios, and but one sea likewise named Sarguleon, both after the earth god Sargus. Then, Daphis was unoffended, and thawed the planet and kept off his great plains of ice, flowing and free. Humans, the descendants of Sargus, populated much of his undrowned skin, living contently with others and their animals. One day, Saytros descended to Sargus Novis. While wandering through the mortal capital of Thyreid, he met the beggar, Iatrokles. And he was disgusted, for all the people passed by the begging man and had confined him into a gutter of a side street.
‘Is no one willing to help you, fellow?’ asked the god.
‘No one, sir,’ the beggar replied. ‘Will you be better than them? They spit on me, tear my clothes, and taunt me with their money.’
‘I will,’ Saytros promised. He ascended back to Mount Sinon, home of the Gods, and there weaved Eemeinra, the chiton of deception. The very next day, he gifted the cloth to the same beggar and instructed, 'Wrap this about you tightly, and never been tread on again. They will think you a prince.'
And so Iatrokles, not thinking of the many consequences that he would wrought, donned the dress. It was like the god said: he was taken into the palace by the next to pass him by. Soon, all of Thyreid was so entranced and convinced the beggar was their true prince that the city's royals were exiled. The queen, Euphrosyne, was burned as an imposer when she refused to give up her throne.
Years passed, and the heavy, dark curtain of Iatrokles's fake sovereignty fell over the whole land, and he began to deceive even himself.
‘Is no one willing to help you, fellow?’ asked the god.
‘No one, sir,’ the beggar replied. ‘Will you be better than them? They spit on me, tear my clothes, and taunt me with their money.’
‘I will,’ Saytros promised. He ascended back to Mount Sinon, home of the Gods, and there weaved Eemeinra, the chiton of deception. The very next day, he gifted the cloth to the same beggar and instructed, 'Wrap this about you tightly, and never been tread on again. They will think you a prince.'
And so Iatrokles, not thinking of the many consequences that he would wrought, donned the dress. It was like the god said: he was taken into the palace by the next to pass him by. Soon, all of Thyreid was so entranced and convinced the beggar was their true prince that the city's royals were exiled. The queen, Euphrosyne, was burned as an imposer when she refused to give up her throne.
Years passed, and the heavy, dark curtain of Iatrokles's fake sovereignty fell over the whole land, and he began to deceive even himself.
The long-shunned daughter of Queen Euphrosyne was called Xanthippe. She had been young during her mother's benevolent rule, and had come at a tender age to love all of the people. Upon her exile, she had begun to plan to return. She patiently waited, far enough away to not be hunted but close enough to understand happenings, until her name had slipped away from her kins' minds in favor of their new King.
On her way into Thyreid from Lkyious ((OOC: an ancient city no longer in existence)), she met Androcles, son of Glaukos and of the city for which she was bound. During their long journey, and seeing his strength as a potential ally, she convinced him that she was the true heir to the throne.
'No!' he roared, picking up a stone, 'Impossible!' and almost struck her with it. But, seeing her standing unflinchingly in the way of the blow, he fell to his knees and wept.
She joined him on the ground, and lead a prayer to Cymothoë. The goddess confirmed Xanthippe's words, and told them also about Saytros's chiton. With this new knowledge, the son of Glaukos was won, pledging himself to Xanthippe as her royal steward.
However, his loyalty to her would prove to be zeal inside the capital's gate. He burst into the castle, threw Eemeinra off Iatrokles, and declared, 'Look, all you poor, deceived souls! He is naught by a beggar!'
But, it was too late for the Threidians. Saytros-made untruth had them all, and half of their kingdom, by the heartstrings. They were unshakable in their fidelity to the king-beggar. However, news of Androcles' claim spread throughout the land, and its other half was shaken from their daze, and they rushed to Princess Xanthippe's aid.
~~~
Thus, Androcles became the herald of the Never-ending Wars between those who followed a false royal and those that refused him.
But Xanthippe would not command a war, even a war for her rightful crown, that would divide her land in two. And so she prayed for the twins', Trophimus and Triompas, guidance. The latter brother granted her astounding strength and a warning that use of her full capabilities would kill her. Still, she used her gift to sever the land in two, and to push the halves apart as to separate the warring factions with the wide Kyllypser sea.
On her way into Thyreid from Lkyious ((OOC: an ancient city no longer in existence)), she met Androcles, son of Glaukos and of the city for which she was bound. During their long journey, and seeing his strength as a potential ally, she convinced him that she was the true heir to the throne.
'No!' he roared, picking up a stone, 'Impossible!' and almost struck her with it. But, seeing her standing unflinchingly in the way of the blow, he fell to his knees and wept.
She joined him on the ground, and lead a prayer to Cymothoë. The goddess confirmed Xanthippe's words, and told them also about Saytros's chiton. With this new knowledge, the son of Glaukos was won, pledging himself to Xanthippe as her royal steward.
However, his loyalty to her would prove to be zeal inside the capital's gate. He burst into the castle, threw Eemeinra off Iatrokles, and declared, 'Look, all you poor, deceived souls! He is naught by a beggar!'
But, it was too late for the Threidians. Saytros-made untruth had them all, and half of their kingdom, by the heartstrings. They were unshakable in their fidelity to the king-beggar. However, news of Androcles' claim spread throughout the land, and its other half was shaken from their daze, and they rushed to Princess Xanthippe's aid.
~~~
Thus, Androcles became the herald of the Never-ending Wars between those who followed a false royal and those that refused him.
But Xanthippe would not command a war, even a war for her rightful crown, that would divide her land in two. And so she prayed for the twins', Trophimus and Triompas, guidance. The latter brother granted her astounding strength and a warning that use of her full capabilities would kill her. Still, she used her gift to sever the land in two, and to push the halves apart as to separate the warring factions with the wide Kyllypser sea.
Track was lost, just as the sons and daughters of Sargus were lost to wars. Long after the deaths of both Xanthippe and Iatrokles, their followers fought on for a cause that both no longer knew. Every senseless battle, every ruthless warrior, satisfied the god of violence. Many a libation of enemy blood was poured to him, and once-fertile fields went barren with the offerings; where had once grown grapes now lay fallow with the bodies of wasted youth.
The last war that plagued Sargus Novis was the worst, known as the Suffering War.
To end the war, the son of Agathonice, Kerknor, pleaded at the base of Mount Sinon. 'Gods and goddesses,' he invoked, 'if you do not care for the Children of Sargus, show pity on him.' Mankind had ceased offering to any other but Iamus, and for it they all were angry. But most of them did mourn for Sargus, the earth. And so, lead by Daphis, the pantheon began to sterilize the world with swaths of ice. They would sacrifice the humans to save their mountain temple, for they were most at home on Sargus' back. The first human city to freeze was called Semiri, atop a mountain of the same name, on the island of Rossos.
The only deity whom did not help her brethren was Cymothoë. She went down to Thyreid and found there a brilliant inventor without a body nor a mind for fighting. His name was Anycrates, and he vowed to do anything for her, for he was not only a devotee but had fallen in love. When she the Great Mind asked him to defy the gods, he agreed.
Cymothoë implanted hidden knowledge in her lover's mind, and bade him to create the things of which she showed him. As he did, Cymothoë created her clay Pronedamna giants in the form of finely-crafted statues. She placed a statue on four islands where she saw in its inhabitants a flicker of hope and bade her follower to augment each with his creations. He did, just as the Four Clouds descended threateningly over the entirety of each island, but the titans stretched upwards to hold back Daphis' icy fingers. This is why the number four is associated generally with mercy.
Still today, the Pronedamna hold the sky above these four islands and stave away Daphis' damnation upon the planet's surface.
To end the war, the son of Agathonice, Kerknor, pleaded at the base of Mount Sinon. 'Gods and goddesses,' he invoked, 'if you do not care for the Children of Sargus, show pity on him.' Mankind had ceased offering to any other but Iamus, and for it they all were angry. But most of them did mourn for Sargus, the earth. And so, lead by Daphis, the pantheon began to sterilize the world with swaths of ice. They would sacrifice the humans to save their mountain temple, for they were most at home on Sargus' back. The first human city to freeze was called Semiri, atop a mountain of the same name, on the island of Rossos.
The only deity whom did not help her brethren was Cymothoë. She went down to Thyreid and found there a brilliant inventor without a body nor a mind for fighting. His name was Anycrates, and he vowed to do anything for her, for he was not only a devotee but had fallen in love. When she the Great Mind asked him to defy the gods, he agreed.
Cymothoë implanted hidden knowledge in her lover's mind, and bade him to create the things of which she showed him. As he did, Cymothoë created her clay Pronedamna giants in the form of finely-crafted statues. She placed a statue on four islands where she saw in its inhabitants a flicker of hope and bade her follower to augment each with his creations. He did, just as the Four Clouds descended threateningly over the entirety of each island, but the titans stretched upwards to hold back Daphis' icy fingers. This is why the number four is associated generally with mercy.
Still today, the Pronedamna hold the sky above these four islands and stave away Daphis' damnation upon the planet's surface.
One day, Epistor, a woman from Phasekion that Agathonice had come to love, was attacked by two local men. The goddess granted her powers from Her arsenal and with them Epistor saved herself, accidently killing the perpetrators.
Though it had been in self-defense, Epistor was charged for her counterattack. After a short trial held in Tyreid, she was exiled into the barren Daphis Iceway.
Agathonice helped her lover survive for four days by sending her warmth from Her hearth on Mount Sinon and leaving her parcels of food. On the fifth day, a large, metal bird descended from the sky. A Jedi recruiter, remembered by the name Erennass, emerged from its mouth to offer Epistor salvation. None but the Gods knew for some months where the stranger had taken Epistor, though it was found that he had taken her to a far-away planet called Kashyyyk to the Temple of the Silver Jedi when she and Erennass returned to Thyreid after that time.
Another governmental gathering decided to liken Epistor to Astroche for surviving the Iceway and traversing the star-sea, and granted her an exception to the traditional ways of pacifism with the understanding that she was to join the battle for galactic peace.
Though it had been in self-defense, Epistor was charged for her counterattack. After a short trial held in Tyreid, she was exiled into the barren Daphis Iceway.
Agathonice helped her lover survive for four days by sending her warmth from Her hearth on Mount Sinon and leaving her parcels of food. On the fifth day, a large, metal bird descended from the sky. A Jedi recruiter, remembered by the name Erennass, emerged from its mouth to offer Epistor salvation. None but the Gods knew for some months where the stranger had taken Epistor, though it was found that he had taken her to a far-away planet called Kashyyyk to the Temple of the Silver Jedi when she and Erennass returned to Thyreid after that time.
Another governmental gathering decided to liken Epistor to Astroche for surviving the Iceway and traversing the star-sea, and granted her an exception to the traditional ways of pacifism with the understanding that she was to join the battle for galactic peace.
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