Gatalia (Planet)

This article is about Gatalia as a planet. Click here for Gatalia as a shard.

Overview
Location	Viliva 37
General Characteristics
Population	~125,000,000
Key Details	Two supercontinents: - Urclien - Unnamed Gatalian Religion

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A medieval-era world inhabited by alien wild-life and multiple species of diverse humans. There is no magic native on Gatalia, and humans are the primary sapient genus.

The system the planet is in, Viliva 37, is in the territory of a space-fairing, alien civilization called gaolers, who have legally designated it as a “national park”. Natives do not understand this, and only have a vague awareness of the outside world which may not be common knowledge depending on the region. Folk legends speak of “starfolk” which visit from worlds beyond, though frequently fail to distinguish beings from separate nations and do not comprehend their scale.

The two largest landmasses on Gatalia are the super-continents Urclien (west) and Azpritan (east). Travel between these two super-continents is mostly done via sailing ship along shorelines where possible.

• Divion is a notable trade center in Urclien, with its trade city Baulglic.
• The Great Boraciel Range runs from the south of Urclien towards the north and splits the super-continent in two halves.
• The Great Valgirian Range runs at the top of Urclien from east to west, and separates Valgiria from the rest of the super-continent.

The gaolers had only colonized the solar system outside the planet a couple 10,000 years ago. Gatalia has only two natural suns: Their spectral classes being G and M respectively. This changed when the gaolers had settled the system. They moved one of their colonized star systems within a very distant orbit (fluctuating between 135 - 157 AU) that takes thousands of years to complete. Their star's class is A; it is responsible for the eerie blue glow sometimes present at night on Gatalia.

This faction has never colonized Gatalia itself, instead watching it from afar and very rarely sending unmanned drones to keep an eye on its ecosystems.

Gatalia has many similarities to Earth in its terrain, but also many differences. Terrain is sometimes more extreme and vertical, with foothills being more common than totally flat plains. Where the Nile River is one of Earth's longest at 6,650 km, Gatalia has several which are much longer. The Perevion River in Divion is an incredible 9,161 km long, totalling almost 50 km at it's mouth. In other locations on Gatalia, there are rivers with a length beyond 12,000 km.

Although Gatalia primarily consists of two super-continents, travel between regions is made difficult by the presence of large mountain ranges. These mountain ranges are so perilous that it is often faster and safer to travel across the shores (by boat or otherwise) than to try to cross a continent by traveling straight through the middle.

There are by vague approximation, 125 million humans on all of Gatalia. This figure totals all human species on the planet.

Individuals speak languages depending on which is commonly used in the area they are raised. They likely do not know how to read and write.

To many natives of Gatalia, the concept of a hospital sounds like wishful science fiction. Some cultures have local doctors that stay within their towns to heal the ill and wounded there, while others have traveling apothecaries which roam the world in hopes of uncovering better medicine and practices, healing those they cross in their travels.

The rich and royal often have personal court physicians which spend their days tending to them, their family members, and other members of their court. Their services are not typically extended to those less fortunate.

Regardless of culture, most people on Gatalia are uneducated. The infrastructure required to sustain a centralized education system does not exist due to a lack of philosophical and technological advancements necessary to make it possible. At best, most people are educated by their parents or more commonly, the communities they were raised.

Educational facilities do exist, such as colleges, monasteries and forums. Depending on the culture, access to these places and services may be limited to a rich minority, or their efficiency may be severely limited. Illiteracy is commonplace and being able to read and write can be an entire job description.

Those in rural areas do not often carry coin, and instead trade animals and produce. In more populous areas, such as towns and cities, currency is sometimes used in many different forms. Most often, currencies are minted and distributed by banking families.

Many societies follow something resembling a feudal power structure, but not all. Nobles are entrusted land, which answer to nobles of higher status, repeating all the way up to some form of supreme leader (such as a king or queen, emperor or empress, so on). Globally, it is by no means a barbaric system, and has a complex; sometimes headache inducing web of political involvement. Power struggles are all too common, with claimants threatening war if their demands are not met, and spies and assassins constantly vying to change the sway of power in their favor.

There are no resources unique on Gatalia which are difficult to find elsewhere in the galaxy. With exception to being life-baring, the planet is by all accounts completely unremarkable.

Where possible, sailing across shores is the fastest, though it can still take months to travel between countries this way. Next, is via river boat. After that, travel by road on carriage or mount, then on foot. The least efficient method of travel in Gatalia is on foot through wilderness, though due to the low population of the planet, traveling in this way is sometimes necessary.

For Gatalian religions, see Gatalian Religion.

There is no unified culture in Gatalia, although many cultures share some similarities:

As many people cannot read, images and picture-books are more common than thick, densely packed paragraphs of literature. Bards and other performers often know many tales and legends by heart, which makes it somewhat easier to learn history (although much of it is likely distorted and exaggerated for entertainment). Books as we know them; bland and void of images, are usually reserved for nobles and rich scholars who both have the skills necessary to read such volumes, and the reason to do so.

A challenge present for almost everyone on Gatalia is how to safely consume and preserve food. In colder regions, the lack of active pathogens makes eating raw flesh a possibility, and in some cases a necessity. In warmer regions, food spoils and is scavenged by animals so fast that preservation is a real difficulty. Often, controlled spoilage is the best way to preserve food; letting it rot safely, in the presence of spices that deter parasites and toxin-creating microbes. Rotten seafood products are a common supplement to meals in these areas. In arid regions, air-drying food is particularly useful. In a controlled environment, artisanal fungi can be used to improve the quality of food. This makes it more flavourful, longer-lasting, and has health benefits.

In all places, salt is a valued commodity. It seems magical in nature, with its ability to preserve and dry food for months, when normally it would spoil and become inedible in mere days or sometimes hours. Vinegar is similarly revered, as vegetables can be pickled in it, increasing flavor and edible lifespan significantly.

As an overall synopsis, both art and invention are seen together in most cultures of Gatalia. As there is no concept of intellectual property, artists and inventors are almost always un-credited and the common view is that new art and inventions miraculously come as gifts from divine beings, or are natural forces.

• The Parvan Empire in Divion is slowly collapsing over the span of a century. Most people do not know this is happening, but almost everyone in the region can feel its effects.
  • The Emperor grows weaker.
  • Farmers and villagers on the outskirts of Divion are being pillaged and raided by criminal warlords, and the Emperor is declining most pleas for military aid.
  • Outside nations are mobilizing forces to quietly build military outposts. Many claim to already have the right to the land and have indoctrinated the locals against the Empire's will.
• Travelers are never at a loss for sights to see. There are many varied and unique cultures and subcultures all around the world, with stunning terrain, bizarre; earth-like wildlife and more than enough wrongs to right.
• Technology is a slow march in Gatalia, but that only makes inventions rare and legendary. Sacred explosive devices from distant lands, skysteel dropped by starfolk centuries before, ancient medicine derived from uncommon flora and using recipes thought long lost to time, alchemical spellbooks containing encrypted knowledge from a witch since deceased… All this and more is waiting to be rediscovered.
• Although Gatalia is a national park under the jurisdiction of aliens called “gaolers”, their iron grip can at times feel more like a cardboard grip. Occasionally, starfolk may crash land there, or make contact in some other way. Contact a shard master before starting a plot like this, please!
• Gaolers are alien, but they are familiar with diplomacy. It may be interesting to try to make deals with them.

• Player P0rcelain created this on 2023/05/03 03:45.

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