Raana

• Climate: Temperate tropical
• Polar Regions: No
• Continental Surface: 78%
• Continents: Irendoria and Gandaria
• Circumference: 42,500 km
• Rotation speed: 23h, 12m
• Age: 5.22 Billion Years
• Other interesting articles:
  • The great biological wipe

History

• BHE: Before Human Era. Year 2130 A.D. is BHE 0.

Pre-human history

• The Beryll pottery culture (5000-4750 BHE)

First humans

The International Space Agency (ISA), which oversaw all of Earth's space explorations, discovered Raana in 2116 via the Mahabharata probe sent through the newly discovered Celassi stargate.

Four years later, in 2120, Earth sent the first scientific expedition to the thriving forest planet. The 2120 expedition found striking similarities to Earth; not only was Raana highly suitable for maintaining life, the planet also shared a similar age and oxygen levels. What was really convenient, however, was the planet's rotation speed being similar to our world. Later colonists were able to synchronize their time with Earth's, with minimal adjustments to the clocks on Raana, even if a Raanic hour was slightly shorter. During the expedition, scientists also discovered and catalogued many forms of life including an indigenous species formally called Inexor valacae, or Beryll Monkeys.

However, what truly brought humanity to colonize Raana was the large deposits of Rare Earth elements on the planet, which spurred UESA to launch the first wave of settlers in 2130. Rare earth elements are 17 similar metals that have different electronic and magnetic properties which are invaluable to human civilization due to their uses in the creation of petroleum products, computer chips, LCD screens, fiber optics, lasers and more.

The first wave and the tribalist kingdoms (2130-2230)

Over 350 years ago, the first wave of inhabitants arrived on Raana via the Celassi Stargate. It was a handpicked group of 366 young people, entrusted with establishing an outpost capable of accommodating bigger groups over the next decade. Regrettably, the first wave crashed their ship the USS Dorothea close to the Beryll Mountain range, not far from where Ikaanos City now resides.

Unbeknownst to UESA back on Earth, the majority of colonists survived the crash. However, communication with Earth was now impossible owing to the destroyed ship's primary, secondary, and backup deep space transmitters being irreparably damaged.

After a century, only a few earthly traditions remained. The First Wavers had established a tribal society more akin to a medieval world with swords and wooden carts than to their founding fathers' high-tech civilization. About half founded a town and called it New Eden, which formed the nucleus of the Kingdom of David, and half took up independent village existences in the forest.

Important states, tribes and kingdoms from this era

• Kingdom of David (2131- )
• The Connor Tribe (2132- )
• Kingdom of Arwene (2131-2190)
• New Kansas City (2135-2180)
• The Cybertooth Tribe (2150-2232)

Colonization (2230-2290)

When a huge colony ship, the USS Seneca, appeared in the skies above Raana's jungles in December 2230, the planet entered a new era that definitively saw humans as its rulers. Over 5,000 settlers landed around Prometheus Lake and established the first outposts... that later welcomed an additional 25,000 humans in three further large ships, arriving in 2231, 2233 and 2237.

Redhaven Village, Lake Town and Hamilton's Landing quickly developed into metropolitan hubs with thousands of inhabitants, who utilized Raana's rich minerals and fertile soil to live in abundance and maintain UESA's interest in colonizing the planet.

First contact

Contact was made with the first wavers in 2231. The discovery of the lost settlers was on every news channel for weeks back on Earth, and scientists and politicians saw it as proof of humanity's resilience and that Raana was indeed a suitable home for the human race. In fact, the first wavers were incredibly healthy compared to the modern people of Earth.

A decision was made to interfere as little as possible with the first wave tribes – they were free to join their kin in Ikaanos, but the new colonies only sent scientists and licensed traders to New Eden and the large forest villages around the Beryll Mountain range, hoping that the unique culture of the first wavers would persevere and co-exist with the modern cultures of Earth. About half of the town-dwelling first-wavers left to assimilate into the second-wave communities, but very few of the forest-dwellers did.

The rise of the republic

Around 2280, ten years before The Severance, Ikaanos Colony was properly established and flourished in ways that are unimaginable on Raana today. With over 250,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area alone, Ikaanos had developed a unique Raanic culture, and had tamed thousands of square miles around Lake Prometheus and the Beryll Mountains. Several distant colonies had also been established – even outside the Irendorian continent where Ikaanos lies.

Ikaanos was given full city status in 2282 and became independent from UESA on Christmas Eve that year. The Council members formally declared The Republic of Ikaanos on January 1st 2283, and presented a 50-year plan that would colonize the rest of the Irendorian continent under the Republic's watchful eyes.

Everything looked so bright – for Ikaanos and for humanity.

The Severance and the great chaos (2290-2315)

Then suddenly, sixty years after Ikaanos' first colonists arrived on Raana, the Celassi quantum gate mysteriously shut down, making the return trip to Alpha Centauri and Earth impossible.

This occurred on June 12th, 2290, and signaled the beginning of a dark era referred to as The Great Chaos, during which scarcity and widespread violence permeated every aspect of society as all social structures crumbled and disintegrated.

But why did Ikaanos, a thriving and now self-declared republic, collapse so quickly? The answer probably lies in the primal nature of men; because despite the republic's fertile farmlands, the yield was far from enough to feed its demanding population. The upper class was used to unprecedented luxury and abundance, and refused to settle for anything less than what they were used to, especially if they were to lead a worry-stricken society that just got separated from its home planet.

The fall of the republic and civil war

The Republic Council weathered five years before collapse rendered all civic structures powerless. The Historical Society sets the date of the First Republic's fall to April 5th 2295, when a group of armed men stormed the Crystal Hall (Crystal Palace today) and started the Hamilton War (2295-2302).

The Hamilton War was a confusing conflict between several hostile factions, waged in the smoldering ruins of Ikaanos. Groups of farmers and craftsmen battled against security forces of great companies and conglomerates, and the last remaining forces of The Republic tried to stop newly formed bandit factions from attacking food storage facilities and plundering the still thriving Emerald Island.

Feudalization, and the rise of the Spheremasters

The civil war saw over 25,000 casualties, and much of southern Ikaanos destroyed. It ended when a group of influential people, calling themselves "The Council", seized control over the orbiting space-station USS Seneca (named after the first, crashed, colony ship), and used its ion cannons to bombard the surface - eradicating what was left of the Republic forces, and several other factions which they saw as their enemies.

The remaining Great Families swore allegiance to The Council, and either gained lands or vital economical monopolies in return for their loyalty.

But the peace left little hope for Ikaanos: the following 15 years saw widespread poverty, forcing poor families to sell themselves into slavery in order to avoid starving, as the enormous colony devolved into a condition of existence that was practically post-apocalyptic. Expensive high-tech items, such as fusion-powered cars, computers, and food printers, were so scarce that only the absolute elite could afford to purchase and maintain them.

The Chaos eventually ended around 2315, when the Great Houses had properly established their power and the newly formed Space Marine organization, along with the threat of orbital bombardment, made sure that people followed the will of The Council. The once-thriving colony had now transformed into a feudal kingdom that shared very little resemblance with the glorious republic a generation before.

What happened?

The Historical Society continues to debate why The Severance happened and what might have caused it. The Celassi shutdown remains the biggest mystery of today's Ikaanian society. A disturbing transmission captured just prior to the malfunction suggests something assaulted the quantum gate at Alpha Centauri. The question is who, or what, executed that assault.

No other technological alien civilizations were known to humanity around the time of The Severance – other than the unknown architects of the quantum gates that link dozens of star systems together – and there were no conflicts going on between the central star systems when the shutdown occurred.

The Dark Age (2315-2440)

Just as with the Dark Ages on Earth, Raana's "Dark Age" was named so by a group of historians after it had officially ended; historians who had begun to experience a stabilization that hadn't been seen in Ikaanos for several generations.

The century following The Great Chaos was far from easy, however, slowly choking what was left of Earth's humanitarian views and forming Ikaanos into the unstable society we have today.

The Battle of Crystal Bridge (2405)

Occurring between April 12-15th 2405, The Battle of Crystal Bridge was an armed conflict fought between a group comprising several raider factions and Ikaanian civilians on one side, and The Council's forces on the other. Famine had ravaged Ikaanos after a tough monsoon season the previous year, causing thousands of people to succumb to starvation, while The Council did very little to help the families that suffered.

Over 8,000 armed men and women tried to storm Emerald Island on April 12th, and then again on April 14th. They were very close to overrunning the Emerald Guard, a well-drilled group of 500 veteran soldiers and 200 heavily armored space marines. The rebels would have probably succeeded with their third attempt, perhaps ending the reign of the Spheremasters (as the Council have become known), if USS Seneca (now known as "The Mastersphere") hadn't used its ion cannons to bombard the mob of attackers, causing over 2,000 deaths in just a few seconds.

This is the last known occasion that The Mastersphere used its ion cannons to bombard the surface. Some even suggest that The Battle of Crystal Bridge depleted the last plasma batteries and that the Spheremasters now only rule with the help of a threat that they can never really execute.

Wars against the First Wavers

During the dark ages, the First Wavers well-established farmlands became popular to pillage or annex, a tradition that's continued ever since. Today, Ikaanos places a premium on crafts and other cultural artifacts from the the First Wavers kingdom, and tribal women are in high demand as sex slaves due to their petite stature and strengthened resilience.

• The Robertarian war (2382): A series of raids orchestrated by Duke Robert Belleme, directed against tribes living in the southern Beryll mountain range. This expedition, playing out during a three month period, cost over 2,000 lives and forced over 5,000 people into slavery (mostly women and children). Many say that the present hostility between First Wavers and Ikaanians began after Duke Robert's brutal incursion.

Stabilization (2440+)

The rise of Mordecai Adler (2416)

At only 66 years of age, Mordecai Adler, an esteemed Spheremaster, rose to power as Chancellor and ruler over the Mastersphere (the space station formerly known as USS Seneca). He at once began the task of revamping the hopeless structure of The Council, hoping to centralize his and The Council's power enough to strengthen the Spheremasters' limited influence over Ikaanian daily life. Mordecai knew that an alliance between all the great houses could easily topple the Sphere's hegemony - as his forces were outnumbered almost 1:100.

The other Spheremasters, whose median age was well over a century, called Mordecai "a hopeless boy", and urged him to be satisfied with his harem of teenage sex slaves instead of pondering "unimportant matters down on the planet's surface".

Their laughs and complaints did not hinder Mordecai, however, who built the Space Marines up from a ceremonial 150 soldiers to an effective 950 elite troops, overthrew the Hemmel family from their inherited assignment as Mayor of Ikaanos, and seized lands that in his view had been wrongfully given to corrupt landlords.

The Second Republic (2444)

Mordecai's reformation was a slow process. It could take an entire decade to just formalize one new law, and recurring vetoes from "bought" Spheremasters acted as constant obstacles to his vision as supreme lord over Raana.

In the year 2444, Mordecai decided to use the Spheremasters' way of handling things: assassination and bribes. With a loyal group of Council members supporting him, Mordecai announced a major reformation, and officially re-declared Ikaanos as a Republic, changing the name of The Council to The Senate. He established a more direct rule over Ikaanos by making the Senate responsible for appointing The Mayor, and eight new military forts were built around the colony, controlled directly by the feared Space Marines - making their presence a daily reminder of who is in control.

All noblemen, all factions and all human settlements on Raana were officially declared as subjects to the Republic, forced to pay proper taxes in support of Mordecai's holy task: "Spreading humanity's influence beyond the Beryll Mountains".

The Govinda rebellion (2446)

Right after the monsoon of 2446 was over, a large group of tribes living in the borderlands of Ikaanos, consisting mostly of First Wavers and impoverished farmers, rose up against their new overlords and burned down two fortresses belonging to the republic. The rebellion was brutally thwarted, costing the lives of over 800 men and women, and saw an additional 200 girls sold into slavery - taken as a punishment from the re-captured villages.

The Empress Wars (2463-2465)

A civil war fought between The Second Republic's forces and House Paine, who declared independence on February 1st, 2463. House Paine's leader, Molly Paine, was a fierce warrior and her band of 500 horsemen, armed with rifles and swords, defeated two Skyguard armies at The Battle of Black Hill (2463), and The Ambush at Govar Lake (2464), despite being heavily outnumbered.

Molly's resistance was brave but futile, however; and her army was finally destroyed when Mordecai deployed 200 space marines that assaulted her stronghold with coil guns and plasma cannons.

Expansion and conquest (2470-present)

Through deceit, bribes and outright wars, the new republic, carrying the holy mission of forming a United Raana, assimilated smaller independent kingdoms, tribes and free farmers on the outskirts of Ikaanos.

The Spheremasters' large propaganda machine successfully convinced most of Ikaanos' population that they were doing the right thing - finally bringing light to the decadent parts of human civilization. The 70s and early 80s were very successful - giving Ikaanos an additional 1000 square miles of influence. It all came to a costly end when they began interfering with the prosperous valleys belonging to The Cult of The Elder. The zealous masses of The Elder, worshipping a sea-dwelling deity south from Ikaanos, refused to accept their new lords and drove the Ikaanian army out after several successful counterattacks.

Ikaanos responded by waging deadly raids, burning down villages and enslaving thousands of women and children. They also used the last battalion of armored vehicles ("crawlers") to raze The Elder's watch towers and stone fortresses along the coast.

Ikaanos land gains were minimal, however, and they are both formally still at war with each other today.

The Border Wars (2483-2488)

Beginning in 2483 and lasting five years, the Border Wars were a series of military engagements between the nation of Ikaanos and the Kingdom of David. An uneasy peace has been reached, but the future holds more conflict.

The Haalu incident (2488)

The Haalu incident, in September 2488, was a critical blow to Mordecai Adler's elite force and expansion attempt, when almost 150 space marines were lost or rendered insane after confronting a huge lizard ("tar snake") in the Dagosa tar pit up on the Haalu Plateau.