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Edana is the third planet in the Ardaya System, and is the most populous planet in the system. Formerly a harsh, desert world, the planet was terraformed by its daughter species the Myrean into a lush gem. It forms the capital of the Coalition of Free Systems, one of the oldest nations of Cosmoria, dedicated to holding back the Somnar Hive. The shining world has come very close to being consumed by the hive, but each time they have pushed it back to Nerad, and it stands to this day.
Geography[]
Edana is a relatively flat world with only one high mountain, the extinct volcano of Mount Hope. The planet has a static-lid crust, and no plate tectonics, so any mountains are hostpot volcanoes. The planet has very large oceans, which are filled with life and even some intelligent species emigrated from other planets. The endless plains are covered in prairies and savannas, with the occasional arcology every few miles.
The most geologically interesting portion of the planet is Mount Hope, the tallest mountain on Edana. Mount Hope is a recently extinct volcano almost twenty kilometers in height and has vast and dangerous cloud forests. The cloud forests of Mount Hope are filled with exceedingly dangerous plants, many of which are carnivorous, and will be explaned later. Mount Hope is hypothesized to have a huge magma chamber which is slowly pressurizing and pushing up the mountain to greater heights. However, soon this magma chamber will drain out and the vast mountain will stop rising.
Life[]
The savannas of Edana are covered in tall grass which occasionally flowers, not much interesting about that. The really interesting portion of the planet in terms of flora is the cloud forests of Mount Hope, which are filled with huge, dangerous carnivorous plants. Examples of this include a huge plant species of varying size, capable of devouring and digesting species, depending on its size, from human size to Carlean size. Needless to say, its a good idea to avoid these.
There are also huge pits hidden in the ground, which it is not a good idea to fall into because there's a pool filled with digestive juices at the bottom, with a form of bait specially designed to lure in unlucky wildlife from the savannah below. These are usually found further down the mountain, beneath the clouds.
Needless to say, the cloud forests of Mount Hope, albeit interesting, are very unsafe to travel around.
History[]
Formation[]
Edana formed with the rest of the Ardaya System, approximately 2.7 billion years ago. It probably formed without moons, but the impact of a Kelar-sized object vaporized the entire object, causing it to temporarily transform into a synestia. The majority of this cloud of debris collapsed back into Edana, but its two moons Ulekka and Seltina were formed from this cloud.
After this occurred, Edana and all other planets in the solar system were bombarded with rocks in the Late Heavy Bombardment, causing Edana to be sterile until approximately 2.3 billion years ago, when the first life formed. Life stayed microbial for the next two billion years, until multicellular life suddenly appeared in huge numbers. Over the next 400 million years, life evolved rapidly into hugely diverse species, ranging from tiny worms to vast herbivorous mammals. Most importantly, the reptilian genus Myrean began to evolve.
Evolution of the Edan[]
The genus Myrean consisted of approximately five sapient and subsapient species at its height, but as the most powerful of them either wiped out or interbred with the other four, it was winnowed down to a single species, simply called the Myrean. This species spread out across the planet, founding various civilizations.
These civilizations eventually united into the United Edanan Civilization, and space travel was attempted, with colonies being established on Ulekka and Seltina a few decades afterwards. Kelar and Xathor were also colonized by intrepid groups of people, and a research base was established in orbit of Thulinar. Eventually, just as the Edan was beginning to send probes beyond its solar system, Jamulsa annexed it and surrounding nations into itself. The planet got pulled into Jamulsa's never ending stalemate with Kromva, and life remained much the same until something very dangerous happened that no one could have prepared for.
Five light-years away in the Nerad System, Governor Xarnea of Somnar uncovered what would become the Somnar Hive in the form of a growth of fungus on the neighboring planet Adjar. This mold took control of Xarnea and then the entire provincial government. Jamulsa hastily quarantined it and directed all the legions in the surrounding territories, including Edana, to hold it back.
By this time, the Myrean had spread throughout the system. Their martial traditions made them prime candidates for leading the fleets across the Myrmidan Sector against the Hive, and they took to this duty amazingly. After the fall of Jamulsa, the provinces slipped seamlessly into being independent nations, still devoted to their duty of holding back the Hive. After expansions and contractions of the Somnar Hive, and several times when Edana came within a hair of falling to the Hive, the Myrean hold their posts to this day.
Civilization[]
Given its high and diverse population, Edana is extremely difficult to govern. Many criminal organizations reside in the poorer areas of the planet. Anywhere from deeply-bored tunnels reaching well into the mantle to the vast number of space stations orbiting the planet, one can find dangerous criminals, rogue machines, and all manner of unsavory individuals the government would rather do without.
However, most of the planet is perfectly fine for normal civilians to live in, despite its fragmentary political state. A large fraction of the planet's savannahs are covered by great tower cities, vaulting almost to the edge of the atmosphere. These tower cities hold most of the planet's surface population.