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Auphelia is a semi-arid savanna desert planet located in the system of Drakath, situated in the northern Inner region of the Paleas Arm, Florathel. The planet is considered home to 21.4 billion people. The planet's climate is hot and dry, with little rainfall situated inland, and moderate amount of precipitation in the coastal areas of the continent. The Auphelian continent is divided into eight regions: Auphelia, Ahketun, Letes, Osiris Bay, Othesia, Minbar, Central Auphelia, and Southern Auphelia. Auphelia is orbited by a single moon called Taral.
Environment[]
Auphelia's environment is very hostile to numerous life-forms on its internal regions of the continent. The planet's high temperatures and lack of natural precipitation makes it extremely difficult and unfeasible for most anthropomorphic and various species, and crops to survive for extended periods of time. With the planet's inexorable climate, combined with its large sprawling deserts, sparse oases, most major settlements been established near the oceans of the continent. It is the only place where average rainfall and habitable temperatures can be found. Various large and smaller unincorporated settlements are also located inland, where oases provide the only source of water for miles. These oases are vital to the survival of any life living in the interior of the hostile Auphelian continent, and are heavily guarded and fortified by the settlements that reside nearby. Traveling between settlements is dangerous, and often necessitate considerably skilled personnel, special equipment, and vehicles to traverse the vast desert.
Cities[]
Titan Coast[]
Titan Coast with the moon Taral visible on the background
The planet's capital, Titan Coast, or officially the Capital City of Titan Coast has been constructed nearby the Thetyus Ocean. The city itself spans eight-hundred miles along the coast and inland for a hundred more. It is a bustling eperopolis with over 8.5 billion people calling it home around its greater area. Most of its residents live in dense high rise buildings along the water's edge or on floating residences that bob on top of the waves like giant lily pads. The city also boasts one of the largest ports in all of Minbar region, which allows ships to travel up and down its length with ease, taking advantage of trade routes along its shores. There are several other major cities similar to Titan Coast, dotted across the immense Auphelian continent, but none come close to matching its size or population density.
The city center is a massive collection of skyscrapers with streets made from reflective metal that dazzle in the bright sunlight. Every block is seamed with towering palm trees and other tropical plants that give the city an almost surreal utopian feeling. The city's weather is moderate year round, and the city has a huge number of things to do. There are mega museums, art galleries, concert halls and hypertheaters. The shopping center is also abundant with high-end designer boutiques across Florathel and luxury stores on every block. The city is also infamous for its vibrant nightlife scene, which is considered by Titan Coast inhabitants to be second to none compared to nightclubs across Auphelia's major cities that stay open until dawn.
The citizens of Titan Coast are a cosmopolitan bunch, with residents hailing from all corners of Florathel. The city is home to diplomats, business moguls, celebrities, and other important figures. It is also a popular tourist destination, due in part to its stunning beaches and resorts.
The city of Titan Coast is governed by a system direct democracy, with each registered inhabitant (natural-born or naturalized) entitled to vote on all laws. The voting age is set at 18; younger residents may participate in a restricted capacity, the coastal city is also home to several important administrative buildings, including the Titan Coast Metropolitan Authority Building, and the Eperopolitan Forum.
Titan Coast Metropolitan Authority Tower
Titan Coast Metropolitan Authority Building[]
The Titan Coast Metropolitan Authority Building is the tallest building in Titan Coast, The building is home to the city's administrative offices, as well as a number of important businesses and organizations. The tower is also a popular tourist destination in Titan Coast, as it offers stunning views of the city and its surroundings. The building was designed by renowned Auphelian architect Ibnes Gehwer, It stands at a height of 4,500 feet (1,371.6 meters), making it the tallest building in Titan Coast. The building has 377 floors, and contains a number of important businesses and organizations, including the Titan Coast Stock Exchange, the Titan Coast Metropolitan Authority, the Titan Coast Tourism Bureau, and the Titan Coast Chamber of Commerce.
Eperopolitan Forum[]
The Lobby of the Eperopolitan Forum
The Eperopolitan Forum is a grandiose edifice that serves as the meeting place for the city's legislative body, known as the Eperopolitan Council. The council is comprised of representatives from each of Titan Coast's major districts. The council meets regularly to discuss and vote on proposed laws, and if a law is passed by the council, it must then be approved by the city's residents in a referendum before it can take effect. The Eperopolitan Forum is located in the center of the city, near the Titan Coast Metropolitan Tower, The forum is a large, open space with a marble floor and a series of statues and holographic screens around its perimeter. In the center of the forum is a statue of Titan Coast's ancient founder and settlement chieftain, Citro Cotta.
Universities[]
Titan Coast University[]
Administrative tower of Titan Coast University
Titan Coast is also home to a number of important educational institutions, including the Titan Coast University, which is the largest university on all of Minbar region, and enrolls over 430,000 undergraduates. The university is comprised of several campuses located across the core of Titan Coast's metropolitan area, with its main campus situated next to the Eperopolitan Forum. The university offers a wide variety of courses, and its alumni include some of the most famous and successful business magnates and political figures across the Palean Arm.
Titan Coast Academy of Sciences[]
Titan Coast Academy of Sciences
The city is also home to the Titan Coast Academy of Sciences (TCAS), which is one of the leading prestigious scientific research institutions in Minbar region, and currently enrolls a staggering low amount of 12,000 undergraduates. The academy's is considered to be one of the most selective academic institutions rate on all of Florathel, with an acceptance rate of 2.1%, applicants accepted to TCAS have an average GISE (Galactic Interscholastic Examination) score between 600 and 695, with the maximum score being 700, Admissions officials of this academy consider a student's academic commitment to be an important academic factor, with emphasis on an applicant's class rank and letters of recommendation. The academy is responsible for conducting research on a wide range of topics, including Auphelian and Florathelian biology, natural environmental sciences, and astrophysics. The academy's prestige and advances in scientific discoveries and discipline has led it to being ranked as one of the top 10 universities in all of Florathel.
Institutions[]
Titan Coast Eperopolitan Museum
Titan Coast also boasts a number of important cultural institutions, including the Titan Coast Eperopolitan Museum, which is one of the largest museums in the Minbar region. The museum houses a wide collection of art and artifacts from across Auphelia and Florathel. The museum is also home to a planetarium, which is used to educate visitors about the stars and planets beyond Drakath system.
The city is also home to the Titan Coast Symphony Orchestra, which is one of the most prestigious orchestras in all of Minbar region. The symphony orchestra has been praised for its high-quality performances, and its members are some of the most talented musicians in the Palean Arm.
Ahketun[]
Ahketun Megalopolis, with numerous cargo freighters, shuttles, and various vessel types in the background. (Ahketun Spaceport on the left) (Central Authority District on the right)
Officially known as the Ahketun Eperopolis (AEP), or Ahketun for short, is the second major city of Auphelia, located in the east coast of the Ahketun region of Auphelia, and south of the Greater Titan Coast Eperopolitan Area, the city is home to 7.85 billion people, and is one of the largest trade ports of Auphelia, and the only one with a major spaceport in the centre of its metropolitan area. The city is located on the eastern coast of Auphelian continent, the city also receives a moderate amount of rainfall annually.
The city also hosts numerous large number of regional businesses, financial institutions and major galactic corporations, as well as the Auphelian Stock Exchange. The city is also home to a large number of immigrants across the Palean Arm, who come seeking work and opportunity.
Ahketun Central Eperopolitan Spaceport[]
The Ahketun Central Eperopolitan Spaceport (ACES), is located in the centre of the Ahketun metropolis, and situated next to the Central Authority District, and is considered to be one of the largest, and busiest in the Inner Palean Arm. The spaceport is measured to serve over 5.2 billion passengers monthly, and over 62.4 billion passengers annually. The terminal building itself covers 350 square kilometers, and is one of the tallest buildings in Ahketun. The spaceport is considered as a powerhouse within the Ahketun economy, and serves over hundreds of thousands of departures and arrivals daily. The spaceport also maintains a very large dock system that is capable of handling the most largest vessels ranging from small civilian vessels to colossal starliners.
Auphelian Ahkimetic University[]
Auphelian Royal Ahkimetic University Campus
Ahketun is also home to the Auphelian Ahkimetic University (AAU), a prestigious leading intergalactic university that possesses numerous number of scholars and undergraduates across Auphelia, and enrolls over 150,000 students around Florathel. The university itself consists of over 7 separate campuses located in different parts of Ahketunian eperopolitan area, each with their own unique specializations and courses. The university's main campus covers over 50 square kilometers, which houses a number of facilities, administration, and departments. The university is one of the principal sources of city revenue for Ahketun, and provides a number of employment opportunities from major companies in favor of new graduates from this university.
Outside of Ahketun Grand Library
Ahketun Grand Library[]
The Ahketun Grand Library is also a notable campus in AAU, being one of the largest libraries in Auphelia with over 700 million books within its compilation. It holds many ancient texts that are not found anywhere else in the Florathel, making it an important research facility for researchers, analysts, and historians alike around the galaxy. The library itself covers over 6 square kilometers, making it the second longest building on the Central Authority District after Vincentius Palace.
Vincentius Palace[]
Vincentius Palace Main Hall
Vincentius Palace is a large aristocratic palace located in the Central Authority District, previously serving as the official residence of the Vincentius Dynasty. It covers over 15 square kilometers, making it one of the largest palaces in Auphelia. The palace contains many luxurious amenities and facilities, such as a large private garden, a swimming pool, a movie theater, and a number of restaurants. It also contains a number of art galleries that contain some of the most famous works of art in Florathel. the Vincentius Dynasty was overthrown in the Ahketun Insurrection, and is now open to the public, serving as a museum and art gallery, as well as a popular tourist attraction, receiving over 1.6 billion visitors per year.
The architecture of the Vincentius Palace is highly representative of the Neoclassical baroque futurist style that was popular in Auphelia during the reign of the Vincentius Dynasty, The exterior of the palace is decorated with a number of ornate sculptures and paintings, and a tall spire where the interior is filled with lavish sculptures, antique ornates and ancient tapestries. The palace also contains a number of secret chambers and passageways that were used by the family to escape in case of an emergency. The palace represented the power and wealth of the Vincentius Dynasty, and served as a symbol of their ancient rule over Auphelia. Today, citizens of Ahketun regard the palace as a symbol of the opulence and corruption of the Vincentius Dynasty, and it is often seen as a symbol of the Ahketun Insurrection.
Letes[]
The Greater Letes Eperopolitan Area, taken from orbit on Auphelia
Core District of the Greater Letes Eperopolitan Area
Letes, often called The Citadel, is the third largest major city of Auphelia, officially known as the Greater Letes Eperopolitan Area (GLEA), located in the west coast of the Letes region of Auphelia, the city also neighbors the city of Ahketun. Letes is currently the third most populous city of Auphelia, with 5.2 billion residents. The city is the headquarters of all major Auphelian military and police organizations, being a crucial strategic location in terms of defense. It has been dubbed "The Citadel" due to its substantial amount of military presence and immense armored structures that tower over the ever busy streets that are filled with pedestrians at any given time.
Aside from being the center of Auphelian military activity and defense, Letes is a planetary cultural icon for many reasons. One in particular is the housing of almost all major broadcasting stations within its eperopolitan area due to it being a convenient location for communication with other parts of Auphelia. Most media anchor persons are located in this city, as well as most major production studios, who churn out various content that is viewed by billions every day across Auphelia's main continent. Letes also houses several important political buildings such as Auphelian Supreme Court building and Ministry of Terrestrial Defense.
Letes also functions as a vital economic hub where millions, if not, billions of people arrive each year just to buy goods or services at cheaper prices than outside cities, which has resulted in massive overpopulation and density problems throughout history; however recent developments have helped alleviate these issues greatly through more efficient living quarters, mass public transit infrastructure development projects, and increased security along with other safety improvements., As stated above due to the massive amount of people coming into and leaving from Letes yearly revenue streams have become extremely large resulting in large sums capital inflow, which allows for greater income tax revenue collection, which results in an even larger spending budget for the GLEA government, meaning higher salaries for workers thus elevated standard living levels, representing the gap between extreme wealth among typical residents and lower income residents, making it one of the wealthiest areas on the Letes region, apart from Titan Coast itself or other major cities encompassing Auphelia.
Letes has one of the most complex mass transit systems in all of Auphelia, which can also function as a military transport, which is made up by several transit systems, all separate from each other. The first being the monorail system, with has 12 lines that connect different parts of Letes to one another via ferries and tunnels, running beneath adjacent bodies of water. Secondly is a major transit network connecting every part of Letes through massive underground metro transit stations where metro lines are automatically stocked with fuel, and mechanically inspected every week for safety before entering service again. Other forms of mass transit include skycabs that run along elevated highways above ground level; however this form of transport may cause serious injuries in case something happens during flight such as power loss or engine failure due to their nearly complete reliance on artificial intelligence software controlling the cabs themselves; thus it is illegal for anyone other than authorized pilots to operate them at any time.
Auphelian Supreme Court[]
The chamber of Auphelian Supreme Court
The Auphelian Supreme Court is the planet's highest court. It is composed of eight justices, who are nominated by the Eperopolitan Council, and confirmed by a referendum. The court has original jurisdiction over cases involving the interpretation of the Auphelian Legalis, and it may exercise appellate jurisdiction over decisions of other courts if so provided by law.
Administrative divisions[]
Auphelia is divided into eight regions, each governed by a district government. Each district is subdivided into eperopolises or gigalopolis; each eperopolis or gigalopolis has its own metropolitan government responsible for city governance. There are also several autonomous regions which have a certain degree of self-government within Auphelia, but are not part of any district: these include; Phanereion (the largest gigalopolis inside Inner Auphelia), Kaleana (the second-largest city in Inner Auphelia), Othruph (another large metropolitan area located in the Osthesia region), and Therese Island (an island chain off the coast of Ahketun).
Natural Satellites[]
Taral[]
Auphelia only has one natural satellite; Taral, which orbits closest to Auphelia and thus appears larger in the night sky. Taral experiences tidal locking and has only one permanent side facing Auphelia. The day length on the light side of Taral matches that of Auphelia's (39 hours); however, the dark side experiences an eternal night which never ends.
Etymology[]
Many Auphelian natives refer to Taral as "the satellite" or simply "satellite". In some native languages, it is called by different names; in Valkari it is known as Umrao Leilé ("The Great Moon"), while in Ravaïtau it is referred to as Revuri Hulka ("The Night Planet"). The Kitrani name for Taral - Gosara Si'at- translates roughly into "mother star" or "star mother". Taral is also mentioned in the ancient and currently unknown script known as the "Celestial Rivers", where it is referred to by its oldest name, "Griéth".
History[]
Taral was one of the first planets discovered via telescope on Auphelia, The moon's atmosphere reflects more light than other Drakath planets, and thus can be seen even with primitive optics. Taral has been studied manually for as a target for manned and unmanned exploration since early Auphelian history.
Impact Craters[]
Taral has a high number of impact craters which appear to be the result of collisions with small debris over eons. The most notable one is called "Talek", or "The Giant's Mouth" in Valkari tongue - it is believed by some native Auphelians that an ancient space civilization lived on Taral, and ate animals which strayed too close to its mouth via large holes leading into the moon's core. Many also believe that Taral was used as an entrance to "Talek" by an ancient civilization, although no evidence has been found to support this theory.
Satellite Images[]
Strange green patches scattered across Taral's surface
Little is known about the dark side of Taral; however, it has been difficult to study due to the eternal night which exists there. Recent technological advances have allowed exploration of the satellite's dark face and many strange things have been discovered. An image taken from Auphelia, shows strange green patches scattered across almost all of Taral's surface - Auphelian and Florathel scientists believe that these could be large mining projects or even settlements, although this cannot be confirmed given that no signs of intelligent life have ever been found on Taral.