Amity

A montage of images from Amity, including the Stardancer in orbit, the obelisk, and one of the Octopi.

We too had such friends. We too knew that newness.

Amity is the common Alliance name for the planetary system originally designated Theth-129, where the Octopi and Small Ones were discovered by the UAV Stardancer.

Vital Statistics (At a Glance)

Pronounced as the English word. Possessive is Amity's. Demonym is [demonym]. Originally known by the designation Theth-129.

• Major Populations: Octopi; formerly, Small Ones, now extinct
• Type: Independent world
• Population: Total numbers unknown, but only one egg-laying member of Octopi exists as of Either Side of the Strand. Small Ones apparently extinct.
• Gravity: [low, medium, or high, with Terra as baseline, e.g., Anseahla is notably high, Phoenix-Nest notably low] Stardancer crew found it unremarkable
• Native Language: [could just be Universal or could be something else or could be a mix] Chemicals in the water
• Settled: Current inhabitants are natives of the planet. The planetary system was discovered by aliens in 470 BA.
• Current Allegiances: Unaffiliated with any external powers
• Length of Year:
• Length of Day:

History

Recent History

Amity was discovered during a routine star mapping expedition by the UAV Stardancer in BA 470.

The archaeological sites discovered by members of the Stardancer indicate a tool-using society of six-limbed land-based aliens with at least four written language systems, apparently now extinct. There was no orbital evidence of spacefaring or the atmospheric signs of a manufacturing society.

Geography

Amity orbits the star Theth-129 and has one moon. From space, it appears as a green and yellow planet streaked by gray clouds. Its air is safe for unassisted breathing by Pelted and humans. The regions explored by the crew of the UAV Stardancer are hot and dry, with rocky or sandy ground. The air in that area is acid-sweet with an undercurrent of spice, beneath the smell of ocean brine.

Ocean water on Amity contains an unusual chemical ultimately identified as a neurotransmitter. The water feels dense against the skin, and has a briny smell that combines with other scents, many of them determined by the presence of Octopi nearby.

Landmarks

Building Ruins

Felsha Rennagan and Darya Darteriov discovered an additional ruin of a collection of buildings while scanning for further ruins or anomalies. The initial discovery was of a hemisphere of silver, almost completely buried in sand, that was later revealed the dome of a building at least two stories tall, with deliberately-created round holes in it. Further excavation revealed at least three buildings in various stages of ruin, with domes and pillars all carved "to the delight of the anthropology and linguistics teams." The digging revealed striations in the soil, including an ash layer, despite the site not being near sites of recent vulcanism.

Obelisk Site

The first ruin explored by the Stardancer centered on a fallen obelisk, previously part of a larger structure, on a sandy plain bordered by mountains and the ocean. The obelisk was carefully crafted using tools precise enough to finely dress stone, and was inscribed with some form of text in four different writing systems. The assessment of experts was that the obelisk had fallen due to something other than age.

Near the site, the Stardancer crew discovered a relief carving depicting six-limbed aliens with clothes, weapons, and beasts of burden. It also featured writing. The depiction of the aliens matches that of those on the caves.

Speakers' Cave

Not far from the obelisk site is an opening into the hills that leads into a cave, initially discovered by Alastar Virgil. It is thirty feet in diameter and roughly circular, with puddles on the floor and indications that it floods. The cave's walls are painted with sea creatures in colorful, glowing paint: cephalopods, fish, "odder-looking larger creatures," "finned menaces" in black and violet with yellow eyes, three times as large as the largest cehpahopods. Sea creatures are depicted joining fin-in-hands with multi-armed creatures reminiscent of the Chatcaava, and the small creatures are depicted as if joyfully dancing. The paintings are done in a sturdy medium that doesn't easily smear or flake, and tiered writing in blue letters curves around some of the figures. There is additional painting on the ceiling, depicting Octopi and Small Ones dancing together, the Octopi multi-colored and the Small Ones in darker violet with orange eyes.

Water pools at the bottom of the cave,, and contains neurotransmitter-like chemicals. When a land-dweller exposes enough of their body to the water, it creates a hallucination- or dream-like dreams that helps facilitate communication with the Octopi, in which things lose focus and the paintings appear to move.

The cave is part of a larger cave system. The cave system's conformation and makeup is such that it can block Alliance communication methods.

Waiting-Place

Not far from where the Octopi meet is an outcropping not sixty feet long, with a small beach and an overhang to provide shade. Its shallow pool appears to be artificial, made by the tools of Small Ones. Alysha Forrest presumes that this is where the Small Ones waited when visiting the Octopi.

Flora and Fauna

Flora

• Reeds, depicted on a historical relief carving
• "Ugly plants," per Darya Darteriov

Fauna

See also Octopi and Small Ones, the sapient native species of Amity.

Leviathans

Sharklike creatures, very large even by the scale of the Octopi, with glowing yellow eyes. Levianthans prey upon Octopi, who choose not to fight them due to their belief in the natural order of things and their understanding that removing the Leviathans would "rip apart this tapestry."

Other Fauna

• Birdlike flying animals
• A sea creature with shells
• Some form of six-limbed beast of burden, recorded on a historical relief carving, possibly extinct
• Fish and "larger creatures"

Government and Politics

[How they rule themselves. Factions. Major points of internal agreement and disagreement. External politics: specific feelings about other worlds/cultures/species. Judicial procedures.]

Economy

[What do they make, buy, sell? Agrarian, manufacturing, high technology, some combination? Tourists? Natural resources and mining? Do they use Fin or have their own local currency? What are their debts, and who are indebted to them?]

Technology

[Energy, communications, transportation. Is their power grid robust? Do they have reliable instantaneous communication? Do their satellites work?]

People and Society

[Demographics. Nations and polities within the planet itself. Satellites and direct, non-independent colony planets. Homeworld, colony, or "other." Languages (make a separate subsection or new page for well-fleshed-out languages; a few words or sayings can stay here). Religions and religious observations (again, can link to more fleshed out pages elsewhere.) Can they move freely, both within and outside the planet?]

Stereotypes

[Could be one or more depending on if they're perceived differently by different groups of significant size. Doesn't have to be a quote.]

Customs

[Anything that doesn't fall adequately under the rest below--holidays, funeral traditions, Silly Hat Wednesday, whatever--can go here.]

Common Family Structures

[If different from species 'norm.']

Religions

[If specific to the location or different from species 'norm.']

Native or Common Dress

[If different than Alliance 'norm.']

Naming Conventions

[If specific to the location or different from species 'norm.']

Local Language

[If any.]

Famous Figures

[For "people who are notable on this planet, who may or may not appear in an actual book." Tangerina Warbelworth the excellent coffee purveyor doesn't go here, unless her coffee dynasty was important to the planet and/or plot."]

Characters

[Everybody can go here, even Tangerina.]

Appearances

• Either Side of the Strand