Astrographical Information
| Region | Expansion Region |
| Sector | Montitian Grant |
| System | Montitia System |
| Sun(s) | 1 |
| Moon(s) | 2
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| Grid Square | J-15 |
| Rotation Period | 29 standard hours |
| Orbital Period | 240 standard days |
Physical Information
| Class | Terrestrial |
| Diameter | 6,610 kilometers |
| Atmosphere | Breathable |
| Climate | Desert; Arid |
| Terrain |
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| Points of Interest |
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| Flora |
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| Fauna |
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Societal Information
| Native Species | Montilian |
| Immigrated Species | Human |
| Primary Language(s) |
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| Government | Industrial Fiefdom |
| Population | 290,000,000 (approx) |
| Demonym | Montitian |
| Major Settlements |
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| Major Imports | Metals and Industrial Goods |
| Major Exports Affiliation | Raw Elements Independent |
Climate
Studies by the Guild of Climatological Scholars have shown that in the deep past Montitia was a lush world, evidenced by both carbon deposits and orbital scans. Despite the longevity of the so-called Fertile Period - estimated to be between seventy-two and eighty million years - the world experienced a radical kind of climate change shortly after colonization. Owing to the unregulated export of water and a gradual withering of the atmosphere, by 500 BBY the world had entered into the modern period of 'climate death' typified by the absence of surface water and the collapse of most complex weather patterns.
The Montitia of today is hot, dry, and dusty. While desertification was a quick process after the loss of both oceans, it was the element trade that gave the landscape its unique, chalky appearance. The ejection of large quantities of runoff particles into the air by mining pits helped to control temperature change in a way that traditional terraforming could not, and at no cost. Without the dust that inundates the atmosphere, Montitia would be unlivable, but instead has temperatures that range from 96°F - 112°F during the day to 45°F - 54°F at night. The effect of dust inundation on surviving organisms is not well understood, but considered generally positive.
While it has been several centuries since it last rained on Montitia, storms are still a common occurrence. Indeed, Montitia's two seasons - High and Low - correspond to those periods of the year in which storms are more or less common. While some dust particles - those containing lighter elements - remain in the atmosphere, heavier dust settles on the surface. In some areas this results in the dust seas Montitia is renowned for. During High Season the planet receives more direct sunlight, increasing the intensity of wind currents and creating large dust storms when they sweep across a dust sea. These remarkable weather events can span hundreds of kilometers and last for a number of standard months - sometimes even into Low Season.
Some semblance of Montitia's water content still remains. In the sub-oceanic lowlands a number of cave systems exist that play host to isolated aquafiers and underground lakes. While not appreciable on a planetary scale, these residual bodies of water are enough do support semi-arid microclimates which play host to most remaining organisms. The planet's native species, the Montilians, are suggested to have traveled between these oasis during the period between climate death and their integration into human society.
Topography
The majority of Montitian geologists agree that the world is entering a striking new period of tectonic activity. The largest mountain on Montitia, Mt. Usilian, is expected to become active again within the next two millennium and slowly fill the Adarian Gulf over the next ten million years. New activity has encouraged some to hope for an eventual thickening of the atmosphere, though this is highly debated. If nothing else, a source of geothermal power and igneous rock bodes well for continued industrial growth.
Traditionally Montitia was thought of as having five continents, denoted by the Halloson Mountain Range and two primary oceans, but in modern times the twenty tectonic plates are the primary unit of geographic division. The loss of surface water exposed three new mountain ranges significantly larger than the Halloson, as well as a truly monumental canyon that runs roughly along the equator for nearly one thousand kilometers. Beyond the mountain ranges and their associated highlands, Montitia is a remarkably flat world. With the exception of dried bodies of water - many of which are dust seas - the landscape is broken only by the occasional incline, and of course, artifical structures.
Inhabitants
Long before humans from the Core reached Montitia, the Montilians called it their home. Themselves some long-lost human offshoot, or at least a strain of near-human, Montilians are only distinct by virtue of the fact that they have bright blue-green skin and a slightly different digestive system. Today comprising only 4% of the total population, their unique culture - both from after and especially before climate death - is largely extinct. It exists only in those vestiges subsumed by larger Montitian culture or among a few scattered outcasts and nomads.
The primary inhabitants of Montitia, core descended humans make up approximately 90% of the population. Though suspected to be primarily from Corulag and Anaxes, any real cultural connection has been lost beyond the most basic elements. While still speaking basic and sharing general human sensibilities, Montitian culture is largely a result of local absorption and adaptation. While less notable, approximately 6% of the population is of general alien descent, though notably Togruta and Rodians are common.
Flora
The primary ecological distinction on Montitia is between native organisms, of which only a few remain, and those introduced by human colonists. Surprisingly, two of the three most common plant species are native to Montitia, though the majority of extant species are still colonial.
Well known even outside of the sub-oceanic lowlands, the Wax Vine constitutes at least 30% of Montitia's non-human biomass. A tough, fibrous plant from nearby Lequabis, it is uniquely adapted to retaining moisture. It's stomata excrete a thick, waxy substance that hardens in sunlight and prevents water loss via evaporation while still facilitating photosynthesis. Every six standard months Wax Vines will lose their coatings and bloom, the small purple flowers signaling the coming of the next generation. The petals are edible and commonly used in local drinks, as well as being favored by the imported Gorp Beasts.
The most common native plant, the Yellow Flowering Thrushspine is a kind of short scrub found in most microclimates and in some noble gardens. Its short, angled needles have a striking resemblance to the beak of a Dornian Thrush. Their roots are particularly deep, making them good markers of nearby water and one of the few surface plants. The thrushspine's conical, yellow flowers and the seeds they contain are the basis for the diet of most herbivorous animals.
Montitia's only true tree, the Red Plarin is tall, narrow, and fruiting. Never seen growing alone, they have come to form a symbiotic relationship with the Yellow Flowering Thrushspine, receiving water in exchange for a share of their nutrients. The thrushpine also benefits in that most of the animals attracted by the red Plarinberries will inadvertently help to pollinate other thrushspines. While efforts to domesticated the Red Plarin have been ongoing for centuries, they have yet to be successfully grown outside of the underground microclimates.
Fauna
Montita is home to only three animals of appreciable size, only one of which is native to the world. While efforts have been made to introduce additional foreign animsls - the Bantha and even the Sarlacc were tried - none not already present have adapted successfully, owing to the omnipresent dust. There have, though never conclusively, been talks of cloning animals specifically to repopulate the planet's decaying biosphere.
The Gorp Beast, another native of nearby Lequabis, is large, loud, and likely the least intelligent large animal on Montitia. Giant insectoid herbivores, they are highly social despite their limited intelligence. Lacking a brain, they instead have a number of scattered nerve bundles, one of which is located at the base of their impressive antlers and dedicated entirely to intraspecific conflict. Though themselves only barely palatable, the eggs they produce are flavorful and highly nutritious. Seemingly resistant to any of the negative effects of Montitia's climate, the Gorp Beasts have thrived despite all odds.
Introduced when it became clear that the Gorp Beasts would totally kill off the remaining biosphere if left unchecked, the Hassian Running Dog is a modest reptilian predator from the Hassian Moons. Six-legged, scurrying, and surprisingly clever, the running dog was originally kept as a pet on its native moons but turned feral on Montitia. Their dense scales and keen sense of smell help them to survive in the desert, and their narrow, crushing jaws make short work of a Gorp Beast's carapace. It is not unheard of to see a Hassian Running Dog resting in the shade of a hollow Gorp Beast carapace.
A Selota is a kind of flying reptile native to Montitia and the last large native animal on the planet. Six-legged like the running dog, its forelimbs are two deep, membranous wings it uses to ride currents in the upper atmosphere. Where it once did this to cross the great oceans, now it scours the flatlands in search of sustenance and - every four years - a mate. The appearance of a Selota is said to herald the coming of a dust storm, even during Low Season.
Resources
Government
There was, at first, talk of a Dust King, but as the Governor General left along with the fleet there was no one, obvious candidate. To avoid conflict between the members of the ruling class, a holdover of the corporate system was maintained: the Directorate. A body of nobles, they deliberated on control of the planet's industry and internal policy, voting power in accordance with the share of fiefs each baron controls. Any group of barons with a controlling share of votes can appoint a Baron Primary to act as the body's executive and control the mundane organs of state.
Technology
The chemnet is a variation on filtration technology usually relied upon to keep air fresh in sealed environments, only at a much larger scale. Tremendous sheets of monofilament mesh, chemnets are suspended atop kilometer high array towers where they catch the free-floating chemical compounds in the atmosphere. Changed and cleaned intermittently, chemnets allow for the passive collection of the material needed to synthesize basic fuels and industrial supplies.
Similar to a chemnet but typically much smaller, bio-feeders are the primary method by which Montitia's population is maintained on a climatologically dead world. Sifting the dust at atmosphere generally for water and organic molecules, they allow for the artificial creation of the basic sustenance needed to keep a population growing and working. This is typically in the form of sterile, grim foodstuffs and bitter mineral water. Vitamins can prove more difficult to synthesize, and so deficiencies of the less common kinds are typical without some kind of supplementation.
Culture
Montilian culture where it still exists is focused on the methods of perpetuation of life on Montitia. More specifically, Montilian life. The cultural trauma of the colonial murder of their world has made cultural Montilians remarkably xenophobic. A respect for sustainable asceticism, clan-based community, and the reverence of water are the most prominent traits, with the clan system being the only major holdout of pre-colonial culture. Though some cultural Montilians reside in human settlements, most live nomadically, either raiding or practicing a hunter-gatherer lifestyle in the sub-oceanic lowlands.
Montitian culture is a medley of seemingly contradictory ideas. One had ought to serve the greater good but never rely on others. Water is precious and yet it is noble to sweat in toil. Always think for yourself but never court trouble. The desert and the barons have encouraged a single point that unites all of these ideas: you are only of value if you serve others, and you can only serve others by supporting yourself. It is, at its core, a slavish culture. Slaves to nature. Slaves to the barons. But there is, at the same time, a hint of that colonial spirit which first brought men to Montitia and eventually killed it. Montitians love to hunt, to race amid the dunes. They delight in trying new things, if only because they might be useful. By that same token they are averse to trade and the selling of goods, becsuse one never knows when they might be needed. There is, despite its cruelty, a thrill to enduring hardship, and the Montitians love it.
Palatial Montitian is the air of the domed estate, the thrill of a duel, and the pomp of a banquet. It is similar to Montitian in the things it believes, but different in the sense that its members view themselves by and large as the greater good in question. The excess and extravagance of a noble court reflects the labor of the people, the survival of the whole, and the fruits of cooperation. That only the few enjoy them is a reflection of the work of the nobility; those who contribute the most are rewarded the most. It is only fair.
History
- Approximately 900 BBY - Humans from the Core Worlds settle Montitia.
- 490 BBY - Elemental mining begins.
- 421 BBY - Montitia's oceans are completely gone and climate death begins.
- 320 BBY - The first chemnets and bio-feeders are used.
- 14 BBY - The Empire arrives on Montitia and the colonial administration is overthrown.
- 6 ABY - Imperial forces withdraw from Montitia.
- 32 ABY - The Directorate is constituted and the rule of the Dust Barons begins.
Intention |
| My favorite part of the original trilogy - and A New Hope especially - is the feeling of a grimy dystopia it has at points. It is my hope that by expanding on the barren lore for Montitia that I can create a space with a similar tone not only for the immediate roleplay plans I have with other players, but for all the other people who find that same worn-down aspect of the Star Wars universe appealing. I believe that by creating a space that is both interesting and still out of the way, I can encourage people to experiment with this aspect of Star Wars when they might otherwise not have, or at least view it as a novel part of their usual roleplaying. |
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