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Langara is an Earth-like planet, orbiting a main-sequence, G-type star at a distance of roughly 96 million miles. It is the fourth planet of twelve in its system; the three outermost planets were discovered only during the recent attempted invasion by Anubis and the counterstrike launched by the System Lords' fleet under Lord Baal. From innermost to outermost, the planets long-known to Langaran astronomy are Atunis, Laran, Menrva, Langara itself, Tages, Tinia, Voltumna, Turan and Sethlans, with the newly discovered planets being named Selvans, Charun and Culsu. The names of the planets are all drawn from the Old Religion.
Atunis is a superheated ball of near-liquid rock in close orbit of Thesan, the Langaran sun. Laran is similar to the planet Venus in the Sol system, shrouded in poisonous clouds of boiling gas. Menrva is an oddity, orbiting in almost direct opposition to Langara. Because she is usually occluded by Thesan, very little is known about Menrva. Tages is the last of the Inner Planets, orbiting on the outer-edge of the biosphere. It is cold and dark, but in theory quite capable of supporting life. Laran and Tages are both visible as 'stars' in the Langaran sky, the one a deep lilac and the other bright green.
The Outer Planets are those that orbit beyond the Thesan biosphere. The first of these, Tinia, is a colossal gas giant, clearly visible from Langara as a bright, blue 'star'. Recent survey with radio telescopes have shown that low-level fusion reactions occur within the planet. A number of planetoids orbit Tinia as satellites, including Uni, a rocky orb once thought to be an independent planet in companion orbit with Tinia.
Beyond Tinia, Voltumna orbits in a somewhat erratic fashion. A former comet, Voltumna became trapped in orbit around Thesan over a million years ago and it has been predicted that it will break orbit in another 30-50 thousand years. It now circles the sun at between 20-40 degrees to the mean orbital plane of the other planets. Like Tinia, Voltumna is visible from Langara as the Wanderer; a pale, white 'star' that sails across the sky and which is treated as a harbinger of disaster. Some scientists believe that Voltumna is the original source of naquadria in the Thesan system.
Turan is the outermost of the visible planets. A large world with a high-albido surface - believe to be the result of a thick covering of ice - it appears as Langara's evening star, a tiny-yet-brilliant golden glow that can be seen even before Thesan sets. The Langarans believe the appearance of the evening star alongside the moon, Losna, to be a good omen. Sethlans is invisible to the naked eye, but was located over a century ago by Terranian astronomers using optical telescopes. Little is known of it, but it is believed to be an icy world, similar to Turan, but much smaller.
The newly-discovered Tertiary Worlds are those orbiting beyond Sethlans and invisible even with the aid of optical telescopes. All that is known of them comes from the cursory observations made by the Goa'uld Kelan during the approach to Langara. Selvans is a third ice world, while Charun is a lifeless ball of rock. Culsu is much like Charun, but there is some evidence that it may house an ancient Goa'uld listening post.
A thirteenth planet once existed, but its remains now form the asteroid field which orbits between Langara and Menrva and Laran; the presence of high levels of refined metals in the asteroids has suggested to some that the destroyed planet - known as Thanos after the former Lord of Langara - was a testing ground for weapons of vast destructive power; weapons which ultimately ran out of control.
Each Langaran day consists of twenty-eight hours, with the same composition as Earth hours, but based on a slightly shorter second with the result that one Langaran hour is equivalent to fifty-seven Earth minutes. The Langaran day is therefore, in Earth terms, twenty-six hours and thirty-six minutes long, which accounts for levels of endurance displayed by Langarans, who are accustomed to a longer day.
The several nations of Langara also use a common, solar calendar of three-hundred-and-thirty-four and a fifth days. The Langaran years are numbered since the holocaust which destroyed Thanos. The current year is 10,383AH (as of Season 8).
The calendar is divided into ten months of thirty-two days each. The months are known after the same nine 'gods' whose names are given to the planets, plus the name of Thanos.
The remainder of the year is made up by nine step-days between the months and five Old-Year Days between the end of Thanatosa and the beginning of Atuna. Every five years, an additional Old-Year Day is added to the count to realign the artificial calendar with the solar cycle. This organisation was laid down by Thanos, Goa'uld ruler of the planet in prehistoric times.
Each month is divided into four weeks of eight days each. The days of the week have no names, with the exception of the first day of each, which is Thesan, and the last, which is Losna. In addition, the following days of the month have particular names.
1. Thesan Calendis
10. Decadi
16. Ides Losnan
32. Termina
Since their god 'abandoned' them following the holocaust which consumed his palace, the Langaran people have been staunch rationalists, but as memory of the actual event has been lost to the mists of history, a considerable body of superstition has resurfaced, including a form of calendrical numerology. The named days of the month are considered lucky, although not so lucky as the nine step-days, or Addens, which occur at the end of each of the first nine months. Children born on these days are said to be blessed with a particular birthright.
Still luckier - or rather, more portentous, since the fates associated with them are not always pleasant - are the five Old-Year Days.
Once every five years, a sixth Old-Year Day is added: Diadei, the Day of Divinity. Children born on the 'leap day' are believed to possess a spark of the divine and to be destined for a short, but glorious life. Traditionally - although not legally - their age is referred to by number of birthdays, rather than years of life.
With most of Langara in the control of three great powers, the state languages of these powers are the dominant forms of communication. There are, however, many other languages which survive in more limited usage.
Kelownan is the language of the old Kelownan State, which was spread by a process of conquest across the Empire. It is a rich and varied tongue, having absorbed words and phrases from the languages of the many tribes and nations that were subordinated beneath Imperial rule and incorporated into the Parliamentary Democracy. There are between twenty and thirty other languages spoken in Kelownan territory - the exact number depends on which scholar you ask to define the difference between language and dialect - and many in the border regions are raised speaking Andari or Terranian with as much fluency as Kelownan.
The second most common language in Kelowna is Drusus, the ancient tribal tongue of the Drusari, which has been maintained for generations by the descendents of the tribes. Drusus bears strong similarities to Goa'uld, deriving as it does from the 'language of the gods'. It has therefore been adopted by a number of scholars for use in describing both theological and scientific phenomena.
The main Terranian language derives from the Teran Dui tongue, but has combined with the similar languages of the other proto-Terranian tribes to form a multitude of dialects, all closely related, but subtly different. It is possible - although not always easy - for a speaker of one dialect to understand others without having to study that dialect first. Most individuals speak at least a little of the 'pure' tongue, however, as it is widely used as a trade language, both within Terranian territory and in the surrounding independent states.
Kelownan and Andari are widely spoken in the border regions and each élite order preserves one of the 'dead tongues' for ritual purposes and for use as a form of cypher. These dead tongues are the Goa'uld and Jaffa dialects, used by the religious and military élite respectively; the Teran Anae tongue, once spoken by the tribes of the Cursed Lands and no preserved only by the pastoral élite; and Thanglosa, a crude fusion of Ancient and Goa'uld language drawn from the research notes of Thanos and now used by the scientific élite, especially for scientific notation.
The Andari language is unusual in that it is a wholly synthetic language, created by design instead of evolving naturally. When the Federation was formed, the Andari Academy was created to develop and organise a universal language for the sixty-nine provinces. Andari is thus noted for the regularity of its grammar and the precision of its structure. It has been adopted across Langara as the language of choice for legal transactions.
Most citizens of the federated states learn both the Andari and their provincial tongue from infancy. In addition, many learn Kelownan and Terranian, especially those in the border provinces. Andari is widespread among lawyers, even in Kelowna and Terrania.
Isteri is quite unlike any other language on Langara and is believed to be closer to the original language of the planet than any other. Its use is limited to linguistic scholars and the people of Ister and some of the former bemoan the fact that, since the breaking of Ister's isolation from the world the 'purity' of native-spoken Isteri has declined.
There are three major currencies on Langara - the Kelownan Aureole, the Andari Fedaration Dollar and the Terranian Argentum - but all are currently being phased out in favour of the Langaran Common Denomination, or LCD, International Currency System. In the LCD, the basic unit of currency is the cestarus, as follows:
12 denarii = 1 cestarus
20 cestarii = 1 librum
The average pay of an unskilled Langaran worker is L150 per year; skilled workers make an average of L400. The average soldier makes L285; scholars and academics make about the same. The High Minister of Kelowna has an annual stipend of L1,900 and a key professional such as a doctor, lawyer or teacher would make between L500 and L2,500 depending on grade and speciality. Pay scales also vary according to country; Kelownan salaries are typically higher than those of other countries, although taxation is also higher, while Terranians earn relatively little, but are all employees of the government and are provided with housing and basic food in addition to their pay.
The Langaran nations once shared a faith based on their ancient slavery to the Goa'uld Thanos and his underlords. There were ten major gods, recalled in the names of planets and months, and many minor deities who served them, such as Thesan and Losna - the sun god and moon goddess after whom the first and last days of the week are named - Charun and Culsu - the underworld demons for whom the outer planets are named - and the earth-goddess, Langara herself. This religion has long since given way to the forces of post-holocaust rationalism in most parts of the world, but traces of it remain in Langaran superstition, mythology and language. The Terranians also retain a strong faith, as do the Drusari, an ethnic group living across much of the Kelownan territory.
Studies since the uncovering of the Stargate, carried out by Langaran and terrestrial academics have suggested that Thanos was a minor Goa'uld of the Olympic faction, who was able to use the weapons and defences produced by his research into naquadria to found an offshoot bloodline which survived for a little over three centuries before destroying itself. After the holocaust, the survivors of the bloodline disappeared, either killed or absorbed as minor lords in other factions. Many Drusari either reject this, or maintain that the Goa'uld Thanos was merely an impostor, claiming to be the true god of Langara.
Thanos - Lord of the Gods (Dominion, power, death and destruction)
Thanos was the viewed in the old religion as the Lord of the Gods, a mighty being who presided over the end of all things and the death of all living beings. Although feared, revered and propitiated with sacrifices, he was never worshipped as such after his fall. Once he was the ruler of the known universe, but in the wake of the holocaust, he was seen as the god of death and destruction, to be kept at bay, not welcomed.
Turan - Queen of the Gods and Goddess of Love (Female power, sex, intoxication and music)
Thanos' Queen was revered as the beloved goddess, in the mould of Hathor or Aphrodite. Her worship survived the holocaust better than her husband's, but from the source of all feminine power she became a mere figure of fecundity and desire, the tales of her many lovers and occasional humiliations a standard of theatre and literature.
Atunis - God of strength (Physical might, rebirth, lust and attraction)
Atunis was the favoured son of Thanos and Turan. After the holocaust, he became the great white hope of the old religion; the summer king who would rise up to assume the mantle of the dead god. He never did and his worship faded with all of the others.
Artume - Goddess of Death (Night, virginity, childbirth and the hunt)
Although a figure of contradictions - she is the virgin goddess of death, but the patroness of childbirth; a huntress and a protector of prey animals - Artume, daughter of Thanos and Turan, was worshipped for longer after the holocaust than any of the old gods and many scholars suspect that the Goa'uld survived the catastrophe. It was her special role in mythology to keep Voltumna chained in the bowels of the earth, although that duty passed to her father once he became seen as ruler of the underworld.
Voltumna - God of the Underworld (Evil, darkness, adversaries)
Voltumna is believed to have been a rival of Thanos who was subjected to eternal imprisonment by Artume, acting as her father's huntress. In Langaran mythology he became the lord of the underworld, until Thanos descended in fire to take his place. Many archaeologists have searched for the Prison of Voltumna; it is perhaps fortunate that he has not been excavated before now.
Laran - God of War (Battle, violence, might)
Laran was the brother of Turan and one of the two Generals of Thanos' forces. He was the rival of Menrva.
Menrva - Soldier Goddess (Strategy, tactics, cunning)
Menrva was the sister of Thanos, the second General of Thanos' forces and the rival of Laran. She is believed to be kin to or perhaps the same person as Pallas Athena, which implies that Thanos is also a child of Zeus and the Titanic Queen Metis.
Tages - God of Wisdom (Wisdom, learning, foresight)
The adviser of the court of Thanos was wise Tages. His own domain was in the current Terranian territories and the remnants of his cult are believed to have been involved with the formation of the élite bloodlines.
Sethlans - Smith God (Craftwork, weapons, engineering)
Sethlans is believed to be the shipwright of Thanos' faction, remembered as the god of the forge.
Selvans - God of the Wilderness (Beasts, survival, husbandry)
What role Selvans might have played in the court of a Goa'uld is uncertain. It is thought that he might have been a logistician, with his agricultural leanings - his mythological wife is Horta, the goddess of the fields - but as a wilderness god he might also have been a scout or hunter; possibly an ashrak.
The Drusari are a widespread group within the Kelownan territory who retain their own customs and language. Originally an ethnic minority hailing from the isolated territory now known as Reeth, they are now defined far more by their culture than by their bloodlines, although traditional Drusari families still trace their lines back to the old gods and the old country. They are notable for maintaining a strong religious identity in the face of Kelowna's widespread rationalism, in part because they trace their heritage back to the gods, a claim that seems less outrageous now that the gods are known to have been Goa'uld.
As a result of the esteem in which they were once held, many ancient statutes grant extraordinary rights to the Drusari as regards their traditional culture. Nevertheless, in modern Kelowna those who are too openly Drusari are frequently the victims of prejudice, especially those who do not have the advantage of money. Even the wealthy Drusari families are viewed with a certain suspicion and many vile slanders are now bandied about their dealings with the Goa'uld.
In their heyday, the Drusari were divided into nine tribes, according to the god from whom they claimed descent. Each tribe had a traditional role and members of that clan were supposed to fulfil that role. The system of tribes broke down as the Drusari of different sects intermarried, both with each other and with outsiders, but the genealogical records of the Drusari remain the finest and most complete on the planet.
The Thanoi were the most powerful of the tribes and also the largest. The size of the tribe is perhaps due in part as a result of Thanos' legendary sexual appetites, but principally results from the tradition that the child of two tribes belongs to the senior of the two. The role of the Thanoi was kingship and they formed the governing body of the Drusari people for generations, even after the tribe fell into the control of Kelownan rule and law. Members of the tribe are still granted automatic respect by traditionalists from all of the tribes.
The Turani were a smaller tribe, but the largest of the goddess families. They have always acted as a counterbalance to the power of the Thanoi, listened to by all and, although technically without formal power, in the modern day arguably more influential than the senior family. Traditional Turani families are strongly matriarchal and few Drusari carry more weight than a Turani grandmother.
The Atuni were the workforce of the tribes, but also the explorers, both the bedrock and the spearhead of the Drusari. Skilled labour was provided by the Sethlani and the Selvansi were hunters and farmers. The soldiers of the tribes were drawn from the Larani and the Menrvi, although the two groups specialised in very different styles of warfare. The Tagesi were advisers to the Thanoi and, more importantly, the keepers of the genealogical records.
The Voltumni were always an oddity; primarily priests and scholars, they have long had a reputation for deviousness and sorcery. They were among the first of the tribes to allow members to marry out and their bloodline is considered weak by traditionalists, as well as perhaps theologically corrupt. Nonetheless, conservative Voltumni are among the most religious of the Drusari.
There was no Artumni tribe, because Artumne was - on paper at least - a virgin goddess. However, those cast out from the tribes for breaking the laws of the Drusari could earn their redemption by surrendering their rights and autonomy and giving themselves over to the service of the tribes. These outcasts became warriors, assassins and enforcers, forming a brutal sort of inter-tribal police force and serving under Artumne's name. The Kelownan government eventually came to see the Artumni as a threat to internal security, however, and the initiation rites of the sect are now outlawed.
The tribes used to worship all of the gods and took their tribe's god as a patron. The modern Drusari still revere these patrons, but in an abstract fashion. A few radicals retain a fervent faith and treat Kelownan law as an option rather than a solid reality. These include a fanatical Voltumni sect who seek to find their buried god and restore him to power, a goal which causes some to regret that there have been no Artumni for over two hundred years.
Since the Anubite invasion, the tribes have come into their own. Already adapted to nomadic life, they were hit less hard than the more sedentary members of the Kelownan population by the loss of power and amenities in the cities. Some sedentary Drusari have abandoned the cities altogether and returned to the road; others have worked hard to organise relief efforts.
The Viamenti are the 'old ways', the ancient, unwritten heritage of the tribes. There is much that the tribes share in the way of folklore and oral history, but each tribe also has its own secret lore, known only - in theory - to members of the tribe. In reality, the Viamenti have, over the centuries, become fragmented and muddled, as scholars of various tribes have pieced together what was once lost. Although essentially oral, much of the knowledge contained in the Viamenti has now been committed to paper or electronic storage.
Notable academic elements of the Viamenti include the complex and expansive oral history known as the Reckoning and the Drusul Tales, a collection of fables and 'just-so' stories which form the bedrock of Kelownan literature. There are also more practical elements of the Viamenti; the tribes have an extensive oral tradition of navigation, hunting and transportation (sailing, boat-building, cart building, horse care and, more recently, motor mechanics), herbalism and meteorology.
Of largely scholarly interest is the Mantia, a system of mystical knowledge passed down by the leading families of the nine tribes. The Mantia is described as 'the secrets of the gods'; it is tied to certain hereditary artefacts and for generations was held to be a kind of magic, later dismissed as superstition. It has recently been found that these artefacts are pieces of Goa'uld technology and that the Mantia contains fragments of useful information about that technology.
Most controversially, the Viamenti also includes the Bellumae, a number of ancient Drusari martial arts developed for defending the tribe against outsiders. Many of those who seek to stir up anti-Drusul feeling make a point of questioning why the Drusari have this tradition of martial arts, but in fact there are no more Drusari trained in the Bellumae than there are Kelownans who train in boxing or other combat sports. The Bellumae cover the use of the knife, sword, axe, whip, flail, staff, sling and bow, the Drusari blowpipe and a number of effective unarmed techniques, many developed by the Artumni and maintained by Larani and Menrvi scholars since the outlawing of the enforcement sect.