Imozu is another worked planet for Psi-wars. Its probably a lot more integrated with psi-wars than Highlun was. Its home to both Ranathim and Mogwai, as well as other races and dusty ruins. I wanted to explore what a completely Mogwai society would be like, as well as what an alien rebellion in the core might look like.
If you don't know what psi-wars is, the best place to start is probably The Psi Wars Primer. The project is great, and if you haven't read enough of it to get its basics, you should, because its really cool!
Overview
Nestled in the Trader Band, Imozu has seen empire after empire conqueror it, and promptly forget it exists. But Imozu has accumulated lasting marks from all of these empires, accumulating ancient ruins and stubbornly resilient cultures. Once conquered, the old cultures are usually left to themselves as long as there's no signs of an uprising. Imozu is too poor and too stubborn to be worth the effort.
Imozu has a fairly typical climate and an abundance of terrain to settle, and most empires that have conquered it have left communities on its surface. These communities are diverse but insular rather than cosmopolitan. Over the Centuries they have each grown in their own directions, distinct from both their neighbors and their mother cultures.
Foru Kalin ("Dry water")
Foru Kalin was founded when part of the river that feeds the town
was bombed out during the trader wars. The Ranathim city at the river's mouth (Elakalin, or "old water") rerouted the river through
the desert to a new city: "Foru Kalin". The Ranathim population is even
older than that, having settled on Imozu during the Tyrannies.
The Ranathim of Foru Kalin are especially proud of their horns, which they lavishly carve, grow, and regrow. Using horn regeneration technology they can achieve otherwise impossible or radical effects, like impractical sizes, unnatural curls, or hollow cages. the more conservative or poor among them merely carve gylphs or patterns into their horns. Foru Kalin's distinctive art style is famed across the core for its patterns and habit of sticking tassels on a wide variety of daily objects.
The inhabitants of Foru Kalin have borrowed much of the industry of the trader belt. Though they maintain their dialect of Lithin, they also speak Galactic Common and have a typical Post-Federation technology base, though a bit poorer than on human worlds.
The City's favorite divine mask is Thallet Pallum, the god of "Win" or of "Victory". Thallet Pallum is a mask of the Beautiful Fool. Most of the city participates in an annual calendar marking out races, combats, and other contests. Victors are crowned as Aspects of Thallet Pallum and Hero Worship of such figures is almost actively encouraged.
The traditional lithian gladiatorial ring is illegal here, so the local tradition of "Horn Wrestling" taking its place as the most popular combat sport. Contact is made first and foremost with one's horns in an attempt to push the opponent out of the ring. Non-Ranathim can get their very own horns grown for the experience. This is not the only combat sport: The calendar is remarkable for just how varied the contests are.
Thallet Pallum's shrines and temples are stadiums and arenas. The Foremost is the Golden Arena, or Diron Lukam, but there is no shortage of rival stadiums. Other landmarks in the city include
- The Wrestlers Fountain, located in the nicer portion of town.
- The Lebet Market, an indoor bazaar with an abundance of tassels and the occasional real Chiva mixed in the the fake ones.
- The Narrow City, a neighborhood very unfriendly to both vehicles and authority figures,
- The Triple Port, the most cosmopolitan part of the city, combining docks for sea, river, and orbit
- The Foru Kalin Spire, A massive private residence that has outlived the fortunes of a great many owners.
The local livestock, the "Groat" should be noticed. Groats look much like typical Westerly livestock, but have four curved Ranathim-style horns. Ranathim of Foru Kalin are inordinately fond of the creatures. They serve as pets, milk and meat animals, racing and combat champions, and as models for horn-stylists.
Foru Kalin is managed by the City Master, a negotiator who mediates between the various power structures in the city and Imozu’s foreign rulers. The City Master isn't a ruler in the usual sense, he's a balancing point, keeping peace between the city’s internal factions and smoothing out tensions with the outside.
The Gremlin Coast (The Gruegum)
On the coast east of Foru Kalin lies the Gremlin Coast. The Mogwai fishing towns are poor, hardy communities that run on technology cobbled together with scrap metal and devotion. They came with the Eldoth thousands of years ago and never left. They call themselves the Guegrum, for reasons lost in antiquity.
Everything in the gremlin coast is done with the use of an old rickety machine that's been fixed by multiple generations of Mogwai. They drive whenever possible, and a meal isn't ready until you use at least three appliances. Most of the time one of them is a deep fryer or a grinder of some kind.
The Gruegum consider their boats to be family members. No two look alike, and all are covered in patches, repairs, ad hoc improvements, and swinging cables.
Holidays remind them appreciate the people (including machines) in their life: Mother's Day, Nephew's day, Ship's Day, Washing Machine Day --- you get the idea. Most are just an excuse to take a day off, but some require gifts and full-blown celebrations.
The Guegrum also love to race, as long what they're racing has an engine. Thallet Pallum's racing holiday sees always sees a large Mogwai turnout. Sabotage and rioting are routine. Nobody has been able to control it, and the local imperial governor currently thinks the chaos might keep the Ranathim and Mogwai from ganging up on him.
Each town has at least one "perch", or high open-air gathering place. Some are groves of trees, but most are metal frameworks, and mogwai gather on them not only for community meetings but also to socialize.
Tal's Horn
Tal's Horn is a medium sized island off the coast of Foru Kalin. The horn has hosted a human garrison for centuries. They boast a strong martial tradition, with community and military leadership folded into a single entity. The entire island has been fortified, down to the homes and beaches.
The soldiers of original garrison left a generation ago to fight the scourge and what's left of it is fighting cybernetic union. They were fortunate to mostly evade fighting in the civil war, switching allegiance from the federation to the empire. A green conscript force is now stationed on the island. There is a certain resulting tension between the mothers, wives, and widows of the professional and storied Imozu garrison and the poorly trained conscripts that have been shipped in. At best the civilians consider the new garrison to be inferior substitutes for their sons and fathers. At worst they are considered incompetent occupiers.
Tal's Horn remains deeply invested in the war with the cybernetic union, and anxiously await for reports from the front. The economy depends on military stipends and widows pensions, almost every household has someone serving, and the youth of Tal's horn grow up with the automatic assumption they will join the war.
Tal's Horn is accustomed to ruling over the neighboring areas, and there is little lost love between them. Long running tensions are now higher than ever. The Maradonians from the Horn feel less and less safe leaving their island with every passing year.
Ruins
No description of Imozu is complete without mentioning the ruins. The Eldoth, The Tyrannies, Traders, and Alexians have all built fortresses. Now they are heavily damaged and then abandoned.
Most of the local cultures leavethem alone, citing curses or taboos. Rebels or criminals may take up residence in the ruins, but usually find they lost their defensive bite long ago. The ruins are dangerous places, full of radiation, old ordinance, and even hostile ghosts.
The classic place to find the ruins is in the desert inland from the Gremlin Coast, which is also downriver from Foru Kalin, but that's hardly the only place they show up.
So how do I use Imozu?
Imozu was built to run the rebellion in, with a sort of People's Popular Front of Judea twist. You have two or three factions that all don't especially like the empire, but they also don't especially like each other. The Rebellion isn’t explicitly described, but its not hard to imagine here.
Its also an archeology destination. Imozu has been ruled by the Eldoth, The Tyrannies, the Traders, and the Alexian Dynasty. Imozu is a sandbox to hide ancient secrets in from originating from whatever faction you want.
Imozu is also a fun place for characters to be from, giving them colorful traditions and context, whether they be a Mogwai who insists on throwing the ship a party once a year, a Ranathim with who wears tassels on everything, or the son of a soldier from Tal's Horn.
Imozu could also be used in the context of an arena or racing game, or as the center of a slice of life, criminal, or police game.
I should point out Imozu is not a complete planet: I've sketched out what on earth might be three countries on the edge of a single continent. Planets are huge. Continents are huge. And Imozu is built to be especially intricate. There is lots of space left to put stuff.
Imozu was partially inspired by the near east, where so many places have intricate mixed communities deeply tied into grand historical events, but are not wealthy and are poorly known outside of their immediate areas.
The name Imozu is intended to be of Trader origin, with the Alexians simply reusing the name.
I hope you find this world useful, if only for inspiration, and if you have any questions about it, feel free to ask!
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