Donerth (Don-uh-th)
Donerth is a planet that is almost entirely aquatic, with the Donerthian cities all existing completely underwater. This World is also one of the few that has an organised religion that is a large part of the culture. They are a part of The Spider Alliance, and are thus close allies with Malum Auctori, often looking to them for guidance when acting on the political landscape. However, they have come to treat Nurn, their other ally, with less respect and more suspicion than is typical of allied powers.
In the current day, Donerth fully supports the whims of Malum Auctori. Their numbers ensure that Malum Austori will be safe from Nurn, should the Nurnites ever decide to betray their alliance. The actions taken by Donerth's leadership seem to be unpopular with certain sections of the population, and many Donerthians are making their displeasure known. Further, the resistance to the status quo on Donerth seems to be more prevalent than any other member of the Spiders, and arguably more so than any other species in the Pontision System. Many of these Donerthians have begun to migrate to other aquatic sections of the galaxy.
s in Donerth. This is not only because the Aphrodons have a keen eye for beauty, but is also due to them being the oldest living civilisation on Donerth. This length of time means that they still have ancient structures that have stood against the test of time, but also have been able to innovate upon less stable buildings that have created a sense of modernity. This has been especially important due to Aphrodite's population's continued growth, currently standing at 52 million Donerthians. This has made Aphrodite a prime tourist location for many galactic citizens.
Pre-Web History
View full timeline in: History of Donerth Donerthian history spans a great length of time, though it is far from dense. Much of their past surrounds the rise and fall of cities and empires due to planetary infighting as well as threats from the World's hostile marine life. Donerthian history dates back to a little over 8000 years ago thanks to the relative dating of some of the earliest archeological sites in Donerth. Evidence suggests that there may have been settlements constructed before this time, however this cannot be clarified as these supposed settlements are all considered danger zones by the residents and no one is permitted to travel to these locations out of concern for their safety. There are currently three major settlements that are active in Donerth, though records suggest that there have been upwards of sixteen cities throughout the planet's past. According to The Rime (the leading religion in Donerth), Donerth was once a World composed of sea and land much like the landscape of Mundi. Their legends say that an evil god known as Alba or the Alba submerged the World in the endless sea that has persisted to this very day. Various sailors that survived were then forcibly drowned by Alba when one of the sailors killed its physical form. This sailor, the Ancient Mariner, then became the new god and saved the drowned sailors, all of whom became the first aquatic Donerthians. This story is likely untrue, as there is no evidence that there was any kind of Donerthian civilisation that existed above sea level. Further, the earliest known reference to The Rime is from seven millenia ago (one thousand years after the estimated construction of earliest Donerthian civilisation) indicating that any religious beliefs began well after the supposed "flooding" of Donerth. Donerth has always been the stage of a violent struggle between man and beast. Of the sixteen known major settlements, nine have been felled due to their inability to defend against hostile animal life. Records describe great scaled fish who can heat the water around them to boiling temperatures, quickly burning and killing nearby prey. Others describe colossal creatures who can ram their heads through solid stone as if it were parchment. A famous legend in The Rime recounts a city that was built atop the shell of a massive crustacean; a city that was sundered after the residents woke the creature. This tale is a clear warning against hubris, and seems to be an entirely fictional one as there has never been any other historical record that indicates that such a city or monster ever existed. However, these beasts were not the only thing that plagued the Donerthians. A disease known as the "Siren's Curse" once spread throughout a now-desolate city called Pacifica. The Siren's Curse is a bloodborne pathogen that results in genetic mutations, physical deformities, and irregular brain activity. Victims of the Siren's Curse become erratic and violently anti-social within a day of infection, and develop facial growths akin to marine plant life, fungi, sea anemones and/or barnacles after five days. These growths eventually grow to encompass a victim's entire body, but this process takes many years to reach completion. These victims, referred to as Sirens, spread the Curse through bites and scratches, with chances of infection being extremely high. There has been no success in developing a cure, treatment of vaccine for Siren's Curse. Luckily, Sirens do not wander far from the areas that they inhabited prior to their infection, meaning that Donerth was able to contain the spread of the Curse solely to Pacifica. Donerth has also known its fair share of warfare. Due to the continual threat of hostile sea creatures, settling land that is absent of such beasts is integral to the persistence of any given Donerthian civilisation. Therefore, this highly coveted resource has been frequently fought over by various nations. This ultimately led to the ruin of many settlements, directly leading to the collapse of three separate cities and weakening a further four to the point wherein the local marine life would destroy anything that was left. Currently, a single nation rules Donerth and all of its settlements: Undertow. Undertow is a nation that runs on a democratic system and whose history of warfare allowed them to settle the safest regions of the planet.Post-Web History
Donerth was one of the first Worlds to receive messages from the Mundians and be able to return them. They were quick to join the galactic political sphere and began to work alongside Mundi and the Auctori in designing The Web. However, Donerth's efforts in this pursuit are seen as minimal, rarely being mentioned, and they are often viewed as a supplement to the work that Malum Auctori did. After hearing about the galaxy's many different environments the Donerthians began designing suits that would allow them to walk amongst the other species, as well as designing space faring vessels for the first time. While Malum Auctori and Donerth worked on The Web together, the two planets began to form a close political bond. During this period, the Auctori would share many of their schematics and blueprints of their spaceships to assist the Donerthians, who would then go on to replicate these designs as well as modify them for deep sea traversal. Yet, the most notable collaboration between these two is from when the Auctori suggested that Donerth build a landing pad on the ocean surface of the planet for visitors to land on. They designed this landing pad to have an aquatic elevator that could transport aliens to and from the capital city: Aphrodite. Originally, Malum Auctori wanted a landing pad in every major settlement, but the Donerthians refuted this plan, insisting that it would be too dangerous due to the local wildlife of these regions. After The Web was completed Donerth would officially ally with Malum Auctori and Nurn to form the Spider Alliance. While Donerth's relationship with Malum Auctori was well established by this point, they did not have a strong bond with the Nurnites. This would become more apparent throughout the following decades as the two peoples would refuse to collaborate with one another. From this animosity it was clear to everyone that Malum Auctori was the leader of this alliance. Despite this, Donerth has shown themselves to be far more cooperative in their political dealings than Nurn, though that is not a high bar to clear. In recent years the Donerthian populace has become displeased with the actions taken by Undertow's government. There have been mass protests, regarding both their leaders' subservience to the Auctori and to the World's growing military presence. This ever-growing discontent has come to severely concern the leaders of Donerth, made apparent by keeping their recent political activities subtle and discreet. However, many Donerthians have still become fed up with Undertow's treatment of their people and have begun migrating to other regions of the galaxy. Sadly, there are still very few settlements that can actually house a Donerthian, so most have taken to living in personal spacecrafts, Pilgrim's Rest, or Elysium.Species and Geography
Donerthians are a kind of sapient fish, though much of their anatomical structure is remarkably humanoid. They typically have four limbs (two arms and two legs) whose feet and hands are all webbed. Running along these limbs as well as their back are fins that assist their aquatic movements. They have gills along their necks, with their mouths being used almost exclusively to either pump oxygen-rich water over their gills or to eat. Covering their skin is a large quantity of coloured scales. The pigments of these scales can vary far and wide with many Donerthians' scales being a wide array of multiple shades and hues. Donerthians have no vocal chords, and instead communicate through their telepathic abilities. When communicating in this way they can only talk to people within thirty metres of them. Further, while they can theoretically share a telepathic link with an unlimited number of Donerthians within those thirty metres, they can only link their minds with a maximum (on average) of five to six non-Donerthian sapient species due to these species' lack of telepathic abilities. These limits can be bypassed by a Donerthian, however by doing so the Donerthian in question will overexert themselves and have difficulties performing other tasks until they rest their minds for a handful of hours. Donerth itself is an entirely aquatic World, with all of its civilisations and lifeforms dwelling under the vast Donerthian sea. Donerth has a varied climate on its surface, but the settlements of the World are notoriously very cold as they are all built on the seafloor. The settled areas of Donerth are the regions that are closest to the surface, as the deeper the sea is, the more dangerous the waters are. Beyond the settled areas are oceanic basins and deep trenches that are considered the danger zones of Donerth, regions that no one is permitted to explore for their own sake.Settlements
The following is a list of the settlements in Donerth. Each is a city that is ruled by the nation of Undertow, housing millions of Donerthians in the only areas that are safe for them. This means that there are no smaller settlements within Donerth, such as towns or villages. They are all entirely aquatic and are located in the middle-to-upper mesopelagic regions of the planet's ocean. 83 million Donerthians currently live within the nation of Undertown.Lyonesse
The city of Lyonesse is built on the side of an active submarine volcano. This volcano is believed to have once housed previous Donerthians, as when the current residents first discovered Lyonesse they found strange ruins scattered around its base. These founders believed that the prior occupants had committed a great sin against The Mariner and that he had caused an eruption that had killed them all. Believing that they could do better, these Donerthians began construction, and Lyonesse has come to represent the pinnacle of Donerthian society. To their credit, they have succeeded in the intervening years, boasting a population of 18 million Donerthians. The Lyons (as the residents are referred to) have made productive use of the volcano, utilising the magma and nearby hydrothermal vents for construction purposes. The volcano is abundant with copper, gold, cobalt and other rare metals that have been integral to Donerthian scientific advancement. It also facilitates a diverse ecosystem that the Lyons farm to produce some of the most exotic and delicious meals in the galaxy.Aphrodite
Aphrodite is a jewel of a city, and is naturally the capital of Donerth. It is the religious hub of the World and is the city that the sea elevator directly leads to. This sea elevator was built through the combined efforts of the Donerthians and the Auctori, and has provided a space for spacefaring vehicles to land on for Donerth's visitors. It is a city of great architectural wonder, hosting some of the grandest churches and governmental buildingTitanica
Titanica lies in the deepest and coldest area of Donerth's mesopelagic region, and is spread across caverns and icy floors. Much of the city's architecture is intertwined with the frozen landscape, creating a truly beautiful scene despite Titanica's utilitarian approach to their buildings. The city now has 13 million residents, and is often referred to as the birthplace of modern Donerth. Titanica was the first city founded by Undertow and from this city they were able to claim Aphrodite and Lyonesse as their own. Thanks to the natural defences gifted to the city by its frigid environment, Undertow's enemies were unable to launch any successful attacks on the people of Titanica. Through careful strategies and well placed assaults, Undertow eventually came to rule all of Donerth's safe zones. Titanica remains a well fortified city whose defences will likely never be melted through.Political and Social Customs
Donerth (specifically Undertow) is run under a democratic system, in which each major city has a mayor that leads the city and Donerth as a whole is led by their president: Calder. Undertow strives to deliver state powers into the hands of the people, allowing the collective masses to determine the course of their collective future. This is done by selecting representatives whose values and principles align closest with the whims of the populace. However, in recent years there has been an increasing disconnect between the wants and needs of the Donerthians and the direction in which Undertow's governmental force is steering the World. Donerth emphasises strength of will and of character above all else. They believe that a resolute and stoic individual is the pinnacle of their kind and a positive example to Donerthian youths. Shows of vulnerability and extreme emotion are often admonished when they are in a public setting. It is believed that the only person that should witness a Donerthian's weakness is their life partner, and that one's weaknesses should never be in sight of a window, door, or any other physical opening. Donerthians are also a people that tend to be wary of change, whether that be socially, politically, economically, or ecologically. When the Mundians first came into contact with Donerth, it was a struggle to communicate with them due to this opposition to change. However, they were eventually won over by Mundi's power of persuasion and agreed to join the intergalactic wonder that is the Pontision System. Since then they have invited many to tour Donerth, displaying their capacity to adapt and change despite any initial hesitations.Important Figures
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