Arc Prime and Wren Terra
One of the greatest military powers in the galaxy, the Letnev have stockpiled arms and expanded their already-impressive fleet on their homeworld of Arc Prime under the stewardship of Baron Daz Emmiciel Werquan III. From Arc Prime, situated between the Quann Wormhole and the Primor Gate, the Baron can dispatch an overwhelming armada almost anywhere in the galaxy with little warning, and most of the other Great Civilizations know it.
Arc Prime
A dark, starless world, Arc Prime is, on the surface, inhospitable to life. But below the surface, vast continent-sized caverns heated by the planet’s core support the pale-skinned, white-eyed Letnev. An industrialized, militant people, the Letnev operate factories and saimoc crystal mines nonstop, venting noxious gases and industrial waste to the surface. Six great megalopolises support the bulk of the Letnev population, though outsiders are restricted to the lone surface city of Feruc.
Feruc
Nestled within Dunlain Crater, hidden beneath frozen plumes of industrial waste and ash, the city of Feruc is the only population center on the surface of Arc Prime. Its architecture leans toward sharp metal towers stained black with soot, connected by a mesh of pressurized traffic tubes clinging to the surface. The tubes wind between the residential spires, belching industrial factories, and military installations throughout and below the crater.
Feruc is the only city on Arc Prime open to foreign visitors, and its diplomatic district lies just downwind of the largest industrial zone. The Keleres have a modest outpost here, where agents can request a Barony liaison to act as a guide. The many other consulates in Feruc serve a variety of foreign powers, merchants, and institutions seeking alliances, trade, or aid from the Letnev.
The Reaper Halls
The Reaper Halls is a large section of one of Feruc’s largest industrial zones and responsible for producing military ordnance and vehicles. Orbital cannons, capital-grade beam weapons, antistarfighter missiles, interior defense turrets, and the infamous Dunlain Reaper all have dedicated manufactories in the Halls. Some facilities conduct daily test firings at orbital targets to ensure quality and calibration, a fact some smugglers have learned too late while trying to sneak through smog plumes down to the surface.
Goz
Located below the surface, the capital of Arc Prime, Goz, is nearly a sealed city thanks to the tight security of the Baron’s Guard, particularly around the Baron’s armored and fortified manorial palace. Goz is known among the Letnev for its mix of architectural styles, from the steep, spiked towers and battlements of the Noble Quarter, which include the Baron’s fastness, to the squared faces and open moss-garden courtyards of Admiralty Lane, where many of the wealthy and influential dwell.
Ao Tender Ridge was land that historically housed those who worked the nearby Ao tunnels to provide the city’s breathable air. With that task long since automated, Ao Tender Ridge is now a wealthy commercial and residental district, championed as having the freshest air on Arc Prime thanks to its proximity to the main Ao tunnels. Its buildings feature ornate, flowing metalwork over glass, almost like you can see the air blowing toward the center of the city and curling around the delicate spikes and blades that lance off the buildings.
Beneath the ridge, the city becomes a shadowed maze of narrow streets and tall buildings, some built directly into the massive rock pillars that support Goz’s huge cavern. Finding one’s way is nearly impossible for non-Letnev, and it can be dangerous for off-worlders to draw too much attention to themselves. Constant police patrols and harsh repercussions for even minor lawbreaking mean that the lawbreakers who do exist in Goz are the best of the best. With death awaiting even minor infractions such as stealing or assault, criminals have learned that it is always best that their victims disappear before a crime can be reported.
Agiz
Home to the most prestigious Letnev war college and a playedout saimoc crystal mine, Agiz is one of the more youthful cities, thanks to its many students. Their exuberance and naked ambition clashes with the architecture; every street corner seems to have an imposing, millennia-old heroic statue of a Letnev war hero deep in thought, carved from white and blue marble, quartz, or saimoc crystal. Most of the city’s many parks feature Ao meditative gardens and war memorials. The ruthless meritocracy of Baronial society starts here, with many students vying for the same few governmental or military posts. A number of duels are fought in front of the ancient statues, and many leave a rival’s blood leaking into the gutter.
Agiz is also the home of escar, a popular strategy game and centuries-old Letnev pastime. The Baron’s War College holds a prestigious escar tournament viewed across most of Letnev society. Winners often receive prestigious fleet appointments and enjoy a celebratory dinner with the Baron.
Wren Terra
Many wealthy Letnev families maintain a summer house or estate among the many northern farms, ranches, and Daartar hound-breeding facilities on Wren Terra, a vassal world of Arc Prime orbiting the star Wren. These second homes range from small five-room cottages to palatial estates. The planet is a bit dry and windy for Letnev tastes, but those who visit Wren Terra regularly enjoy the novelty of a sky, especially the view of the stars at night. Wren Terra had an evenly mixed population of Humans and Letnev before the world was annexed during the Age of Dusk. Though the Humans are officially accorded certain rights as vassal citizens of the Barony, their population has slowly but constantly declined due to emigration over the past few thousand years.
Rochou
This city in the northern steppes of Wren Terra supports thousands of surrounding farms and ranches with its food-processing factories and spaceport. One of the largest cities on the planet, it boasts a thriving art scene—notably fostering the recent trend of large-scale frescos of military figures and their greatest victories and defeats. Many of the buildings have these frescoes painted onto their walls.
Rochou’s streets are just as cramped and winding as any city on Arc Prime, but the open sky lessens the feeling of oppression slightly. The inhabitants are slightly more relaxed than their cousins on the homeworld, and more of them become farmers than join the Barony’s military.
Rochou spaceport is set within the industrial district. Here, farmed goods are processed and shipped to orbit, where a number of trade stations hover. While Rochou spaceport is the largest spaceport in the northern hemisphere, the military spaceport at Fort Illeprete is several orders of magnitude larger.
Illeprete
The entire continent of Illeprete in the southern hemisphere is set aside entirely for military war games and orbital dropship mass landings. The arid, rocky wastelands are a crucible almost all ground troops endure before graduating from basic training. In addition to coordinating infantry war games and wilderness survival courses, the military maintains orbital and aerial bombardment ranges and a sprawling fort that can house upwards of a million troops between exercise deployments.
The Houndmaster's Commons
Currently managed by Master Breeder Alloran Nevoraz Fortrian III, the Houndmaster’s Commons is an enormous Daartar hound-breeding facility located near the equator. Her facility has separate distinguished breeding lines for working hounds that specialize in tracking, hunting, sniffing, or combat. There is even a separated yard for show hounds, popular as pets on Arc Prime and throughout the fleet.
Arc Prime Star Name and Type
none
Wren Terra Star Name and Type
Wren, yellow main sequence
Arc Prime Population Status
homeworld: 10.47 billion (97% Letnev, 4% other)
Wren Terra Population Status
colony: 1.4 billion (58% Letnev, 29% Human, 13% other)
Government
barony
Major Imports
foodstuffs, water, medicine
Major Exports
ore, weapons, saimoc crystals
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