Zorabos was a planet in the Unknown Regions, home of the Zaractoks and an early member world of the Golden Empire.
Geography[]
The majority of the surface of Zorabos was dominated by forests and jungles, which circled the globe, split only occasionally by major inland seas and lakes, through rivers and streams criss-crossed the terrain. The jungles were home to a wealth of species, both predators and prey, which formed a complex ecosystem. Many plants in the jungles had medicinal and nutritious properties to several species.
Zorabos's only sentient species, however, spent most of its time on the mountains, mesas, and rock formations which dotted the planet. These frequently displayed bluffs, cliffs, and other large, flat surfaces atop which the Zaractoks built their rock cities.
Zorabos had four small moons, none of which were habitable, but some of which the Zaractoks began to mine after joining the Golden Empire.
Society and culture[]
Zaractok cities existed hundreds of meters, sometimes even kilometers, above the surface of Zorabos. These evolved over the centuries, especially on mountains, with choice residency being in the highest inhabitable regions, while lower areas were used as staging zones for dives to hunt in the jungle or for storage.
The Zaractoks looked on the jungles which dominated their world with a mixture of proud detachment and respect. The former was due to their lives in the rock cities; by being literally above the jungle, the Zaractoks sometimes came to view themselves as living a higher form of existence than the beasts on the surface. However, they were also aware of the many dangers in the jungle and had respect for the predators as powerful as themselves.
History[]
Both Zaractok and Royal historians demonstrated the presence of Zaractoks in the rock cities at least ten thousand years before Zorabos joined the Empire, though some theorized that the Zaractoks had actually evolved in the jungles, and simply relocated to the rock cities to avoid competition with and danger from other native predators on the surface.
Conflicts were infrequent among the Zaractoks, who were both unaggressive to one another by nature and incapable of sustaining a world-spanning empire, as such a thing would necessitate extensive traveling through the dangerous jungles on foot. Gradually, however, nearly all the major rock formations that went sufficiently high above the canopies of the jungle were occupied by the Zaractoks.
In 88 ABY, the Golden Empire arrived on Zorabos, which joined the new government shortly thereafter. The introduction of offworld technology was a great technological leap forward for the Zaractoks, who began building impressive steel cities, some of which even went down to the surface. The introduction of deforestation to domesticate some prey animals and raise them for food, along with the construction of turbolifts to quickly transport Zaractoks from the surface to their cities, was a source of mild alarm among many traditionalists, who believed it would inspire laziness and weakness in succeeding generations.
At some point, botanists from the Golden Empire discovered that several of the native plants of Zorabos's jungles could be used as medicine. This led to a booming trade in medicines, both the raw ingredients and later the finished product, though it also resulted in even more expansion of Zaractok cities into former jungle.
Zorabos was attacked at least twice in its history. At the end of the Ousan-Peoly War, the Peoly launched a disastrous assault on Zorabos after the Royal Navy prevented them from conquering Oourb'Rest. The much harder-fought Battle of Zorabos took place during the Ssi-ruuvi Incursion, but the Royal Navy again held the line against its enemies.