Faendra
Faendra is a desert world in a binary star system in the Riala Sector of the Outlying Territories.
It is inhabited by poor locals who mostly farm moisture for a living. Other activities include used equipment retailing and scrap dealing, and renithor racing, though out of date on Faendra, can still be found. The planet is on the Ornio Shipping Lane, a spur of the Ordaldra Trade Route, which itself is connected to the Vyrio Run. The planet is not far from the Renaaran Run.
Geology, geography, flora & fauna
Faendra is thought to be one of the oldest planets in known space and is composed of a molten core with a rocky mantle and silicate rock crust. Fossil records suggest Faendra was once covered in large oceans, which dried up, leaving behind many geological formations including Fores Canyon formed around roughly 2,000,000 years ago. Other notable geological features include the Cendor Wastes, an enormous desert, and the Uskan Wastes, a rocky region.
Faendra is hot and arid as it is heated by two nearby suns, Faede Alpha and Faede Beta. In fact, it is so brightly lit by the suns from space it could appear to be a star itself. Due to the extreme conditions, only a relatively mild region of its northern hemisphere is habitable. Surface water covers less than 1% of the planet.
Despite the planet's extreme aridity, many forms of life thrive on Faendra.
History
Faendra was first discovered by the Valcarian Republic 5,000 years ago by spacers. Estua was first established in 800 years later. The Valcarian settlers disrupted the Ainian culture, displacing them and causing the Ainian culture to evolve into that of nomadic scavengers. At the time of the early Valcarian Republic, the planet was practically controlled by Aelnor Corporation. Aelnor Corporation was attempting to mine ores from Faendra, though they discovered the ores had strange magnetic properties which made them largely unusable in production. Faendra is the only source of diaram ore.
The Estua settlement failed and the planet was forgotten until rediscovered by the Republic about 1,100 years ago. 100 years ago, the Vonun Duchy crashed on the planet at the site where Delava was later built. The crash survivors were Valcarians from Vediel IV and a year later established Vediel Settlement, the capital of Faendra, and made first contact with the new Ainian culture.
Shortly thereafter, colonists founded Fort Ryros, which was wiped out by Ainians a year after its establishment. Two years later, Estua was inhabited again. 85 years ago, Delava was settled by Valcarians and Gaedurs. Five years after that, Valcarians and Gaedurs established Sanitlina.
Renaaran Mining brought many algoris to the planet, but abandoned the planet - as did the Republic for all intents and purposes - 70 years ago, when the orbital station Faede Prime crashed, revealing the unstable nature of the local ores from which it had been constructed. Although the planet was thereafter considered technically part of the Republic's Riala Sector, it was de facto part of Ateda Space. The abandoned algoris radically changed Ainian civilization, serving as mobile fortresses for Ainian tribes searching the deserts for materials to scavenge.
65 years ago, the Atedas arrived on Faendra. Five years later, Tyno Shenari established Shenari Station on the outskirts of Estua. At the time of the early Valcarian Empire, the planet's population was estimated at 200,000. The Empire has only slightly increased its presence on Faendra, to the point that it is now noticeable if one looks hard enough.