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Vulcan (planet)/Provinces of Na'nam: Difference between revisions
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===Vulcan Institute of Defensive Arts=== | ===Vulcan Institute of Defensive Arts=== | ||
'''more to come | The VIDA occupies a complex of unassuming low stone buildings and amphitheatres in the tiny village of Xen'tal in southeastern Gol. Indeed, the entire village contains little more than the Institute, a small shuttle port and transporter center, and an inn that houses short-term students and visiting instructors. At the Institute, one can obtain training in Vulcan martial arts techniques like ''ponn-ifla'' or ''kareel-ifla'', or in ancient weapons like the ''lirpa'' or the ''ahn-woon'', along with a collection of bruises, sprains, and even the occasional broken bone (all of which can be treated by the healers in residence if they become serious). | ||
Of course, since even the most expert practitioner of the lirpa can do little against a capacble foe with a ranged energy weapon like a phaser, much of this training has no practical application except for ceremonial exhibitions. However, the real value of the stringent VIDA regimen is the manner in which it disciplines the body in the same way that the practice of logic disciplines the mind. | |||
Although past students of the Institute include such prominent Federation personages as Captain [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Hikaru_Sulu Hikaru Sulu], the VIDA may soon play a much different role in Vulcan affairs. VIDA's weapons masters have a natural affinity for the ancient tales of the exiled sons of Vulcan who became the wellspring of the Romulan race. They have thrown in their lot with Ambassador Spock's attempts to negotiate some sort of reunification with the Romulans. To that end, the Institute complex presently houses two young Romulan warriors, Rual and Khazan, who have been brought to Vulcan in secret to learn more of the ancient ways. It is Ambassador Spock's hope eventually to sponsor these young men for admission into the Vulcan Science Academy at ShirKahr, if they can successfully stay out of trouble. | |||
=Khomi= | |||
Bordering Shi'al on the south is the small province of Khomi. Except for the Llangon Mountains, Khomi primarily consists of flat and barren hardpan, cracked and canyoned by the strongest tectonic activity of any region on Na'nam. While the earthquakes make it difficult to live there, the large mineral deposits thrusting up through the mantle in this barren region do make it worthwhile to work there. | |||
Currently Khomi has the largest active mining operations on Vulcan; massive drilling machines do most of the mining. Once the ores have been mined, they are transported up to various orbital facilities to be processed. The mining process is slow, and somewhat expensive, but by mining this way the risk of losing lives is greatly reduced. Vulcans dwelling in this region live in underground complexes built inside the mountains. Since the mountains are somewhat more geologically stable than the flatlands, these subterranean habitats are also substantially safer. | |||
The Llangon Mountains, especially the area bordering on Shi'al, holds many monasteries such as the ''Tinsha'' Monastery of Hakihr and the ''Pakro'' adepts. The mountains may conceal even more isolated monastic communities. Except for some very old records in ShirKahr, which speak of several groups that left ShirKahr and other Vulcan cities to live in Khomi, not much is currently known about them. The records state that not all the groups that left Vulcan's main cities did so because they opposed the teachings of Surak. | |||
==Places and Persons of Note in Khomi== | |||
===Ku'Vel'Di=== | |||
Translating roughly as "Place of the Fallen," this large complex in the Llangon foothills is a research center set up by the government and [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Sarek Sarek's] family to study the ways of treating [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Bendii_Syndrome Bendii Syndrome], and of giving those elderly Vulcans suffering from it a chance to live, and eventually die, with dignity. The facility came into existence mainly because Sarek's third wife [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Perrin Perrin], after seeing Sarek lose his very selfhood with no assistance or even acknowledgement from his government, was determined that it would not happen to other Vulcans afflicted with the disease. | |||
At first the government simply tried to ignore her, but that only made her more determined. When it became clear that a public debate was beginning to form about what many considered a private matter, the government relented, and agreed to help fund the research center. The center is not only trying to find a cure for Bendii Syndrome, but provides aides for those who have the disease, so that they can maintain mind control for as long as possible. A number of these aides are human volunteers, since Vulcans still largely prefer to avoid contact with Bendii sufferers. | |||
=Kir= | |||
Kir occupies the eastern equatorial area of Na'nam, directly east of Shi'al, and then extends southwest to the borders of Khomi. It contains a varied ecology with temperate lowlands along the coast of the Thanor Sea, arid grasslands beyond, and broken volcanic plains radiating out to the north and west of Mount Tarhana, Vulcan's best known active peak. | |||
Indeed, Kir is in many ways wholly typical of average daily life on Vulcan. It holds within its boundaries the estates of several Great Houses and well-connected political personages, including those of the late Federation Ambassador [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Sarek Sarek]. It contains a number of small villages and towns, and one fairly large city, also known as Kir (pop. 140,000), which was traditionally ruled by Clan K'vek, one of the leading merchant families in Vulcan's spacefaring history. | |||
In short, an offworlder could observe Vulcan in microcosm by spending a few months here; but with few tourist attractions or religious pilgrimage sites to draw attention, only a small number of short-term visitors will ever see more of Kir than the view from the day-shuttle to the Tarhana Observation Tower. | |||
==Places and Persons of Note in Kir== | |||
===Monastery of Ulann=== | |||
An order of silent monks occupy this monastery, whose grounds occupy a hillside along the Thanor coast. The sect of ''Ulann'' emphasizes the power of deeds over words, and encourages its adherents to participate in performing useful works along with their studies. In ancient times, the monks operated a lighthouse that adjoined the property to aid seafarers in need. | |||
Today, the lower floor of the monastery is set up as a printing plant and computer datanode, employed to disseminate both the teachings of [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Surak Surak] and those of the sect of ''Ulann.'' The Vulcan holiday of ''Kal Rekk'', a day of atonement and silence, derives from the reachings of these monks. Many Vulcans will not speak on ''Kal Rekk'' for any reason. | |||
''more to come'' | |||
''The majority of this information has been taken from [http://www.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php/The_Way_of_Kolinahr:_The_Vulcans The Way of Kolinahr Sourcebook], with modifications from other sources.'' | ''The majority of this information has been taken from [http://www.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php/The_Way_of_Kolinahr:_The_Vulcans The Way of Kolinahr Sourcebook], with modifications from other sources.'' | ||