Vulcan (planet)/Provinces of Na'nam
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For canon information on the planet Vulcan and its system, please refer to the Memory Alpha article.
Introduction
Na'nam, like its sister continent of Han-shir, is divided into provinces: Gol, Khomi, Kir, Raal, Xial, Shi'al, and Tat'sahr. Long ago, in the Age of Antiquity before the Awakening, these were independent kingdoms ruled by warlords. These tyrants spent much of their time battling over their boundaries, occasionally assisted by the mindlords of psionic monasteries or research communities. The warlords and mindlords often possessed deadly mental powers and energy weapons that amplified them. These political divisions have continued on in a somewhat more aggregated form throughout history, though today the provincial designations are primarily administrative in nature, governing matters like the voting for Vulcan Council seats, the distribution of emergency services to disaster areas, or the allocation of placements into the Vulcan Science Academy or - in the unlikely event of war - Vulcan's national militia.
Gol
The province of Gol is located in the southwest corner of Na'nam, below Raal and Xial. It is bordered to the west by the Straits of Ha'zen, a shallow channel of water between Na'nam and the island continent of Xir'tan whose waters are considered extremely difficult to navigate due to the almost constant shifting of the tectonic plates beneath them.
Although a few small settlements and thin strips of arable farmland dot this coastline, most of the province consists of untamed desert wates like no other on Vulcan. Whether because of its proximity to Xir'tan or its own unsettled seismology, teh deserts of Gol are greatly affected by the solar flare activity of 40 Eridani A, experienceing massive, lightning-suffused sandstorms that can last for weeks. Desert settlements are therefore limited to a few scattered caravanserai located in spots offering natural protection, such as nearby underground caves.
Though planetary satellites confirm that valuable mineral deposits (especially of trillium) hide well below the surface of Gol, Vulcan scientists have not yet determined a means of extracting these minerals without unsatisfactory risk of personnel and equipment. Thus, the area remains the most economically backward on the continent, and a Vulcan seeking to make his fortune would do well to move elsewhere to achieve it. However, Gol does draw its share of visitors who come in search of ancient knowledge - whether it be Vulcans who have come to study and perhaps commit themselves fully to the way of Kolinahr, or the mixture of Vulcans and offworlders who travel to the village of Xen'tal to enroll in the Vulcan Institute of Defensive Arts.
Places and Persons of Note in Gol
Kolinahru Monastery
The Kolinahru Monastery rests in a high cleft on Mount Kolinahr, the highest peak in Gol. In ancient times, the Kolinahru ranked among the most powerful and cruel adepts on the face of the planet. Their mindlords were capable of killing an enemy by making his blood literally boil in his veins through pyrokenesis. Their wanton acts of individual or mass mind control spawned dark legends that still live today.
During the Time of the Awakening, however, the High Master of the Kolinahru became an adherent of Surak, and turned the studies of the order away from war to the practice of total mind control. Sanshiin, as he then called himself, carved the new Kolinahru retreat out of the bedrock of the desert to render it a safe haven from the sandstorms and intense heat. He then forbade the further use of any manner of advanced technology within its walls.
Today, the acolytes and adepts of Kolinahru have adopted an ascetic and simple lifestyle, using oil lamps and quill pens instead of electricity and computers; raising simple hand-tended crops on a small, sandy plot of communal land; and bathing in the natural hot springs that lie beneath the lower level of the monastery. Guests - Vulcan and offworlder alike - are welcome here at any time to rest and meditate in privacy. However, they must leave their vehicles in a shelter about a kilometer and a half from the complex, and leave any hand-held items of personal technology (including computers, PADDs, and even sonic shavers) behind in the front reception area until they depart.
There is one portion of the monastery which is not open to the general public, however. The Hall of Ancient Thought, a subterranean chamber eternally guarded by members of the order, contains the vre-katra of the former High Masters of the Order. If some of these ancient funereal vessels indeed contain the katra of Kolinahr's previous High Masters, as the legends claim, then those dating back to before the Time of Awakening would be none too pleased if they were somehow awakened and shown their current surroundings, or learned the philosophy their order now practices.
Plateau of Tai-la
The final ritual to purge a Kolinahri acolyte of all emotion takes place at this desolate plateau outside the Kolinahru monastery. The ceremony follows a ten-day period of leavetaking, in which the acolyte is allowed to leave the monastery and meet with as many of his lifetime friends as possible to bring closure to their memories. He then travels alone into the desert, carrying only the robe on his back and a waterskin, and enters a deep meditative trance, casting out all remaining emotion into the surrounding sands.
The ritual can take days or even weeks to complete, and ends only when the High Master, who telepathically monitors the progress of the ceremony throughout, either determines that the cleansing of the new adept's mind has been completed, or that the acolyte's life is in danger. Some adherents have gone through the ceremony several separate times without ever successfully breaking free of the bonds of emotion.
Vulcan Institute of Defensive Arts
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 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 Sarek's family to study the ways of treating 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 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 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 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 The Way of Kolinahr Sourcebook, with modifications from other sources.