Catullan: Difference between revisions

Not all, but most of planet's arable/inhabitable land is within two days' foot travel from sea, and generally slopes perceptibly upward from coast into mountains. There are very few plateaus or plains above sea level. This makes foot travel slow and arduous compared to travel on water, and as a consequence naval power rather than infantry was traditionally the dominant means by which control of territory was asserted.<br>

Adult height can exceed M-class averages, but is more likely to fall below it; some attribute this to the slightly higher-than-M-class-normal gravity on Cendo Prae.<br>

 

==Religion and Mythology==

 

'''Kliegerst''': The holy storm, a subtropical region of the Catullan seas in which (by coincidence of local land masses and ocean currents) storm activity was nearly continuous for centuries at a time. Many Catullan cosmologies believed that the souls of the wicked were tossed in these storms endlessly, and that when these storms peeled free and drifted onto land, damaging cities and farms, it was a punishment either for the victims or for the cursed souls. Good souls drifted toward the bright, calm eye of the storms; this was either heaven or a sign that the sould was ready to ascend to it.<br>

'''Vorde Telkoode''': A trickster figure, somewhere between a particularly tenacious, powerful spirit and a deity-- always female, most frequently old, sometimes ugly, sometimes lovely. She was said to sail around the seas of Cendo Prae in or on a cauldron of variable size, which she used to stir up trouble, both literal and metaphorical. In some stories she stood inside the cauldron, and it only came up to her waist. In others she sat on one handle like a child might sit on a swing.<br>

Small but intense storms, especially if they were unexpected and inconvenient, were said to be brewed by Vorde. She also cursed or transformed people. On occasion, she might deign to help someone; but if she did, she would make the help unpleasant to employ, or the help would come in the form of obstacles put in the way of a third party. At the end of the story it would often be revealed that Vorde had gained more from the whole process than the protagonists had. She was said to spend much time drifting around the outer edges of the Kliegerst, peeling secrets away from the cursed like seed fluff off a thorn bush. Furthermore, she was said to be able, for a price, to call a particular soul out of the storm, so it could be asked questions or tell secrets it could not communicate before tearing free of its original body. But paying the price for such a consultation seldom ended well for anyone except Vorde.<br>

==Society, Culture and Customs==

 

Catullans are still so rare in Federation space, as compared to wider-ranging species like humans, that many Catullans get identified by other species as entertainers in some sort of makeup or costume. This is a source of some frustration for them; individual Catullans deal with it in different ways.<br>

Life on Catulla has often meant life aboard a boat or ship. With the shortage of land, houseboats (in the case of the poorest, lean-tos on reed rafts) provided shelter for many. Post-warp, given replicator technology and abundant energy resources, houseboats can now be a lifestyle choice, rather than a necessity.<br>

 

==Language==

 

The relative scarcity of Catullans in Federation society has meant that the completion of universal translator databases for Catullan has not been a priority. Much informal Catullan (exclamations, obscenities) and some cultural references  

without equivalent in other cultures (real and mythological plants and animals, food and drink, cultural artefacts such as garments, etc.) is still passed along unchanged by the translator. A partial list of some common elements and constructions from Catullan Standard follows.<br>

* ''en/eyn'': Equivalent to Galactic Standard for 'er/ers' 'or/ors', indicating someone or something which performs an action or a role

* ''jad/jayd'': possessive (my/ours)

* ''tau'': fate, doom, curse

* '''zoon''', '''tal''', '''zuit''', '''lar''': names of the Catullan symbols for the sounds 'oo', 't', 'ee', and 'l' <br>

 

==Leisure==

 

 

==Food and Drink==

 

==Economy and Technology==

 

 

==Federation Intelligence Files==