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Dahls

Dahls is one of the most important worlds. Not because of its nature, but because most of my writing revolves around it.

Dahls is a tiny world, around one hundred km in diameter. The Day in Dahls lasts fifty-five hours, the night just five. The sky is dull pale red, during the day completely permeable to the light of Vhalfr, but mostly the cold part. At night it becomes completely opaque. The weather is dry and chilly, with median temperatures around 17-18ºC.

The surface is mostly flat, with a thin ring of rugged mountains at the base of the sky-dome and a single lake in the center. The only plants are microscopic algae growing within the sky-dome and falling down to the atmosphere. The dominating lifeforms are zoophytes: creatures that don’t belong to any kingdom on Earth, immovable but requiring external sustenance. They have black, spiny exoskeletons and dark, blue membranes they use to filter the algae they feed on. There are also animals, amphibian-like creatures with six legs and holographic skins.

Dahls is very often subjected to meteor rains, but they actually provide its only valuable resource: dallites, color-changing gems, that can only be found here.

Humans arrived in Dahls after the fall of Ancient Karir, ten thousand cycles ago. Until then, the world was visited by various creatures, but never settled. Humans created the first settlement, but as Dahls's soil is rich in heavy metals, it is unsuitable for farming. Thankfully, another group of Old Karirians settled in neighboring Tarviss, and with their support, Dahlsi could survive.
At first, people lived in the caves, since no roof could withstand the constant barrage of rocks, but after some time they built a giant, closed city with thick walls, a vaulted roof, and no windows. Time passed, and the highest classes gathered riches, while the poor had to work harder and harder just to get by, all while Tarvissi were getting more and more bold in their demands, knowing full well that without their support, Dahlsi would starve. Finally though, the situation became too hard to bear and the lower classes rebelled, disposing of all the higher classes and dividing their possessions between themselves. The formation of a new Dahlsian state took time and was not without its problems, but in the end, two laws were passed: that no Dahlsi could have more than others and that every citizen of Dahls was guaranteed an apartment in the city, food, clothing, education, and health care. Money was still used, awarded for exceptional feats, and exchanged for entertainment. Besides, no citizen could have more than an agreed amount: if they earned any more, it was confiscated.

For a few centuries all was well, but as the population grew, life was becoming harder: Dahls had limited space, after all, and the trade with Tarviss could only provide so much. The City expanded until it covered the entire surface of Dahls. Houses became smaller until they reached the size of single rooms. Food rations became poorer and although Dahlsi quickly learned to synthesize amino acids and vitamins to supplement the food provided by Tarviss, with each generation they grew shorter and sicker. Furthermore, having spent most of their lives in a closed-off city, they became sensitive to the light of Vhalfr and allergic to other organisms.

The necessity pushed them to invest in the advancements in magic and science, which quickly turned Dahls into the most advanced society in this part of the Great Sphere. Still, the society was on the brink of collapse, when the calculations revealed the proximity of another, previously unknown world. Shortly after, Dahlsian sorcerers managed to push Dahls into position and force a merge with Sfal.

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The new world proved a salvation and soon the majority of Dahlsian population moved there. The City in Dahls shrank to its original size and native zoophytes, which survived only in indoor gardens, were replanted outside. As new uninhabited worlds kept being discovered behind Sfal, word a Dahls' newfound riches spread out. Fearing invasion, Dahsli decided to open the doors and invite people from all around the universe to settle in the newly named Meon Cluster (named after the Dahlsi-é word that means blossoming of a zoophyte). With new resources, Dahlsi quickly loosened their ties with Tarviss, which didn't sit well with their old allies.

Initially, the exploration brought in many causalities: after all, not all worlds were habitable. This prompted the creation of two organizations. First was The Cosmographic Society, which dealt with localizing and charting new merges. The second one was Mespana, a military-like organization that provided training and equipment to ensure safe exploration. Thanks to their training they also were quickly burdened with keeping peace among the many inhabitants of Meon cluster.

 

People of Dahls - Dahlsi - are short and pale, with dark, straight hair, bright monolidic eyes, and prominent facial features. They are known for their pragmatic nature and minimalist lifestyle. Their language, Dahlsi-é is short and efficient, with hard r and no sh or ch. In mathematics, they use a dozenal system (based on 12, not 10).

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