Kataan (Ka-tahn)

What is this world? Kataan is a world of moons and monsoons, workers and believers. Around and around they go rising and falling and rising again, the four indigo sisters and their two glowing daughters who light the way to a new day. All six moons endlessly gliding across the sky in a stately procession. Everyday the workers work, sheltered in their homes half buried in the hills, while the storms rage outside. Don't feel sorry for them, though. They have their creature comforts to enjoy. Pity the believers who turn their backs on worldly goods to carve out a spartan existence in this unforgiving place. Are they religious zealots, you ask? Maybe, but they know the truth. They know about the wobble and they've been raising the alarm for as long as anyone can remember but the workers just laugh and go on with their comfortable lives. There is a young woman here, raised as a believer, but she's not really sure she believes anymore. Maybe she never really did. She was named Ket after her mother who died giving her life. Ket grew up alone in the house of a father who didn't want her with brothers who were mostly indifferent, except for Drek. He was kind to her when father wasn't around to see. It was Drek who kept the little crystal sculpture that their mother had carved for her as she awaited the birth of her daughter, giving it to Ket only when she was old enough to understand that she had to keep it hidden. You see, believers aren't allowed such things. Their mother was a great artisan in the Crystalline Guild before she met their father and began to believe and now Ket shares that talent. Today there is a break between the storms and Ket is sneaking away from her chores to venture outside and marvel at the awesome beauty of the rainbows that stretch across the sky whenever the rains stop. She doesn't know yet that tonight will be the last time that she argues with her father after which she will no longer be welcome in his house and will set off to make a life for herself. She fingers the little crystal sculpture sewn into a hidden pocket in her simple tunic and wonders what it would be like to have a real home. What would it be like to belong somewhere? How would it feel to be loved and wanted? The truth is that her home is waiting out there somewhere far away and one day she will find it. One day she will find her sisters and a family who loves her.

History

After the destruction of the Bane'ile home world, the Age of Acquisition began in earnest. The global government of Taanruk, known as the United Association of Guilds, took over the trade routes and colonized several strategic worlds. One of their most ambitious projects during that time was the manufacturing of Kataan. The UAG acquired the mostly barren world located near the intersection of several major trade routes and set about remaking it to suit their needs. Four artificial moons were added to the two natural ones that were already in orbit, each housing the raw materials needed for production by the six guilds. As you can imagine, this wreaked havoc on the surface of Kataan, destroying most of the indigenous flora, but that didn't matter to the UAG. Once things settled down to a manageable level, workers from Taanruk were brought in to colonize this brand new world. For generations Kataan has essentially functioned as a giant factory suppying the UAG with goods to be distributed across Kantostara. It has been so long since the manufacture of Kataan that the people who live there no longer think of themselves as colonists. They have their own culture and their own language. Some think of Taanruk and the UAG merely as employers while others think of them as exploiters, but they all consider Kataan to be their home. Now, the relentless demands of production have begun to take their toll on the delicate balance of the orbits of Kataan's six moons. It's just a tiny wobble, but eventually, everything will come crashing together in world-ending destruction unless something can be done to restore the balance. The UAG has decided that it just wouldn't be worth the expense to try to correct the problem. They consider Kataan to be expendable at this point because they have other manufactured worlds with cutting edge technology that are much more profitable than this old prototype. They will just continue to extract as much as they can in the time that is left and then redistribute their workers and resources to other locations. Those who refuse to leave will simply be abandoned to their fate.