Radonis

Radonis is the capital planet of the Ardishapur Family. It is a temperate world, the third planet from the sun in the Ardishapur Prime system. The planet was settled just over 2000 years ago and today is one of the more populous planets in the Empire. It is renowned as the preeminent center of conservative religious study in the Empire, rivaling Amarr Prime itself in dedications to the Amarr faith.

History

While the Ardishapur Family was not initially concerned with space travel, the discovery of habitable planets outside of the Amarr home system convinced the family they would also need to expand beyond their borders. The emperor gave them control of several systems, with the family deciding upon the system they renamed Ardishapur Prime as their home system. The third planet, close to the sun and well-suited for colonization, was selected as their new capital planet and renamed Radonis, after Radone Ardishapur, the family's head.

Colonization of the planet was a slow affair. The first colonists were actually laborers and slaves who had been tasked with building a city fit for the family. The Ardishapur Family was as religious as ever in those days and refused to move until the planet was made "suitable." A massive palace was constructed in a style similar to the imperial palace at Dam-Torsad, while a gargantuan cathedral, rivaling the largest on Amarr Prime, was constructed out of bricks that had been consecrated by high priests.

It took several years before the construction was completed, at which point the heads of the family finally moved in to the palace. They brought with them a retinue of retainers, servants, religious officials, and slaves. Even so, the planet's population was sparse and limited primarily to the palace grounds and surrounding support city.

As the centuries passed, however, the Ardishapur Family's penchant for religious fervor attracted a certain segment of the Amarr populace. Highly respected and conservative religious officials made Radonis their home, which further attracted lesser members of the clergy and their families. The Ardishapur Family, eager to court these officials, constructed centers of education and faith, opened museums dedicated to holy relics, and passed local ordinances encouraging development and settlement by members of the priesthood. This in turn encouraged others with business interests with the church to immigrate.

Today, the planet is fully inhabited. It is most well known for its religious schools, monasteries, and museums. The Ardishapur Family collection of holy artifacts is the largest in the Empire and the family allows public viewing of a portion in various museums on Radonis. Its many cathedrals are considered second in grandeur only to those on Amarr Prime itself, while there remains enough sparsely inhabited areas for isolated monasteries to thrive.

Climate

Radonis is a relatively average planet, with a temperature right in the medium range of habitability. It has biomes ranging from glacial sheets to barren desert, though many of these have been geoengineered away in the name of increased living space. Much of the planet is settled, with large cities taking up a great deal of the landscape.

Outside of the cities, the majority of the landscape is farmland. The agricultural needs of the planet are large and the Ardishapur Family has desired to keep Radonis self-sufficient. The planet has not met this goal, as it imports a good deal of food, though not as much as other planets its size.

Aside from human-inhabited areas, the rest of the planet is taken up mostly by plains. The majority of the larger forests and jungles have been cut down to provide more living space. A few have been kept as nature preserves, though they are small and there are frequently discussions about removing them. There are small deserts deep inland, primarily kept mainly because of the difficulty of bringing moisture to the areas without increasing the humidity of the surrounding biomes.

Flora and Fauna

Radonis had a large and diverse native ecology when it was first settled, but 2000 years of human habitation and bio-engineering has sharply reduced the diversity of the native lifeforms. Today, they are mainly restricted to the few nature preserves, wholly unsettled areas of the planet, and the oceans. A significant portion of native animals exist only in zoos and menageries, while numerous plant and fungal species have gone extinct.

Imported animal and plant life thrives on the planet, however. Amarr wheat is grown across the planet's farmland, while several other plant species are popular crops. Several feral populations of slaver hounds inhabit the remaining woodlands.

Demographics

The majority of the planet's population are True Amarr, with relatively few of the other bloodlines. As a capital planet, a larger portion of Holders and other nobility call the planet home than other areas in the Empire. Aside from nobles, Radonis also boasts a significant number of clergy, many of whom are involved with education.

The planet's population is somewhat more affluent than other worlds in the Empire, thanks to the influence and power of the Ardishapur Family. Even commoners tend to be relatively well off, thanks to having a large number of wealthy Holders and priests to provide services for. Naturally, a large number of slaves also call Radonis their home.

Economics

Radonis is a very wealthy planet, thanks to the influence of the Ardishapur Family. The planet does little in the way of trade, mainly being concerned with importing food and supplies to cover what it cannot produce on its own. However, the upper echelons of society tend to have extensive off-world holdings and funnel their wealth back into the planet.

Thanks to the educational services, Radonis receives a large number of students who arrive every year to learn from the Empire's most respected teachers. Coupled with tourists visiting to pay homage at one of the many cathedrals or visiting the extensive museums, a large amount of wealth is brought into the planet from outsiders.

Significantly, the Ardishapur Family has had many of the bodies of water on the planet consecrated as sources of Sacred Water. Because of the great prestige of the Ardishapur, Radonis's Sacred Waters are highly sought after. Despite the abundance of it, careful rationing of it by the family has made it fairly valuable.

Politics

As the capital planet of the Ardishapur Family, Radonis is firmly in the conservative bloc of Amarr politics. The Ardishapur Family rules directly from its familial palaces, though it splits local administrative duties among a number of lesser Holders and bureaucrats. Because of the number of religious institutions, the planet has a large amount of sway with the church. Numerous Theology Council justices and other high-ranking officials either live on or were educated on the planet.

See Also

• Planets
• Amarr Empire
• Chronicle: Lady Phanca's Pet Furrier