The Planet Lave

Lave is one of the earliest colonies that vied for independence.  The Galactic Federation christened Lave and the planets around it as the Far Colonies, but this name was discarded in favour of the Old Worlds soon after gaining independence.

The planet Lave is the only world in the system, in a solitary orbit around its orange dwarf star.

Lave has many features in common with old Earth, including a nitrogen rich atmosphere and the length of a Lavian year being 365 Terran days long.  The Lavian day, however, is 20 hours long as opposed to 24, giving more days in the local year.

Lave is a verdant, fertile world with breathtaking scenery and vast forests.  A clean-living policy from the government has ensured that the environment has remained largely as it was when the first colonies were established, but the occasional major event has inevitably caused some damage.  Most notably, the separatist attacks of 3137 have caused extensive damage to cities and countryside, and the environment has suffered as a result.

Geography

Topographical relief map of Lave (Marster Projection with continent names overlaid)

 Lave has four main continents.  Firstfall, the easternmost section of the above map, is the most densely populated, and was the first landmass to be colonised.  The original colony ships landed on the west coast of the eastermost arm of the continent, on the banks of what is now called the Paluberion Sea.  From there many villages and homesteads were set up, eventually becoming the cities we know today, including Ashoria, the planetary capital.

Solata, the smallest of the continents, is home to a sizeable colony of felinoids from many worlds who have decided to make Lave thier home.

The landmasses on Lave are comparatively stable.  Geological surveys have detected little seismic activity, and there are no active volcanoes on the planet, although evidence exists that Lave was once highly volcanic.

From a surface point of view, the waterways of Lave are relatively few, with only four rivers to speak of.  Much of the irrigation of the planet is due to the high subterranean water levels.  The planets crust is thick but is not dense, and this has allowed waterways to be carved into the very rock and soil of the land masses.

Climate

Seasons on the world are not notably different, due to the fact that Lave's rotation is less than a degree from the true vertical in relation to the solar body.  This has the effect of ensuring that Lave's climate is reasonably stable, with a mean variation of only 5 degrees celcius throughout the year.  Like all worlds, though, Lave's climate becomes increasingly cold towards the poles.

Rain is a common thing on Lave, but if the clouds are absent then the days are usually quite warm and pleasant.  Humidity can be high in the southern hemisphere, but is normally moderate.

Population

Lave is home to two racial groups: humans and felinoids.  The humans, being humans, are all indigenous to Earth originally.  The felinoids, however, come from a variety of genotypes and phenotypes and have successfully crossbred, creating a unique and successful society of thier own.

The felinoid race primarily inhabit the smallest of the continents, Solata, although some have wandered out across the planet and live peacefully with their fellow human inhabitants.

Every continent has been colonised, but by far the most concentrated population is on the FirstFall continent.  Meridian is the next most densely populated area.  The populace live mostly in cities but there are a few wandering societies, mostly based on the larger landmass of Meridian. The coastal areas of the planet are the most densely populated, since the interior landscape is heavily forested. As the population expands, however, the forests are bing cut back to create new townships.

Society

As mentioned above, felinoid colonists have claimed part of the Lavian surface and interbred.  The resulting race have come to call themselves the Lavian breed of felinoid stock, and they half jokingly claim to be the most indigenous intelligent life that has graced the surface of the planet.  As a result, many offworlders call the felinoids 'Lavians' and the human population simply 'humans'.

The two races integrate well and there is no inherent racism on the world.  Lave's government has always practiced racial tolerance, as befits a member of an intergalactic society.