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'''Meptus''' is a [[planet]] in [[Icathiria]] which has historically been the subject of a great deal of conflict.  Its location as the nearest [[terrestrial world|terrestrial]] planet to two nearby [[warphole]]s has made it strategically important, and different [[government]]s and factions have vied over it for [[century|centuries]].  Now, it's in an era of relative peace, the interested governments having worked out an agreement that avoids the conflict of the past.  This doesn't mean that Meptus is an entirely harmonious [[world]], however.  Open warfare may be rare, but [[espionage]] and skullduggery are common as the competing factions try to undermine their rivals and solidify their own power by various underhanded means.  And the vestiges of past battles are all over the planet, from minefields yet to be cleared to stranger marks of the use of esoteric weapons.

To Meptus's current inhabitants, all these wars and overt conflicts are merely a matter of [[history]]&mdash;albeit relatively recent history, the peace agreements having been forged out barely a hundred and fifty years ago, well within the [[lifespan]] of some of the longer-lived [[species]].  Certainly they may run across some remnants of the wars, but they are more or less accustomed to these oddities and accept their existence without giving too much thought to their origins.  Today, as far as most of its denizens are concerned, Meptus is a relatively peaceful world that just happens to be the site of bases of various [[empire (politics)|empire]]s and other interested organizations.

==Geography==
Like that of [[Earth]] and other terrestrial planets, the surface of Meptus is largely covered by [[ocean]]s of [[water]], with most of the land being in [[continent]]s that rise above the seas.  Meptus has six continents, though three of these each comprise parts of two major [[continental plate]]s.  Two of Meptus's continents lie mostly in the planet's [[pole (geography)|polar]] regions, and are only sparsely inhabited by races not used to icy climes; the other four continents are all temporal or tropical and densely populated.

Of course, not all Meptus's geography is natural; the many wars that have been fought there and the heavy [[technology]] that has been employed there have left their marks.  Craters caused by behemoth bombs have yet to heal, and huge trenches and barricades from the fierce battles still exist.  On a less martial note, Meptus's oceans are spotted with crowded artificial islands of varying sizes, and even its skies bear many floating [[city|cities]] and [[arcology|arcologies]].

==History==
Meptus's location has made its history a seemingly unending sequence of war and conflict between various powers hoping to possess the planet, interrupted only by brief interbella when the interested powers manage to hammer out some sort of treaty... which treaty generally lasts only until some new power rises to prominence that wasn't a party to it, or until one of the signatory powers, perhaps due to a change in [[government]], decides to violate the agreed-upon terms.  At the moment, Meptus has had peace for about 120 [[year]]s, but if its past history is any guide this peace may not be destined to last.

The most recent powers to covet Meptus were the [[Accord]], [[Quamante]], the [[Aristarchy of Seilen]], and the [[Grand Hinesta]].  Their conflict over Meptus exploded into large-scale warfare destructive for all parties involved, not confined to Meptus itself but raging over multiple worlds, and decimating the Hinesta in particular.  The most obvious remnant of the fighting on Meptus itself is the [[Arc (Meptus)|Arc]], a curved trench cut into the planet's surface that reaches all the way to its inner [[mantle]].  In time, however, the warring powers rued the havoc the conflict played with their own stability and economies, and met to come to terms that would put a halt to the hostilities.  The [[Treaty of Asarb]] marked the end of the war, but left each of the powers some influence on Meptus, and some territorial claims on the planet.  Not only political bodies directly involved in the war benefited from the treaty's terms; some other powers also saw opportunity in the negotiations, and stepped in to support one side or another in return for concessions that would grant them some interest in Meptus as well.  Accordingly, the [[Soqqaran Consortium]], the [[Free Alliance]], and even the [[Zaheidi Empire]], among others, currently have footholds on the wartorn world.

==Inhabitants==
Due to the fact that so many different forces and civilizations have attempted to colonize or conquer it, Meptus has become one of the most racially diverse planets in Icathiria. While there may be small communities in which one particular race forms a majority, over most of the planet many races mingle with none dominant.  [[Human (Icathiria)|Human]]s, [[ach-chaiche]], [[etasen]]s, [[tcerot]]s, [[tsibit]]s, [[dazarda]]s, [[lulian]]s, [[k'elon]]s, and [[pitu]]s all have a significant presence on Meptus, and many other races also exist there in lesser numbers.

Meptus is as diverse culturally as it is racially.  Most of the various [[empire (politics)|empire]]s and organizations that have an interest in the world have established their own enclaves there, imperfectly mirroring their parent [[sovereign state|state]]s.  These, however, still cover only a small fraction of the planet's surface; most of it is made up of other states at least nominally independent of any greater power; some of these independent states have cobbled together several other cultures into a composite culture of their own, while others have developed their own cultures different from any other known there.  Other organizations, while having no centralized bases of power on the planet, have a fair amount of power there.  The [[Church of the 500]], perhaps most notably, has become a significant presence on Meptus, with cathedrals of the [[church]] found all over the planet.

==Economy==
What natural resources Meptus once possessed have been mostly harvested and consumed by its various occupiers over the many years the planet has been fought over.  The extraction has not always been particularly efficient, however, and certainly traces of resources may still remain.  In any case, though, it is not these, nowadays, that bring most of Meptus's income.  While some manufacture does take place there, especially of textiles and [[science|scientific]] instruments, these too account for only a small part of the planet's [[economy]].  Rather, Meptus makes most of its money by trade and by tourism.  The former is facilitated by Meptus's privileged location near two warpholes and thus necessarily along two major trade routes; this creates an opening for Meptan merchants and go-betweens who facilitate the transport of goods to and from the warpholes, or who buy and sell commodities that pass through the warpholes and thus pass near Meptus.

The latter, on the other hand, is made possible mostly by Meptus's long history of turmoil and occupation. The centuries, if not millennia, of warfare have left a number of traces that appeal to visitors and sightseers.  Mines and tunnels riddle the planet and have become tourist attractions, along with many of craters and other relics of destruction.  Some of the more unusual such sights include the Arc; the [[Sea of Glass]], where a large expanse of land has been fused to a vitreous expanse; and the [[Ienemon]], where thousands of individuals of various [[race]]s have been trapped for centuries in some kind of [[suspended animation]].
[[Category:Planets of Icathiria]]