Cauldron (Icathiria)

Cauldron is a smallish but densely populated galaxy in Icathiria, inhabited by a wide variety of different species. No government or empire controls more than a small volume of the galaxy, but somehow all the petty power players there manage to cancel each other out and maintain a reasonable balance—though the Legion has a strong presence there that helps as well.

Cosmography

Cauldron is a type E0 elliptical galaxy about eighty thousand light years across. It's part of the so-called Diamond Group, along with the much larger galaxies of Akthalia and Charybdis. However, more easily reachable from Cauldron are galaxies connected to it by warpholes. Warpholes exist in Cauldron leading to several other galaxies, including Tbetaria, the Godshome, and the Egg. Another warphole relatively near but not actually in Cauldron leads to a point near an irregular galaxy called the Sprawl.

Locations in the Cauldron are sometimes given by a polar coordinate system, the zero angle being in the direction of the planet Sadas and the angles being measured in the same direction as Sadas's longitudes. The radial coordinate is given in the percent from the center of the galaxy, with zero being the center and one hundred being the edge of the galaxy. For example, Sadas itself would be at the coordinate (0, 73.8). However, supplementing the coordinate system, many areas of the galaxy are given their own names. The small area of Cauldron claimed by the Accord, for instance, is called the Grey Colony, and a portion centered at about (99, 71) dominated by tcerots is known as Riderspace.

Inhabitants

Though all species found in the known areas of Icathiria have some presence in Cauldron, the ones that have a plurality—none has anything near a majority—are humans, quinks, and lulians. The pluralities are slim, however, and many other species have almost as significant a presence. Relations between the species vary by area; in some parts of Cauldron, they are well integrated and species differences are as nearly ignored as is possible, while in isolated other areas different species keep mostly to themselves, and the various species live in mutual distrust.