The Dying World

  The largest of the terrestrial worlds in the Tirsei system, Ma'ur technology had terraformed Dasu into a planet of immense forests, pristine grasslands, and blue oceans. Now it is a dying world. During the war with the Gormu Tyranny, the Gormu bombarded the terraforming machines with meteors, damaging them far beyond the means of the Dasuni to repair. In the centuries since, Dasu's climate has become increasingly Arid. Its seas have all but run dry. Petrified forests stand in the midst of vast desert badlands. The Dasuni royal houses feud over the small remaining arable region around the south pole.   Five cities remain:   Greenview: At the border of the last forest. It is the source of all Dasuni timber.   River’s End: A city near the last sea. At the time of its founding it was a coastal city, but sea levels have fallen to the point where it is now 80 km from the shore. It is the breadbasket of Dasu, controlling the river's rich, flood plains and all the attendant farms.   Delving: An island city, miners from Delving tunnel under the sea to harvest the An Thuwar collecting around the south pole.   Stargate: The most developed of the Dasuni cities, Stargate boasts Dasu’s only remaining spaceport which connects via Ladder to Dasu Station (which remains in a fixed location above the southern polar region). This monopoly makes it by far the richest city as nobles from all the houses come to Stargate to buy exotic, off-world goods.   Iron City: A city in the Sorang Mountains with a mining and smelting based economy.   Smaller settlements exist, but each falls under the suzerainty of one of the five cities. Dasu’s poverty means that many people depend on animals for transportation and as beasts of burden, such as the camel-like sippeng. Wooden ships sail the River and the Last Sea. Zeppelins also see use. Some houses have managed to acquire one or more aircraft.   Dasuni speak a variety of Irresi which is more or less mutually intelligible with other varieties.