RMNVERSE - ATARGATIS

A domestic bovine animal with shaggy fur hides and a singular curved horn on the forehead. They're treasured by the people of the Uthariate Plains and are considered a mark of wealth among the tribes people. They produce a wool-like fur that has many uses - from rope making to clothes creation. They also produce a lot of meat and leather when killed, though it is considered shameful to kill one before it's 'time'.
Korthar are treasured, not only for their byproducts, but also for their sharp sense of smell and seeming intelligence. They are able to tell people apart and can differentiate between clan and not-clan, serving as an early warning to bandit raids. They are also able to find water and food in the harshest environs and have at times been all that stands between the plains folk and certain death.
They are sometimes bought by rich farmers for work animals but this is rare as the plains people consider them almost like family. Indeed there are tales of families going hungry in order to keep their Korthar fed and healthy during the colder months.

(This is an old document, from a school textbook from nearly a hundred years ago. Before communication had been established with the underwater civilisations of Atargatis. We know now a lot more about this planet but this is an interesting look into the assumptions about Atargatis a hundred years ago.)

Atargatis: An Overview
Atargatis is a mid-sized rock planet twice the size of Earth. It orbits a Class II star and is the second planet in its solar system. Obriting Atargatis is a moon called Lanis which is roughly the size of the Earth's Moon. An Atargatian day is roughly 50 Earth hours long.

Atargatis is a very wet planet, clouds cover it most of the time and in many places, especially around the equator constant rains are the norm rather than the exception. Around the poles rainfall is slightly rarer (and on the very poles one can even find a dry tundra).

Because of all this Antargatis doesn't have very large temperature variations. The variation is even less than that on earth and rarely ranges beyond 50C in either direction over the whole planet. With the exception of the poles it also rarely goes below freezing anywhere on Antargatis. And even on the poles it's rarely colder than -10.

Atargatis has two main landmasses on each side the planet. The planet has very few large mountains and is generally dominated by flatland and marshland. Tidal forces from the moon shifts water around greatly and due to the marshes and flat surface parts are very often flooded. Many land-dwelling animals are highly nomadic in nature while others have adapted to a life of floating and swimming.

The flatness also extends to the underwater. With a few notable exceptions the oceans of Atargatis are very shallow. The exceptions are a number of "graves" strewn around throughout the sea floor as well as a gigantic chasm very close to one of the continents that go straight down and then slopes slowly upwards. (all underwater of course)

An additional landmass can be found on the north pole. And the poles generally have very different climate than the rest of the planet. The north pole being a dry (by the planet's standards) tundra-like plain rather than marshland or rainforest and has a fairly different flora and fauna than the rest of the planet. The south pole has a similar climate but does not have any land.

The north pole is also the location where aliens first landed on Atargatis and there's a small base on it from where exploration into the underwater mysteries of Atargatis are organized.

This stone tablet can be viewed in the Great Red Spirit Shrine in the capital of the most thriving city on Atargatis. The most thriving city status changes locations on account of the numerous religious wars, as decreed in this stone tablet.

Translation:
ON THE SECOND SUN OF EVERY FIFTH YEAR, WAR SHALL BE DECLARED ON THY NEIGHBOUR IN THE NAME OF THY LORD, THE GREAT RED SPIRIT VICTORY SHALL ENSURE MANY MOONS OF FRUITFUL LOVE-MAKING ON THE DAWN OF THE NEXT BATTLE SHOULD THE PREVIOUS LOSERS LOSE AGAIN THE GREAT RED SPIRIT DEMANDS THEY TAKE THEIR OWN LIVES IN SHAME ALL FEAR THE GREAT RED SPIRIT
Font file can be found HERE.

The terror of the skies, a sea monster that has learned to fly. It can flatten it's body to ride air currents and can control its glide with powerful flippers. They are deadly hunters and swoop down to steal korthar, Atargatians or anything in their way. Once they have feasted, they return to a cave in the sea to digest and rest.
Their longest tusks are 1" in length, and are often used by Atargatians as tools; such as a knife, or gunpike head.

A weapon used mostly by emo soldiers who don't want to use regular guns. The gun in the gunpike does not fire bullets. It is uncertain how, but the gun makes the pike stronger. Again, being an angsty emo is an absolute necessity when wielding the gunpike; Otherwise common sense and pride step in... The tip of the gunpike is made with a raxaltus tusk. Higher level, magazine-purchased upgrades can be made with other creatures' tusks.

On the day of the 24th of the last month, the Atargatians hunt a raxaltus for the evening feast. During the feast a virgin male is sacrificed to the monstrous sea serpent, Kentonas, in honour of the Great Red Spirit.
Should the selected virgin be bedded before the ceremony, he will be stoned to death. His counterpart will be pardoned because clearly he or she was seduced. Fore, the Great Red Spirit is nothing if not merciful.

These fearsome sea creatures have been the bane of countless explorers and fishermen over the years. Now nearly mythical, the Italaxan was hunted close to extinction for its bones, which possess an odd luminous quality. The average Italaxan is as long as a blue whale, but much faster and far more aggressive. Their gaping maw contains teeth as long as an adult male's arm, which are capable of shredding wooden ships like paper. Younger Italaxan are dark blue; they gradually become black as night during adolescence. They are nearly blind, but sense their prey by tracking vibrations in the water. The Italaxan is carnivorous, choosing to feed mostly on Kilikan fish and other sea creatures. They enjoy snacking on Raxaltus (Raxalti?), but are wary of large packs. However, they aren't above snatching up unwary Atargatians when the chance arrives. They hunt by lying motionless in deeper areas of the ocean, their mouth open wide to masquerade as a cave. When their prey comes in for a closer look, the Italaxan slams its jaws shut and feasts. They have also been known to attack ships, tearing into them from underneath. Scientists have no explanation for why the Italaxan shifts from its normal hunting methods to do this, but some speculate that it may be to drive away what the Italaxan perceive as larger predators. For centuries, the Italaxan were revered as gods by some superstitious Atargatians, who made weekly sacrifices of young maidens and Korthar to the massive beasts. Italaxan is both the plural and singular form, by the way.

Ageirtia - A simple, primitive, low-tech and relatively traditional mechanical vehicle used by nomadic peoples of the north and south poles to travel and transport goods and resources across partially-frozen waters (slush-like waters that require additional traction to traverse and are too dense to swim effectively in). Variations exist but the mode of operation remains relatively identical. Traditionally they are constructed from naturally sourced materials such as processed vegetation (wood equivalent, whatever that would be?!) treated Kothar hides and Raxaltus bone.

The deep-sea Atargatians have for ages deployed these non-sentient organic machines to build their nation in the ocean. To this day, they are skillfully used throughout their great cities. On rare occasions they are used for defense, though they are not fit for battle under normal circumstances.

A series of books written by an anonymous man about his life in Roltar - his rise and fall from glory and the people he met and ruled there. The books begin by detailing his life as one of the Court-Born and his witnessing first-hand the murder of the High Lord Cannis and his Lady, Olthene, resulting in him fleeing into the under-depths of the city where he made his way up to rule an underground organization of thieves, beggars and thugs. The last pages of the books are written in some type of gibberish and whether this is a code or the writing of a madman, no one is sure.

There has been much controversy among the Nobility of Roltar over the series in recent years, thanks to a small cult uprising of worshipers who claim to have found proof of the man's existence, and a small group of the best scholars the Library of Othis has to offer have been gathered together to prove or disprove the veracity of the books.

An excerpt of the Fourth Book of Ek'shem:
On the four and twentieth day of the third moons-rise I spoke to the Chieftan of the Deep, requesting an audience with his Queen. An old man, all bones and wrinkles, he creaked his way across the room to look at one of the star charts hanging from the wall. It was quite painful to watch and I certainly hope I never reach an age as his. His voice was like a tathwit, cracked and raspy. I could hardly understand what he was trying to tell me but thankfully I had had practice listening to the scholars of the Court and made out both a date and time. The seventeenth of moons-dark. A darkly auspicious date. It will do for the time being, though if I can persuade him to remake a date before then I will.

From the moment T'ehguya woke up, life was completely dry. The iopeed pufferfish was late, so T'ehguya totally missed his connection to work. The plankton network was down too, so he had no way of letting Seahinan aware of his unfortunate tardiness. Then, as if matters couldn't get any worse, he forgot his money necklace at home. With no beads, meant no seahorse.
Floating at the heat current curb, T'ehguya contemplated his near future. This was the twentieth late this years, and Great Red Spirit bless him, Seahinan was only so forgiving. With no job, and only half a paynecklace T'ehguya wouldn't be able to pay rent. His girl companion was already threatening to swim with someone else if T'ehguya continued down the shabby road he was on. And to top it all off, he had tore his forearm fin.
The world seemed pretty bleak right about now. Rolling onto his back, and floating with the current, T'ehguya briefly contemplated suicide, then considered his elder Grandfish. Then, he considered a sign he could see across the waterstreet.

FLOX DREDUN RESEARCH NEEDS YOU!

Flox Dredun. There were rumours. Some guy his friend knew went to work there, and came out adorned with bead necklaces that he could barely swim with. They say it's top secret military guinea pig work... But the payout is out of this ocean.
Rolling back over, T'ehguya was witness to another iopeed pufferfish whiz by. Well, that was the last sea cucumber. Seahinan could swallow a snufang fish. On to the unknown, and the not-so-secret Flox Dredun Research Facility...

To be continued...

The Great Red Spirit has decided the Agartian technological state! There's a great divide between the surface and underwater Agartians. The most advanced of the surface Agartians have discovered the glory of steam and coal and have prototype steampunk motorcycles so emos with gunpikes and radical shades can do sweet ass jousting tournaments. The rest of the surface world also uses chemical (wood, charcoal) and wind energy but water power is rare and frowned upon by most due to Agartian's love to go for a swim and not get belted over the head by a waterwheel. And nobody dares using a Korthar as a beast of burden. You'd be worse than a savage!

The Underwater Agartians don't have any fancy chemical reactions that occur in water. Their sources of energy are geothermal and beast domestication. Domestication and selective breeding create creatures like the Joul to create living machines to do a wide variety of tasks. What can't be bred or for tasks where rudimentary machinery is the better solution are driven by rising steam and water from underwater volcanic vents. The underwater society has technologically stagnated for centuries with reaching a peak in their breeding programs. Most of their advances have been in the arts or medicine and they often trade these with their surface brethren for metals and tools, especially those that can only be manufactured in their coal driven smelters. These and attempts to develop a submersible version of the gunpike have lead to a spur of prototype weapons designed to fend off Italaxan.

This I command!

Known for their riddles and wispy voices, the tathwit are found deep in the ocean caves, feeding on the unsuspecting. They are roughly two heads taller than an Atargatian at full length. While they rarely attack Atargatians it is often warned to small children that going near one would resort in having their hands bit off! It is said that if you can answer the riddles of a tathwit, it will give you a valuable treasure.

This is part of an introductory video to Atargatian culture, commonly shown to newcomers at the Atargatian North Pole facility for underwater research. This section of the video was found being played in a loop by an interstellar rescue team after receiving a distress signal coming from the facility... No survivors were found. And a Space Pod was missing.