Mareinia

Mareinia is an Earth-like planet approximately 70 light-years away from Earth. The planet's surface is 95% ocean, and it is the first alien planet discovered to house extraterrestrial life, including sapient life.

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Main tags:

planet: details of Mareinia as a whole

location: specific places on Mareinia

biology: the planet's life-forms and ecology

mareinian: details about Mareinia's two sapient species

culture: Mareinian society

stasti: mechanics of Stasti, the most common Mareinian language

character: characters (Mareinian or human)

There are no gendered pronouns in the Stasti language, and the terms people use to refer to each other or themselves in casual conversation are almost always gender neutral. This is because gender isn't really included in the Stasti conception of a public identity. It's more comparable to someone's favorite color in that people who know you will probably know about it (and might even have some opinions on it), but it doesn't come up in most day-to-day interactions and it doesn't affect the way others see you. On the whole, Stasti culture just doesn't bother with gender.

For Stasti natives who work with humans, the way this translates into human (or, at least, Western) perceptions of gender varies between individuals. Generally, the first time someone travels into a region with a gendered language or culture, their sex will be put on their travel paperwork/passport and they'll just pick the pronouns and terms that typically go with that. For those whose first interaction with gendered culture comes outside of official channels, they'll typically stick with whatever gender the members of that culture first saw them as. However, some Stasti Mareinians are more fond of the idea of gendered presentation than others. Those who are into the local culture (or who need to ingratiate themselves for whatever reason) will adopt some kind of gender presentation, though it may not be the gender corresponding to their sex. On the other hand, a lot of Stasti natives find the whole concept of gender to be distasteful, and will insist on being referred to in gender-neutral terms.

Now to talk about a subject that's a bit more complicated: marriage, sex, and children. The Western human conception of marriage doesn't exist in Stast, but there is a superficially similar public union that is referred to in English as "marriage" for simplicity's sake. Stasti romantic relationships are usually polyamorous, but there is a strict expectation that a child be raised by the two people who sired them. As a result, Stasti marriage is a legal and social contract that lies within a larger romantic network. This can cause a lot of problems, as you can probably imagine. For one, it is common for other partners of the parents to help raise the child, but they will never have a legal claim over said child so long as the married couple stays married, nor will they ever really be seen in society as a "true" parent. (For anyone else to adopt the child, the original couple would have to dissolve the marriage and give consent to the two new parents, at which point the new parents would form a marriage.) In addition, this effectively makes same-sex relationships fine when it comes to romance, but evidence of a moral failing when it comes to parental relationships.

Two other intelligent alien species that exist in the universe: Yebadeba/Novastellarians and Epama/Arthropedians.

Novastellarians are the largest known sapient creatures at 8 to 9 feet tall. They have no vocal language, instead using their tentacles for an elaborate sign language. They're very gregarious, and considered quite chaotic and aggressive by Mareinian standards.

Ratified by representatives of Stast, Na'aka, Donunia, Mesna Mas. For use in classifying offworld civilizations. NOT to be used to justify or denounce civil intervention. NOT to be used to justify or denounce communication or trade. Note: Mesna-Maka ratification pending additional amendments, see proposal 23.1

Stage 1: Persistent Knowledge A civilization must have at least one robust universal language to be considered a Stage 1 civilization. A civilization must also have a system of recording knowledge that is independent of time, location and individual.

Stage 2: Mass Resource Distribution A civilization must have an effective, large-scale method of transport to be considered a Stage 2 civilization. Transportation must be capable of distributing necessary resources to populated regions in a timely manner.

Stage 3: Universal Security A civilization must have a qualifying system of universal security to be considered a Stage 3 civilization. Given normal circumstances and sufficient resources, this system must ensure the health, safety, and basic happiness of each individual of the civilization.

Stage 4: Lack of Civil Unrest A civilization have no severe or recurring civil unrest to be considered a Stage 4 civilization. Severe civil unrest is defined as civil unrest that noticably impacts or alters the behaviors of at least 1/6th of the population. Recurring civil unrest is defined as civil unrest originating from the same discomfort but occurring more than two times.

Some of the unique animals hailing from the Kreid Highlands, a large, flat plateau on a landmass in southern Stast. Because the ocean is near-inaccessible from the highlands, the native creatures here are adapted to a fully terrestrial lifestyle. This ecosystem was once threatened by mareinian settlement of the landmass, but nowadays the Stasti government has declared the whole plateau a protected region.

Eifra Naker: An accomplished glider the size of a small cat, the eifra naker takes advantage of the plateau's harsh winds to quickly escape predators. It feeds mostly on small invertebrates and carrion.

Getia Nasta: This strange-looking creature is a relative of the far plumper niakia. It grazes plants across the highlands while using its impeccable sense of smell to detect predators from miles away.