Bethlamore

Bethlamore
Astrographical
Region	Outer Rim
Sector	Greeop Sector
System	Baphomet system
Suns	1: Baphomet
Moons	1: Monitor
Physical
Diameter	6,050.7 km
Planetary class	Terrestrial
Atmosphere	Type I (Breathable)
Gravity	Standard (0.903g)
Surface water	51%
Climate	Tropical
Primary terrain	Tropical forests; mountains
Length of Day	28 standard hours (1.17 Standard Days)
Length of Year	387.23 Standard Days (331.91 Local Days; 1.05 Standard Years)
Points of interest	Mt. Ayrid Observatory, Old Town, Bethlamore Medical University, Adrin Luto Grand Port Hanger, Academy of the Force (Temple of Adhe Zion), Evil Forest, Black Pit (Ruins of the Temple of the Shadow Vines), Great Jungle, Glittering Hills, Herdship ''Mother Jungle'', Mt. Ilum, Adiemus University, Corellian Sector Spaceport, Haight-Ashbury, Capital District, Talor Island, Sea of Takoi, Sea of Bendon (the Equatorial Ocean)
Societal
Population	179,436,000
Native species	Fear Beasts
Immigrated species	Humans, Ithorians, Zabrak, Duros, many others
Official language	Basic, Ithorese; formerly Rakatan, Ancient Sith
Major cities	Adiemus; Ayrid Hai Spaceport; Takoi'edo
Government	Bethlamorian Confederation / New Republic
Affiliation	Infinite Empire; Sith Empire; Galactic Republic; Galactic Empire; New Republic
Exports	Pharmaceuticals, medical personnel, alcohol, bacta
Import	High tech, raw materials

The second planet from the star Baphomet in the Baphomet System, Bethlamore is the base of operations for the Assembly of the Force. Bethlamore is also the charge of the Allegiance Battle Group, a Rebel Squadrons task force made responsible for guarding the Baphomet System, which is part of a backdoor Hyperspace route into the Greeop System.

History

Pre-History

Bethlamore's history of inhabitation dates back to roughly 32,000 BBY, when the Infinite Empire of the Rakata stumbled across the barren, lifeless planet and begin to terraform it. Once habitable, they colonized Bethlamore and began growing great jungles and building monuments to their power, including a strange, experimental stargate in the Ayrid Hai River Valley sometime near 30,000 BBY. They abandoned it circa 25,200 BBY, the era in which the Infinite Empire collapsed due to a plague and civil war. The plague and the war left Bethlamore scarred, destroying the majority of the Rakatan constructions and much of the world's jungles.

For the next twenty millenia, life on the world struggled on, untouched by sentient beings. Around 5,500 BBY, some Sith came to Bethlamore through the Rakatan gate which linked Bethlamore to the Sith world of Carrackoon. The Sith built a shrine around the gate, and attempted to colonize the harsh, ruined world. But they failed, their colonies barely lasting 150 years. Once again the world of Bethlamore was left uninhabited by anything more than the struggling flora and fauna left by the Rakata.

Rediscovery

In 3,914 BBY, approximately 1,500 years after the Sith colonies failed, an Ithorian herdship lost in Hyperspace is yanked out of Hyperspace in the Baphomet system. Impressed by the two terrestrial planets in the system, Bethlamore and Eden, they trace their way back and return to Ithor to tell their people about this wonderful world. After some short debate, the Ithorians decide to keep the existence of the system a secret. They returned to Bethlamore and Eden to begin terraforming and colonizing the two worlds. They introduce various species of flora and fauna from across the galaxy, including Ithor, to the jungles of Bethlamore, as well as some specially engineered species. They tend to the jungles, letting them grow and florish.

Roughly 100 years later, non-Ithorian fringers and explorers come across the system as well, and they return to charted space to tell of the wonders of Eden and the now-florishing jungles of Bethlamore. Colonists begin to trickle into the system, much to the Ithorians abhorrence, and begin to settle at the northern end of the Ayrid Hai River Valley, at the foot of Mount Ayrid. The community that forms at the foot of Mount Ayrid would later become Sytas, the site of which is now the Ayrid Hai Spaceport.

After observing and tending to the jungles of Bethlamore for over 400 years, the Ithorians ember a specially constructed herdship, the Mother Jungle, into the crust of Bethlamore in the Ayrid Hai River Valley. The herdship is seeded with native flora and fauna from Ithor, and more genetically engineering flora and fauna they had designed to complement Bethlamore's evolving ecosystem. They hoped that the genetically engineering species they introduced would allow the native Ithorian species to integrate into the ecosystem better. For the most part, they were right, though bafforr trees failed for the most part, except in the Great Jungle region in the lower Ayrid Hai valley. The Ithorians continued to tend to the jungles, helping the new species grow and evolve. The ecosystem balanced, and for the first time since the Rakata, the entire surface of Bethlamore was florishing with life.

For the next two millenia, life was good on Bethlamore. The colonies grew and the population increased in size, until somewhere around 2,000 BBY the city of Sytas emerged as a florishing metropolis. However, a darkside cult leader by the name of Driasdan came into the public eye around the same time. He gathered up groups of Force sensitives into his cult and disappeared with them into the jungle. This cult, the Sircledemort (Circle of Death in Olys Corellisi), fell out of the public eye for nearly 600 years, until they re-emerged during Sith rule.

Sith Rule

Three Sith, pursued by Jedi forces, fled from the fringes of Sith Imperial space. They lost the Jedi pursuit by making a blind jump, but their jump yanked them out of Hyperspace in Bethlamore's gravity wells. The small fleet of the Sith, which was made up of their warships and their slave transports, crashed into the surface of Bethlamore, in the Ayrid Hai valley. The survivors, including the three Sith themselves, abandoned their craft, salvaging them so that they could begin settling on the planet. Each Sith founded a kingdom and declared his or her self Dark Lord/Lady.

Because of this, the three Sith descended into in-fighting and began warring against each other. The smaller of the two kingdoms united together to attempt the utter destruction of Adhe Zion's kingdom, the largest of the three, which captured and ravaged the city of Sytas in 1,483 BBY. They failed, though Adhe Zion's empire split in half when the heir and his younger brother both attempted to seize power after murdering their father. The wars continued for over four centuries, with the Ithorians and colonists taken as slaves for the Sith. Finally, a single warlord, Herite, dominated the remaining two kingdoms and united the Sith on Bethlamore under one flag. With an iron fist, his dark rule lasted for a quarter century, until the Army of Light came...

Timeline of Bethlamore

• c. 32,000 BBY:
  • The Rakata stumble across Bethlamore, a lifeless world with large, oxygen-rich seas. They jumpstart the processes of life, and begin terraforming Bethlamore into a florishing jungle world.
• c. 30,000 BBY:
  • Theories commonly hold that during this time period the Infinite Empire of the Rakata built an experimental gate connecting Carrackoon, a world on the opposite side of the galaxy, with Bethlamore.
• c. 25,200 BBY:
  • Bethlamore is abandoned during the plague and civil war which rips through the Infinite Empire, but not before the Rakata, as well as the flora and fauna of Bethlamore, are infected. The planet and it's jungles survive, but barely. Life struggles onward, untampered, for the next twenty millenia.
• c. 5,500 BBY:
  • It is theorized that, around this time, the ancient Sith species stumbles across Bethlamore by accident, using a gate built by an ancient race which links the Sith world of Carrackoon with Bethlamore. The two worlds are on opposite sides of the galaxy. They build a shrine around the gate, which would later become the location of a Sith temple.
  • The Sith colonize Bethlamore, tending to the jungles for a time before the harsh life on Bethlamore wipes out the Sith colony.
• 3,914 BBY:
  • The Ithorians stumble across Bethlamore and begin to seed the jungle and tend to it. Under the Ithorians the struggling jungle florishes as they introduce or genetically engineer new species of flora and fauna.
• c. 3,800 BBY:
  • The first non-Ithorians since the Sith stumble across Bethlamore and begin to settle at the northern end of the valley in a community that would prove to be the precursor to the Ayrid Hai Spaceport.
• 3,478 BBY:
  • The Ithorians, after observing the planet of Bethlamore for over 400 years, embed a specially constructed herdship into the Ayrid Hai Valley. They use this herd ship to introduce some native flora and fauna from Ithor, as well as some genetically engineered flora and fauna they had created for Bethlamore.
• c. 2,000 BBY:
  • On Bethlamore a flourishing city, known by the Ithorians as Sytas, exists in what is now modern-day Ayrid Hai Spaceport.
  • Meanwhile, a dark sider gathers together a group of Humans and Zabraks and disappears into the jungle with them.
• c. 1,500 BBY:
  • Three Sith, hunted by Jedi, flee to Bethlamore with their slaves. Their transports crash into the surface, but they adapt and begin carving out an empire there. Essentially cut off of the rest of the galaxy by it's obscurity, these Sith lords fall into infighting. Each lord founds their own kingdom and declares war on his rivals.
• 1,483 BBY:
  • Sytas, the city at the foot of Mountain Ayrid, is conquered by the Sith of Bethlamore. The city is demolished and its people are killed or enslaved by the Sith.
• c. 1,480 BBY:
  • The Ithorians of Bethlamore are enslaved and their terraforming program becomes defunct. For the next 500 years, life on Bethlamore grows and evolves unchecked...
• c. 1,025 BBY:
  • The Sith warlord, Herite, conquers the entirely of the Ayrid Hai River Valley, and unites all of Bethlamore's Sith under one banner. He orders construction of the Black Temple of Herite (A.K.A. the Temple of the Shadow Vines), on the location of an even more ancient dark side shrine.
    
• 1,005 BBY:
  • The planet Bethlamore is captured from the forces of the local Sith lords by the Jedi Order's Army of Light. They raze the jungles and most of the Sith temples, making their residence in the Great Temple of Adhe Zion. The Jedi begin to set up an academy of the Force in the Great Temple of Adhe Zion.
• 1,004 BBY:
  • The cities of Ayrid Hai and Adiemus are founded by the freed slaves of the Sith. The large majority of the slaves go to Adiemus, but the ones that found Ayrid Hai on the site of Sytas go on to build Bethlamore's first spaceport.
• c. 1,000 BBY:
  • The Ithorians and the Jedi begin working together to cleanse Bethlamore's environment of the taint caused by the Sith. The terraforming process is not resumed, but the Ithorians and the Jedi attempt to 'weed' the garden that is Bethlamore.
  • A golden age begins on Bethlamore, with Ithorian scientists and Jedi healers making great discoveries about the medicinal properties of Bethlamore's flora and fauna.
• 952 BBY:
  • The Republic colony of Bethlamore replaces its Ithorian-dominated colonial government with a democratically elected (though still Ithorian-dominated) government, the Federation of Bethlamorian States. The first Governor-General is Ithorian scientist Tyri Endire, and the first Prime Minister is Roron Talorn, an Ithorian nature priest who later died in a fire.
• 813 BBY:
  • The city of Takoi'edo is founded on the shores of the Sea of Takoi by human settlers. It would grow to become one of the largest metropolitan areas on Bethlamore, though not the largest single city.
• 491 BBY:
  • The Jedi Order removes all of it's Jedi, save one, from the Bethlamore Temple. That one Jedi takes an apprentice and passes stewardship of temple to her when he dies. This tradition continues and the Temple of Adhe Zion remains a Jedi possession for another 200 years.
• 412 BBY:
  • The first non-Ithorian Prime Minister of Bethlamore is elected; Ghon Miclan, a Zabrak female, is the winning candidate.
• c. 290 BBY:
  • The Jedi Order withdraws the last Jedi from Bethlamore, leaving the temple abandoned.

Sources

Bethlamorian History 101: A work-in-progress, a basic overview of Bethlamore's troubled history.