Lahola
From The Pardusian Chronicles
[edit] Historical notes on Lahola
Lahola, the home world system of the South Pardus Rim, contains two inhabitable planets: Lahola I, a temperate class M planet, and Lahola II, a class D desert world. The sector also harbours a large asteroid belt and a recluse infested with space dragons besides two smaller nebula clouds.
Lahola I is mostly known for its forests of Yoroba conifers. This evergreen tree is highly adaptive and very flexible in its growth characteristics, making it a particular favourite in pleasure gardens around the universe many of which centers around a small grouping of Yoroba arranged in the ancient art of garden Origami. Once covering the greatest part of Lahola I´s land mass, the Yoroba forests are today sadly decimated by agricultural development and the only larger expanses of primordial forest are two be found on the northern and southern pole caps of the planet. Although the temperate climate of Lahola I makes the planet a pleasurable habitat for all sentient species in the known universe which lead to it’s early and continuous besettlement, the soil of the planet has shown itself apt to erosion with ongoing deforestation which has lead to the need to balance agricultural use with interspersed areas of replanted Yoroba. Due to the fact that in many places the replanted areas were designed as gardens, Lahola I is also known as Yoroba Gardens and has established itself as a favourite intergalactic tourist destination under this designation. The plentiful minerals and metals found in the systems large asteroid belt in conjunction with proximity to the Jeff. K. Foam in Ophiuchi have ensured Lahola I´s lasting importance as a main trading hub and largest space port in the South Pardus Rim. Due to this prime position in the clusters space fare, Lahola I possesses the only planetary shipyard in the cluster which has the capability to produce a Gargantua or Behemoth, and can indeed even provide the wealthy pilot with a Liberator.
Lahola II is a class D desert world somewhat smaller that Lahola I and situated to the east of the sector in close proximity to the sectors larger nebula cloud. Interestingly, Lahola II was originally very similar in its ecology to Lahola I and mainly differed in that always had higher temperatures due to closer proximity to the systems only sun and never possessed a larger body of water. For a brief period after Lahola sector was first colonized, Lahola II was indeed the more favoured of the twin planets as the hotter temperatures were more agreeable to the original Keldon explorers settling in the sector and it was even closer to main trade routes than Lahola I. Unfortunately, its settlements strained the planetary ecosystem beyond the restrictions posed by the lack of water and ensuing deforestation of local Yoroba led to severe erosion before planetary ecology was understood well enough to counter ecological demise. Local population fled to Lahola I and there were still able to implement the lessons learned from Lahola II. Thus was the planets fate sealed and although a there was an attempt to revive ecology by seeding a genetically engineered species of giant cacti based on the Yoroba genome, scientists agree that with the thin atmosphere remaining there is no hope of restoring Lahola II to its former glory. Today, Lahola II is mostly barren and slave-keeping sheiks can only eek out an existence in artificial cacti oasis´ due to water imports from outside.
This entry to the Pardusian Guide to the Galaxy was provided by historian Archeron
