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Narn Homeworld

Type: Terrestrial Homeworld; Wasteland

Position: 44 hours hyperspace from Babylon  5 (a distance of 12.2 light years)

Local Star Type: M; Red

Length of Year: 304 standard days

Atmosphere: Oxygen/Nitrogen (with high concentrations of particulate matter - breath filers are recommended)

Hydrosphere: 20% of the planet's surface

Gravity: 1.3 Standard

Capital City: G’Kamazad

 The Narn homeworld is only a shadow of its former primal glory. Sometimes simply referred to as Narn, the planet orbits a red giant star. It has a thin atmosphere, low humidity, and very little air pressure. The surface temperature can fluctuate by at least 60 degrees on any given day. Narn has very few bodies of water. Polar icecaps and underground stores compose most of the planet's usable water. The skies are a washed out blue with the red star dominating. Most of the land is desolate rose-copper dust, compliments of the Centauri. Their two invasions have left Narn barren, only heavy terraforming can return the planet to its former condition of lush forestland.  Prior to the Centauri's first invasion, Narn was a healthy green planet. Now it has the look of a slightly more habitable Mars. Narn never was a paradise according to human tastes. The terrain is very harsh. Primordial jungles line the bottoms of two kilometer deep canyons where hot springs and geysers insure a fertile and more stable temperature zone than the surface. Craggy mountains and cracked deserts cover large parts of the planet. One of the  most revered locations on the planet is the G'Quon mountain range.

 Some major Narn cities were G'Khamazad, Ka'Pul (known for the beautiful tibo blossoms that bloom seasonally in the surrounding jungles), and Hekba City. The Islands were the playgrounds of the upper circles. Here, the strict caste system was much looser than on the mainland, but such freedom came with a very expensive price tag (a modest home costs four hundred thousand Old Bloodstone). All cities and installations on Narn have been severely damaged or destroyed by the four day Centauri mass driver bombardment of the planet in 2259 and the subsequent occupation.

Drazi were the most numerous alien immigrant population on Narn and formed a working class all their own.

Hekba City

 (from accounts prior to the Second Centauri Occupation)

 Hekba City, like Ka'Pul and many others, is built on the rim of a canyon. This seemingly precarious position is actually quite advantageous for the Narn. The bottom of most canyons of Homeworld are lined with hot springs and geysers, creating a stable and fertile environment for farming. Narns have lived in the canyons for thousands of years, using the caves that line canyon walls as habitations easily defendable from predators. The more concentrated life in the jungles below practically insured a more stable source of food than on the surface.

 Hekba Canyon is 2 kilometers deep through most of the city. Both sides of the canyon are lined with the Hekba City complexes. Narrow walkways and cable bridges span the canyon to allow easy access from one side to the other. Other species tend to find crossing the canyon this way very disconcerting. The older sections of the city are formed of natural caves and indentations in the rock. Walls have been added in recent times to give privacy. The one overriding architectural tone though, is to blend in with the natural landscape. Hekba City proper is located at the top of the canyon. The bottom of the canyon is also reserved for the upper circles -- those parts not used a farmland are used as a kind of resort town with laser relaxation displays on the ceilings in every building. Plebeians live in the adjoining city of Jasba.

 The Boderzones are desolate places. Built on the rolling plains between the cities, is the where the hopeless make an attempt to live. The ever present wind whips among the poorly build two story buildings, most of which are sinking on their bad foundations. The Borderzone was built quickly and then quickly forgotten. Walls and archways are constructed between each building in the pre-invasion style, making the Borderzone look more like a prison than a neighborhood. The Narn government still makes feeble attempts to improve the quality of life here but leaving cheap clay candles and food at certain intersections. Some of the Narn attempt keep the appearance of civilization here by setting the candles up as streetlamps, a futile gesture. The Rural Division rangers rarely patrol here, but when they do, their methods are quick and deadly. Street Jasgon is the Borderzone's prostitution row (which is frequented by the upper circles -- usually in disguise). On this street is the most infamous of the illegal bars ,the Bunker. Built by the Centauri during the occupation for peacekeeping purposes, the Bunker is a bar full of reprobates and cutthroats.

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