Kaerls is an ice moon orbiting the planet Kiast located in the Kiast System. It is located in the domain of Clan Odan-Urr.
History
Kaerls' history has been largely unremarkable over the centuries. Despite falling well within the territories of the Vatali Empire, the moon's icy temperature and inhospitable nature deterred any efforts to truly colonize the moon. The act of terraforming it was deemed a waste of resources and likely more harmful than beneficial. Even the presence of kyber crystals did little to attract attention from mining corporations, and as such Kaerls was largely ignored even as the Empire established itself among the surrounding systems.
Matters only changed with the arrival of Clan Odan-Urr and its allies. In an arrangement with the Empress, the Jedi were granted a number of remote territories to hold and defend. While the likes of Daleem and Solyiat were gifted to the bulk of the clan, the planet of Kaerls was also offered to
Geography
The Kaerls ice moon is one of the worlds orbiting Kiast. It is the farthest away from its homeworld and has a fairly low revolutionary period, keeping in the dark side of the planet for most of the year. As such the moon has formed a world-spanning winter that freezes completely during the winter months, while thawing only around the equator during the summer, revealing only a very thin belt of irrigable land.
The world has no sentient inhabitants, save for the colony inhabited by the Okami Mandalorians who govern the world in the name of the Vatali Empire. The Mandalorians govern and protect the vast ice mining diggers that collect, refine and transport drinkable water off-world to the rest of the Empire. Finding the challenging temperatures and constant hostility to their liking, the Mandalorians of Clan Okami promptly established a colony on the moon as their new home.
Locations and points of interest
Kyber Cave
Kaerls' kyber cave
The Kyber cave is a natural formation of kyber crystals located deep underneath the western foot of the Godaark mountain range on Kiast's ice moon, Kaerls. The cave itself is hollowed out from a natural volcanic lava tube from a dormant volcano forming one of the peaks in the Godaark range.
Its entrance is two hundred feet wide and tall, eroded from centuries of glacial activity and snowmelt from the mountains, making it an imposing sight on the mountainside. The massive entrance is home to Stroilk packs during the summer mating season, where the predatory canines find a safe haven for their pups.
The interior of the cave is much narrower and forms a solid, fifty-foot wide lava tube fairly quickly within, moving in several directions and branching into the mountain’s depths. The crystal cave itself is actually a massive geode, opened sometime within the last millennium by tectonic activity, filled with colonies of kyber crystals. Crystals of diminutive and colossal size share the same space within, forming a breathtaking visual for any visitors.
While its beauty is enchanting, the geode and the interior of the cave holds dangers in the form of tectonic collapses that block off or create new passages, and multi-legged beasts called Qrelt that burrow completely new, smaller tunnels through the mountain, destabilizing the caverns even more.
Knighthood
Upon completing what the Master deems the final trial, the Padawan is taken to the Kyber cave on Kaerls, where they are united with their crystal, and where they painstakingly build their first true lightsaber. Upon completion, the Padawan is presented to the Council where the eldest Jedi member grants them the title of Knight.
Vestaad township
Okami on the hunt
The Mandalorians of the Okami clan make their home in the geothermal Vestaad valley on the northern hemisphere. The township is small, only housing around three hundred individuals, but is one of the most dangerous to outsiders in the whole system. The Okami keep to themselves and their own dealings while on mission for the Empress.
Vestaad valley
The township houses numerous dwellings and the Grand hall is used as the home of the current leader and town center. The houses are made from natural materials, as is the preference of the Okami. Wood, stone and the similar materials dominate, though there are areas that require modern and sophisticated means to keep them operational.
The township's location is off-center to the valley, leaning on one side of the Godaark mountains to the north. Several hangars are kept in operation in the cliffs to the west, for operation and maintenance of Okami starships. The township itself houses strategic supply depots for defense against invaders, as well as storage units for speeders and other equipment used for hunting and war. A large, wooden palisade wall encircles the township to fend off wildlife. The palisade is reinforced with point defense lasers for anti-air and anti-space defense.
Much of the land outside the palisade wall is made up of fertile farmland used to feed the population and geothermal vents and lakes. The population enjoy bathing in the ponds and lakes as their temperature is significantly higher than the surrounding tundra.
There are several dozen outposts, hunting grounds, training grounds and several smaller settlements on the same moon littered across its surface, as well as a training facility on the planet of Solyiat in the Tundra Flats.