| Pearls if the Chosen
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Soliyat
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Tropical
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Island Chain
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Wookiees
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Human, Selphi
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The ‘’’ Pearls of the Chosen’’’are a series of small islands in the Pokora island chain on Solyiat. These islands have been claimed by the remnants of the Chosen, serving as a permanent settlement for the surviving Wookiees and their families.
Since its founding as a colony, the Pearls have housed the Chosen’s trading empire that provides local goods to Solyiat and the Kiast System. Now the area is largely populated by the Wookiees and, to a lesser extent, tradespeople and migrants of other species.
History
During the Tenth Great Jedi War, the Chosen were called upon to act in their traditional role as the House’s shock troops. However, the sheer brutality of the war convinced Liika, the Chosen’s commanding officer, that it was a genocide, with their opponents looking to literally wipe them off the map.
Charging Lambow with the safety of the younglings, all the remaining adults threw themselves at the enemy forces to buy Lambow time to get the younglings off-planet. Managing to escape with the fleeing Odan-Urr forces, they arrived with the rest of the Clan at the Kiast System.
Part of the Pokora island chain, the Pearls were until recently mainly unexplored. Upon the arrival of the members of House Hoth to the planet, Lambow set out to find a decent settlement for the children and their guardians. The Wookiees arrived at Po’ta, inquiring into the unsettled islands. After greasing some palms, an old Quarren named Gyrn Ked gave the Wookiee a quick tour of the islands, pointing out items of interest. After arriving back at Po’ta, the Wookiee thanked Ked and set off to procure supplies and transport. Arranging a message to the House leadership, the Wookiee set off on a mapping expedition alone.
Emerging twenty-eight days later, the Wookiee reported back to Hoth leadership with a full report of his findings, including tactical and strategic assets, as well as a proposal to fortify them in order to provide protection for the children and use them as a final fortification for the House in the case of an invasion. With the lessons from the war fresh in their minds, approval was given and construction commenced.
In the years that followed, the remnants established a trading city and outposts throughout the region, making them an important trading partner on Solyiat and the rest of the system.
Geography
Avo
To the southeast of Li Anor sits the island of Avo, with an area of about 2,500 square kilometers. Avo is easily the least rugged island of the region, with a large windward mountain range that shelters the island from most storms. It is the primary home of the Chosen, or the remnants, as they’ve taken to calling themselves. They built a small trading city with many tree houses and homes cut directly into the sides of the mountain, the main barracks of the special operations team, and weapons storage areas for all of the remnant security forces nestled into the mountain range surrounded on three sides by impassable volcanic rock. Main power is provided via geothermal means, as digging down less than a hundred meters is a source of fresh water heated directly by underwater lava flows. There is enough geothermal power to supply the entire facility, all automated defenses, as well as multiple Star Destroyer-grade shield generators.
Equatorial Response and Training Base (E.R.A.T.)
Due north of the remnant base, and connected to it via a tunnel that goes past the mountain range, lies a large expanse cut directly into the other side of the mountain. This area houses the Equatorial Response and Training Base (ERAT). This facility offers a large housing section, intensive training yards, weapon workshops, and armor repair stations. It is also the home to the region's more modern long-range sensor and communications array. This is one of a series of arrays that House Hoth built in conjunction with the Solyiat government that is a major upgrade to the long-defunct relay stations on Onyx Island and elsewhere. This station, like the others, is manned at all times by both Solyiat and Hoth personnel to ensure the safety and communication networks in their respective regions are safe and intact.
Nearby to both the remnant city and E.R.A.T. there are a few streams that join together to form a creek that empties into the nearby ocean. It is shallow enough to not be navigable by most craft, yet rugged enough to give most bipedal beings a rough time going up.
Earthquakes are common but tend to be small; none have been recorded in recent history that were catastrophic. It is also theorized that the same underwater freshwater source is the source of a nearby waterfall that provides enough freshwater for both facilities. With the island being so rugged, farming is almost impossible, but enough wildlife exists to make hunting practical, with nearby Brersa being able to provide for farming.
Access to the island is by either the spaceport or the seaport to the south of the main city. This spaceport is not as large as a major city but can easily accommodate medium to small freighters and passenger ships. There is a smaller landing pad in the center of the remnant’s city designed for use by the chief and any VIP visitors.
To maintain the natural beauty of the island and to cut down on noise pollution, the Warchief limits air travel onto the island at times throughout the year, especially during Life Day celebrations.
The seaport is the busiest installation on the island, with trading, fishing, and passenger ships constantly coming and going. Many cruise lines use Avo as a stop for passengers to enjoy its southern beaches and local culture and trade.
Avo is where the majority of non-Wookiee residents live; the remaining islands are almost always restricted to members of the Chosen and their descendants. Any non-Wookiee residents have to be personally approved by the Warchief and must contribute something back to the tribe on an annual basis before they are allowed to settle anywhere in the Pearls.
There is an interesting underwater rock formation that is full of caves that runs to Li Anor from this island.
Brersa
To the south of Avo is a 656-square-kilometer island that, being on the leeward side of the island chain, has been battered flat by storms. Mainly empty, with the largest concentration of any kind of animal being crustaceans, it’s ideal for farming and has been set aside for such. Portions of the island’s center have been cleared and tended to by farmers and their droids to provide a food source for the region and trade when there are excess crops.
Onyx
Directly east of Avo, and connected to it by an underwater ridge about five kilometers long, the 1,285-square-kilometer Onyx is not as rugged, but does feature extremely dense foliage on the windward side of the island. The leeward side has less foliage and a slightly drier climate. Lava also flows from the island’s semi-active volcano, Wesson, on the leeward side.
Due to the volcanic activity, you would find less dense foliage there, as well as two large beaches. Also, one of the biggest features on this side of the island is the large lava fields. It’s these lava fields and the two large black sand beaches that are what give the island its name.
These lava fields are dominated by many small lava streams which funnel into two major rivers of fire that empty into the sea. At the height of an eruption, ash is thrown in the air, and the steam from the coast gets so thick that if the winds are blowing in the right direction, the entire island is covered in its thick cloud.
Another potential hazard found on this part of the island is lava tubes. The major problem with lava tubes is they can appear wherever a lava flow existed, and there are cases where ancient tubes have been discovered where previously a lava flow was never known to be. These ancient tubes can take any traveller by surprise.
The southern white sand beaches are what people have come to know these islands for; the abundance of fish would make it a great fishing spot if the government didn’t ban commercial fishing on the smaller islands. Beyond the beaches lay a series of ancient dormant volcanoes, but in a circular pattern with a large valley in the center, with wide open grassland fed from the rich volcanic soil and runoff water from the surrounding mountain range. It’s in this location that past explorers and pirates have set up camps before, and landing a small freighter there can be done with ease.
The large black sand beaches of Punaluʻu and Ninole Coves on the northwestern side and western coasts are the remnants of the old lava field from centuries before. During the hottest days of the year, the sun-baked sand makes the area extremely uncomfortable, and a person could become dehydrated quickly. Travelers and locals have been warned not to travel to these locations due to the risk they pose and the lack of any emergency response to the island, with the nearest being on Avo, assuming you could contact them. Only scientific teams studying the island and pirates have been to these locations with any frequency.
The northern beaches are also dangerous to swim in due to the shallow water level, strong riptides, and the numerous sharp and sometimes large volcanic rocks in the water. It’s not unheard of for a riptide to pull an unsuspecting swimmer out to the ocean, dragging them along the sharp rocks, causing life-threatening injuries, not to mention the potential for drowning once out to sea.
Alkaline pools of various types occur near and around Punaluʻu and Ninole Coves. These pools are rare and localized brackish waters along coastal lava flows that exhibit tidal fluctuations without a surface connection to the sea. They include open pools near the shore as well as undisturbed pools in collapsed lava tubes, cracks, and caves. When the tide goes out, these pools can quickly empty out to the ocean and expose a vast cave system that normally is inaccessible at high tide. The danger comes when the tide does come back in, and these caves and pools fill rapidly. With the limited number of exits and additional dangers of sharp, slippery rocks, if not timed properly, most beings won’t make it out of the caves in time.
The island’s fauna include many tropical birds, snakes, insects, and spiders, but in these areas only sea turtles and birds come to nest on the beaches, due to the constantly warm sand. The only dangerous creature in the area is the giant rock cracker crab. It is the largest land-living arthropod in the world, and is probably at the upper size limit for terrestrial animals, with exoskeletons weighing up to 6 kilograms. They can grow up to 1.5 meters in length from leg to leg, and its claws are strong enough to crack small rocks, hence its name. They feed on fruits, nuts, seeds, and the pith of fallen trees, but will also eat carrion and other organic matter opportunistically. There have been reported cases where pirates and other groups use these crabs as a form of torture and execution by immobilizing the victim and allowing the crabs to eat the victim alive.
An interesting point on the island is located in its southern region atop the southern volcano range. Due to the size of these ancient volcanoes that go up nearly a kilometer, droids have been air-dropped onto them to build a long-range automated sensor station. These were placed by the Solyiat government when the planet was first settled, but with more modernizing of the planet elsewhere, this installation had gone into disuse for quite a few decades. With the arrival of the House Hoth to Solyiat, renewed interest in this station as an early warning system has been discussed, pending funding.
Another interesting point is the volcanic ridge viewpoint on the northern side; you can see almost all the way to Po’ta and Remora on clear days. People have said that this is one of the most beautiful places and views on Solyiat.
Liika
A small 874-square-kilometer island that sits southwest of Brersa, Liika is home to a small colony of primates called the Kharabarik that quite possibly may one day become sentient; as such, it has been declared off-limits to everyone and treated as hallowed ground. The major geographical feature of the island is a huge freshwater lagoon which is fed via underground sources, possibly seawater that is filtered by the rocky soil. It’s called Cruza Laguna after Tyrile Cruza, the lead scientist who discovered the Kharabarik. She was responsible for pushing for isolation of the island to give the Kharabarik a chance to evolve into sentience.
The island was given the name of Liika in honor of the fallen chief of the Chosen.
Mu’arte
Northwest of Li Anor, this 994-kilometer island boasts a natural harbor hidden from normal view because of a constant fog that surrounds the island. In addition, there are various shoals that, if not navigated properly, can easily run any vessel ashore. House Hoth has made note of this information for future expansion purposes.
The island is also home to a particularly fast-breeding, omnivorous porcine creature that started out as a pest accidentally released on the island. They almost overran it and the surrounding islands but were found to have succulent meat. As such, they were hunted and trapped on a regular basis so their rapid breeding didn't outstrip the islands' feeding capacity and thereby threaten the delicate ecosystem. The toasted hides with attached fat (known locally as ‘’ba'cone’’) are a known delicacy and were an instant favorite amongst the House members.
Kailiani
This 326-square-kilometer island sits about 30 kilometers northwest of Avo. Kailiani, pronounced ‘’ky-LAH-nee’’, is home to a remnant fishing and farming village. It has a large beach on the eastern shore that leads into a lush tropical forest, partially converted into orchards and farms for tropical fruits and other cash crops.
The west side of the island is more rocky and mountainous. The south side is dominated by a series of river valleys and tall plateaus. This well-eroded island has many natural arches and rock formations. Its western rocky coast is home to many migrating birds and animals. It is in this region that Edgar Drachen, Councillor of Urr and Quaestor of House Hoth, requested and was granted permission from the remnant Warchief to build his home and a small landing pad and hangar for an airspeeder and other equipment.
Artemis
A 242-square-kilometer island south-southeast of Li Anek, Artemis is an extremely rugged island covered in extremely mountainous terrain made up of freshly cooled lava flows. The razor-sharp edge of the cooled lava can tear even modern fabrics to shreds in just a few minutes, more often than not leaving any visitor with cuts and scrapes, if not worse.
However, the height of the mountain ranges (just under a kilometer) has led the House to consider setting up ground-based air and sea defenses as the first line of defense for the area.
Remora
The island that is the furthest away from the rest, Remora is a 164-square-kilometer island that, similar to the others, is severely overgrown with brush and otherwise inaccessible due to the rugged volcanic nature of the terrain. However, a rather beautiful coral reef was discovered and instantly quarantined to protect the fragile nature of the locale.
Maziel
The smallest island of the chain, east of Po’Tak and at about 51 square kilometers, this tiny island tends to be wiped away during major storms. However, the local plant life is very resilient and has come back time and time again. However, most animal life on the island tends to be of amphibious nature. There also seems to be a small freshwater lake at the center of the island, which means it could be fed by some sort of aquifer system, but its source remains a mystery to this day.
Notes
- The main author of this article was Lambow, which was originally written in or about 2017 and went unpublished till 2026.
- The article was then updated and expanded by Edgar Drachen and further edited by Corinna Magarin