Danu

Danu appears gray-green from orbit. It has too little water and too little light, with polar caps extending far into its middle latitudes. What water exists is confined to a necklace of shallow seas filling in the remnants of ancient meteor impacts. The planet has no moons, and therefore no tidal forces; as a result it has no true mountains, only worn-down low hills. The terrain consists of scrubland, tundra, mossy stones, and gray grasslands. Danu orbits two suns: a primary and a secondary red dwarf that appears small and remote in the sky. At polar latitudes, neither sun sets.

The planet's cities were turned to slag by the Cielcin attack. During the Battle of Danu, Cielcin gravitational tidal stress from moon-sized vessels in orbit wrecked the planet's surface, and shrapnel from destroyed Cielcin worldships created a killing swarm in orbit. The planet was destroyed and rendered permanently uninhabitable as a result.

The Danuan population is characterized by flaming red hair and pale spotted skin. Red hair was regarded locally as a mark of bastardy and descent from the Blood Imperial. The polar settlement of Deepwater Outpost was a water-mining community whose inhabitants lived in smygels — tunnels and underground chambers cut or melted into the ice and rock. The settlement of approximately three thousand people survived the initial Cielcin attack because at polar latitudes neither sun sets, preventing Cielcin ground forces from operating there. The community leader of Deepwater Outpost held the title of Eolderman; Eolderman Argo broadcast the tightbeam distress signal that summoned aid to the planet. Count Olander showed little concern for the welfare of the common villagers during his rule. The approximately three thousand survivors of the Battle of Danu were evacuated and are now refugees living aboard the ship Demiurge. In the ring section of Demiurge, the Danuan survivors have established a village with an artificial lake, a concrete shore, and fishing boats.

Danu was governed by a Count, with the main settlement of Maras serving as the seat of power. Count Olander held this title at the time of the Cielcin attack; he was killed when Maras fell. Danu lay in the outer provinces of the Centaurus Arm. The planet was attacked and occupied by twenty-four Cielcin worldships. The Battle of Danu resulted in the destruction of nine Cielcin worldships — described as the largest single victory mankind had ever struck against the Cielcin — at the cost of roughly a quarter of Bassander Lin's fleet and nearly all of the Tavrosi ships committed to the engagement. The Tavrosi lost 9,649 of approximately 10,000 fleet members. Grand Admiral Sattha Kull was killed in orbit when the Watcher Ushara manifested during the battle. On the surface, the Watcher's presence drove both Danuan villagers and Imperial soldiers to mass atrocities. The planet lies approximately three years of travel from Gododdin.

**Maras** — the main settlement of Danu and seat of Count Olander. Maras fell to the Cielcin attack and was reduced to slag.

**Deepwater Outpost** — a polar ice refinery and water-mining settlement located at sixty-seven degrees south, forty-one west. Approximately three thousand survivors sheltered here and escaped initial Cielcin detection due to the unbroken polar daylight, which prevented Cielcin ground forces from operating in the area. The survivors were subsequently evacuated and are now refugees aboard Demiurge.

**Danuan village aboard Demiurge** — a settlement established by Danuan survivors in the ring section of Demiurge, featuring an artificial lake with fishing boats and a concrete shore.