Benu Wen

Benu Wen
System	Benu
Capital	Vertenalith
Races	W'hoorn

Benu Wen (often shortened to just 'Wen' in casual conversation), located in the Benu system, is the W'hoorn homeworld.

While there are a few outlying colonies on other planets and moons in the Benu system, the majority of W'hoorn live on Benu Wen. W'Hoorn culture consists of a single, system-wide nation centered around their race's military. In fact, the race is ruled by a military leader, called the Navarach. Soldiers and officers are a common sight on Benu Wen, as a five year term of military service is mandatory for all W'hoorn (though many choose to enlist again once this term of service has ended).

Benu Wen's climate is cloudy and cool, with misty valleys, lush, moss-covered mountains, and countless winding rivers. A low gravity planet (.7g), the vegetation and wildlife lean towards the spindly, long-legged side. W'Hoorn architecture is tall, with a lot of flat roofs and balconies for them to glide between, and they love elaborate gardens that showcase the planet's verdant bounty. The capital city, Vertenalith, is quintessentially W'hoorn in this way, with lofty spires, open balconies, and elaborate hanging gardens. The weak, poor, and dispossessed among their race live lower to the ground, in buildings that don't even reach three stories in height.

Vertenalith has actually been in place for over a thousand years, but you'd never know it - the W'hoorn think nothing of demolishing out of date buildings and building newer, better things in their place, and thus there is precious little evidence of the city's real age. Any ancient ruins this civilization boasts are mostly oversights by construction crews.

Personal shielding and advanced weaponry are, unsurprisingly, this military race's most profitable exports, and many of the major cities have a factory-filled industrial district on the outskirts dedicated to the manufacture of such tools. W'hoorn weapons are high quality, and a saying throughout the galaxy goes, 'A W'hoorn blaster will stay with you longer than a W'hoorn spouse', referencing the culture's fiery, argumentative nature and penchant for serial monogamy.

Historically, the W'hoorn are fractious and have explosive, dominant personalities, and this is reflected in their race's history, which is rife with uprisings, coups, and rebellions, though the current system has been in place and stable for several decades now. Their soldiers were on the frontlines of the Bushraki wars, and participated in the formation of the Celestine Ascendancy, to whom they are currently allegiant. They have a historical enmity towards the Ry'nari, and of course hate the Ishvana.