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Telluvia

Telluvia is the binary planetary system on which my 2009 NaNoWriMo is hopefully going to be set.

It is a heavily colonised, humid, Earth-like world; largely oceanic, with one large continent as shown here and lots of small volcanic islands. The desert and mountain range at the equator divide the natives from the colonists. Telluvia's "moon" is mostly uninhabited; it is in the first stages of being terraformed, and home to a couple of small science colonies.

The southerly half of the continent is inhabited 99% by the pre-industrial natives; originally quite a friendly, welcoming species, they're growing increasingly fed up of the colonists keep squeezing them into smaller and smaller areas. The non-native 1% is made up partly of concerned visitors, trying to help out with medical care and schooling, and visiting hunters, after the (endangered) big game that still lives there. It's uncommon for most colonists to visit, as the ecology tends to be either marshy, or else densely forested, and is home to some very large, biting insects. The equatorial mountains prevent most wildlife crossing into the northerly continent.

The northerly half of the continent is inhabited by colonists; most live in the 3 big cities on the coast, but there are smaller, less-densely-populated towns scattered all the way across. It's mostly temperate, with large plains laid over to farming.

Telluvia is a "Rim-world"; it's on the outer edge of the galaxy, outside of ICP jurisdiction, and not easily policed. It has been marketed as the galaxy's top holiday destination - and a place where almost anything goes. It's decadent and morally lax; not a lot is actually outright illegal (except for murder), although most things are strictly controlled by each city-state, and taxed until they're outside the average budget.

Marker and ink on drawing paper. The "size comparison" will be reworked on the final printed image.