The Early Years
Garosian historians refer to the discovery of their homeworld as one of the fortunes of war. Records from the Archives at the University of Garos in Ariana indicate that spacers had been unaware of the existence of habitable worlds in the section of space beyond the Nyarikan Nebula. Few attempts had been made to pass through the nebula, and hyperspace routes bypassed it completely.
Approximately 4,000 years ago, a group of human refugees, fleeing from their war- and famine-ravaged homeworld journeyed toward Coruscant to begin life anew. On route, their ship was attacked by pirates. They escaped by entering the Nyarikan Nebula, a spatial anomaly stretching approximately four light years across, the remnants of a supernova explosion millenia ago. For several days, the interstellar travellers journeyed blindly through the nebula, their navicomputers virtually useless. Finally emerging into clear space, they headed for the nearest star, which they called Gariisa, in homage to their leader, Trae Garos.
Drawn toward the fourth planet orbiting the star because of its blue-green appearance, the refugees found the world inhabited by abundant wildlife and covered with verdant river valleys. They quickly decided to explore the planet for possible settlement, and the ten colony ships landed in the Morcur Valley.
From that base camp, survey teams fanned out across the northern continent. They were delighted to discover that the city they named Zila had once harbored a flourishing civilization. Old stone turrets lined Zila’s waterfront. Ancient cannon, corroded from the elements, pointed south across the ocean defending the presidio against attack from sea-going vessels. What happened to the original inhabitants of Zila is unknown—except for the structures they left behind, there is no trace of them. Their city remained frozen in time until the arrival of the new colonists.
While one group settled in Zila, a second band, comprised mostly of farmers, found the soil of the Morcur Valley ideal for agriculture. The city of Garan, bisected by the Salc River, was established on the southwestern edge of the valley and serves, even to this day, as the distribution point for foodstuffs.
Further west, and situated along the awe-inspiring Tahika Cliffs, Ariana was settled by those who sought solitude to pursue the more philosophical arts. It seemed only natural that educational interests spring from this group; Garos’ first institution of higher learning was opened within two years of colonization.
Content in their isolation, the early Garosian settlers did not seek contact with other worlds. The abundance of resources on Garos IV made outside trade unnecessary. But when the Sundar Corporation established a mining colony on the third planet, Sundari, the parliamentary-elected rulers of Garos (who had made Ariana their seat of government) were more than willing to trade foodstuffs and other necessities for raw materials.
