The planet has a population of about 3 million humans, and somewhere around 1-2 million of the native sapient inhabitants, referred to simply as Birds. The Birds do have a proper name, but it's essentially unpronouncable by humans, and they came to be known by their appearance.
The Birds are, as you could guess, a sapient species which evolved from flying animals. They tend to resemble nothing so much as gigantic crows who've figured out how to weave bright fabric and plastic into their plumage. The Birds which desire to deal with humans have small translator boxes on their body somewhere, usually on a chain around their neck, or around the base of a wing. Birds are intelligent, but their logic and behavior are fairly alien to the human way of thinking. Birds and humans don't tend to intermingle, and live in uneasy peace together.
There are 5 major lakes or seas on Ortlimar IV. There is more land than water on the planet, but not to the point of unbalance. One of the seas is found near the south pole, and spends almost all of its time frozen. The other four are scattered about the planet. All are the result of ancient meteorite action, and must have happened billions of years ago. Ortlimar IV is geologically very inactive, with no known volcanoes.
Next: The human side of Ortlimar IV
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Created by Ian Johnston. Questions? Please mail me.