Narn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Narn i Chîn Húrin.
The Narn are a fictional alien race in the Babylon 5 universe. Their homeworld is Narn.
Contents |
[edit] Homeworld
| The Babylon 5 Universe: |
| Topic index - Episode list - People list |
| Articles by category |
| Cast & Crew - Characters - Crusade - Episodes Films - Novels - Planets - Races - Ships - Wars |
Narn is the homeworld of the Narn and the Narn Regime. Prior to the Centauri's first invasion, Narn was a healthy green planet. Now it has the look of a slightly more habitable Mars. The surface temperature can fluctuate by at least 60 degrees on any given day. The terrain was very harsh with primordial jungles, teeming with animal life. Craggy mountains and cracked deserts cover large parts of the planet. One of the most revered locations on the planet is the G'Quon mountain range which was once home to the vicious On'Vik and herds of wild Dar [1] and horned beasts called Natok that stomp and make noise when angered or disturbed.[2]
However, the Narn homeworld now is polluted, has a thin atmosphere and low humidity. Most of the land is desolate rose-copper dust, as the Centauri's first occupation destroyed the environment. Their second invasion caused massive climatic upheavals due to asteroid bombardent. The current state of the planet's already depleted biosphere after the bombardment is grim, with Narn's few remaining large species (such as the Val) becoming extinct. Apperently only the avian species seem to be flourishing,[3] and it seems a general consensus that only heavy terraforming can return the planet to its former condition of lush forestland.
[edit] Biology
Narn are tall and have a stocky build; they are bald, with a yellow-orange complexion, mottled with brown and/or green spots. Although they look lizard-like, they are in fact marsupials.
Physically, the Narn are among the strongest and toughest of all the younger races, and can hold their own in hand-to-hand combat even with the Minbari. However, the Narn's relatively low level of technology compared to the Minbari, the Centauri, or the Earth Alliance, has kept them from overpowering these races.
At the time of the Shadow War, there are no Narn telepaths, as according to legend all telepaths were exterminated by a dark force, later recognized as the Shadows, a millennium ago. Biologically, the telepathic gene is too weak in the current population to activate.
A million years in the future, by the time of "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars", the Narn (unlike other races, such as Humans and Minbari) have not evolved to First One status. They have not died out; they simply remain as they are.
[edit] Religion and society
The Narn are a deeply religious and socially conservative people. Narns have several religions and some Narn are not religious at all, but those that do subscribe to a faith take it very seriously. The holy Book of G'Quan is so revered that new copies must be hand written and identical in form to existing copies, and rituals must be followed correctly or not done at all, a structure that Londo, the Centauri ambassador, takes advantage of in the first season episode By Any Means Necessary.
While serving an aggravated assault sentence on Babylon 5, G'Kar wrote down his thoughts and ideas on paper. During his service as Londo Mollari's body guard on Centauri Prime some years later, several loyal Narns put it all together into the Book of G'Kar, which started, if not a new religion, then definitely a powerful cult. The Book of G'Kar was the first published Narn work to outsell the Book of G'Quan and is also copied by hand with all imperfections included (e.g. a coffee stain left by Garibaldi). Hundreds of Narns flocked to Babylon 5 to seek G'Kar's guidance, forcing him to unwillingly assume the persona of a religious icon.
A Shon'Kar is a Narn blood oath. The oath is sworn by a Narn against someone who wronged them or their family. An individual Narn is expected to not rest until the target of the Shon'Kar is dead. If the individual Narn fails, the family continues the Shon'Kar until the target is killed.
Narns never draw weapons unless they mean to use them. If a weapon is drawn, then blood must be spilled before it may be holstered (even if that blood is one's own).
[edit] Government
The Narn Regime is the government of the Narn. This regime is a young empire, having grown rapidly since their independence from the Centauri Republic in the early 23rd Century. Clever diplomacy, a pragmatic approach to arms dealing, and investment in building up their own military were all characteristics of the Narn Regime in the decades leading up to the Shadow War. For instance, the Narns were the only major power willing to sell effective weapons to the Earth Alliance during the Earth-Minbari War, albeit secretly considering the threat of the Minbari turning on them for aiding their enemy. The fact that their weaponry was derived from Centauri designs also raised Narn hopes that the ancient race might suspect their former occupiers and attack them instead of Narn.
Prior to its fall, the heart of Narn Regime was the Kha'Ri, the ruling body, known to be divided into at least three hierarchical levels known as circles. The ambassador to Babylon 5, G'Kar, was a member of the third circle of the Kha'Ri. The Kha'Ri was based in the city of G'Khamazad on Narn.
The Narn Regime at its greatest expansion, besides the Narn homeworld, also included a number of additional colonies and planetary systems such as Zok, Dros, and Sigma 957. Narn territory also included vital border sectors with the Centauri such as Quadrants 14 and 24. These holdings made the Narn Regime a major power in the galaxy. However, this situation was not to last.
Early on in the series, the Narn government is portrayed as unscrupulous and aggressive. (Midnight on the Firing Line) A sneak attack on a Centauri outpost sets the stage for reprisals by the Centauri that ultimately result in the virtual destruction of the Narn Regime. Later episodes such as Deathwalker, where the Narn try to take custody of a Dilgar prisoner, and Legacies, when they try to buy a human telepath, do little to improve the poor reputation the Narns have for being opportunistic and thirsty for influence and power.
When the Narn find out too late that they cannot win the war with the Centauri they have been so desperate to start, a different side of the Narn becomes apparent. They are courageous and capable of exhibiting an extraordinary degree of self-sacrifice, such as when a Narn warship allows a group of civilian ships to escape by putting itself between Centauri battleships and a jumpgate. (Acts of Sacrifice) This courage extends beyond their own species, as with the Narns helping Babylon 5 defend itself from President Clark's forces in Severed Dreams.
[edit] War
In 2259, unknown even to the Centauri Emperor, certain factions within the Centauri Republic had arranged for a small fleet of Shadows to destroy a Narn colony in Quadrant 37. During the next few months, the Narn Regime steadily lost its defensive war with the Centauri and their Shadow allies. While the Narn spacefleet had looked impressive on paper and when used for hit and run attacks on poorly defended targets, it simply wasn't any match for the Shadows. At best the Narn hoped to make a strike against the Centauri that might weaken their resolve, and under Warmaster G'Sten the bulk of the fleet was sent to attack a Centauri supply post at Gorash 7. Unfortunately for the Narn Regime, the Centauri had found out about this plan and set up a decisive counter-attack. With their Shadow allies destroying the Narn fleet at Gorash 7, the Centauri were able to bombard Narn from space using mass drivers illegally fitted to their battleships. This effectively ended any Narn resistance to the Centauri, and the Narn Regime as such ceased to be. Instead, Narns found themselves once more a subject people of the Centauri Republic. The younger Narn blamed their defeat on the fact that their leaders had used Centauri strategies. The Older Narn, who remembered the first Centauri occupation, believed that they were defeated because they had not been enough like the Centauri.
[edit] Centauri occupation
During the occupation the Kha'Ri was dissolved with most members arrested and/or executed, and Narn resistance was instead organised by cells on Narn itself and offworld procuring weapons, food, and other resources. Former Ambassador G'Kar was the most prominent figure in this struggle, and indeed he came over time to symbolise not just the desire of the Narns to be free but of all peoples in the galaxy. Remnants of the Narn starfleet not destroyed or interned by the Centauri eventually joined in the struggle against the Shadows led by John Sheridan, the heavy cruiser G'Tok in particular playing a pivotal role in an early engagement with the Shadows in 2260. Narns also served with distinction on Babylon 5 by adding to its security forces, most notably helping to repel Earth forces loyal to President Clark. Consequently, while the Narn Regime no longer existed, the Narns remained a visible part of the struggle against the Shadows (and later the Vorlons as well).
[edit] Narn liberation
Once Narn was liberated in 2261, it was apparent that the majority of Narns in a position to influence the future of their nation tended toward a desire for revenge rather than reconciliation. G'Kar refused an offer to become leader of the new Narn Regime, but accepted his place in the reconstituted Kha'Ri. Narn ships gave logistical support to Sheridan and his fleet in their ultimately successful bid to oust President Clark and return power in the Earth Alliance to its people, but for most of this year the Narns concentrated on rebuilding their shattered world. In 2262 the Narn military became more active, most notably in a strike (with the Drazi) against Centauri Prime in response to a series of attacks on Interstellar Alliance cargo vessels, but as much for revenge as anything else.
[edit] Freedom
Narns represent the will to be free, an adamant desire never to succumb to foreign domination again. Having already been a subject people of the Centauri before, the return of the Centauri in 2259 is both humiliating and destructive, but nevertheless resistance continues. This is referred to most explicitly in the third season episode Dust to Dust, where G'Kar tries to obtain a telepathic drug to use as a discreet but effective weapon against the Centauri. The Narns are defeated, but they are not broken, and their will to be free again is strong. Ambassador G'Kar sums this up neatly when interviewed by an ISN reporter in the Series 2 episode And Now For a Word where he says, "There are humans for whom the words "never again" carry special meaning, as they do for us".
[edit] References
- ^ B5 Comic #10 Coda for Human and Narn in B-Flat
- ^ Acts of Sacrifice
- ^ B5 Comic #10 Coda for Human and Narn in B-Flat
