“Katal is particularly notorious amongst the kavkema. They're practically superstitious about it. It has a high security prison...” – it was the nearest word the English language offered him to describe where the Nayabaru put the kavkema – “...and even Evenatra has rarely been able to rescue anyone from it. As the Nayabaru advance technologically – and despite their inherent neurological shortfalls, they do advance – Katal will eventually become impregnable to ver, as long as ve remains starved of Thread.”
A Thread Between The Stars: Satellites
**Katal** is the largest [[:Nayabaru]] settlement on [[planet:nekenalos:Asheenagiji]] (on [[planet:Nekenalos]]). It sits roughly at the halfway point between the coastline and the nearest pronounced mountain range, putting it a few hundred kilometres away from the coast.
The name 'Katal' is derived from the [[:Kendane͡ivash]] word //[[:Kendane͡ivash:katale]]//, which translates to //ash//.
In regards to the efforts of the Nayabaru to capture [[:kavkem|kavkema]], it's considered the most notorious location, more feared than its equatorial complement, [[planet:nekenalos:asheenagiji:Tain]]. In //[[:A Thread Between The Stars]]//, [[character:Valcen]] cites Katal as one of the //"focal points of [[character:Evenatra]]'s efforts"//((See //A Thread Between The Stars//, the //Satellites// chapter.)), though he warns about searching only there, since [[character:Terenyira|the weapon]] would share that same focus.
===== Katal's Communities =====
setkefe͡ilem ne͡igetsh mekol\\
tuletsh ginidol deb shairol\\
deb hine͡il deb melob\\
-- Katal’s Promise\\
//Naya for “we who seek community offer hospitality / aspire to honesty and loyalty / and diligence and prudence”//
Katal is the most populous city on Nekenalos by a large margin, although it does **not** consist of the largest community of Nayabaru (which is a title that goes to the //[[:planet:Nekenalos:Vatenas:Nuhur]]// community). The discrepancy stems from that Katal is one of only very few Nayabaru settlements consisting of several Nayabaru communities. While these live in parallel to each other without any problems, they don't generally cross-pollinate, nor have any urge to do so.
The communities differentiate each other visually by highlighting the initial syllable of their tattoos by giving it a thin border of a certain colour (and referring to each other as Circles). This allows the hierarchies within the respective communities to remain separate without having to split the city into territories.
To better refer to each other in speech, the communities have named themselves after Katal’s virtues:
* fe͡ilginidol (Gini'-, e.g. Gini'Hesh, Gini'Ganhesh, ...), using a **rust** colour
* fe͡ilshairol (Shar'-, e.g. Shar'Hesh, Shar'Ganhesh, ...), using **indigo**
* fe͡ilhine͡il (Ne͡il'-, e.g. Ne͡il'Hesh, Ne͡il'Ganhesh, ...), using a **soft green**
* fe͡ilmelob (Mel'-, e.g. Mel'Hesh, Mel'Ganhesh, ...), using a **dark green**