Farigha was a terraforming colony commissioned by Mars. Its name means “empty” in Arabic, and was often referred to as “The Big Empty.” Like Mars, it had a thin atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide with low temperatures, little surface water, and no native vegation. Unlike Mars, Farigha had a magnetic field which would allow any man-made atmosphere to remain in place indefinitely. It orbited a red dwarf star called 2 Mainzer, eighty light-years from Sol.
In 429 IE, an unknown alien force destroyed all but two habitats on the surface. One, Landfall, had been abandoned since more advanced domes had come online. The other, Solaria, had been under construction at the time of the attack. As such, it remained uninhabited until the arrival of John Farno, the lone survivor of the planetwide catastrophe.
During his month-long wait for rescue, John Farno declared himself Farno I, King of Farigha and Emperor of 2 Mainzer, then renamed the planet “Farno,” which became a popular name for the planet after his rescue. However, the planet’s official name remained Farigha.
After the liberation of Amargosa, Farigha came under the jurisdiction of Metis, a move by the Compact to discourage the core world from legally seceding. Solaria became its capital. While it essentially attained full colonial status under Metis, it still functioned as a terraforming project. By 432 IE, lichen and moss grew on the surface.
John Farno had become chief administrator of the planet by 432, his now-wife Persephone his chief of staff. Upon seeing the evidence that presidential chief of staff Jez Salamacis murdered the previous Sovereign of the Realm, Farno, along with Metisian Chancelloress Vesta June Jovann and Amargosan Governor Douglas Best opted to secede from the Compact.
Appearances: No Marigolds in the Promised, Suicide Run