A planet not unlike many other Apsu worlds, Lyodahn is a young world, its native species very primitive.  The most notable of which is the rei’ah, the largest feline species in the galaxy, they are lions that grow to nearly four tons.  The rei’ah roam the wide spreading interior plains of the largest and most hospitable continent on the planet.  Bordered to the north by jagged mountains and to the south by desert, the plains are trisected by two large rivers that meet and form a single body, a river so wide it appears to be a lake at first glance.  It was at the confluence of these rivers that the Ancients helped a small band of Apsu settle on the planet.  From a fleet of only a dozen ships, the Apsu named their new home Lyodahn for the massive lions the planets native inhabitants called rei’ah.  Those natives, the Buteo, are a primitive avian species whose rudimentary wings allow them to glide safely to the ground from the tree top homes. 

Shortly after the Ancients left the planet the, the two peoples fell into war.  The Buteo, who were little more than a stone age society, had previously survived on the scraps left behind when the rei’ah fed; or injured a heard of animals on accident.  But with the arrival of the Lyodahn, with their extensive farms and ranches, the Buteo began to raid their new neighbors.  The Apsu attempted to teach them how to grow their own crops, but the Buteo had little interest in learning, they saw the Lyodahn as invaders, and felt justified to steal from them.  Even though the Lyodahn had built their city far from lands of the Buteo, the two would grow to live in constant conflict.  The first victim of the war would be the Apsu’s power plant.  Built along the eastern river, the power plant was destroyed when a band of Buteo warriors snuck into the unguarded facility and over the course of a single night destroyed as much equipment as possible.  Before the technicians arrived in the morning, the night shift was dead, and the plant exploded in a massive power surge.  Not only did it destroy the power plant, but the resulting pulse of energy destroyed every bit of electronic technology in the city.  The Lyodahn had not yet began to trade off world, in fact, since their entire fleet had settled on the planet, no one off world even knew they were there.  The only indication of the Apsu settlement on the planet being the satellite array they deployed on their arrival. 

Instead of working to recreate their technology, the Lyodahn set their attention to fortifying their city.  Building walls taller than the rei’ah could leap; they enclosed themselves in a massive ring of steel and stone.  A few of the large lions had on occasion wandered into the city and fed on its citizens.  But even this could not protect them from Buteo raids.  In short order the Lyodahn evolved from a group of agrarian settlers living on the banks of two mighty rivers, to a warrior society designed to fend off the hostile natives of their new home, within the walls of a mighty citadel. 

Previous to the arrival of the Apsu, the Buteo kept close to their ancient environment, in the ancient forest along the western river, and in the northern mountains.  Never a singular group; the Buteo live in small bands of 50 to 100 individuals; some are nomadic, others are dutifully settled in with a pride of rei’ah.  But across these small bands, is a shared disdain for the Lyodahn, and an inherent desire to wipe out their Apsu neighbors.