Tamaran

Tamaran is a fictional alien planet in the Teen Titans universe. It is where Starfire and her family were born.

History
Many years ago, during Starfire's youth Tamaran was invaded by a Gordanian invasion fleet which proceeded to lay waste to the planet turning it from a beautiful oasis to an empty desert. When the king and queen realized that the Gordanians might take over their planet, they decided to send Wildfire away to preserve the royal family line. All of this was kept secret so that Wildfire remained safe from the Gordanians, even Starfire didn't tell her teammates about him until recently. Later on, Blackfire betrayed her own planet by siding with the enemy. She 'negotiated' a truce, that involved making Starfire, her own sister, a slave of the Gordanians. As the last of the Tamaranean troops surrendered, both the king and queen fell ill from heartbreak. The day Starfire was picked up by the Gordanian slavers was the last day she saw her parents.

As the royal family began to crumble, Tamaran was left in turmoil with no leader to guide them. Later the criminal princess Blackfire had returned to her people and deceived them into believing that the planet was under attack again by foreign invaders, and the only way to end the attack was to have the long-lost Princess Starfire return home and marry the head of the armada and exulted Drenthax IV ruler Glgrdsklechhh; this was all a scheme, however, between Blackfire and Glgrdsklechhh so she could gain the Jewel of Charta and he could marry Starfire. Luckily this plan was dissolved thanks to the aid of the Teen Titans, and with Blackfire's cruel reign over Starfire was chosen as the new grand ruler, but in favor of her friendship with the Titans - and something more - she declined this position and gave it to her knorfka (caretaker) Galfore, thus making him the new grand ruler.

Certain other aliens are prejudiced against Tamaraneans because even though they're a powerful race, their peaceful ways leave them very unprepared when invaders arrive. So they deem them inferior, as illustrated in the episode Troq, when Val-Yor called Starfire "Troq", meaning she was worthless, essentially "nothing", apparently indicating that Earth and the Swamp Moons of Drenthax IV are not the only worlds to have known of Tamaraneans.

Geography
Tamaran was once a lush and beautiful tropical planet until the day the Gordanian invasion fleet came and laid waste to the natural flora of the planet leaving it a desert wasteland. Prior to the invasion, Tamaran seemed to have lush green fields and trees like those on earth and flowers of pink and purple color and skies of blue with yellow clouds, but after the invasion the planet's terrain turned from a normal dirt brown to purple with bare cliffs and rock formations being the only features on the planet for miles on end. Even the sky and the clouds were affected having now become dark purple in both night and day.

Still, some small life of Tamaran's former flora can still be found within the royal castle, and some of the fauna still continues to exist. Apparently, its air and atmospheric conditions are similar to that of Earth, since humans from Earth are capable of easily breathing without special equipment. The only known Tamaranean architecture is the Royal Palace.

Culture
Out of necessity, Tamaraneans are principally a warrior culture. Children are brought up to be tough and self-reliant; weakness is frowned upon. While personal affection is permissible, it apparently must not be shown in general public, or at least to strangers; Starfire mentions that only her guardian has ever shown her kindness. Table manners are based on an "all-you-can-get" principle, which to humans would be the equivalent of "pigging out".

Marriages among the citizens are apparently arranged, though this may simply be the case only for Tamaranean royalty and the noble classes.

It is considered wrong for an outsider to touch a princess of Tamaran, as revealed in Betrothed.

Even though when Starfire first meets the rest of the Titans she is fierce and aggressive, she quickly warms up and becomes quite perky. Also in the Episode "How Long is Forever", She tells them about the holiday celebrating friendship. This contradicts the warlike themes of their culture.

Wildlife

 * Flarnop: A Tamaranean creature that looks like a giant, mutated Domo-kun.
 * Glorg: Some type of carnivorous creature that likes to feed on Zarnics.
 * Portkin: A Tamaranean creature that resembles Jek Tono Porkins from the Star Wars franchise with an orange dinosaur body. They are about six times the size of Starfire and, as she puts it, "as big as a Flarnop!"
 * Stinermite: A type of Tamaranean parasite.
 * Zarnic: A type of pet Starfire once had, which was eaten by a Glorg.
 * Spudlings: A type of slime creature consumed on Tamaran as live food.
 * Zornian muck beetle: An apparently disgusting insect with a slimy underside.
 * Grisnek: Unspecified creature. Origin of the Tamaranean phrase, "The grisnek has got your tongue" (a pun on the Earth phrase "The cat has got your tongue")
 * Flanorgla flies: Unspecified creature, possibly similar to Earth fireflies, that shines brightly. The lights of Tokyo remind Starfire of the creature on first look at the city.
 * Snervian blork worm: Unspecified creature. They apparently have very foul smelling breath, as Starfire states she smells like the creature's breath when she and Raven fall from the sky into a pile of garbage.
 * Glorkaroach: Unspecified, but apparently insectoid creature and part of the Tamaranean diet. In The End - Part 1, Starfire comments on how Raven's terrible pancakes remind her of incinerated Glorkaroaches (Burnt on the outside yet runny on the inside, just like the incinerated Glorkaroaches of my homeworld).

Tamaranean vocabulary Edit
Starfire has been known to periodically use terms from her native vocabulary, mostly in lack for a comparable (and to her, unknown) Earth equivalent. Known words and their meanings include:
 * Bumgorf: A protegee or pupil, usually in need of a parent or guardian (k'norfka).
 * K'Norfka: A legal guardian of a bumgorf.
 * Troq: A disparaging term meaning 'nothing,' as in being worthless/insignificant directed at Tamaraneans.
 * G'luthnog: The Tamaranean equivalent for 'Gesundheit' or 'bless you'.
 * Grebnacks: Tamaranean term for an unspecified body part, possibly the buttocks or breasts.
 * "behaving like a royal zorrgnarg": True nature of the term unknown; used as Tamaranean equivalent for the derisive term 'jerk' or 'pain' (essentially, a bad person).
 * Rutha: weak, or weakness.
 * Clorbag Valblernek: Possibly a person who pulls mean pranks on others, or merely the word he/she is described as by an offended reactant.
 * Grimplork: derisive term for a female, presumably in terms of relationship (i.e. a romantic rival). Once used by Starfire in reference to Kitten.
 * Milnip Wusserloop: Name used towards Beast Boy. It is not stated if it is something good or bad; Starfire simply laughs and flies off when Beast Boy asks if the term means something good.
 * Grubfars: Type of Tamaranean currency. Used when asking Cyborg if he is okay. Instead of the term,"A penny for your thoughts" Starfire says, "For your thoughts I will pay six Grubfars."
 * Glubnorb: A deriding word used to describe Blackfire.
 * Shlorvax/ Shlorvaccs: Dreams (Starfire says "Pleasant shlorvax" when everyone is saying goodnight to each other in 'Betrayed')

Cultural paraphernalia

 * X'hal: Term for the supreme Tamaranean deity. Also used as a respectful hailing.
 * Blorthog: A celebration for the renewal and maintenance of close friendships. The opposition to Rekma.
 * Rekma: The Drifting. A Tamaranean term for the termination ("living apart") of a friendship.
 * Zorkaberry: A bitter-tasting type of berry native to Tamaran.
 * Throknar: "Crown of Meat". A traditional Tamaranean birthday celebration item.
 * Grubtharks: A Tamaranean form of money. How comparable it is to the US dollar is unknown.
 * Gorka pipe: A native Tamaranean instrument, similar to Scottish bagpipes. Normally plays very dissonant notes too disruptive for humans to bear.
 * Gorb-Gorb: According to Starfire, a "festival of berating drapery". Most likely, though, merely an instant invention to explain some ripped curtains in her room.
 * Glorrk: A Tamaranean dish incorporating dried Spudlings and Zorkaberries. Terra once commented that it tastes like sushi and ice cream put together, and it is apparently made from some sort of Tamaranean fungus.

Trivia

 * According to Starfire, people from Tamaran could learn any language through lip contact (aka, a kiss).