Post by Atlantean on Jun 8, 2014 20:21:24 GMT -5
Planet Name: Aion (current); Xalidon (archaic)
Planet Type: Xeric
Habitable: Affirmative
System: Kaspyon System; Outer Rim Regions; Galactic West of the Mytus System
Terrain Overview: Aion is an arid world of endless dunes and desert wastelands, with the only foliage being found near the planet's equator. Rocky terrain dominates the surface landscape, together with deep chasms and valleys, empty plains, dune seas, and high mountainous regions. Almost deceptively, however, Aion possesses an extreme alignment toward either climatic conditions. Temperatures on the surface of the world can, on average, reach nearly 40 degrees Celsius by midday, and can drop to as low as -25 degrees Celsius by midnight. Across the equator, or the "Edenic Crown", weather conditions are much more temperate and consistent, ranging between 22 and 27 degrees Celsius. Terrestrial conditions vary dramatically along the equator, depending on the surrounding environment outside of it; some parts of the equator are deep valleys, some are similar to plains and plateaus, and so forth.
Notable Geographic Features: The most notable and obvious geographical feature of Aion is the almost ubiquitous desert-lands encompassing the planet. Like a hybridization of atmospheric conditions native to Tatooine and the Twi'lek homeworld of Ryloth, Aion was habitually susceptible to spontaneous and extreme sandstorms. Because Aion had binary suns, stellar radiations were especially strong, even when filtered through Aion's atmosphere, and consequently, sandstorms on Aion took on many characteristics of the heat storms found plaguing Ryloth, which on Aion were called "firestorms".
Firestorms were considered to be both dreadful and beautiful, as the sand grains swept up in the storms were superheated until they would simmer, glow and reflect in a hurricane-esque torrent. Onlookers have often referred to firestorms as appearing similar to "fiery cyclones of glowing, glittering glass" or "spinning maelstroms of sparkling fire", in spite of the fact firestorms can reach speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour, and temperatures beyond even 235 degrees Celsius. Dry, harsh and unrelenting, the only break in Aion's barren wastes is the wide and almost paradisaical equator, aptly monikered as the "Edenic Crown" or the "Belt of Life". With the exception of a select few groups who carve their homes beneath the scorching surface, such as the Templar of Aion, virtually all civilizations on the planet reside within the Edenic Crown.
Capital City: Sylon is the largest city on Aion and is located within a deep valley in the Edenic Crown. Extending from one end of the Belt of Life to the other, Sylon also extends underground into a massive cave system, thus extending the boundaries of its borders. What makes Sylon such a center of activity however, is that Sylon is founded over the largest body of underground freshwater discovered on the planet. As water and moisture is the most expensive resource on Aion, such goods made Sylon the most prosperous city on the planet.
Major cities: Aion has very few cities, but of those, only four are considered significant, including the capital. The city of Tokas, the city of Vreem, and the underground city of Cyene, the only major city not within the Edenic Crown.
Sentient species: Aion has no indigenous sentient species, but the immigrated species now inhabiting the planet are chiefly Humans. Very few aliens exist on Aion, although those that do find little difficulty integrating themselves into Aion's society. This is due to the survivalist nature that influences the native thinking; prejudices and bigotry are afterthoughts in the necessity for surviving the hazardous world around them.
Non-Sentient species of note: Only three species are of particular note on Aion; the zurven, the belrog, and the skaag viper.
- Zurven
Gargantuan herbivores native to the Edenic Crown, zurvens are a semi-domesticated livestock common to the inhabitants of Aion. Providing milks, hides and furs, zurvens are virtually essential to survival of sentient non-native life on Aion. Gentle giants, zurvens dwell primarily in the Edenic Crown, although are fully capable of traversing the desert wastelands, simply choosing not to due to keeping themselves close to the foliage and vegetation. Living in small herds, zurvens are peaceful and seldom act aggressively. As such, the inhabitants of Aion often harvest the milk of zurvens, or kill them to provide months-long supplies of meats and hides to make protective insulated clothing for travels out into Aion's deserts.
Their peaceful nature and provision of food and resources made zurvens the most highly sought after and attained fauna on Aion, with many often directing herds toward populated areas so as to domesticate them. Domestication of the zurvens is atypical, as their captivity cannot truly be enforced. Instead, zurvens are kept in place by having what they need provided nearby them. As zurvens rarely move in general due to the strain and energy consumption it induces on their massive bodies, it is relatively simple to contain a zurven by simply providing food for it a few times a month.
The only danger surrounding the zurvens is that they are the primary food source of the skaag vipers. Entire cities have been attacked by the massive reptilians in search of zurvens, when those in the wild have dwindled too low. As such, most cities enforce a restriction on how many local zurven can be domesticated, so as to make sure plenty stay in the wilds, and minimize skaag viper attacks. - Belrog
Large, sturdy and stubborn, belrogs are the omnivorous labor beasts often tamed by the inhabitants of Aion. One of the primary resources among the cities of Aion is the training and selling of belrogs, who are loyal to masters, require very little sustenance to survive, and are resilient enough to fare in even Aion's harshest conditions. While aplenty on Aion, the chief danger surrounding them is that a belrog in captivity will not breed, thus when a belrog dies or is too aged to be of laborious usage, there is no option to breed future generations; the only option is to brave the desertlands to search for a herd.
Undomesticated belrogs are wild and fearsome, fervently protecting their pride against intruders no matter who or what they may be. Consequently, only infant or especially young belrogs can be domesticated. Belrogs can eat almost anything, from wood, to meat, to vegetation to even some minerals. The healthier a belrog, the redder and harder their hide is. A belrog with a grayish or bluish hide is a mark of an especially unhealthy constitution.
While the treacherous desert and irritable adult belrogs are doubtless, by far the foremost fear in capturing young belrogs to be domesticated is the danger of coming into contact with Aion's ever-prowling alpha predator, the skaag viper. - Skaag Viper
The massive super-predators of Aion are the skaag vipers. Truly colossal carnivorous reptilians, skaag vipers were famous for slow, but non-stop growth throughout their lifespans. Elder skaag vipers could exceed 40,000 kilograms and stretch out over seventy meters, although few manage to live long enough. Skaag vipers are cannibalistic, and seldom reach beyond 30-40 meters in length. Superb predators, skaag vipers have incredible senses of taste and touch, able to taste the particles of the air to track down prey, or feel even the faintest vibrations of someone traversing the sandy dunes.
Skaag vipers primarily inhabit Aion from underground, burrowing tunnels beneath the sands and craggy rocks. Networks of skaag viper tunnels have been known to extend for dozens of kilometers, and intersect with dozens more along the way from one end to the other. In spite of their massive size, skaag vipers can reach astonishing speeds beneath the sands, having been recorded outpacing speeders and swoop bikes on few known occasions. While they very rarely attack settlements, such attacks have been recorded when their primary prey and food source, zurvens, have been captivated by farmers and hunters.
Skaag vipers come in a variety of shades, with their scales fetching high prices to any fortunate or brave enough to find and seize them. Skaag vipers also have various mutations that cause the appearances to vary slightly or greatly among them. For instance, some skaag vipers have two sets of eyes, four in total, or even three sets. Some skaag vipers also have horns on their heads or going down their backs, and some skaag vipers even have multiple sets of teeth. The random manifestation among skaag vipers makes them especially dangerous to fend off or slay. While protectorates, militias and military guardsmen of cities have been able to kill skaag vipers in the past, the only organization known to actively hunt down threatening skaag vipers are the Templar of Aion, who have even come to specialize in it.
History: Once called Xalidon in the ancient days, Aion was originally founded as a colony world to begin expansion of the Tion Hegemony into the Galactic North, out of the conflicting reach of the Hutt Empire's influence, c. 24,000 BBY. While initially stable and productive, difficulties in sustaining operations in the harsh lands outside the Belt of Life, which would later become known as the Edenic Crown, caused the Tion Hegemony to readjust their designation of Xalidon from a colony world into a prison colony.
For several centuries without end, Xalidon was one of the most densely populated prison worlds in the Tion Hegemony, housing hundreds of thousands of criminals across almost seventy worlds and nearly thirty star systems. Like many prison colonies, descendants of prisoners were condemned to their parent's sentences, and over several thousand years, the population of Xalidon - in spite of the extreme hazards of planet - began to swell to almost one million inhabitants. Almost six thousand years later, Xalidon's status as a prison world was virtually obsolete. Poor administration and nigh-abandonment from the Tion Hegemony had converted Xalidon into a virtual colony world again, albeit leaderless, amoral and lawless.
Over time, cities began to establish themselves, former prisons were cannibalized and materials converted into making walls, buildings and the like, and civilization finally found its way onto the newly christened Aion, which was finally recognized as such roughly 4100 BBY. Some interstellar traffic found its way around Aion since it was recognized as a colony world, including big game hunters, fugitives, smugglers and excavators seeking yet-to-be-discovered mineral wealth. Most notable of these were the tortured runaways of the Sith Empire that escaped the torment of the Sith onslaught during the Great Hyperspace Warm, who themselves would eventually become the Templar of Aion.
