Riesel

**Riesel** , also called **The Old Aristocrat** and originally known as **Riesel's Refuge**, is a dingy and crime-heavy ecumenopolis located in the Prakuul system.

## Surface

### Cities

The planet is covered entirely by a vast, miles-high city. Semi-populated and decaying city-continents float above the endless urban sprawl amongst the polluted atmosphere, bearing a sobering testament to the planet's affluent past.

### Water

Once home to countless lakes and seas, no visible bodies of water have been left. All of the planet's water resides in artificial reservoirs deep within the urban crust. Regardless, water must be imported to support the large population.

## Society

Riesel is home to, and governed by, the Obsidian Blade Syndicate (OBS), led by Khan Dschudda Dinnine. The planet also hosts many other mafia organizations. It serves as a major hideout for countless criminals, making it both a very dangerous place and a treasure-trove of bounty-hunting opportunity. The population is roughly 12 trillion, a far cry from its past population of over 60 trillion.

## Moons

It has two moons, Markyle and Jena. Markyle is heavily industrialized, being completely covered in artificial structures, mostly factories, and hosts a population of about 1 billion. There are also numerous residential towers and refueling stations. Conversely, Jena is mostly barren, too small for much use aside from communication arrays and other stations.

## History

### Discovery

Riesel was discovered in 1940 by a Yaroca explorer named Gan Riesel. The planet, at the time, was lush and rich with minerals, and a colony was quickly established. Gan originally called it Riesel's Refuge, but it was shortened to Riesel only 100 years later. The system was named after Gan's Liahudi co-discoverer, Shel Prakuul.

### 1000 years of urbanization

As the years passed, more and more corporations settled on the planet. Communities became cities, cities became metropolises, metropolises merged to form eperopolises, and all urban areas finally merged to form a planetwide city — an ecumenopolis. The growth continued upwards until the urban sprawl was many miles high.

### Collapse of organized politics

The final legitimate government was dissolved in 2741 after a criminal uprising. Since then, Riesel has been led *de facto* by politico-military factions, typically mafias. Essentially, whoever wields the most firepower thus wields the most political power.

### Change of government

In 3001, a group of former Hydra members arrived on Riesel shortly after the Kreet disaster of Lylat. Their leader, Rebecca Trinn, started a campaign to overthrow Riesel's dominant faction, the Spade Consortium, which she saw as weak and vulnerable.

Dschudda Dinnine, a respected consigliere in the Consortium at the time, saw the mysterious alien felinoid as a very adept leader who could pull Riesel out of their current mess. As the hierarchy and overall structure of the SC was crumbling as he saw it, he jumped at the opportunity to assist her in exploiting the mafia's weaknesses. His actions led to a very swift and relatively bloodless coup, and the former Hydra underboss came to respect his ardent and aggressive enthusiasm for her ideals.

Dschudda quickly scaled the ranks to become the Vice Khan under Trinn, earning her valuable and nigh-unattainable trust factor. Following her disappearance and presumed death in 3017, Dschudda took the reins of the now-powerful Obsidian Blade Syndicate.

## Other Continuities

Riesel is the namesake planet and primary setting in the 2013 e-book anthology *Riesel Tales: Two Hunters* by author Roystonn Pruitt, who is known in Second Life as Jerionis Kanik (Sujet Ramisk). The official *Riesel Tales* canon article for Riesel can be found on the book's wiki by clicking here. There is no relation between the book and Etoile, aside from the planet's concept.

Riesel is copyright 2012 Roystonn Pruitt. (rieseluniverse.com)