Aserna

**Aserna** is the third planet from Alea, and it is one of the few known planets that contain life.

Geologically Aserna is assumed to be a relatively old planet, having been formed over 6 billion years ago, and for most of its existence Aserna was a barren volcanic planet. 2 billion years ago life has appeared in Aserna's oceans as its temperature began to cool down, and while for a long period most of the life has been unicellular, multicellular life appeared rather early as well, 1.8 billion years before the present. Complex species have evolved around 500 million years ago, and they come in various forms, as terrestrial, maritime and aerial species can all be found on the planet.

Aserna is surrounded by two layers of icy rings created by a collision with a large planet early in Aserna's formation, and it is orbited by 7 moons, two of which, Ethyra and Oneila, are the only two moons large enough to maintain a spherical form. The rest of these moons are small asteroids that were probably captured from the asteroid belt, and probably helped form the ring of Aserna.

Aserna is inhabited by many species, however the most prominent of those is the Lenedians, which is the name that is given collectively to Asernians. There are 57 sovereign nations within its lands, and 34 of them take part in the International Cosmic Exploration Organization (ICEO).

## Etymology

The word Aserna derives from the ancient Proto-Pelasian root of Asr, which meant ground. During the ancient Pelasian Empire, the language spread across Korra's eastern coast and in the northern Old Pelasian dialect it became known as Asar. The more contemporary Tiltean language inherited the word and it became Aser. The suffix -na was added in the early modern era which derives from a Pelasian suffix which meant the location of a certain place.

## Formation

Aserna is, compared to most inhabited planets, a very old planet. The Alean system was formed 6.3 billion years ago and a lot of the proto-planetary dust that orbited Alea formed small asteroids which collided and created Aserna. For a majority of its history Aserna was uninhabitable and barren, as volcanoes emerged throughout the planets and helped maintain an average temperature of 50 degrees, essentially making it impossible for life forms to develop. Approximately 4.2 billion years ago, another similarly sized planet collided with Aserna and created the ring, as well as most of Aserna's moons.

Initially, Aserna was located close to Alea, however it was slowly ejected from it and it moved to the habitable zone of Alea, and Aserna began cooling down. 2.6 billion years ago a massive asteroid bombardment occurred which brought a change of atmospheric composition in Aserna and later on, life. Early life on Aserna consisted primarily of unicellular microorganisms which lived in the ocean, and later multicellular organisms emerged.

## Satellites

Aserna has 7 moons, the largest two being Ethyra and Oneila, as well as a few other minor moons, Meinia, Goea, Asphera and Louna, as well as one small moonlet, Ecricina, which was created in Aserna's ring system and therefore remained mostly unknown. The two major moons, Ethyra and Oneila, as well as Asphera have often been visited by the Lenedians, and minor bases have been established in Ethyra.

## Geography

Aserna is built from 12 major tectonic plates, and consists of 5 continents, as well as two major oceans. The two largest continents, Korra and Levua take 80% of all of Aserna's landmass, and are located opposite to each other. Korra is located above the equator, and mostly has cool climates, however the southern parts of the continent are warmer and some parts have deserts. To the north Korra has a cold climate, and has a small archipelago that stretches near the north pole. Close to the west there is the Laccadian mountain range, which was formed through collision of two tectonic plates against Korra. The rest of the continent has a temperate climate and is mostly forested and has many rivers running through it.

Levua is located to the opposite of Korra and is larger in size with hotter climates. It has many deserts, with the central one, the Cashan desert running through the center. Towards the east it is greener with unique trees and large forests surrounded by mountains, and lakes cover the landscape, making it an exotic location. To the south there are mostly rainforests and smaller deserts.

The other continents, Solughl, Elunia and Coreria are located below the equator and are between Karro and Levua. They mostly have a warm climate except Coreria which has a much colder climate.

## Life

Due to the breathable atmosphere and its location relative to Alea, Aserna is capable of sustaining life, and a wide array of species exist there. With a gravity relatively similar to Earth's, most terrestial species have a size of between 20 centimeters to 3 meters, and plants being able to reach up to 50 meters in height, with some reaching higher. Aserna also has a higher amount of vertebrates due to the large amounts of shallow waters. There are also many lifeforms which inhabit the seas and many avian lifeforms, however the largest amount of lifeforms are insects and small sea creatures which are abundant in their numbers.

The most prominent type of species are the Lenedians, which are the only technologically advanced species on the planet inhabit all of the planet and are one of the few species which are space-faring creatures.

## Trivia

* Aserna was originally created around 2008 (yes I was 4 years old), as my first attempt at worldbuilding. Originally with the name of Ciam, it was mostly centered around a futuristic country named Ciam.
* The first maps were drawn around 2008, however the earliest map that was found dates to 2010.
* There are an estimated 100-200 drawings of early Ciam, and most of them date up to 2013.
* I decided later to integrate the older Ciam with my newer worldbuilding project of Aserna, and therefore Ciam and Aserna share a lot of similarities.

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