The Solaris System

The Solaris System is a single star system. Its star, Asteri, is orbited by nine planets, with six of them being habitable and inhabited by the Great Five Races races: Humans, Dwarves , Elves , Orkins , and Nereids. Various useful resources like organic material and minerals are abundant in these worlds and Nistun’s Belt—the system’s asteroid belt.

## Asteri

Asteri is Solaris’s sun. It’s comprised of about 71% hydrogen, 27% helium, and 2% other elements. It has a radius of 432,288 miles. The sun is the single most important source of energy for the system. It provides heat and light for photosynthetic organisms to grow, which make up the bases of many ecosystems in its planets.
Many scientific mysteries revolve around Asteri. It has been observed to be quite different from its neighboring stars. Asteri not only emits light and heat, but also large waves of aura. This is an unusual trait not found in many stars in the local vicinity of Solaris. It’s speculated that this is the cause for the system’s many strange properties. Its habitable zone is unusually large, and something in its gravitational field keeps its many celestial bodies from going into unstable orbits and colliding with each other. Theories have been made, ranging from the sun being an ancient fire elemental, to an intentionally modified star created by aliens from outside the system.

## Planets

There are ten planets in Solaris, seven of them orbiting Asteri in the habitable zone.

### **Habitable planets**

#### **Caelus**

Caelus is the human homeworld. Its radius is 3,959 miles. It is home to many different biomes and ecosystems, with life thriving almost everywhere on the planet. Of the six habitable planets, Caelus has the most average climate. Its temperatures rarely go above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, nor dip below -140 degrees Fahrenheit. Caelus has nine continents and four oceans. One moon orbits Caelus.

#### **Herasia**

Herasia is the elven homeworld. Its radius is 3,390 miles. It is home to the most life of any planet in the system. Many

   large and dangerous beasts lurk in the world’s gargantuan jungles. Even its man-eating plants, some of which are carnivorous and or mobile, are not to be trifled with. Herasia has a slightly cooler climate than Caelus. It has five continents, two of which are covered mostly in jungles, and six oceans. It also has numerous archipelagos of floating islands traveling across its skies. Two moons orbit Herasia.

#### **Beetise**

Beetise is the dwarven  homeworld. Its radius is 4,202 miles. It's an icy planet orbiting near the outer edge of the habitable zone. Its climate is much colder than the other habitable planets, frequently dipping under -50 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. Because of this harsh environment, most of its life was forced into its vast caverns underneath the icy surface. Underground life thrives in these caves, with nearly all of the light being provided by bioluminescent plants. There are six continents and four oceans, though the upper layers of the waters has frozen over. Three moons orbit Beetise.

#### **Kowanda**

Kowanda is the orkin  homeworld. Its radius is nearly identical to Caelus', being 3,952 miles long. Its climate is slightly warmer than Caelus'. It's known for its giant beasts roaming the lands called behemoths. It is also the planet closest to the Mlio Kidunia, and as such experiences many unnatural phenomena related to spirits. There are six continents and three oceans. Two moons orbit Kowanda.

#### **Veralia**

Veralia is the nereidine  homeworld. Its radius is 4,056 miles. It is an oceanic

   planet consisting of 98% water on the surface. There are no continents; only a small handful of islands peak over the waters. Veralia's climate is warm at an average of 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The atmospheric humidity is almost always 100%. It’s currently closed to outsiders, as the Nereids have suddenly and mysteriously become an isolationist collection of nations. No one, not even Nereids, are allowed to pass through its skies. One moon orbits Veralia.

#### **Paradei**

Paradei is a planet inhabited by the Great Five. It was colonized in joint operations by the United Races of Solaris, or URS—an independent organization founded for the purpose of uniting Solaris’s inhabitants so that modern civilization may prosper without the fear of war.
Paradei’s radius is 3,807 miles. Its climate is much like Caelus'. The planet has seven continents and five oceans, all bustling with life. Three moons orbit Paradei.

#### **Golgaia**

Golgaia is at the forefront of scientific advancement. Filled with some of the greatest minds minds the galaxy has to offer, Golgaia was once a barren desert wasteland before it was discovered that the environment was highly malleable and adaptable, leading to a race to discover new secrets in terraforming as five science companies soon took up respective portions of the planet, with other studies into other fields such as biology and chemistry following soon after as the science community studied the planet's rapidly evolving artificial ecology.

### **Uninhabitable Planets**

The remaining three planets in Solaris are uninhabitable and exhibit harsh climates and living conditions.

#### **Kolasi**

A gas giant in the outer reaches of the system. Scans of the planet indicate that there is more than just extremely strong winds beneath its clouds, however. Evidence suggests that there is indeed a surface teeming with vis energy. Many expeditions into the world have been met with disaster. 27 moons orbit the planet.

#### **Efkairia**

The closest planet to the sun. Due to its exposure to extreme temperatures, vis radiating from the star, and the length of its rotations, high deposits of supernatural minerals have formed. There are many mining operations conducted here. It’s theorized that meteoric impacts with this planet in the past has scattered these minerals throughout the system and into the asteroid belt. There are no moons orbiting the planet.

#### **The Riedna Tree**

A planet orbiting in the outer reaches of the system. It’s covered entirely by a gigantic tree-like organism able to be seen from space. The nature of its surface and composition is a mystery due to the tree radiating vis energy that disrupts sensory equipment. Expeditions into the world have been violently stopped by the tree, for it seems to not want any outsiders. It’s theorized that the tree itself is sentient. 4 moons orbit the planet.

## Mlio Kidunia

   The Mlio Kidunia, commonly known as the Otherworldly Rift or **The Rift**, is a rip in the fabric of space in the Solaris System. It orbits Asteri much like the other planets. Its name is derived from the orkins, whose homeworld is the closest to the Rift.

The Rift is an anomaly to scientists and vis users alike. It's a portal to the Ancestral Realm, the plane of existence from which anima originates from. Many spirits and unbound souls are constantly leaking from it, spreading throughout Solaris and causing numerous unnatural behaviors and climate changes. The resulting strange weather patterns are solved by hired vis users that banish the perpetrating spirits.

The physical characteristics of The Rift appear to act like a hole. Its exact size may vary, but its radius normally hovers around 3,400 miles (5471 km). Clouds of anima swirl around its entrance, which dissipate once far enough from the place.

## Inhabitants

Solaris is teeming with life, especially in its habitable planets and moons. There are billions of species that exist in the system, ranging from creatures such as: dogs, birds and other ordinary animals; malleable colonies of bacteria forming single superorganisms; leviathans that travel from world to world, hosting entire ecosystems on their backs; and more.

#### **The Great Five**

The five most dominant races are known as the Great Five. They consist of the Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and Merfolk, and each inhabit their own homeworld in the system.

##### **Dwarves**

The Dwarves of the planet Beetise are the embodiment of tenacity and craftsmanship. They possess many unique physical characteristics that make them a very durable people. Having come from a hostile arctic cave world, technology was the most important aspect of their lives. As such, their prowess in technology is admired by all of the system.

##### **Elves**

The Elves of the planet Herasia are the embodiment of elegance and community. They tend to be the most agile people of the system, in exchange for somewhat more fragile bodies. Elves have the ability to bend the creatures of nature to their will, and even become beastfolk. They also have quicker minds, giving them an edge when it comes to magical abilities.

##### **Orkins**

The Orkins of the planet Kowanda are the embodiment of strength and spirituality. With an unnatural amount of spirits roaming their world, they have come to befriend and act as hosts to them. Orkins tend to be physically strong at the cost of being at risk to unwanted trances. The race of Orkins is divided into three subspecies: Orcs, Goblins, and Trolls.

##### **Nereids**

    The Nereids of the planet Veralia are the embodiment of adaptability. They're basically the merfolk of Solaris. Coming from an oceanic world, they learned to adapt to their environment by literally mutating their bodies at will. Nereids are able to manipulate their own bodily characteristics to suit their needs at the cost of preparation time.

##### **Humans**

The Humans of the planet Caelus are the embodiment of versatility and courage. They are known to be the cookie cutter race, not inherently good or bad at any particular trait.

### **Artafae**

The Artafae are robotic race residing in multiple moons in the Solaris system. What differentiates the Artafae from other androids in the system is that they have souls, which technically makes them living beings and capable of using vis. Artafae have the ability to freely upgrade their bodies and even transfer their minds to different devices, allowing for much diversity and freedom. However, they’re also vulnerable to hacking, meaning technomancers pose a great threat to them.

### **Nymphs**

The Nymphs are an incredibly small and secret race- to the point where some people think they are just legend. They're not known for leaving their own planet, which is in an unknown location, however they used to live on TX-81 which is now a barren wasteland due to a mass genocide on the Nymphs for their resources by space pirates.

They grow at most to a few inches tall, and are known for their incredible expertise regarding micro and bio-tech.