Telrion

**Pocket Dimension**
"**...of special note is the planet Telrion. Unlike the vast majority of convex-sphere planets, the accessible surface of Telrion is the concave interior of a hemisphere - thus its nickname, the "bowl-world." None since the days of the Imperium have been able to breach the storms on the 'lip' of the bowl to see the other side, and all records of what lies there have since been lost. What forces created Telrion thus are as of yet unknown, though it is theorized that a hypermassive force on the hitherto unexplored other side of the planet is what bends the stable regularities of the planet into their peculiar shape.**"
 — Encyclopedia Imperia, Galactic Edition

**Telrion**, also known as the Hollow World or the Bowl World, is a highly unique Pocket Dimension in The Hybern Sector. "Telrion" can also refer to this pocket dimension as well as eight smaller ones nearby, collectively known as "The Telrion Substate".

## Description

Telrion's two Etheric Gates give out onto an inwardly curved surface. Cosmographers claim that, to an outside observer on the edges of the pocket dimension, Telrion would look like a hollow hemisphere. Some explorers have attempted to cross the Telrionese horizon and reach the outside of the theorized hemisphere, but all who have returned claim to have been thwarted by violent storms. Scholars have suggested that one could tunnel to the outside, but no machinery exists to match this ambition.

Telrion is also know, however, as one of the largest single sources of Quicksilver, a magically reactive substance favored by the Mage Imperium and modern artificers as a critical reagent in the engines of aetheric vessels. Though deposits exist on other worlds and are abundant within the Aether itself, Telrion offers the most readily accessible supply. This naturally accessibility has, of course, been hindered by endless wars to claim it.

## History

### Mage Imperium

The Directorate of Telrion constituted a regional power within the Mage Imperium. The first known rulers of Telrion were the triumvirate of House Andros, House Holden and House Keith, each becoming wealthy from mining its Quicksilver. Around two centuries before the Sundering, House Keith betrayed the other two houses, nearly annihilating them, then quickly grabbed up eight nearby Pocket Dimensions, claiming them "strategically important to quicksilver extraction" and forming The Directorate of Telrion.

The Directorate proved pivotal in the events leading up to the fall of the Mage Imperium, supporting Astrid Keith in her bid for sector (and then Imperial) dominance and reaping the rewards of being closely connected with the Navy as it gained power.

Telrion was one of the last planets in the Imperium to fall to outside powers, owing to the strategic position of House Keith and their ability to maintain a reasonably large fighting force.

### Early Modern Period

The Human tribes of Telrion claim to have been gifted their world by the Mage Imperium, and several events from the height of the Imperium do figure into their mythology. Records from the Academy on Saldan suggest that the Imperium knew about Telrion and had established it as one of many Quicksilver mining worlds; several Mage Princes are recorded to have been planetary governors. There is no evidence, however, of mass resettlement or any planetary grant. Given the anarchy of the Imperium's decline, it remains possible that some fringe faction was sustained by the planet's valuable resources and devolved into the current tribal societies.

In addition to the Human natives, Telrion has a large Kobold population locked in frequent warfare with its Human neighbors. Anthropologists suggest that Telrion could be the Kobold homeworld, as it has the most developed nest sites yet discovered. The Mage Imperium records of Telrion make no mention of kobold society, though they do speak of repto-mammals among the local fauna.

Another current hypothesis is that the Kobolds were brought as slave labor to Telrion, either at the twilight of the Imperium (thus, after Imperial records ceased to be reliable) or by some now forgotten intermediate occupier. There is just as little evidence that Kobolds came to Telrion after the fall of the Imperium as there are Imperial records of their existence, as no later indication of offworld exploration of Telrion exists until the first year Before Unification.

At around this time, Telrion was rediscovered by Dwarven merchants of the Harnod Clan. Attempts to settle the world and establish quicksilver extraction were met with violent resistance by the human natives, and the small Dwarven expedition was forced to retreat. Future attempts by the Harnods led to the establishment of a string of fortified mines near one of Telrion's aetheric gates, a now highly developed complex which became the center of the Harnod culture after their homeworld was ravaged by the Orcish conquests of the 3rd century After Unification (these conquests would be the prelude to the Orcish-Fialta War and the eventual birth of the Orcish Directorate). To this day, the Harnod Gate, as it is known, sees enormous quicksilver exports from Telrion and is one of the more successful Dwarven enclaves, overshadowing even the power of the Aeldrum Trade Company on Telrion.

### Fourth Century

During the Fialta-Shantine war, Telrion's mining sector expanded under the intense demands of total war. With the re-adoption of Aetheric drives and weaponry thanks to rediscoveries and development, the need for quicksilver made the dwarven magnates of Telrion rich. But after the war (and with the opening of the new lanes into Celestial space) the powers of the cosmos turned their attention once again to the wealth of Telrion.

What this meant was a sea change for Telrion itself. Where in earlier eras the Dwarves held tenuously onto the mines against hordes of roaming Kobolds, there were instead now large organized efforts to eradicate, enslave, and push back their nests. In most areas near the Harnod gate there were no wild Kobolds at all, and only small nests existed in the wastes between the mines; not enough to threaten civilization, but enough to be an annoyance to the miners. Kobold slavery was a contentious issue; there existed several leagues of concerned humanitarians (of both religious and secular persuasion) who advocated (sometimes violently) for the abolition of Kobold slavery.

Unlike the Kobolds, the native humans were treated with, if not respect, then intellectual capacity. Though there were several protracted guerrilla wars conducted by various Telranian clans, on the whole the nomadic clans were wily enough to know when to melt into the desert and then return when the mining conglomerates no longer were controlling the the areas they roamed. A tenuous peace existed, with the price of eradicating the Telranians in the intense desert far too high to justify the costs - thus, various mines placated the Telranians with money, weapons, and more. At times, the Telranians became proxies in mining disputes - opportunistically raiding in exchange for guns and money.

### Fifth Century

During the 5th century A.U., Telrion was part of the Serene Duchy of Aeldrum.

### Sixth Century

During the early 6th century A.U. Telrion was divided between the Republic of Telrion (a breakaway republic formed during the Aeldrum Devolution Crisis) and the Dwarf Kingdom of Telrion, with each entity controlling one of Telrion's two etheric gates.

## Culture

*This section is incomplete. You can help The Aeldrum Wiki by expanding it*.

## Geopolitics

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## Notes

1. ↑ Telrion is believed to have had three Etheric Gates during the time of the Mage Imperium, one of which it seemingly lost due to etheric drift. Furthermore, it has been variously suggested that an additional gate may exist on the planet's unexplored convex surface.