Earth-440

A gigantic skeleton on the surface of Earth-440.

**Earth-440** is a frigid, twilight wasteland coated in a thick pile of volcanic ash and dust. Earth-440's defining traits are the massive bone structures embedded within the planet's dusty, ashen surface and the complete absence of sapient life on its surface. All attempts to investigate Earth-440 have ended in either tragedy or utter failure; as a result, Earth-440 is known through the multiverse as a the 'The Graveyard Planet'. Whatever beings once inhabited Earth-440 have long since perished, either due to the intensely cold temperature on its surface, the suffocating volcanic ash coating the ground or the dangerous local fauna and flora. Earth-440 has been given a red designation, not entirely because of what is known about the planet-- rather, the designation applies to what is *un*known.

## Flora and Fauna

The animals (or animal-adjacent beings) living on Earth-440 are twisted and mutated beyond mortal recognition. Whatever they once were is completely unclear; most creatures living on the surface are nothing more than shifting, undulating meat and oily black tendrils. Aggression and intelligence varies wildly throughout these creatures; some are highly aggressive, attacking their prey by latching on and excreting powerful enzymes to break down flesh and bone into an easily digestible sludge. Others are extremely passive, often fleeing from any creatures they do not recognise. Although most of these animals display no signs of advanced intelligence, some appear near sapient. Whether any *do* breach this threshold is unknown. The great bones of Earth-440 serve as hives for these beings; it is considered highly unwise to approach any skeletons on Earth-440's surface.

Earth-440's flora is made up of thin, dark vines that sprout up through the ash. These vines grow in a similar fashion to conventional ivy across the massive bones atop Earth-440's surface, and serve as a food source for its natural fauna. These vines appear to reproduce via flowering and wind pollination; sprouts and buds have evolved to push through the thick ash coating Earth-440's dry ground.

## Catacombs

The most intriguing element of Earth-440 is its underground. Thousands of (seemingly manmade) caves and caverns dot Earth-440's mountains and hills, leading down deep into the depths of its core. None of the aboveground fauna have been observed entering or dwelling within Earth-440's catacombs; even the most aggressive of the species will flee from the cavern openings.

The walls of these catacombs are all clearly engraved with intricate designs and hieroglyphics in the fashion of human Egyptian culture-- the characters have been so severely ravaged by time that they are no longer legible.

The deepest parts of Earth-440's catacombs have an intense psychological effect on any who enter them. Spontaneous psychosis is common-- delusions, including belief that those around the subject are trying to kill them, that there are beings within the darkness of the catacombs watching the subject and that the subject has contracted a serious parasitic infection through breathing in the air within the catacombs. The deepest known catacomb discovered was within 1000 km of the planet's core; it is presumed the caverns run deeper than this.

## Theoretical Explanations

Several theories have been presented as to the current state of Earth-440. The most popular (and most respected) is that Earth-440 has suffered the same fate as Earth-87; cosmic interference by an extra dimensional creature. Scholars have made damning comparisons between the two planets: both have dangerously cooled cores, both have suffered intense irradiation with no clear cause and both have been rendered ashen wastelands (although Earth-440's industrialisation pre extinction event is unknown) with little fauna and flora. It has been suggested by several scholars that Earth-440 is the future of Earth-87-- needless to say, this theory is a worrying one.