Terminus

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    "It's said that all paths in The Realms start and end on Terminus." - Aldren Yinlar (Historian)

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The 'planet' Terminus is a massive ringworld orbiting the star Tei. It orbited 70 million miles (112,654,080 km) from its star and was 10 thousand miles (16,093 km) wide. It had a livable surface area of over 4 trillion (4\*10^12) square miles. After its discovery in 492 SE, it was quickly explored and colonized. By 550 SE it had a population of over 10 billion and was well on its way to becoming the center of civilization and culture in The Realms, even though only a tiny fraction of its surface had been settled. By the time of its destruction in at the end of the Terminus War, it had a population of close to a trillion people.

## Discovery of Terminus

Terminus was discovered by the crew of the *Kanna Ecstasis* in the year 492 SE. Its star was unusual in that even though it was only a few hundred light years from Earth it remained unexplored for hundreds of years into the Second Era.

## The Throne of the Galaxy

The Throne of the Galaxy was a massive palace built at the top of Mount Kannix, the highest point on Terminus. Its construction began in 892 SE to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of Terminus and was completed in 902 SE. Mt. Kannix was almost 30,000 meters (98,000 ft.) tall. The Throne served as the seat of power on Terminus as well as the residence of most members of the Ilinta Council. The Throne was made up of 6 concentric rings starting at the peak of the mountain and continuing downwards and had an area of almost 600,000 square meters (2,000,000 ft.2). Due to its immense height, the entire building is sealed and pressurized to allow habitation. The vast majority of its rooms were dedicated to celebrating the various cultures and societies across the Realms.

The top ring was comprised of only a single room. This room was used as the meeting chamber of the Ilinta Council, signifying its place as the top of Terminus. The second level contained residences for the Council as well as for any visiting dignitaries from the world's districts or from other planets. The third level contained barracks and launch ports for soldiers and ships that would be necessary to defend the Throne and Terminus if it were ever attacked. The fourth and fifth levels contained museums and other exhibits dedicated to the culture of most worlds in the Realms. The sixth was similar to the previous two, but focused specifically on Terminus Culture.

## Mysteries of Terminus

Terminus was home to many mysterious structures and relics left behind by its original creators.

### Creators

The largest mystery is what happened to the ringworld's creators. They left almost no trace on the world and what was left bares little insight into their culture. The complete lack of any kind of recognizable settlement has led many researchers to believe that it was never actually inhabited, although the reasons why are debated. It may have been created simply to show power, as some form of art, or for some other indiscernible reason. Because its creators have never been discovered, many theorize that they were driven away or destroyed after it was built, but before it could be colonized.

### Mount Kannix

Due to Terminus' Earth-like gravity (1.2 g), a mystery in and of itself, the mountain should never have been able to reach that height. The main theory is that some form of support structure within the mountain itself keeps it from collapsing, however no attempts to breach inside of the mountain have had any affect. It is protected on all sides by unbelievably powerful force fields, seeming generated from inside. Some people believe that the ringworld's creators still reside inside the mountain. It is likely that even after Terminus' destruction, the mountain still stands.

### Gravity

How and why Terminus' gravity is so similar to Earth is also unknown. It doesn't contain enough mass in any given area to provide more than minor gravitational force and its rotation is far too slow to have any noticeable effect. The only sufficient explanation is that some form of advanced gravitational control technology is buried deep within the ring. However, similarly to Kannix, a force field exists which blocks off the uninhabitable sides and prevents digging deeper than 2 km (1.24 mi) on the habitable side. This has prevented any attempts to explore the core of the world.