Zebes

Former Capital of the Chozo Empire

Settled in the distant past by the Chozo Ancients, Ili Zebes Nalíma, commonly referred to as just Zebes, was once the center of the Chozo Empire, a network of many thousands of worlds that essentially replaced the Forerunner Ecumene as reigning power in the galaxy. Through the millennia and the decline of the Chozo as a species, Zebes remained the center of their civilization until the last remaining inhabitants and much of the vital relics were evacuated in late 2976 by a joint group of Terrans and Sangheili.

## History

**[INFORMATION CLASSIFIED. PLEASE REQUEST AGAIN AT A LATER DATE.]**

## Geography

Zebes is a planet with many regions, all given names by the Chozo over their immense lifetimes lived on the planet.

Crateria is a large peninsula on the surface of Zebes. It is a bleak and rocky area that is frequently drenched by acid rain. This rain can adversely affect bioforms not able to adapt to the harsh atmosphere, and often many that are. Notable landmarks within the Crateria peninsula include the Nest city located within Qro'mal Mountain, and the ancient capital city of Chozodia, home of the Halls of I'ya'dn. Less than thirty kilometers from the ancient capital is the crash site of an ancient shipwreck, with a blackened stretch that runs between it and Chozodia City known as the Dead Scar.

Zebes has a vast network of underground caverns and labyrinths that lead deep into the planet. A deep cavernous area in the planet known as Brinstar is home to over 60% of the Crateria region's wildlife. The caverns of Brinstar are home to an incredibly dense forest, yet the vegetation does not seem to have anything to photosynthesize. The native flora had been altered over many millennia ago by the Ancients to be hardier and require only water to grow and sustain themselves, in addition to specially engineered bioluminescent plants that emit not just light, but also low levels of UV Rays. Other plants have developed into carnivorous foliage, especially in the lower reaches known as the Brinstar Depths, where the thunderous saurian mi'aki live.

Beneath Brinstar, laying as little as two hundred meters below the surface, is the voracious inferno known as Norfair. The area is a scorching hot region due to very active volcanic activity underground, and many native species that have evolved there are tolerant of intense high temperatures and even the heat of magma itself. The entire region is composed of a complex combination of rooms with various structures, including rock-covered cave landforms, peculiar terrain formed by a dense concentration of bubbled glass material, and the remains of facilities created by the Chozo.

Even further below this area, reaching almost to the mantle, is a massive series of artificial caverns known as Lower Norfair, constructed into what seems to be a temple city littered with relics and statues of the ancient Chozo Empire. Even the elders of the Thó'ha tribes are not sure as to the purpose that this deep subterranean city served, but it is considered a place to be avoided for reasons beyond just the intense environments.

Another oddity lies in the existence of huge deposits of water just below the surface under the crust of Crateria. Titled Maridia, the water from this realm spirals in all directions, eating away at the land and creating huge and sometimes dangerously vast mazes of water. The ground has "liquified" in some areas and formed deadly quicksand traps leading deeper into the planet.

Zebes had two moons, the larger of which is called "Raháma Mekás", or "the Warrior's Ground", which was once used millennia ago as a testing ground for the greatest of the Cho'za's warriors, and has a normal revolution, while the smaller moon had a retrograde orbit.

## Inhabitants

Ili Zebes Nalima has had a wide variety of inhabitants, with the Chozo being the primary sapient denizens. The native fauna have also taken many developmental paths, ranging from small parasitic scavengers such as the insect brúg to the massive saurian mi'aki deep within Brinstar. To say that all inhabitants of Zebes are all of a corporeal nature, however, would be a gross assumption.

## Data

### Declassified Report 117-2511

*"Planet SS176-2, known also as "Ili Zebes Nalima", or just "Zebes", is a Class 5B planet with an urthic ore crust that has proven ideal for subterranean construction. Though many zones on the Zebes are seemingly inhospitable to life, extremely tough organisms have evolved on this planet that can thrive in conditions that would kill ordinary terrestrial creatures. Strangely enough, for its location in the Outer Core Belt regions, Zebes is a surprising young planet. Only 1.8 billion years have passed since its formation from a cloud of stellar remnants. Even now, the interior of the planet is still unstable, and in areas only 200 meters below the surface, magma in the underground caverns is showing frequent activity."*