Thul'tea

## Basics

 Primary Biome
 Planet Size Class
 Planet Moons
 Gravity
 Solar System

## General Information

 Del'sar - Megacity (Est. Pop. - 800 million

 Sha'kar

## Planetary Lore

The home planet of the Ael'id race, and the origin planet of their revered Divine Beast, the Sha'kar. The planet is a high gravity world with a denser than normal atmosphere. Despite this dense atmosphere creating a humid, high-heat environment as well as numerous powerful meteorological phenomenon, life has taken a deep root on the planet with a wide variety of flora and fauna active upon the surface and beneath it. Thul'tea possesses a stable but extremely fractured tectonic system, resulting in large, sprawling underground complexes either formed naturally over time or carved out by ancient ancestors of the current Ael'id race. Many of these caverns, despite having been identified or explored in the past, retain many secrets and deeper tunnels that have never been hazarded by the species as of the present.

Notable flora and fauna directly contradict the idea that high gravity planets will produce creatures evolved to travel low upon the ground. While this is true in some cases, there are exceptional cases. The Ana'kal, native to the northern hemisphere of Thul'tea and in the jungles surrounding the supercity Ila'nas, the Ana'kal are a species of six-legged catlike creatures whose massive bodies have adapted to the high gravity by developing dense cords of muscle along their sloped backs and legs to allow for bursts of tremendous speed upon spotting prey. Even under the effects of the high gravity of Thul'tea, these creatures can quickly and efficiency navigate the dense jungle by leaping high and clinging to the sides of trees, climbing, traversing, and pouncing on their less fortunate, or mobile, quarry. Conversely, the Gar'sil are a slug-like race of invertebrates who have evolved down a different path. Their boneless, amorphous body makes dealing with the high gravity trivial. These omnivores slip through the lowest portions of the jungle, the thick membrane around their slimy bodies dissolving matter they come in contact with and absorbing nutrients from it. Travelers within the jungles of Thul'tea should be wary not to sleep too soundly while camping within the jungle, lest they wake up from the sharp pain inflicted by their flesh slowly being dissolved.

Similarly the notable flora of Thul'tea runs a unique range of qualities that seems to suggest very different evolutionary tracks. While the massive trees of it's dense jungles surrounding it's capital city are certainly impressive with heights spanning upwards of sometimes fifty yards into the air, other flora has moved in a different direction. Bala'vis is a species of carnivorous plant that preys on any creature unfortunate enough to come across it. This plant grows in a massive sheet along the forest floor, vines invading and attacking the soil beneath it's main body while it spreads out like a carpet. Nearly indistinguishable from the normal ground besides for very minimal signs, it waits for prey of a sufficient weight to step onto it's surface before the vines beneath it constrict and writhe, causing the unsure dirt to resettle and collapse while it's carpet-like leave folds up and over it's prey. It's body is quite durable, able to survive most slashing weapons brought to bare against it unless they are heated or wielded with great force. Though attempts have been made by Ael'id of the Kas'anvir Caste to reverse engineer the durability of the Bala'vis, all attempts have thusfar failed as it quickly loses it's strength once severed from the main body.

Of course, a study of Thul'tea, be it brief or in depth, would be wholly incomplete without at least a cursory entry concerning it's apex existence. The Sha'kar. The creature, possessing a wingspan of approximately 1.2 kilometers, is most often transitioning between rest periods at well-documented points across the planet where it spends time sleeping or otherwise gathering energy, and flying at high altitude over the surface of Thul'tea. While originally thought to somehow consume sustenance during it's rest periods, later generations of Ael'id discovered that the Sha'kar preys upon the sub-ecosystem present in the thick upper-atmosphere. High within the sky, dense clouds contain a wealth of nutrients and small living creatures ranging from micro-organisms to strange species of small flying creatures. Once it takes flight the Sha'kar ascends to an altitude of it's choosing and opens it's mouth, which is full of reed-like protrusions that ancient Ael'id assumed were teeth. The more accurate comparison is to baleen plates of Terran blue whales, with a similar function. These reeds allow the Sha'kar to scoop up large amounts of food just by flying through the dense atmosphere, which in turn translates to tens of thousands of pounds of food that it eats between it's rest cycles. Due to the low energy consumption necessary for the creature to sustain it's flight, due to it's massive wingspan and high altitude, it gains and excess of food to metabolize before returning to the ground.

But why does it return to the ground? This is a question that those of the Kas'anvir asked for generations before a theory was put forth. The bulbous protrusions that exist on the back of the Sha'kar, causing it to appear as if it possesses large dorsal growths along either side of it's body between it's wings, seems to be the answer. These protrusions, named 'Biofurnaces' by scientists, appear to siphon nutrients from the food the Sha'kar eats and use it for their own function. Within these twin organs is a large quantity of gas, called "Val'xis", which is produced and stored by the Sha'kar during it's rest periods. Upon taking flight, in order to gain altitude, the Sha'kar uses a biological reaction similar to flexing certain muscles to rapidly raise it's internal temperature to truly staggering heights. This, in turn, reacts with the stored gas to form a quasi-neutral plasma that generates high quantities of thrust. This allows the Sha'kar to reach maximum altitude quickly and without an unreasonable expenditure of energy, though each time it uses the Val'xis propulsion it severely damages the interior of the storage sacks on it's body which, in turn, is the reason for it's high rate of regeneration. During it's flight cycle it will heal the damage it deals to itself to generate it's lift, and after refilling it's stores of Val'xis on the ground it then takes flight once more to repeat the process. The purpose of this strange cycle is, to the present, still largely a mystery. Certain research into the habits and ecology of the Sha'kar have, for it's safety and preservation, been banned by the Aes'i Di'ra for generations to prevent any exhaustive tampering from upsetting the Divine Beast.

**More later, maybe**

## Military Forces

The Ael'id possess a standing military upon the surface of Thul'tea. The Vi'muth Caste has a marked presence in every population center on the planet. It acts as both training facility and garrison to withstand any invader or internal strife. In terms of military assets, the Ael'id possess a fleet of approximately two hundred and seventy vessels commissioned by the Il'dir for the purpose of exploration and patrol. Smaller personal ships exist, but are usually restricted. Of their entire fleet, two dozen of these ships have been destroyed or captured by seditious rebel forces during the last two generations of internal discord. Besides the larger ships they possess a multitude of fighter craft built and used by the Vi'muth caste in conflict. In terms of ground conflict, the Ael'id also field a number of landborn vehicles of war including their equivalent to Armored Personnel Carriers, main battle tanks, and even smaller fast-moving bikes. Most of these utilize field propulsion systems relying on electrogravitics, with the larger ships being assisted by Val'xis powered plasma thrusters for the power and thrust necessary to break atmosphere.

In terms of numbers, the Vi'muth's exact count of sisters remains largely a mystery due to the spread out nature of their communes in each city as well as those existing on colony worlds within the Aumnea System. At present, the Logistics Caste of the Ael'id estimate there to be approximately just over a billion active members of the Vi'muth serving in various combat roles across Thul'tea. This number varies, and is probably smaller, on other worlds, and not all of these Vi'muth are considered active military. Some serve as law enforcement and guardians.

## Natural Resources

Consult a GM/ST if this is your first time making a planet. If this is not a staring planet for a star system, these are determined randomly.