Avalon

Innovation capital of the Alliance

## Geography

### Notable Landmasses

Uther, Gwenhwyfar, Gawain, Agravaine, Gaheris, Lamorak, Bedwyr, Galehaut, Lanslod, Peredur, Medrawd, Drystan, Owain

### Notable Bodies of Water

Sea of Sebile, Morgana Ocean, Nyneve Ocean, Meliagrann Ocean, Morgause Ocean, Lake Viviane

### Points of Interest

Avalon Institute of Science and Technology, Mount Caledfwlch

## Politics

### Value

High

Avalon was settled during the very first wave of the Terran Alliance's extrasolar colonisation initiative. In fact, it was second world outside of the Sol System to ever have Terrans set foot on it. Today, Avalon is one of the best-known planets in the Alliance, and in particular it is known for being their centre for scientific advancement. The Avalon Institute of Science and Technology is a very prestigious school for higher learning, and even people from beyond the borders of the Alliance seek to enroll.

The Avalon System has three planets orbiting the star. The colony itself is technically called Avalon II.

## Geography

Avalon is considered to be a very wet world, ideal for the development of biological life. It has a decent bit more land surface area than Terra, 38% land to 62% water. However, the oceans and seas of Avalon are all divided up into considerably smaller portions, with 20 distinct continents and 14 separately identified oceans.

Of additional interest with regards to the natural layout of Avalon is the planet's unusually uneven terrain. Especially active tectonic plate movement is believed to be a significant contributor to how mountainous Avalon is. Most of the picturesque coastlines are rocky, many are coastal cliffs. Caves are very frequent occurrences, whether along the coasts or high up in the mountains.

In addition to unusually frequent earthquakes, Avalon is naturally exceptionally stormy. Gale-force winds and thunderstorms are all quite common, with tsunami and tornados making a more regular appearance on Avalon than on Terra. This, however, is known to be a major contributing factor to the planet's lush ecosystem. The mountains which would prevent stormclouds from passing over them are inundated with rain, and many rivers and streams flow down from them in all directions. That coupled with the short distances between oceans and seas means that there are no desert areas to be found on any of the land surface of Avalon.

Additionally, the planet's robust atmosphere is supported by a planetary magnetic field which is slightly stronger than that of Terra. Though its orbital position is roughly equivalent to its star, this coupled with the frequently overcast sky makes the planet, on average, slightly colder.

## Flora and fauna

The biosphere of Avalon is robust and hardy, though certainly very lush and beautiful.

The most diverse form of life on Avalon are mosses, lichens, and fungi. The near-constant wetness, the frequency of rocky surfaces, and lower frequency of natural sunlight means that this particular variety of flora tends to thrive here. What might at first look to a Terran like a field of grass may in fact upon closer examination turn out to be a whole lot of moss. Many of the fungi on Avalon are edible, some of them possess psychedelic effects, and some are deadly to Terran life. There was even one type of bioluminescent lichen most often found in sea caves which, it turns out, makes pretty decent wine. The sturdiness of the mosses, however, did prove to be something of a problem for the early colonists as it would latch on even to their prefab structures.

   Trees and flowers and other plantlife are not uncommon either! Pine-based evergreen trees are quite common, with some of them on the less stormy sides of the mountains growing to the size of the redwoods of Terra. On the more stormy side, they don't tend to grow as large, and there are more instances of trees that have a more bendy, yielding nature, similar to the weeping willow. The flowers and fruits of Avalon are myriad and colourful. While many are protected by tough outer shells, a great many of the native fruits of Avalon have proven very popular with the rest of the Alliance. These fruits, and the juices and alcohols made from them, are one of the planet's main exports. The most popular are the fairy bells, small berries which come in a variety of colours and are considered sweet, but with a sharp aftertaste.

Those plants which produce through pollen instead tend to take advantage of the regular and powerful winds of Avalon, with seeds or pollen carried sometimes truly impressive distances across the world to propogate. As a result, the biosphere of Avalon is somewhat less diverse than that of Terra.

As for fauna, Avalon is replete with flying creatures of all kinds. Even many primarily ground-based creatures have developed ways to take advantage of the planet's storms. There have been many instances of lizards with a gliding capability, to a larger size than you would generally find on Terra. Avians of Avalon tend to be a bit heavier than those of Terra, as it's easier for them to stay aloft. Predatory feline and lupine species are common, and bovidae species are not uncommon among the mountains, or on the calmer sides of them.

A few of the smaller birds of Avalon have become valued as pets, and some people have attempted to reinvent falconry with some of the larger birds of prey, with... mixed success. Some of the bovidae of the mountains have produced meat that, while it is a bit tough, tastes very nice.

Avalon is a planet younger than Terra. This combined with the fact that none of the fauna of the planet are especially communal, means that none are showing early signs of developing sapience.

## History

When the TAS *Saragossa* arrived in Wolf 1061, Captain Elizabeth Montreux and her crew were surprised to discover that the planet that they had identified as being within the habitable band was not only livable, but in fact was teeming with life. This was considered to be a best-case scenario, their hostile environment survival equipment could be repurposed to other things.

The *Sargossa* entered into orbit around the planet, surveying it for a good landing spot. A location was selected, a relatively flat area, mostly unforested, with a good amount of space between a sea cliff and the beginning slopes of a mountain. The vanguard was sent, beginning to set up scientific equipment, comms relays, and the most important prefab buildings. From orbit, the crew had noticed that the planet seemed to be having some storms going on, but the first wave colonists quickly realised that this wasn't going to be letting up any time soon. A number of anchored lightning rods were set up around the colony.

Once the preliminary structures were set up and the biologists made sure that the local atmosphere and plants were really safe for Terran life, the bulk of the colonists were deployed, and they began setting up their prefab city in earnest. Captain Montreux also came down while the core of the colony ship was converted into a geosynchronous orbital comms station. The Captain wanted to see the planet in earnest, and quickly began exploring beyond the perimeter fence that the colonists had set up. She was enamoured by the beauty of the planet, but also impressed by how fierce it could be. Something gorgeous, but treacherous, and demanding of respect. Finally, when she discovered a cave full of bioluminescent lichen, the name popped into her mind: Avalon.

The name stuck, and that naming scheme quickly became quite popular, with other features of the planet being named for Arthurian myth. This first colony, for example, became known as New Camelot. A later group of colonists of Welsh descent demanded a more culturally accurate naming scheme, and thus many locations now bear specifically Welsh names.

Avalon quickly became the most popular destination for colonists from Terra and the rest of the Sol system. In the early days of extrasolar colonisation, it was the only planet which required no terraforming. The imagery of the planet was quite evocative. But the planet also attracted a great deal of scientific interest. First of all, all of the life on Mars, Venus, and the various moons of Sol was from Terra. Some of it had adapted to the new worlds slightly, but here on Avalon there was life that had grown up completely independent of Terra's influence, which made it ripe for study. Further, the powerful magnetic field and the strangely inclement weather brought a great deal of special interest from academic minds from all over the Alliance.

As a number of separate laboratories popped up very rapidly on Avalon, and after just a year, it was agreed that it would be best to establish a central place for them all to meet, discuss their findings and such. As a result, the New Camelot Institute for Extrasolar Weather Research was established, the first of its kind outside the Sol system.

First Contact with the Murrcioun Syndicates and the introduction of FTL communications into the Terran Alliance boosted New Avalon even further. While other planets were swiftly colonised, some of which also got plentiful attention from the scientific community, Avalon remained of great interest, and in addition, given that so many experts on alien biology, geology, and meteorology had already moved to or been produced at Avalon, a lot of data was transmitted there directly via the new FTL communications.

With time, Gafaelfawr, a city that was constructed on the shores of the Sea of Sebile (the calmest large body of water on Avalon) on the continent Galehaut, was made the new capitol city. Partway up the slope of Mount Caledfwich, the tallest mountain on Avalon which was quite near Gafaelfawr, is where the first stones of the Avalon Institute of Science and Technology were laid.

Conceived with the intent of being the first prestigious centre for higher learning beyond Terra, the Avalon Institute actually wound up surpassing even most Terran universities, as it attracted alien guest lecturers more quickly than any college on Terra could, being younger and more readily adaptable, and with time permanent alien staff and even students. With more prestige came more Alliance funding and more important names in their fields, and with more funding and important names came more prestige.

Today, Avalon stands as one of the more famous planets in the Terran Alliance. It is the least heavily populated planet of the core sector, as the terrain and weather do not lend themselves well to urbanisation. Even today, Gafaelfawr is the only city on the planet where it’s safe to construct arcologies, and that city alone holds around a fifth of the planet’s population. The research of the Avalon Institute of Science and Technology has been responsible for many leaps forward in the advancement of the Alliance’s tech base, both in the civilian and military fields.

## Culture

In the eyes of the rest of the Terran Alliance, the culture of Avalon is dominated almost wholly by the Avalon Institute of Science and Technology. Getting into the Avalon Institute is a cause for celebration no matter where you’re from, and as such the planet is rather defined by that force of PR. As such, people who are from Avalon do tend to be assumed to be smarter, and sometimes expected to be know-it-alls.

This, of course, is wholly unfair. Sure if you actually attended the Institute you’re probably pretty well-educated, unless you slid through lessons on money and minimal effort. There are a few Avalonians who do try to play into this image by expanding their vocabulary and becoming more knowledgeable on various topics even if they didn’t ever actually attend classes at the Avalon Institute. Most Avalonians, however, are just as likely to be stupid as anyone else.

The Institute itself has its own series of micro-cultures within it, of course. Students who live on-campus in Merlin Hall are known to be the snootiest of the bunch.

Gafaelfawr, as the only city on Avalon which a modern Alliance citizen would consider large, tends to dominate the cultural landscape of the planet. It is a city with a thriving nightlife. After all, there is an awful lot of college students very close by. The nightlife scene in the capital city is very active. It also has the busiest spaceport on the planet, the King Arthur Spaceport, with the majority of the trade on and off world going through it, so spacers tend to get to benefit from the leisure and nightlife in Gafaelfawr as well. The largest and most popular of the nightclubs in Gafaelfawr is called The Round Table, its only major competition being the interstellar nightclub chain, Dante's. There's also a thriving theatrical scene in the city, and a high number of performers from the Na'alu Collective. The orbital habitat, Myrddin Station, would normally serve as a pit-stop for spacers more than the planet itself. However, due to Avalon's weather, it's usually too risky to bring large cargo-laden ships up through the atmosphere, so smaller ships bring cargo in many trips up to the station, and larger ships bring the cargo from the station to the rest of the Alliance. Additionally, Myrddin Station has a stronger-than-average communications relay to combat said weather. As a result, there's less room for general habitation and leisure, so spacers tend to divert planetside for such things.

Towns and cities beyond Gafaelfawr tend to be dedicated to one of three things. The first is power generation. The powerful winds, frequent lightning strikes, and rushing water means that Avalon is an excellent place to generate clean energy. Some of it goes to Gafaelfawr, but the excess is all stored and shipped offworld. The second is farming. The fruits of Avalon make for valuable produce, and most of it is sent offworld. The third is recreation. Avalon remains a popular vacation spot, especially for those of a more adventurous mindset. Going out to explore the caves and forests, or even just enjoy the stormy scenery, is something that does actually attract a fair number of people each solar year. Gwalchmei is the largest and most notable of these resort towns, on the continent of Gawain. It boasts its own spaceport.

The intrepid captain who named Avalon may have been of French descent, but a significant amount of the second-wave colonists were of Welsh descent, and they did rather make a job of naming as many things as they possibly could to make sure the naming conventions stay true to the original Welsh naming conventions. As a result of this, the number of Welsh names across the world is rather disproportionate to the number of people of Welsh descent who actually live there. Of course, these days, it's not considered a Welsh matter, but an Avalonian matter.