Skyring

**Skyring** (also known as **Planet Beta** to the *Eligius III* team and  **Penance** to the Disciples) is a habitable planet with a visible ring in its sky. It was one of the destinations of *Eligius III* mission. It has an atmosphere similar to Earth, and the Anomaly presence on this planet is detected underwater and is too deep to swim to without protective gear. The time dilation on Skyring is high. Seconds on Sanctum equals months on Skyring while a day can equal centuries. This is due to the planets being farther out from a black hole in relation to the other mission planets.

Skyring is primarily used as a prison planet by the Disciples to send their law-breaking members as punishment.

## Early History

Skyring was one of the five planets selected by the Eligius Corporation to colonize by the *Eligius III* mission and designated as Planet Beta.

Becca and the *Eligius* III mission teams already know that planet Beta (Skyring) is much far away from a common black hole than the other mission target planets causing time dilation. Becca Franko predicted correctly that the time on Skyring would run faster due greater distance from the black hole compared to the 4 other destination planets as a result. Due to this effect Russell Lightbourne preferred Alpha, fearing that Beta was too far out from the black hole in relation to the other mission worlds.

However, Mission Team Beta's transport ship crashed on the planet, killing all but Doctor Colin Benson and preventing any attempts to colonize the world. Alone on Beta, Colin studied the Temporal Anomaly and the Anomaly Stone, eventually figuring out the code to open the bridge to Bardo. Colin subsequently died on the planet. At some point, a Disciple visited the planet and died under unknown circumstances and was buried in the ground in front of Colin's cabin.

After entering the Anomaly on Sanctum, Charmaine Diyoza and Octavia Blake ended up on Beta. Octavia was trapped on the planet for ten years before managing to return to Sanctum through the Anomaly while Diyoza's daughter Hope spent twenty years there. When she was three, Hope named the planet Skyring after the ring in the planet's sky. After Octavia sent a message in a bottle through the Anomaly in the hopes of reaching her brother, it instead reached Bardo and alerted the Disciples to the presence of the family on Skyring. The Disciples came in force to the planet and abducted Octavia and Diyoza while Hope was hidden by Octavia.

Skyring later became a prison world for the Disciples where they would send law-breakers for five years before coming back for them if they survived. This apparently started a few months after the capture of Octavia and Diyoza as one such prisoner, Dev, arrived at that point and trained Hope. Due to the time dilation from the black hole, it would be far less time on Bardo than on Skyring.

## Throughout the Series

After the Sanctumites revolt, Russell Lightbourne decides to take the Primes to Beta on *Eligius IV* despite not knowing if the planet is inhabitable. Russell suggests that the Primes will simply continue on to the next *Eligius III* world if that's the case until they find an inhabitable planet. The Primes prepare to mind wipe *Wonkru* and start a twenty year journey to Planet Beta, but are foiled by Clarke Griffin before they can leave.

Hope Diyoza, Echo and Gabriel Santiago arrive on Skyring through the Temporal Anomaly after following the Disciples from Sanctum. Arriving centuries after Hope left due to the time dilation, they find that the Disciples have already gone through the Anomaly to Bardo and that Hope's copy of the code for the Anomaly Stone has been washed away. Encountering one of the Disciples' prisoners, Orlando, Hope becomes convinced that they will be trapped on Skyring for five more years until the Disciples return for the man.

Exploring, the group finds that Orlando has dug up several corpses in his isolation madness, including Hope's friend Dev and Doctor Colin Benson. Recognizing his friend from *Eligius III*, Gabriel realizes that Skyring is in fact Planet Beta from the *Eligius III* colony mission and recovers Colin's Memory Drive from his corpse. A recording of Becca Franco reveals to the three that a nearby black hole is the cause of the time dilation and that Mission Team Beta, aside from Colin, died when their transport ship crashed on the planet. The Memory Drive records Colin's efforts to decipher the Anomaly Stone and his eventual success. However, Orlando destroys Gabriel's computer before they can write down the code, preventing the three from using it and stranding them on Skyring once again.

Anders threatens to send Hope, Octavia and Diyoza to Skyring one by one if they fail their training, leaving each alone for a long time before the next one arrives.

Later, after being fully indoctrinated to the Disciple cause, Echo decides that Hope's punishment will be five years on Skyring.

Anders agrees to punish Echo for attempting to release Gen-9 by sending her to Skyring for 20 years, but warns that she won't be retrieved if Clarke doesn't help them with the Flame. However, Hope kills Anders instead.

Clarke asks Octavia about how long she was on Penance. Octavia tells her that they call it Skyring and she was there for ten years, discussing some of her life on the planet with her friend. Later, Cadogan makes plans to send Clarke's group to Skyring for punishment after she resists M-Cap until Clarke agrees to help him if Cadogan releases her friends.

## Lifeforms

### Jellyfish

The Jellyfish on Skyring are edible sea creatures. They are used for food and their powder is used for gardening and starting a campfire. The powder can also be used as something of an explosive as a small bag of it being hit with a flaming arrow caused enough of an explosion to temporarily stun five Disciples.

## Residents

### Former

* Gabriel Santiago
* Echo Kom Azgedakru
* Hope Diyoza
* Orlando †
* Mission Team Beta †
	+ Colin Benson †
* Dev †
* Various Disciple prisoners †
* Charmaine Diyoza †
* Octavia Blake

## Locations

### Wooden Cabin

It was built by the sole survivor of Mission Team Beta, Colin Benson. Using radio frequences he found an Anomaly Stone and decided to build an outpost on top of it. He was living there at least until he activated the Bridge for the first time. It is located in a relatively close distance to the lake, where the actual source of the anomaly is located.

Charmaine Diyoza had been living there alone for 3 months before Octavia joined her. For 10 years Hope had been growing up here with them before arrival of the Disciples. Another 10 years she spent there alone.

Before Hope's return with Echo and Gabriel, the cabin was used as a shelter for various prisoners, sent there from Bardo.

### The Lake

It is a very deep body of water where the source of Skyring's Temporal Anomaly is located.

## Notes and Trivia

* Becca states that Skyring was further out from the black hole than the other planets, explaining why time would run faster on Skyring.
* Skyring is located a twenty year journey away from Sanctum according to Russell Lightbourne on *Eligius IV's* damaged engines.
* Skyring is far closer to Sanctum than Earth.
* One of the planets in the Anomaly system is shown to have a planetary ring similar to the solar system's outer planets such as Saturn. This is presumably Skyring.
* Hope Diyoza has spent the longest of anyone on Skyring, around 25 years. She spent 10 years with Octavia Blake and Charmaine Diyoza, 10 years with Dev and 5 years with Gabriel Santiago, Echo Kom Azgedakru and Orlando.