| abstract
| - The planet is surrounded by a densely thick gaseous atmosphere. The air is thick and heavy, and rife with toxic gases, being highly acidic and sulfurous. During the day, when the heat of the star Olum beats down on the surface, evaporating the seas, the sky becomes hazy and orange. The bright light during the day lends a luminous hazy quality. At night, when the twelve moons hang above, and the frigid chill sweeps over the land, the sky becomes a deep purple, with the horizons showing signs of blues, greens, reds and oranges. The landscape itself is jagged, pocked and worn. Mountains surge up from the constant eruption of volcanoes. Wind and acid carve out deep valleys line with extensive caverns. Geysers surge up, leaving forests of stone pillars and mists. Fog banks swirl about, settling into lowland areas. Lakes and rivers and oceans freeze over at night and begin to evaporate away during the day. Great glassy crystals jut from the rocks, ever growing and breaking down, falling to the sands. Weather is greatly dependent on the time of day. At sunrise, a flash of light begins to burn the air, quickly heating the land and stirring up storms of foggy vapors and dust. As the star Olum rises higher in the sky, great winds whip up, the watery pools evaporate, reducing visibility. Thunderous storms swell, releasing their fury in cracks of lightning. By midday, the planet is burning hot. Storms and winds sweep about the land. The heat causes the ground to fissure, releasing steams of vapor and geysers of acid. In some areas, volcanic surges of magma reach the surface and flow in rivers or burst in explosions, sending molten rock and dust high into the air. These volcanic areas are nearly always surrounded by lightning storms during the day. With all the minerals in the air, and the heat and pressure, crystals grow rapidly. As evening approaches, the air cools, dropping torrential storms of acid rain. Winds whip across the land. The lakes and oceans begin to fill again, seeping into the cracks of the land. Mud and dust form thick clay beds of acidic mire. When Olum sets, the temperature quickly drops, freezing the acidic lakes and rivers at the surface. The heated land underneath retains enough heat to prevent a solid freeze. Gusts of wind and geysers begin to settle into an eerie calm, occasionally broken by distant cracking of stone and ice, or the eruption of a volcano. At night, the sky offers a hazy view of the twelve moons that orbit Messos Myonel.The Moons of Messos Myonel
The moons of Messos Myonel are collectively known as "The Twelve Eyes" and represent virtues and values important to the appilons. They are presented here in order of closest to farthest from the planet. Sawt - Community: A smaller cratered moon swirled with gold, bronze and faint purplish hues. The closest moon to Messos Myonel, appearing the largest in the sky. Sawt represents the value of community. Named for Wstoha, an ancient appilon community dedicated to survival and protection that lasted for ages until it finally disbanded during a volcanic eruption. The survivors of the disaster split and settled elsewhere, forming new communities. Tobeil - Beauty and Love: Smallest of the moons of Messos Myonel, it is grayish blue with a slight oblong shape, appearing to wobble in the sky as it orbits. This mesmerizingly slow wobble is said to entrance those who look upon it, as well as focus their thoughts of family and friends. As such, it represents the values of beauty and love, being named for the Pylox (the language of appilons) word for love and beauty. Nguns - Endurance: An average-sized gray moon with dark craters and mountainous peaks. Shows no signs of active volcanic activity, though, the landscape suggests that it once was tectonically active. Nguns represents the appilon value of endurance. Named from the old name of mountains, Nguns orbits Messos Myonel the quickest of all the twelve eyes. Eyian - Change: The third largest moon, Eyian certainly lives up to its name as the moon of change. Mostly blackish with faded yellow speckles, great craters and vast deserts of rusty red, the moon also has a thick oxygen-rich atmosphere, small red stained oceans and blooms of micro-organisms. These blooms periodically change the color of the moon itself, giving it an appearance of green-ish yellow in the atmosphere, or perhaps a bloom of reddish-orange, or even spots of blue-green. High atmosphere clouds seem to protect the moon, lending to wisps of white. Combined with the color filtering effects of the Messos Myonel atmosphere, Eyian rarely looks the same from day to day. Besyf - Empathy: The fourth largest of the twelve eyes, this reddish moon is covered in iron oxide dust and large boulders from meteor strikes. Besyf represents the value of empathy. The moon is named for the appilon hero from epic poetry. Besyf was a great noble figure, with a gleaming shell and a kind soul which never wavered against any obstacle. A great storm heard of these things and challenged Besyf with its rage. Besyf stood staunch against the storm, but still the storm lashed, sending bolts of lightning, hail, pounding wind and searing acid rains to wear Besyf down. The storm's rage continued to grow as Besyf remained, and even began to speak. Besyf said "Storm, I feel what you feel. Your rage is my rage. So long as such malice runs through you, you shall never defeat me." The storm got a clever plan, and cleared its heart of its rage to remove the strength Besyf had taken, but as the storm did, it faded away. Besyf stood, a hero who defeated a storm by understanding how it felt. Iadod - Wishes and Dreams: This brownish-grayish moon which shines brightly marked with craters is the fifth largest of the eyes of Messos Myonel. Iadod represents the appilon value of wishes and dreams. Iadod is named for the folk hero who, in ages past, spoke with the moon. The moon, a giver of wishes, grew restless and lonely, desiring to seek out and explore. As the moon orbited Messos Myonel, all it could do is watch and grant wishes, but it did not feel nor did it care for those that it brought happiness to. Iadod took out its own spirit and offered it to the moon so that the moon could search itself, quest for enlightenment and have its own dreams and wishes. So, Iadod and the moon became one. It is said that Iadod will still grant wishes to those in need. Meviped - Strength: A hazy yellowish-brown moon. Meviped is the largest of the moons of Messos Myonel and holds a very thin atmosphere. It is a sulfur-rich world with large deposits of calcium and aluminum, much like Messos Myonel itself. Meviped is given to represents the appilon value of strength. Named for a stout soldier. This soldier fought on the front lines of a battle against a group of separatists who had severed their ties with the Anagii. Meviped was taken captive and set to be executed at the full moon. When his execution time came, the last of his squadron of troops, Meviped struggled against his captors, but was overpowered and thrown into a volcano. Meviped called upon the power of his people and his fallen comrades and survived. He climbed from the belly of the volcano, burning with rage, and defeated the separatists. Watod - Wisdom: The second largest moon, it shines dimly brown, speckled with flecks of white and orange. Like Meviped, it also has a thin atmosphere. As the heat of the star Olum hits its surface, the moon seems to awaken with geysers and volcanic activity, sending up plumes of ash, gas and fire. Represents the value of wisdom that the appilons prize. Named for the folk hero, Watod, who had said he would only ever give the answers to the great questions of life just once. Many folks approached him, pleading for his wisdom, and never would he give in and tell. One day, years later, a great and powerful glowing being approached before him and demanded Watod reveal the answers to life to him, or he would damn him for all eternity to loneliness and despair. Watod quickly began scribbling in the answers to the great questions of life in the sand. However, the great and powerful glowing being could not read what he had written, and the winds quickly erased the words. The great glowing being, enraged, cursed Watod anyhow. Watod however, called upon the Anagii, and saved itself. So, in the end, the great answers in life are learned, not given. Tefiso - Prophecy: An average reddish-orange moon with dark-banded surface striations caused by volcanic ash. Tefiso's core is hot and molten, lending it to active bursts of volcanic activity with dormant periods in between. This moon represents the value of prophecy and foretelling the future. Tefiso is also known as "the naming eye" and is often looked to as a focus when appilons are born. Ortaaka and Agiaaka - Siblings of Knowledge: A pair of small brownish-orange pock-marked moons, they orbit near each other. They represent the value of knowledge. Each is amed for one of the legendary siblings who were said to have first harmonized magic and gained true understanding and sentience. Ortaaka is said to be the prime ortshell and agiaaka is the prime agiishell. From their connection, the Anagii is said to have been born. Stablu - Mystery: Farthest from Messos Myonel, it is the second smallest moon, glowing a hazy orange with specks of white. Stablu also orbits Messos Myonel the slowest. The moon represents the appilon value of mystery and is named for the hermit who sent itself to search the stars for answers, knowing that it is mysteries, the great quests and questions in life, that drive appilons forward.Olum System
The Olum System consists of the star, Olum, five planets and twenty-two moons. Olum: The star shines its radiant burning light upon the world of Messos Myonel. While Messos Myonel is much farther from its star than most earth-like worlds, Olum is a yellow star approximately four times the diameter of sun-like stars. Appilons attribute the values of energy and magic to Olum, as its presence fills their world with scorching heat and blinding radiance. Citos: A small world constantly aflame with molten stone. It orbits the closest to Olum and has no moons or atmosphere. It glows brightly in the dark sky as if it were a star, though, this is due to the world being almost entirely molten. Appilons refer to Citos as "the little star", as if it were a child of Olum. Tewanos: Much like Citos, Tewanos is a barren fiery world, though larger than Messos Myonel. It also has no moons or atmosphere. Tewanos is referred to as "the brute" by the appilons, in a jovial context, as Tewanos is seen as a guardian and protector. Messos Myonel: Farther out from Olum orbits the only planet in the system known to harbor life. It also has the most moons. Evos Adnatte: The closest planet to Messos Myonel is the most earth-like of the worlds in the Olum system. It has one moon, Evos Adda, and even has an atmosphere and water. However, Evos Adnatte is frozen over, appearing to be a hazy blue-white speck in the skies of Messos Myonel. Appilons attribute Evos Adnatte to the "lost parent", forever searching the sky for children lost to time. Geblum: Farthest out among the planets is the gas giant Geblum, a hazy orange world with a great ring of dust and debris. It has 9 moons, some nearly as large as smaller planets such as Citos. These moons are to faint to be seen by appilons and, while they are aware of them, have never been named or studied. Gelbum is attributed by the appilons as "the watcher" and its moons as spying servants. Debris Cloud: Out past Geblum is a great ring of asteroids, frozen shards, gas and dust. Appilons typically refer to it as "the outer ring" and only know of it through ancient tales and divinations.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)