Monday, January 9, 2012

The Pyrax System

Good day honorable sir, gentle lady, or enigmatic genderless being.

The diamond you hold in your hand or other appendage contains the first issue of the stupendous new source of far-flung information, the Diamond City Dispatch.  Through the application of powerful psionics, this loregem shall be periodically infused with additional information for your general perusal.
 
My name is Snake Feather, and I am a well-traveled lizardman of unyielding curiosity. I will be your host as we explore some of our solar system's amazing locations and the peoples therein, from the most nauseating corners of the abyss to the gentle homesteads of the outlands.  A special focus will be given to the people of Diamond City, a fantastic metropolis on the lone moon of Theta and the place I call my home.



First, an elementary explanation of the universe, for those of you without basic spelljamming knowledge.

We live in what is known as a solar system, a cluster of planets all orbiting a large sun.  Each star in the sky is a very distant sun, and some of those have solar systems of their own.  We can't visit those systems, because our spelljamming magic has not advanced to that capacity.

We call our sun Pyrax, and we likewise refer to our  solar system as the Pyrax system. Pyrax is orbited by planets in three concentric bands.  The inner band is referred to as shatterspace, the middle band is realmspace, and the outer band is wildspace.  Beyond wildspace is what we refer to as deepspace, a largely inaccessible, vast and lifeless void.  All of the other solar systems beyond deepspace are referred to as the far realms.

Shatterspace
The closest planet to Pyrax is Baator, home to the vile devils.  Next is the red wasteland of Carceri.  Beyond Carceri is a field of cubic planetoids known as the Acheron clusters. At the outer edge of Shatterspace is the shatterfield, a mineral-rich asteroid field.

Realmspace
Realmspace consists of four planets.  Closest to Pyrax is the hot jungle planet of Arcadia. Next is the magical land of Arboria, the plains of Theta, and the dismal, cloudy world of Courlark.

Wildspace
This distant band is home to three planets and a giant living organism known as Atropus.  The innermost planet of wildspace is Elysium, home to some of the greatest forces of good in the solar system. Beyond that is the elemental tempest known as Pandemonium, then the mysterious and dangerous planet of shifting illusions known as Limbo.  Orbiting Limbo is an ancient, corrupted interstellar space vessel known as the Tetrahedron.  At the distant outer edge of our solar system is a strange seemingly living planet known as Atropus.

Pyrax
We will begin our journey through the solar system with its namesake body, Pyrax, also referred to as the sun.  Pyrax is a massive sphere of blazing fire and magma without a single solid surface.  Any being without adequate magical protection within 1000 miles of the surface of Pyrax is automatically blinded.

Very few creatures are known to live there, with the exception of various fire and magma elementals and the benevolent sun dragons.

Sun Dragons

Sun dragons are unlike dragons from other planets.  Their bodies glow with a warm radiant energy, and on the surface of Pyrax they are difficult to see among the tremendous amount of ambient radiance.  Their bodies are lithe and slender, and they swim quickly in and out of the blindingly bright magma on the surface of the sun.  They are majestic and intelligent, yet playful and childlike at times.

Sun dragons are one of the few species of dragon that reliably aligns itself with the forces of good.  The lawful angels, with whom the chaotic sun dragons surprisingly often cavort, are able to approach closer to the sun than most mortal races.  The angels and sun dragons work together to launch assaults on the devils of Baator, and groups of sun dragons can periodically be found causing destruction to infernal outposts across the scorthed plains of Avernus.

Sun dragons feed on elemental beasts, defeated devils and the various flora and fauna of space.







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