Greenhallow

Greenhallow is a reality in the Talusverse with a Nexus planet called Lush.  Lush is a contiguous forest world where Nature is in a continuous conflict with itself. Lush is racked by weekly storms and pummeled by frequent eruptions from volcanos. Races, Species, and Plant life have evolved a wide array of strategies to collect Light, Water, and Air, and survival strategies against nature.

Summary

The Greenhallow is a rough translation of a word in the Elmari language to describe the biosentient lifeforce that exists on and through the entirety of the planet Lush.  The four sapient lifeforms that live on Lush are in themselves contrasts in how they view their relationship to the Greenhallow.  The Elmari seek to live in harmony with the biosphere.  The Grootoosh live to serve the biolife of the planet.  The Baab-Kiki-Tril believe in mindful cultivation and control of the biolife.  The Vike seek to exploit and dominate the resources of the planet.

Environment

Water

Lush has a hot core near the surface, which produces geysers almost continuously from the subterranean aquifers. This steam produces clouds that gather and roll around the planet in bands dropping large volumes of rain. There are no open sources of water on the planet, though. All water filters down from the trees and plants and into the porous soil to the underground caches deep below.

Light

Lush has three suns in its system.

"For about half of the planet’s orbit, which lasts 550 Earth-years, three stars are visible in the sky, the fainter two always much closer together, and changing in apparent separation from the brightest star throughout the year," said Kevin Wagner, a doctoral student in Apai's research group and the paper's first author, who discovered HD 131399Ab. "For much of the planet’s year the stars appear close together, giving it a familiar night-side and day-side with a unique triple-sunset and sunrise each day. As the planet orbits and the stars grow farther apart each day, they reach a point where the setting of one coincides with the rising of the other – at which point the planet is in near-constant daytime for about one-quarter of its orbit, or roughly 140 Earth-years.”

Each sun gives its warmth to the forest planet. The plants grow very tall, wide, and long in order to reach the abundant solar energy in the sky.

Air

Due to the Rolling Storms, Air within Lush is always in motion. In the lee side of a storm the airflow is mild breeze. Before a storm the airflow can become dangerously strong. The storm bands that circle the planet rotate take a month to pass the same point twice. There are, however, four bands that strike once every 3 days to 8 days of planet rotation. The Storms are a constant on the planet, and all intelligent races have names for the storms, some even worshiping them as gods.

Volcanic activity

The heat of the planet’s core is very close to the surface. This heat does break through the surface frequently. Eruptions are happening very month at some location on the planet somewhere. This is frequent enough for all life on Greenhallow to have developed survival strategies.

Plants

Nature seeks its expression In an infinite variety of shapes and sizes. From the titanic Thundertrees to the opportunistic Mop Flowers that float instead of land. All that is green in Greenhallow in reinventing themselves every generation with new ways to soak up what Greenhallow has to offer by way of its vast nutrients and energy.

Stormfall

While storms are a constant danger on Greenhallow, there is one corner of the planet to the Southeast that has developed a persistent, stationary storm of titanc power. This Stormfall is the work of the Aeons of the Talus Dominion. Stormfall is actually the Rift between Greenhallow and Talus. Through its impenetrable barrier of roiling stormclouds, pulsating lightning strikes, deafening thunder claps, and deluging rain there is a passage known only to the invisible crew of the Black Ships.

Pilgramage

Those petitioning to pass through Stormfall to Talus make a pilgramage to the Lanport of Kyl, an ancient stone temple of unknown origin. The Lanport is a twin peaked step pyramid of roughly aztecian design. The grounds around the Lanport are the only surface of Greenhallow to never grow a single plant.

Pilgrams arriving at Lanport find the temple empty of inhabitants. Only fellow pilgrams camp within the grounds, awaiting their turn to travel. The Pilgram will setup camp around the temple and wait, sometimes months, for a visitation in their sleep. The Dreamer will dream of Talus. The dreams are always personal to the Dreamer and are a profetic vision of their life in Talus. Who they might be there and what they might accomplish. In the end of the dream, the Dreamer finds themselves seated across from an identical twin. Something sits on the short table between the mirror selves, but none can make out what it is. The Dreamer’s twin will say to themselves ‘What secret would you tell to make real what you have just seen? What favor would you offer to make possible that which is now offered?'

Passage

Those that offer a secret or favor of significant value to the Black Company awake aboard a Black Ship on the Sea of Talus. None see the transport of the Pilgram away from Lanport and through the Stormfall. They are there, then they are no longer there.

Foundfree

The Vike of the area make a highly profitable business gathering the Foundfree items of Pilgrims who have been whisked away to Talus in the night. They sometimes barter these items back to new Pilgrims for more still interesting things.

Races

The intelligent creatures of the Greenhallow Reality are all generally peaceful societies made possible by the duality of abundance of land and resources and the universal threat by the very Nature of the planet at all times. There are four known species of intelligence, the Elmari, Grootoosh, Baab-Kiki-Tril, and Vike, listed in order of appearance in the history of the planet.

Elmari - Elf like creatures that are known for their blue skin, tall and slender frame, and 16 fingers. More about Elmari(Greenhallow)

Grootoosh - A race of plant / animal hybrids. 

Baab-Kiki-Tril - Snake bird like people with feathers.

Vike - Goblin like creatures with long haired fur coats. Known for their cunning, craftiness, and special relationships with dangerous creatures like Hallowdrakes. More on Vike(Greenhallow)

by Martin Schuschi

• Reality Name: Greenhallow
• Nexus Planet Name: Lush
• Timeline: 6th arc (local GH time)