Thoria Geographic Location in Rakuen | World Anvil
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Thoria

Thoria is the 6th planet in the solar system, and a strange planet indeed. The planet is blanketed in a thick atmosphere of many layers. From afar, the planet looks like a cloudy mass, completely inaccessible, almost as if it were a gas giant. It is in fact terrestrial. Passing through the outermost atmosphere, travelers are greeted with a space in between. Above, chilled clouds swirl about; these darker clouds absorb what sunlight the sun gives off at this distance.   Beyond this first barrier of clouds, travelers are greeted to many spires, reminiscent of those found on Wreath . Although it cannot be confirmed that these were made by the same race, it is clear that there is some resemblance nevertheless that cannot be denied. These Spires rise straight out of the lower levels of clouds, splayed out with interconnecting bridged pathways. Usually each series of Spires on the planet is connected in series of 5, 6, or 8, always with a central panopticon. These structures are truly ancient, and even the finest minds of researchers can’t seem to account for the wealth on knowledge these buildings possess, as they descend down, dungeon-like, into the depths of the planet.   Societies live within the Spires here, although the cultures that have formed here are extremely dangerous and stratified. Most prominent are all manner of goblinoids - including goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, and others - and lizardfolk. This is followed by a smattering of all other races, most prominently being humans, tabaxi, and yuan-ti; there are also fairly large populations of aasimar, gnome, aarakocra, kalashtar, gith, and more.   Each spire is claimed by independent nations, and land as a commodity is harshly fought over in the upper atmospheres. Most city-states are harsh, and very unaccepting of outsiders. Those who do accept merchant flotillas or adventurers from other planets are usually extremely hostile and unforgiving, due to the extreme nature of the planet.   Most of the central Spires of any conjoining of buildings will feature numerous elevators that descend to the bottom levels of the structures. The descent is often very painful for the average person, and is usually not attempted. The changes in pressure are immense between the topmost part of the Spires and the bottom areas, resulting in pain, headaches, exhaustion, and bleeding from the ears or nose.   Upon this bottom level is a lush, verdant landscape that thrives in a disgustingly humid landscape. Almost permanently shrouded in fog, unless the winds are able to push it away, a dense jungle lives under this second layer of gas and clouds, under several layers of a greenhouse effect.   Many races thrive here, unconcerned with the life or politics beyond the clouds. Lizardfolk rule this realm as their native land, along with goblinoids. In this dense land, other races are common, particularly orcs, yuan-ti, tabaxi, goliath, and grung. Life is incredibly hard on the terrestrial side of the planet, and because of this, the upper and lower portions of the planet rarely interact, pleased to remain to their own.   Many researchers here are most interested in the unique plant life on the planet. It is difficult to understand the amount or scale of the plants that exist here, as they are largely covered in perpetual fog. Some of the tallest plant life can be seen from the tops of the spires though, just barely eking out above the cloud. Most concerning is the huge swathes of pollen that occur at various times of the year. This pollen reaches the upper atmospheres, and seems to cause strange behaviour in the brains of humanoids who inhale it, largely involving madness, and a green discoloration on the skin. Those exposed to this long enough have been known to go completely mad, showing no semblance of their former selves, with an intense desire to go down, committed so much that they are willing to dive straight off the spires toward the clouds, and the ground below.   This pollen doesn’t only collect in the higher spaces of the planet where people in the high-planet can breathe it in. Once this pollen rises to the highest portions of the atmosphere, it collects, before raining down in an acid rain. The Spires seem to be immune to whatever acid this is, but anything caught in this acid is permanently scarred. The acid does not seem to make it to all portions of the bottom layers of the atmosphere - perhaps filtered out by the dense fogs; those who witness acid rain on the ground level note the sky or the fogs turn a horrid green or pink colour, which they have associated with finding shelter.   The purpose of this pollen is unknown, nor what plants might be producing it, nor why it needs to go all the way to the top of the stratosphere before being rained down in a deadly fashion. But such is the way of the weather on Thoria.
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Planet

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