Stelsa

Stelsa is a "gray atmosphere" world. It is affected by the gravitational pull of a dying sun and has six moons. Because of the dying sun, the brightest that day gets is comparable to dusk or early morning on other planets. Stelsa is also the home of the Nir Tivarenul species, who are called Natives by IPA settlers and most of the galaxy.

Geography

Stelsa is a multi-biome planet, with multiple types of geographical features. The largest of these areas is the forest, which covers most of the planet. The plains are many miles wide, with pale grass spreading out in every direction, tidtle, rudigon, and acacia trees scattering the stretch, and an abundance of flowers and animals. The ocean of Stelsa is one enormous body of water that covers the rest of the world. Aquatic creatures fill the gray waves of these unexplored seas, most of them undiscovered species.

Localized Phenomena

Because of the sun-polluted atmosphere, the sky of Stelsa always looks to be a shade of gray. This affects everything on the planet, from the appearance of large bodies of water to the

As you have destroyed my love and my happiness, so I will destroy yours. Never again will you have light as you did when I had hope. Never will your forest look the same, nor will your sky appear as bright. This is my final vow.

— From the Legend of Moonsung

color of grass and leaves. The sun has been dying for hundreds of years, baffling scientists with its length. According to the vaguest legends from the Natives, the sun was attacked by a powerful magic user millennia ago. With no other options, magic is the only explanation for the sun's unique state. Stelsa's native sentient species, the Nir Tivarenul, has powerful magic linked to the planet and its plants and animals. Stelsa has a high speed of rotation that causes days to

be 18 hours long, with 10 hours of dim daylight and 8 hours of darkness.

Fauna & Flora

Stelsa is rich in vegetation that covers the entire planet. From tidtle trees which have healing properties and rudigon plants which produce a strong material used in fishing nets to poisonous berries and patches of briar roses, the flora on the planet is incredibly diverse. While many of the plants can be found and cultivated on other planets, some cannot be grown anywhere else. For example, tidtle trees, from which tidtle berries and tidtle leaves are taken, have died whenever they are removed from Stelsian soil and the seeds wither once exposed to another planet's atmosphere. Tidtle berries are used for food by the Nir Tivarenul, and the leaves are helpful with herbal healing.
Another specimen native to Stelsa is the mysterious black maple, a rare tree found scattered across the planet. This tree appears to be a normal maple tree, but the bark and leaves have turned completely black and the tree is suspended in a state of dying. Additionally, the trees around this maple are either empty, dead husks, or alive and thriving. The phenomenon of these trees is similar to that of the planet's sun.

History

Stelsa is one of the oldest planets in the Janya Galaxy. Despite its age, it was only officially settled within the past nine hundred years. The planet was originally populated by the Nir Tivarenul species, who lived in the forests and plains. With their magical powers, the Nir Tivarenul maintained the planet's wildlife and kept their world relatively safe. At some point, the sun began dying, and shortly after, its decline was paused by unknown magic.

One hundred years after the Polaris collapse, a group of explorers from the IPA landed on Stelsa. Although the length and dimness of the world's days were disconcerting, the settlers quickly adjusted and began building towns. Concerned by the unwillingness of the settlers to leave, the Nir Tivarenul began attacking these small settlements. A short conflict began, ending when the next wave of settlers arrived in 126 APC and brought better weapons. The Nir Tivarenul, called Natives by the settlers, were forced to give up much of their territories and stay out of the settlers' way.

by Lilliana Casper

As years passed, a few more waves of settlers arrived in 205, 362, and ending in 514 APC. An agreement was reached with the Natives that kept both groups out of each others' territories. If any settlers end up in the Natives' areas, then the Natives must give them one chance to leave. The same is done for Natives who enter settlements. The agreement has occasionally been defied, but most Stelsians stay with their people.

Tourism

Stelsa is rarely visited for recreational purposes. The only non-residents who visit are suppliers and occasional scientists and historians. Exploration groups are few and far between, with the last group of settlers landing in 214 APC.
During the main story, a group of kids crash-lands on Stelsa, gaining mysterious powers and beginning their long journey to protect the galaxy from numerous enemies.

"Yes, this is definitely Stelsa. It was on our way."
“What else do you know about Stelsa?”
"It has only eighteen hours in a day, is populated by both settlers and Natives, has a thick atmosphere, and is the only planet aside from Jaque that still tells old legends."

— Hailey and Alexxus, Uprise

Alternative Name(s)

The gray planet

Type

Planet

Inhabiting Species

• Nir Tivarenul

Class
Multi-biome

Stelsian plains by Lilliana Casper

The Legend of Moonsung

The Legend of Moonsung is an ancient Native myth and the only account of the cataclysm that caused Stelsa's sun to both begin and end dying. The story starts with a girl and her mother fleeing their old village and joining a new one. A few years pass, during which the girl, whose name is traditionally Black Maple, falls in love with a boy, Lonely Moon. Before they can be married, however, the boy's jealous friends investigate the girl's old village and discover a shocking truth: the entire village was killed by magic at the same time that Black Maple and her mother left.
The friends bring this information to their chief, who orders that Black Maple and her mother be killed for lying. Black Maple's lover warns them and they attempt to flee. The men of the village arrive just as they leave, and the mother is killed. In her grief and rage, Black Maple unleashes a wave of magic that kills the men. Lonely Moon pulls her away with him. Black Maple tells him that her mother was accused of stealing something in their old village and was going to be killed, and Black Maple lost control, killing everyone. Lonely Moon comforts her and they make a plan to live alone far away from others, but at that moment his friends arrive. A fight breaks out and Lonely Moon is killed.
With nothing else to lose, Black Maple vows to destroy the happiness of the villagers and take away their light. Her power attacks the sun and the forest, causing the sun to begin going dark. The villagers beg the Star Maidens for help, and the decline of the sun is ended. However, Black Maple's final curse remains, preventing the sun from ever being as bright. Black Maple's fate is not revealed, and the legend ends with a remark about black maple trees and one of Stelsa's moons being named after Lonely Moon.