The Celestial Bodies Geographic Location in Veridia | World Anvil
BUILD YOUR OWN WORLD Like what you see? Become the Master of your own Universe!

The Celestial Bodies

Over the centuries, Veridian astronomers have looked upon the heavens in search of answers. Through magic and science, the universe opened itself up to the Veridians' efforts to explore it. Only a select few have the means of traveling beyond Veridia and into the vast expanse of Wildspace beyond. What they discovered was beyond anything anyone could have imagined...   The Nova System, also known as Verdantspace, contains seven major celestial bodies, including two major moons and one gas giant. A ring of asteroids separates the gas giant from the inner four planets. Though the Veridians do not yet understand the birth of star systems and their planets, they believe Veridia was created by the firstborn of Bahamut and Tiamat - Sardior, the Shattered Ruby Dragon. As Sardior painstakingly sculpted the perfect world, the other gods breathed life into their creations, and settled them on the planet. Other worlds were created too. A world by itself would be lonely, now wouldn't it?  
The Celestial Bodies
An astronomer's rendition of the celestial bodies in the Veridian System.

Geography

Nova

Veridia's star goes by many names. It has been called the Sun, the Dawnfather, Lightbringer, and Veridis. Astronomers and wildspace travelers, however, refer to it by its galactic name: Nova. Similar to Earth's sun, Nova is a G - class star though it is far younger at about 1 billion years into it's lifespan. Veridians do not know this, and instead acknowledge Nova as the beautiful creation of Sardior the Ruby Dragon and the extension of the Dawnfather's will.    

Albedo & Ashanta

60 million miles from Nova are a pair of binary planets, Albedo and Ashanta. The two rocky planets are locked in an eternal dance around the star. They are often compared to stories of rival gods, whos domains are direct opposites of each other, or the blood war in the lower planes. Though they are enemies, one would be thrown out of balance without the other. Too hot and too small to support life, these planets are barren with the exception of small githyanki and pirate outposts.   

Veridia

100 million miles from Nova and in the prime habitable zone rests Veridia. Sculpted from the ashes of the cosmos and given life by the breath of dragons, Veridia is home to all the gods' creations. It is orbited by a single moon, Luna, a small rocky body. It's orbit however is askew and irregular, almost like it was thrown off balance long ago.  

Hydra

160 million miles from Nova is the water planet Hydra. Hydra is unique in that it is tidally locked with Nova, one side always faces the sun while the other will never see its light. There is no land on Hydra - if there were it would be a barren desert on the sun-facing side. Instead, the hot side creates violent storms that travel across the planet, which become icy blizzards on the frozen dark side. No life can be seen on the surface, though rumors claim that horrific aberrations reside deep within its depths.    

Abaddon's End

Between 200 and 300 miles from Nova is a ring of asteroids, meteors, and other cosmic junk known as Abaddon's End. Most of these are fairly small rocks less than a mile wide, but there are many larger ones too. The asteroids are rich in minerals and are often visited by spelljammer explorers, githyanki patrols, and pirates. The traveling city, the Rock of Bral, also stops here for a time.  

Helm

400 million miles from Nova is the star's only gas giant and largest planet: Helm. Named after the God of Protection, the Eternal Watcher lives up to its name by keeping the asteroids in Abaddon's End in line. If some end up out of orbit, Helm either eats them up or throws them straight into Nova, protecting the smaller planets from potentially extinction level asteroids.   

Modeus

Orbiting about 20 million miles from Helm is the desolate planet of Modeus. Named after the lord of the Hells, Modeus is a grim planet, with rocky crags and mountains covering its surface. It's most notable feature, however, is a gargantuan crater that takes up almost an entire hemisphere. No evidence was left to determine what caused this, but it is likely Modeus was struck by an asteroid being pulled into Helm's gravity well. It is likened to the Shadowfell and thus it is rumored to be haunted by ghosts and other undead.
Type
Solar System

Comments

Please Login in order to comment!