Xkoli'xaz (zkoli'zaz)
The third planet from its sun and home planet of the Xyllae, Xkoli'xaz, as it is called by them, is a harsh, dangerous world, of which its people reflect. This planet, although certainly habitable for Earth-based life with appropriate effort, is difficult and viscous, due to some stark differences to Earth.
Geography
Xkoli’xaz is a dry, seemingly barren world of sand and rock. Only 20% of the planet’s surface is water and, as a result, the planet is covered either by a massive desert or a somewhat smaller savanna, with a few inland seas scattered across the planet. Rivers are not all incredibly common, as most of the lakes spread out, and most of the surface water not in the seas or underground is in small oases and crater lakes that are scattered across the desert.
The desert is also rockiest near the TBD, the great mountain range that stretches around the planet. These mountains are similar to Earth’s Himalayas, containing the tallest mountains on the planet, and some of the only places where snowfalls. These are not true mountains, however: rather they are in fact continental shelves, exposed as large, mountainous plateaus due to the planet’s low sea level.
In addition to the seas, three massive lakes in the desert serve as bastions of life in vicious wastes. Two of these are on the opposite sides of the TBD, while the third sits in the center of the desert. The west lake sits snuggly up against the mountains and is the only passage to two small fjords surrounded by the mountains. The eastern lake surrounds the TBD, a peninsula growing out of the mountains covered by a series of several rivers that flow from the mountains that are well known as the most fertile region on the planet. The central lake holds a small, lush island which holds Kiig’akz’a, the capital of both the planet’s most powerful nation and the Xyllae Imperial Confederacy.
The Desert
The majority of the planet is covered by a vast expanse of sand, with rolling dunes as far as the eye can see. Much of the northern desert is empty and sandy, mostly flat with exception to the dunes. As latitude increases/decreases, the desert becomes a hot steppe, which then gives way to plains. The desert to the south is older and rockier, with large bodies of sandstone jutting out from the sand. This desert is rugged and no less treacherous than the desert to the north, as its sands hide sinkholes beneath their surface.The desert is also rockiest near the TBD, the great mountain range that stretches around the planet. These mountains are similar to Earth’s Himalayas, containing the tallest mountains on the planet, and some of the only places where snowfalls. These are not true mountains, however: rather they are in fact continental shelves, exposed as large, mountainous plateaus due to the planet’s low sea level.
The Savannas
The northern and southern reaches of the planet are covered largely by a great savanna that stretches almost entirely around the sea. The only exception is on the side that is bordered by the northern mountains and part of the TBD, which are lush, fertile marshlands and flood plains, mixed in with a few of the only rainforests on the planet. These fertile grounds are on the windward sides of the ranges, whereas the savanna and deserts face the leeward sides.The Seas
Xkoli’xaz is essentially an inversion of Earth, in which 80% of the planet is land. Because of this, the majority of the water is contained in two large inland seas, with a few massive lakes able to be seen from space. The northern sea is surrounded by the savanna and feeds some of the planet’s few fertile regions. The sea to the south is surrounded by the desert and provides a cool, salty breeze to the southern desert. The coasts are also lush and almost tropical in places. In addition, the low coverage also causes what water there is to have naturally high salinity, to the point where drinking even freshwater would be deadly to an earth organism unfiltered. The salinity is so high that the bottom is covered by a layer of sediment.In addition to the seas, three massive lakes in the desert serve as bastions of life in vicious wastes. Two of these are on the opposite sides of the TBD, while the third sits in the center of the desert. The west lake sits snuggly up against the mountains and is the only passage to two small fjords surrounded by the mountains. The eastern lake surrounds the TBD, a peninsula growing out of the mountains covered by a series of several rivers that flow from the mountains that are well known as the most fertile region on the planet. The central lake holds a small, lush island which holds Kiig’akz’a, the capital of both the planet’s most powerful nation and the Xyllae Imperial Confederacy.
Ecosystem
Xkoli'xaz is a largely harsh planet, due to its lack of water. As a result of the low water levels, what waters form on the planet are highly saline, even "fresh water" seen in rivers and lakes.
Ecosystem Cycles
Xkoli’xaz’s lack of water means there is a noticeable lack of water vapor in the atmosphere, the only noteworthy difference to Earth’s. As a result, the air is much dryer and rain is much rarer, especially in the desert where it seldom rains. As a result, dry thunderstorms are commonplace, especially in the sandstorms common to the desert. Because of these storms, fire is commonplace on the savanna of the north, so much so plant life needs wildfires to survive.
The lack of water also gives the planet extreme temperature differences between night and day. This is especially true for the desert, where the temperature rises to as high as averages of 40 to 50 degrees Celsius in the day and drops at night to below the freezing point of water. It is also because of the lack of water, that winds between the regions that are hot and cold being incredibly strong, which has the side effect of making strong storms common, while hurricanes are even rarer than on earth.
The lack of water also gives the planet extreme temperature differences between night and day. This is especially true for the desert, where the temperature rises to as high as averages of 40 to 50 degrees Celsius in the day and drops at night to below the freezing point of water. It is also because of the lack of water, that winds between the regions that are hot and cold being incredibly strong, which has the side effect of making strong storms common, while hurricanes are even rarer than on earth.
Fauna & Flora
Xkoli’xaz is a harsh planet and life must be adapted to the harsh conditions. Despite its rough, to an Earth dweller seemingly near desolate, conditions, life has found ways to flourish, even develop sapience in the case of the Xyllae. Due to the high salinity of the planet's water, life on Xkoli'zax evolved naturally as halophiles, organisms adapted to thrive in environments with high salt concentrations.
Evolutionary History
The evolutionary history of life on Xkoli’xaz traces the processes by which living and fossil organisms evolved, from the earliest emergence of life to the present. It is unclear exactly how old Xkoli’xaz is, but current thinking is that it is at least as old, if not older than Earth, roughly 4.6 billion years old. The earliest identified lifeforms, just as those on Earth, were simple, minuscule and relatively featureless. Biologists reason that all living organisms on Earth must share a single last universal ancestor because it would be virtually impossible that two or more separate lineages could have independently developed the many complex biochemical mechanisms common to all living organisms. However, in the case of Xkoli’xaz, a phenomenon has occurred were in at a point where life was still in a very simple stage of development, two separate lineages, both related to the same common ancestor, split into entirely separate trees of life. It is unclear how many there were, but only two have survived to the present. The standing hypothesis for why this has occurred is that the common ancestor to life lived in a single sea which eventually split into two separate bodies, allowing for both populations to evolve distinctly from each other, however, there is nothing to suggest when this occurred. While different lifeforms have evolved in both seas, many occupy the same niches within their respective regions.Flora
Being much shallower than earth’s, kelp-like plants spread in massive forests across the floor; where such habitats exist only on earth’s coasts under certain temperature requirements, they are the dominant habitat on Xkoli’xaz and entirely cover the coasts of the northern sea, as well as a decent portion of the southern sea. Smaller kelp beds dot the ocean, especially on the tops of underwater mountains. Webs of parasitic algae spreading over the top of these forests is a common sight and a valuable resource for the animals that inhabit them. The primary flora of the southern sea is a vine-like plant, which grows along the seaside to use as much water as possible, in a similar manner to kudzu. These plants grow all along the shallows and creep up seaside cliffs, even crushing them. A similar plant grows in the northern sea but is most prevalent on the sides of underwater mountains. With the limited space, many photosynthetic organisms have formed symbiotic relationships with filter-feeding animals that skim the surface of the water, similar to the moss that grows on the fur of sloths. Being an arid planet, fires are common and as a result, many of the land-based plants are pyrophytes: that is, they are adapted to tolerate fire. In some cases, they are pyrophiles, which require fire to reproduce. This is the case for the grasses of the northern savanna, which is similar in pyrophilic properties to cogon grass.Fauna
Due to the salinity of the water, shells and armor plating evolved early on not just for protection, but also to adapt to the issue of buoyancy. However, despite this armor is not as common among more agile, pelagic lifeforms, instead using either bones or a bladder to aid with stability.Natural Resources
The crust of Xkoli’xaz is the composed out of much of the same materials as Earth, and so many of the same minerals can be found and are utilized.
Type
Planet
Owning Organization
- 1 Moon
6371.0 km (3958.8 mi)
Circumference:
- 40075.017 km equatorial (24901.461 mi)
- 40007.86 km meridional (24859.73 mi)
Surface Area:
- 510072000 km2 (196940000 sq mi)
- 102,014,400 km2 sea
- 408,057,600 km2 land
Volume:
1.08321×1012 km3 (2.59876×1011 cu mi)
Mass:
5.97237×1024 kg (1.31668×1025 lb)
(3.0×10−6 M☉)
Surface Gravity:
9.807 m/s2 (1 g; 32.18 ft/s2)
Mean density
5.514 g/cm3 (0.1992 lb/cu in)
Surface gravity
9.80665 m/s2 (1 g; 32.1740 ft/s2)
Moment of inertia factor
0.3307
Escape velocity
11.186 km/s
(40270 km/h; 25020 mph)
Sidereal rotation period
0.99726968 d
(23h 56m 4.100s)
Equatorial rotation velocity
0.4651 km/s
(1674.4 km/h; 1040.4 mph)
Axial tilt
23.4392811°
Albedo
0.367 geometric
0.306 Bond
Mean Surface Temp:
Kelvin: X K
Celsius: X °C
Fahrenheit: X °F
Surface Pressure: 101.325 kPa (at MSL)
Atmospheric Coposition by Volume:
- 78.08% nitrogen (N2; dry air)
- 20.95% oxygen (O2)
- 0.934% argon
- 0.0408% carbon dioxide
- ~ 1% water vapor
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
a place that's deviod of life is 'barren', not 'baron'. Other than the typo, it seems rather interesting. How can microorganisms from two different planets share a common ancestor? did they hitch a ride on an ancient alien spaceship? Also, How do the savannas grow enough to support wildfires with so little water? How have the plants evolved to incorporate wildfire into their life cycle?
The organisms don’t share a common ancestor with those on another planet: the organisms in each ocean share a common ancestor from when the two oceans were one. There is only a savanna in the north (I’m not sure I understand the question fully) Many of the plants are pyrophiles: they require fire to reproduce.
My question centers around the fact that in order to spread, fire needs fuel everywhere. if there is so little water on the planet, how is there vegetation covering the ground? Maybe it's just much less water-dense than earth plants? As for the plants needing fire to reproduce, do they grow seeds within themselves that can only be released when the major structure of the plant around them is destroyed by flames? Thank you for answering my questions.
There’s subterranean in the savannas, much more so than in the desert. Especially on the coast of the northern sea. That being said, the map is in the process of being updated, so there will be some changes. As for the the pyrophile plants, I haven’t figured it out for every plant, but the grasses of the savannas would be similar to cogongrass.