Cilvarth
Cilvarth is a small rocky planet in the Kurhira System, home to cilvarthians. Cilvarthian culture has greatly influenced local planets and space colonies. One of few times when cultural stereotypes ring true, cilvarthians are obsessed with the concept of tea.
Throughout history, tea has played a vital role in cilvarthian culture. These people are passionate about tea, and it has become something of an art form. Cilvarthians have popularised tea throughout the Greater Oasis, especially around neighbouring solar systems.
Cilvarth has several million razheans living in the larger cities. These friendly, inquisitive people love learning about cilvarthian culture, studying the planet and the people's history, sending information and data back to their home planet.
The planet has no established nations, instead cities and their designated regions divide the land.
Geography, Location & Climate
Cilvarth is divided into two continents, Aurea and Jisefea. The Middle Mountains splits the single mainland into two, with ten major archipelagos in the surrounding oceans.
Stretching upwards of six thousand miles, the Middle Mountains are impossible to traverse. If its sheer size wasn't too much of a monumentous task, it is filled with treacherous canyons, mud-covered plateaus, deep caverns, and a handful of thick rainforests.
The mountains have sporadic and unusual weather patterns, caused by fluctuating levels of hydromancy in the magical atmosphere. Some canyons flood in a matter of days, bursting their banks and seeping down into the flatlands of Aurea and the flower fields of Jisefea.
Aurea
Aurea is the westernmost continent. With nearly a billion people, it accounts for 35% of the planet's population. The hot Silver Desert to the south and arid flatlands to the north make up the majority of the continent's biomes.
The Kimon Forest makes up a third of the mainland in the northeastern region. The forest is dry and susceptible to wildfires year round. Wildfire Season is in the first few months of the year, annually clearing out a million square kilometres of forest for it to regrow in later months.
The most famous region of Cilvarth is the Silver Desert. Named after the streaks and patches of chrome silver sand flowing throughout the desert, it is home to some of the largest cities, including Aricos, the second most populous settlement.
The Silver Desert is filled with thousands of years of illustrious mythology. Wondrous ancient buildings fill the lands, laced with traps to keep out amateur explorers and looters.
A large forested region in the north of Aurea, the Whispering Woods is an expansive forest plagued with magical winds. A perpetual cold breeze flows through the forest, causing people to experience visual and auditory hallucinations.
Reports of eyes following people, stalking shadows, and voices calling out are all common. Those that wander into the forest are quickly driven out, and those that get lost in its tangled roots are never to be seen again.
Jisefea
Jisefea is the easternmost continent. Millions of acres of rolling hills have been transformed into dense farmland, harvesting various plants used in herbal teas. Sprawling cities populate the coastlines, while more rural towns and villages sprinkle farther inland.
Oh, no. Telis! Get the petal pole! Another one has fallen on the house. Can't see out my window.
The giant flower fields around Jisefea are a true spectacle. An abundance of biomagis in the fertile soil allows plants to grow much larger, much faster. Different flowers possess various magical capabilities - some produce a magical glow that fills the air at night, others releasing a calming aura.
The flowers help other plants grow. Most crop fields are situated on or around giant flower fields, houses built against the stems of the plants for structural stability.
Just south of the Horn of Jisefea is the Sea of Jisefea. The sea is blocked off by Velvet Islands, a long island chain that wraps around the sea on its south and west sides.
The sea has an average depth of four hundred metres, its bed covered in tropical reefs and kelp forest. A mass of small caverns and tunnels run under the seabed, occasionally crumbling and collapsing.
History
Cilvarthians first appeared five million years ago, around the flower fields of Jisefea. They were quick to explore more of the continent, spreading far and wide until they discovered the Middle Mountains. At some point around fifteen thousand years ago some people crossed the mountain range, finding themselves in Aurea.
Some found home in the mountains themselves, with one city and several rural towns still occupying forested canyons between snow-tipped peaks. Those that made it to Aurea quickly established colonies and flourished over the next thousand years.
The Eochian Empire dominated the Silver Desert and neighbouring areas. The powerful emperors commanded a magical army, guarding precious temples containing weapons of mass destruction that may or may not still be buried underneath the scattered ruins.
People on either side of the mountains remained separated for several thousand years, allowing them and their culture to evolve independently. The invention of simple rafts and boats around ten thousand years ago helped bring everyone together.
Science and technology began to improve at an exponential rate once the two sides of the Middle Mountains were able to communicate and exchange ideas. Manual farming became a thing of the past in urban areas, with multi-story, machine-harvested, crop-field skyscrapers becoming a major part of most cities.
The innate cilvarthian love for tea was the biggest motivation to explore reaches beyond their home planet. The first spacecrafts that could survive a journey to the neighbouring planet, Ivucarro, was equipped with a massive conservatory for growing alien tea plants. The first spacecraft landed on Ivucarro exactly a thousand years ago.
The first slimes landed on Cilvarth just over three hundred years ago. Both species were shocked to meet people so different from one another, and things were slightly tense in the beginning. Through years of communication, both species developed a close friendship, and presently there are thousands of slimes inhabiting Cilvarth, and vice versa. Both species share a love for tea, and the tea trade boomed. Cilvarth is the number one exporter of tea in the Greater Oasis, supplying billions of tonnes annually and distributing it to thousands of exo-colonies.
Ecology
Cilvarth has an impressive set of native lifeforms. Its comfortable and diverse climates have allowed creatures of all kinds to evolve and find their own niches.
The Middle Mountains and its hidden rainforests have creatures found nowhere else on the planet. These rainforests are completely isolated from the rest of the planet, common ancestors between them and other animals dating back several million years.
Decapods are one of the more dominant orders of animals on Cilvarth, with various crab species common across the seas, lands, and even skies. Hymenopterans are another dominant order, with whale bees being the largest extant flying animal. The megaflora of Cilvarth have allowed for other gigantic pollinating creatures to evolve, including titanwing butterflies, with a wingspan of ten feet.
Cilvarthians have successfully domesticated a number of animals and plants. Moomoos are the most common livestock. These tiny bovines come in all flavours; from strawbee moomoos to banoomoos, their milk and meat take on the flavour of whatever food they consume.
I think moomoos might be the most amazing creature I've ever met. I spent half my day running around the fields with them! I even tried some strawbees, a popular fruit eaten by both the moomoos and cilvarthians. Delicious! If you ever visit this planet, find a moomoo farm.
14/3/2141
Orbit No.
6
Distance From Sun
6.9 AU
1
Significant Natural Satellites
Arela
A tea themed planet is certainly unique and a great take. I love how creative this is and the attention you've paid to minute (Yet important) details like smell. I think a couple of more pictures (Maybe concept art for the cats/bees/ponies?) would really spruce up the page as well as justifying some of the paragraphs. Something under the sidebar (Like a quote or a picture) would help clear up the dead area there as well. Ultimately a very evocative and inspiring piece and something I have never seen before. I rather enjoyed the read and look forward to more from you.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the uniqueness of the article! I will certainly be adding art of the landscapes and animals, but unfortunately I have lost the pen I draw with so digital art is rather difficult xD My plan for the sidebar is that when I write more and more creatures they will fill it up, but that might take a while... Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!