Age of life:
Prior to the Seeker’s arrival in system 6F6E73, Drekmur had most closely been observed from the connected system Cinis, that is 1078 light years away. Initial observations showed no signs of life on any of the planets in the system, though it did show the presence of liquid water on Drekmur’s surface. As a result of the lightspeed delay in observations, the Seeker’s crew was the first to note the self-sustaining ecosystem and sentient life present on Drekmur. It later became apparent that this was due to the actions of a primus during the unobserved time period.
While the exact year of the arrival of Ekodeck, Drekmur’s primus, is unknown it is thought to be between 1039 and 1036 years before contact. This date is derived from the historical records of the drekmurians as well as carbon dating.
Geography+Climates:
This section will go over some details of the regions of Drekmur as well as provide some basic statistics regarding the planet.
As per drekmurian request, a digital map of Drekmur will not be provided. To quote the representative I spoke to, “The world should be experienced, not just viewed from afar.” I did, however, manage to convince them to allow for a basic map to be made in order to more accurately show all the locations. This map is on the front cover if you wish to reference it at any point.
Drekmur is 3219 km across, with an average density of 5.48 g/cm^3. This has resulted in a surface gravity of only 5.6 m/s2. While lower than preferred for humans, it is still livable, assuming regular exercise is undertaken.
The atmospheric pressure at sea level is around 61.01 lb/in2 with a composition of 5.5% oxygen, 18.3% nitrogen and 74.8% helium with trace amounts of other gasses. This, against all odds, is a breathable mixture and pressure at sea level, though it is recommended that you consult with a doctor prior to visiting.
Drekmur has two moons: one has a diameter of 446 km; and the other, 792 km. This means that Drekmur experiences very little tidal activity, although when the two moons align there can be some.
Drekmur also orbits between 0.973 and 1.060 au from its sun with an orbital period of 421.201 days per year. A rotation takes 22 hours, 40 minutes and 10.21 seconds. The varying distance from its sun is, in fact, the reason for Drekmur having seasons, as the planet is not significantly tilted relative to its plane of orbit. This also means that instead of the length of day changing, throughout the year the intensity of light striking the planet changes. As a result, all parts of the planet experience cold and warm seasons at the same time.
Drekmurians divide the year into 16 months of 26-27 days each; these months, when translated, are first month through sixteenth month. Please note that drekmurians use a base sixteen counting system, so sixteen can be written with one symbol. The first through fourth months are referred to as the warm months, the fifth through eighth as the cool months, the ninth through thirteenth as the cold months and the fourteenth through eighteenth as the hot months.
Northern Wastes:
Being the northernmost continent, it is unsurprising that the northern wastes are, as the name implies, largely barren. The sunlight strikes the land at an angle which spreads the light thinly over a large area. The result is that the continent is very cold. The habitual cold has led to snow and ice buildup, which can be miles deep in places.
Any life on this continent gets its energy either from the oceans or from other life which feeds in said oceans. This has resulted in an environment which is almost totally desolate and which virtually no drekmurians are willing to try to settle there, especially because the flight there is no easy one, and so in times of emergency help would be hard to come by.
Rakfan:
Each region of Rakfan has distinct climates and features; as such no one summary would do it justice. Most drekmurians live on Rakfan because of its size and the majority of its land area is favorable to habitation. For this reason, Rakfan was the region where contact was first established.
The Tundra Forest:
On the northwest corner of Rakfan there is a vast expanse of forest bounded by two rivers and a large lake. As a result of ocean currents and its northern latitude, it experiences long, cold winters with snow covering the ground during most of the colder months. In the warmer months, however, the temperatures can get as warm as 30°C.
In this forest, the trees serve as the base and core of the food chain, providing both fruit and housing for the forest's residents. Wandering under this extremely tall canopy, you can find packs of kiresk which hunt using herding and ambush tactics. As well, it is common to see drekmurians living in tree houses or hollow trunks of these colossal trees.
Currently the spread of the forest is limited by the regular wildfires which rage through the underbrush seasonally. These fires, while unable to kill healthy, full grown trees, can kill younger trees while clearing out the brush which springs up on the forest floor.
The Flowing Plains:
Spanning from the west coast of Rakfan to the sky scraper mountains it is unsurprising that the flowing plains have a large variety of climates. For example, the northern and western sections experience snowy winters while the area around the green sea very rarely gets below 0. As such there is no one unified climate for the entire region, though the beauty remains constant.
Covering the flowing plains is a five foot tall grass like plant which is highly flammable and so causes seasonal wildfires. In order to survive these wildfires most species either dig underground shelters, can fly, or have protection thick enough to be immune to the quick moving fires. The grass survives by storing much of its energy in its deep root system prior to the wildfire season. Many species feed on this grass with one of the key ones being urkon as a result of its domestication by drekmurians. Prior to their domestication they survived the wildfires using their thick inflammable coats.
To protect from the regular wildfires which characterize the flowing plains most towns and cities have either earthen fire breaks or stone walls. This mainly serves to ensure that any flammable buildings are protected when there are fires. But these fire protections can also serve as barriers to keep cattle corralled and safe.
The Green Sea:
Located relatively near the equator the green sea very rarely if ever sees any snowfall or cold weather. It does however receive a large amount of rain throughout the year with there being between 2-2.5 meters of rain per year.
The plentiful amount of rain this region receives as well, as the warm weather causes life to thrive here. One of the key species which supports life in this region are the iron wood trees named as such due to their extremely strong wood as well as their resistance to fire. Despite popular misunderstanding neither their bark nor wood contain any iron. This resistance to fire seems to be an adaptation to protect against the seasonal wildfires in the flowing plains which can spill over into this region. The strength of their wood and lower gravity of Drekmur allows these magnificent trees to grow up to 300 meters tall. Many creatures also live in the shade created by the iron wood trees feeding off their fruit or just using them as nests.
The Sky Scraper Mountains:
The low gravity and high levels of tectonic activity on Drekmur mean that mountains can reach heights unseen on most habitable planets. The tallest of these mountain ranges is the sky scraper mountains. With their average height being approximately 13,000 meters resulting in the atmosphere being extremely thin at their peaks and the average temperature being -5°C. This results in snow continuously building up at higher altitudes and in the peaks being uninhabitable for most species.
These extreme conditions mean that very little can survive or thrive in this region with only specially adapted creatures being able to do so. For example several species of moss and lichen grow on the peaks which in turn feed erkisvac and other species. However, what species of animals and plants that do live in these regions tend to live longer than other comparable species as a natural result of their slower lives.
While these mountains would definitely provide a fantastic view of Drekmur the low pressure at the peaks make me reluctant to visit. If you do wish to visit I highly recommend that you bring a pressure suit and oxygen or a compressor at least.
The Vast Sands:
Created as a consequence of the sky scraper mountains blocking clouds from reaching this region the vast sands is a vast expanse of desert. When it does rain it is usually because a storm disrupted air currents and blew storm clouds into the region from the oceans. This low humidity means that the desert experiences differences in daytime and nighttime temperatures of up to 50°C.
This makes the region very hostile to most forms of life although there are species which have evolved to survive here. Many species of cacti like plants, which make up the base of the region's food chain, exist here. What animal species do live here typically have dens which they retreat to during unfavorable conditions or have some other method of dealing with the extreme temperature swings such as a highly insulated shell.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
The similarities between the species which live here and those which live on Earth are shocking. For example both places have spiny plant-like life which stores water in spongy inner flesh. Or how the sand despite being separated by lightyears has nearly the same exact makeup as that on Earth. It seems to be a case of similar survival pressures and geologic conditions leading to similar outcomes.
Arcundon:
South of the equator there is a landmass about 70% the size of Rakfan consisting of two main islands divided by the roaring strait. Arcundon has a significantly lower population than Rakfan because it has significantly less habitable land. The exotic nature of many of the regions or Arcundon has gained it a reputation as a mystical and fantastic other world. A reputation the locals seem to not agree with or want as it brings too many tourists for their fancy.
Dividing the two halves of the continent is a strait called the roaring strait called such because of its volume from its turbulent rapidly flowing water. This strait has such high flow rates from ocean currents forcing water to flow through it. This can cause flow rates of up to one hundred km per hour which makes the strait uncrossable by traditional methods. The strait has not eroded into far past its current ten miles across as a conscience of the extraordinarily fast tectonic activity as well as the extreme hardness of the rock it is made out of.
The Frozen Plains:
The name frozen plains actually refers to two distinct regions which do not share a border. It seems as though these areas were grouped together as they are very similar and there is little need to really differentiate between them as very little is unique to only one part. Both regions are cold inhospitable landscapes of ice and snow, for the southern part this is due to its distance from the equator while the other is cold because ocean currents bring cold water past it. Temperatures in this region are almost always below freezing year round with some parts reaching extremes of up to -70°C in the cold months. While during warmer months the edges do thaw out and shift as the snow recedes.
Most of the species in this region live off of either sea life or other species which feed on that sea life. This has led to the areas far from the coast having virtually no life. Over all the region is mostly a cold desolate space absent of any life which while beautiful to see is a frightening prospect to occupy.
When the seeker first arrived on Drekmur one of the ways our team surveyed it was by taking ice samples which had built up over the years. This allowed us to chart many things, one of which was the atmosphere composition over time. During the time when life was present there was nearly no change with the one exception being around 770 BC when there was a large uptick in hydrogen sulphide, methane, cadaverine and putrescine.
The Frozen Forest:
Located between the frozen plains and the fire mountain range the frozen forest varies in temperature from freezing cold to fairly warm. The westernmost parts of the forest very rarely get above freezing and in the winter temperatures can reach -25°C, while the easternmost portions very rarely see temperatures below 5°C.
Eternal green trees, the trees in this region, due to the climate have a form of natural antifreeze which upon testing turned out to be ethylene glycol. This allows the trees to retain their leaves even during the coldest weather and protects against predators. They also utilize ethylene glycol to collect water by secreting it onto snow or ice and then sucking up the melted rements with their roots. This has allowed them to spread deep into the frozen plains though their continued growth is greatly slowed by the increasingly colder weather as they spread deeper into the frozen plains. Eternal green trees also produce a hard nut which many of the animals of the frozen forest feed on. This is one of the few sources of food in this region as for a large part of the year the only plants which can survive are the eternal green trees.
The Fire Mountain Range:
The fire mountain range is characterized by its high concentration of volcanoes. The climate and weather will vary drastically from mountain to mountain though overall the climate is unsurprisingly similar to that of the sky scraper mountains, only less extreme. They are not nearly as tall as the sky scraper mountains, only being 7,000 meters tall on average. However they do still usually have snow on their peaks because of the colder temperatures at higher altitudes.
As a conscience of the frequency of volcanic eruptions and poisonous gasses not much life survives and even drekmurians are reluctant to fly over them. This means that only specialized life such as jacka can thrive here and so the mountain range is largely barren. What life does live on the fire mountain range is either mobile and insanely hearty or very short lived.
According to historical records, the fire mountain range was where iron was first refined because of the easy access to the necessary temperatures.
The Spreading Tree:
Located north of the roaring straight is the spreading tree named as such because the forest being all one tree similar to Pando The Tree back on Earth. The area covered by the spreading tree stays warm for the majority of the year with it getting down to only 10°C at the coldest. In the warmer months it gets as hot as thirty 5°C. This is a result of both its proximity to the equator as well as water from the coral archipelago passing directly past it therefore causing warmer weather.
The spreading tree’s ecosystem is largely defined by the spreading tree itself and its many trunks. They typically grow up to 50 meters tall with trunks getting up to diameters of as large as two meters across. This huge tree supports a large number of different species, many of which feed off insects which suck its highly sugary sap.
The sap of the spreading tree is a very popular treat for drekmurians and is often used as a sweet topping or cooking ingredient. Some younger sprouts of the tree have been purchased from a local arborist to cultivate on other planets. It is likely that they will be very popular though they are unlikely to topple the maple monopoly.
The Field Of Steam:
Located between the roaring straight and the spreading tree is the field of steam. This region is characterized by the frequency of hot springs created by the same mantle plume as the fire mountain range. The steam from the hot springs in this region causes it to rain about three hundred and twenty days of the year. The temperature range of the field of steam is nearly identical to that of the spreading tree despite it being slightly more south.
Growing between hot springs in the field of steam is a type of moss which serves as the base of the food chain in the area. This moss, while not very strong, is very nutritious with its caloric density being comparable to that of corn. It also has a taste similar to that of cabbage after it has been cleaned of course. The moss is also very soft, feeling like a thick carpet. Many species feed off this nutritious moss with very few predators as the vast amounts of easy accessible food makes hunting unnecessary. Overall it is a very peaceful place to visit assuming you don’t go in the wrong spring.
The high habitability of the field of steam and the spreading tree mean that these regions of Arcundon are the most densely populated.
The Coral Archipelago:
The coral archipelago is a series of islands separated by shallow waters. Its location on the equator means the waters of the coral archipelago are typically pleasantly warm. The temperature of these waters range from 25°C–30°C. With the islands in the region staying around the same temperature as the water around them.
The islands of the coral archipelago play host to many different types of plants from iron wood trees to grasses to even just moss. This variety seems to be because the isolation of the islands makes it impossible for any one species to out compete all others. In the seas however there is far less variety. Most of the seafloor is covered by either corals or kelp-like plants depending on the area. Both of these plants provide shelter for the many species which live in these waters.
The uniformity of the depth of the seafloor of the coral archipelago has led to theories that prior to Ekodeck’s arrival it was a plateau. This theory is supported by the presence of a large magma plume under the region. Though this will remain a theory until observations can be made of the light from when Ekodeck arrived.
Intavic:
Intavic is an island with three distinct regions each of which have nearly identical climates though vastly different ecosystems. This is from them being located in a relatively small area with artificially created borders. Intavic is warm year round as a natural consequence of its location on the equator and so very rarely sees temperatures of below fifteen degrees. It rains approximately three hundred and fifty days out of the year.
The Distant Plains:
Originally this section of Intavic was a swampy area with many parasites and dangerous semi aquatic predators. This area was however tamed by a tribe of plains tamers who were blown here by a storm. They would tame this area first by burning away all dangerous life and importing species to establish a safe ecosystem. Eventually this area would form into a near copy of the flowing plains only much muddier and with far fewer fires. The border between this region and the northern jungle is maintained through a combination of fire and a tall smooth stone wall.
The Northern Jungle:
The ecosystem of the northern jungle is the most hostile organic ecosystem I have yet to encounter. Everything from the trees to the wildlife to even the ground itself seems to be trying to kill you. For example, during our visit within the first five minutes of entering, we were attacked by no less than ten different species of plants alone. And that is not to mention the countless species of animals which tried to assault us. The fact that anyone without even so much as power armor can not only survive but thrive boggles the mind.
How exactly Ekodeck was able to engineer such a dangerous ecosystem is beyond me. I only hope that these bioweapons remain contained to the northern jungle indefinitely because God forbid they get established anywhere else.
Please note that the transportation of any life from this region carries the risk of breaking laws regarding the transportation and ownership of bioweapons. As such I highly recommend that anyone who wishes to take samples from this region first consult with a lawyer. I take no responsibility for you causing ecological devastation because you could not resist taking a pretty flower.
The Southern Jungle:
In sharp contrast to the northern jungle the southern jungle is perhaps one of the safest ecosystems on all of Drekmur. There are massive trees which tower over all life but without the many dangers which would lurk in them if they were their northern counterparts. Instead they provide many fruits and berries which feed the occupants of this region. The sheer variety of life in their region is second only to that of the northern jungle.
When traveling from the northern jungle to the southern jungle you are first struck by the mile wide stretch of open burn land which separates the two. You are then likely struck by a jungle fighter as they try to prevent you from crossing as you are unwittingly carrying some seeds on you. But after any misunderstandings are cleared up you will be shocked by just how different the two jungles are. One is filled to the brim with dangers while the other is so conducive to life that you could fall asleep on the ground and only suffer a shower. The level to which the jungle leapers have engineered this ecosystem would be impressive even if they were not limited to pre industrial levels of evolution manipulation.
