Astral Bodies

Sun

Known as Kafzhash by some, this is the light of the world. Bearer of life and bloomer of plants it shines in Hollow's sky. From East to West it rises and falls. During twilight hours it blazes a fearsome crimson that alights the sky in myriad of deep hues. As it rises the sky turns a bright blue with a very slight green cast. Hanging high Kafzhash burns a yellow-orange for all to see.

[Five major planetary bodies circle this star. It is a simple main sequence K0 around five billion years old. Its solar mass is about .85, radius is .70, luminosity is .40, and temperature is about 5500 kelvin. This makes it somewhat smaller than most K0 star but more dense and energy producing. Kafzhash's mass makes up for 98.99% of Hollow's planetary system.]

Currently Known Planets

Hollow

Terrestrial Planet #1

Terra, earth, and existence itself. Birthplace of Gods and mortals alike Hollow is a rather large world full of life. The geography of Hollow itself is to remain ambiguous.

[Hollow is a large planet, the closest one to Kafzhash. The equatorial radius of Hollow is about 7873 kilometers, having a gravitational force equal to about 100 percent of Earth's gravity. It has two apparently natural satellites. However do to the fact that most of Hollow is still a mystery it would be better not to assume too much.]

Hollow's Moons

Arh'Nuk

Huge arcane symbols tied to dark magic litter the muted crimson moon named Arh’Nuk, each one filled with a putrid, dark red substance that bubbles up to the surface by way of the evil magic that clings to the moon, and sinks down deep to its core.The liquid itself is said to be the blood of some extremely unlucky mortals, sacrificed by Vakmatharas and Delisha to create the moon and keep its supernatural power flowing. The runes are devoid of light, a slight contrast to the dull light of the moon. For centuries, mages of all sorts have written down and used these runes for their own gain, only for them to become crazed and lose their lives, ultimately becoming part of the runes themselves, as the moon steals away their life force and the sins they’ve wrought. The much smaller Arh’Nuk is forever locked in a shared orbit with partner Vaalane, like some sort of strange waltz.

[A binary satellite of a Hollow. It is composed of mainly Iron(III) oxide and a putrid ichor assumed to be blood. It has some geological activity but not necessarily a breathable atmosphere, thanks to it being extremely thin carbon dioxide. There is no living life at all upon its surface. Roughly it is about the same size as our Moon. Its origin and reason have long been lost to time. All is known is its highly magical nature that has strong ties with Death, Evil, and Order.]

Written by Khitti.

Vaalane

During spring and summer, the moon is more likely to be whole, and great streams and pockets of blue can be seen in swirls amongst the green-ish white of the planet, their waters nourishing the various plantlife that grew nearby, both those that dwelled within Selene’s saltwater and Zaytor’s freshwater. Larger than Arh’Nuk by almost half, Vaalane will never be a new moon, never falling below a crescent, and seemingly giving off its own light. During the fall and winter months, when the moon goes into its dark cycle, its light fades almost completely, leaving it to be almost outshined by its companion moon. Despite the fact that its orbit and phases can be somewhat erratic, its supernatural power holds sway over the seas in Hollow, its own domain that of the ebb and flow of the tides. In much the same way that Arh’Nuk influences dark magic, some forms of light magic stems from Vaalane and its ethereal glow.

[The larger of Hollow's binary satellites. Surface composition is mainly of oxides including silica, alumina, lime, sodium oxide, potassium oxide, dihydrogen monoxide, et cetera. Due to the very thin atmosphere, the moon can't even sustain much in the way of clouds. In comparison it is about the size of Mars. Vaalane has a supernatural connection with the domains of Life, Good, and Chaos.]

Written by Khitti.

Maro

Terrestrial Planet #2

Brilliant Maro, the brightest star and herald of the Kafzhash. The High Elves used Her light to guide them across the sea to Rynvale when the sun's light was not enough. Said to be the twinkle in Arkhen, the Lord of Light's eye, those born on days when Maro shines brightest (clearer, Summer days typically) are said to be blessed by the god and could very well be paladins and heroes of legend one day. A cluster of stars that seem to surround the planet are known as Maro's Chariot, enhancing the white star's brilliance with a halo of gold. As the planet brings the new day by hauling the sun across the sky, it also heralds new beginnings, a new life, new passions. All who are lost can turn their head skyward for Maro and be reminded that even on the darkest of nights, light will return. This is Maro's promise. There is always a new day. Always hope.

This particular planet was not 'discovered' by any particular people, given its brilliance rivals all other planets and stars in the sky other than the sun, but there is some debate on the origin of the name it goes by and who first established it as part of the known solar system. Though the High Elves like to claim that they created the name and determined its placement in the sky among the other planets, in truth this credit belongs to Akohr of Gamorg, an ogre shaman. A rarity of her people and a true testament to the adage that one should not judge a book by their cover, the shaman of He Who Hungers was not only a well-versed, well-read scholar, but her knowledge of the sky and stars is often overlooked and frankly, unmatched, save for the avians due to their closer proximity to the sky. When she ventured out of Gamorg to continue her education and research, her papers were often disregarded as illegible nonsense. To this day however, they're invaluable to astronomers, with growing realization among those in the the scientific and magical communities now that her mapping of the planets and stars, and recordings of various astral events over several centuries rivaled that of traditional scholars.

Akohr studied the stars and planets above as part of her path to become an astronomer, and it's in those earlier years studying in Cenril's Observatory in the Grand Library that she really focused on Maro's characteristics and provided the name. Its origin is a softer word in the brutish ogre tongue, but no less fierce, scrawled more often than not on her star maps with a circle around the bright planet.

Maro. Herald.

Prior to her research, it was widely debated whether or not to classify Maro as a star or a planet. Her papers and various presentations of her research held at Cenril's Great Library and various universities across the continent helped solidify that the planet is in fact a planet, and not a star. Its size is so close to that of Hollow's, and under a powerful telescope it's apparent that the planet has a rocky, off-white surface with mountain ranges and even valleys similar to what one might see on Hollow. The fault lines of this planet's plates are so vast that they are visible via telescope as well, revealing what Akohr often described as 'golden rivers' of magma, one of the aspects of Maro that provides its glow. The planet's composition facilitates with its brilliance as well; gold and iron predominantly, and perhaps pockets of carbon that proved the suspicions Akohr had that its atmosphere is impossibly dense, leaving the planet to be uninhabitable by anything. All the carbon visible on the planet's surface has been crushed to the point that 'lakes' visible on the planet are actually diamond, which further enhances the planet's glow.

While the planet is luminous given its visible magma, diamond masses and off-white color, the majority of its brilliance can be attributed to the sun it 'hauls' across the sky. Being the closest planet to the sun, it receives a lot of light that it reflects, providing that brilliant 'halo' Maro is well known for.

Written by Loravelle.

Comily

Terrestrial Planet #3

Seeing this planet glowing a soft and gentle blue in the night sky is said to be calming, almost nurturing; and those who pray to Comily wish for wisdom or patience or forgiveness.

Seeing this planet colored like a scarlet ember burning in the infinite abyss is said to invoke feelings of determination; and those who pray to Comily wish for strength, conviction, and courage.

Those who recognize Comily’s fluidity often pray to it for the ability to affect change, evolution, metamorphosis; especially within themselves. Yet it also stands for rebirth. Because despite the various forms it may take, it will always return to what it was before, at an earlier part of its cycle. The greatest of leaders and diplomats will often summon its visage when they need to be strong, yet empathetic. When they need the courage to protect their people, but the wisdom to make peace with their enemies. Its ability to transform itself, to fool onlookers, to be what is required, makes it something of a role model for actors, performers, shapechangers, illusionists, and transmuters. For a long time, Comily was thought to be not one planet, but several. A small, bright blue marble. A pale, misty white star. A fiery burning orb. It is one body, and it is all these bodies. Its odyssey demands it.

Comily follows an elliptical orbit, taking it very close to the sun before it flies very far away from it. This fact explains the many changes in its appearance. When Comily’s quest leads it far away from the burning Kafzhash, it is a dense blue marble. Solid and smooth, peaceful and slow. Then as it comes closer, it picks up speed and the intense heat of the sun causes its atmosphere to inflate, puffing itself up as the ice evaporates into a misty white gas, and it appears like a bright white star. As it slingshots around the sun, becoming nearer to the star than at any other point in its revolution, it becomes superheated; a fireball, burning through space. Then it continues past, calming down. It reverts to a white puffball, and traveling further, it is returned once again to peaceful blue planet.

Written by Lanlan.

Yanno

Terrestrial Planet #4 - [Dwarf Planet]

Rarely seen and even more rarely spoken of, many in academia debate whether Yanno as a planet actually exists. In books that have been long lost in libraries abandoned, and amongst the most elderly of scholars, a mythos is told of the mage who discovered the entity in the night skies several centuries ago. The brightest mage of his country, he witnessed a light erupt from the planet, and believed it to be more beautiful than anything that could ever be recreated on Hollow. He called it the Light of Cire. When others gazed through the telescope, the only thing that could be seen was a patch in the sky where the light of the stars could not reach, and nothing could be seen. Thinking Cire was simply displeased with their skepticism, the young mage looked through the telescope again, only to find the planet gone. In a fit of passion, he struck down his peers as a sacrifice, an attempt to appease the God of Chaos that was inside the planet's core, to see the light one more time, but the light never came. Yanno had disappeared from the skies. The young mage passed away soon after, having written his findings in a record now thought to be lost to time. For those who believe in the mythos, Yanno is thought to be Cire’s domain, and is referred to as the blocker of stars and the bringer of silence no matter the chaos it costs. Those who have claimed to have seen Yanno themselves have all gone mad shortly afterwards, and are believed by Cire’s most devout followers to have been chosen by the God of Chaos. In direct reference to the Yanno’s quiet history, followers of Cire often signal to each other in greeting by bringing two fingers to their lips to pantomime silence.

[Yanno did not disappear, as it is simply the magnetic center in a thick asteroid ring that orbits it. Because its gravitational pull is relatively low, no single asteroid remains a satellite of the planet long enough to be considered its moon. When the light of Kazafash rests upon Yanno’s icy surface, the various gasses comprising its surface melts, causing a series of kaleidoscopic chemical reactions until one of its hundreds of asteroids shields its surface from the light. Yanno’s Belt is thousands of kilometers in radius, often large enough to shield entire constellations when the alignment is right. Its equatorial radius is no larger than 500 kilometers. While the rocky core is composed of oxidized alkali metals such as cerium, sodium, and potassium, the icy waters composed of fluorine, oxygen, and helium remain in a neutral state due to the near absolute zero temperatures while the planet is shielded from sunlight.]

Written by Kanna.

Elasilia

• Gas Giant #1

The giant blue piece of heaven in the sky, Elasilia glows bright. Even during certain periods of daylight it can be inexplicably seen to the naked eye. Many names grace this light. From days ancient Elasilia has represented power, water, and ice. Its very name brings visions of an icy ocean.

(Four times more massive than Jupiter, Elasilia has a massive equatorial radius of more than 297000 kilometers. Although it is made mostly of Hydrogen and Helium high levels of Methane, Ethane, and Ammonia. give it a distinct aqua cast. It receives almost no energy from Kafzhash while radiating very little heat on its own despite being so large--no more than a hundred kelvin. It has no satellites or rings.)

Chaaldir

Gas Giant #2

It is said that before Arkhen lit his torch and brought his flames of law to Hollow from the sun Kafzhash, there was a land of endless fire and torment on the distant planet of Chaaldir. Unlike Arkhen’s holy fires the flames of Chaaldir were not flames of purification, but rather destruction, and it was said that only powerful fire wyrms and primal elements could exist there.

A warm orange beacon in the night, sailors used to track their movements using Chaaldir due to its placement in the southmost skies. It became colloquially known that if you followed Chaaldir long enough it would take you to warmer seas and thus it became a common addition to naval charts. Over time this planet became less associated with destruction and more associated with crafting, knowledge, and renewal.

In reality Chaaldir isn’t made up of fire at all, but rather it is composed of mainly hydrogen and helium. Once viewed as a forlorn kinsmen to Kafzhash, Chaaldir is made up of the same chemical compounds as it, but it failed to become a star, doomed to forever only reflect the light of true stars instead of shedding its own. Though it has a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, its distance from Hollow makes it appear much smaller and dimmer from the surface of the planet. Possessing a rocky core of heavier elements, it lacks a well-defined solid surface. The ongoing contraction of Chaaldir's interior generates more heat than it receives from Kafzhash. Because of its rapid rotation, the planet's shape is an oblate spheroid and has a slight but noticeable bulge around the equator.

Written by Quintessa.

Tsaeril

Gas Dwarf #1

Known to Fae as the Lunar King, Tsaeril is encircled not by rings, but its own belt of perfectly spherical asteroids, often referred to as its 'moons' or to some seafarers, its 'pearls'. The exact number is debated, with some astronomers claiming there are fourteen, while others, particularly those who associate the planet with the Cloak and Crystal, insist their numbers are innumerable. The gas giant is smaller than Elasilia, and its surface is unseen due to the shroud of dense, lavender clouds obscuring its surface.

The planet was discovered by a pixie of the very same name, Tsaeril Willowirl, a pixie known for his invention of miniature telescopes that still possessed the same magnifying power of telescopes for larger races.

Rumors that the gas giant possesses some water in its atmosphere and within the planet itself mix with the predominantly iodine-rich planet which causes the planet's purple color, along with the gaseous haze the planet is wreathed in. The planet itself has no identifying spots or patterning, but the belt of spherical asteroids surrounding it are what make the planet easy to locate if one searches for the planet with a telescope. These asteroids, often referred to as 'moons', possess some illusory quality; While it is widely accepted that there are fourteen of the asteroids in the planet's orbit, many insist that there are many, many more. Devotees of Corelieant believe that He created this planet and imbued the asteroid belt and the planet itself with magic that causes all that look upon it to see a different amount of moons, while devotees of the goddess Selene refer to the near perfect spheres as pearls, specifically a bracelet that the goddess might wear. The asteroids themselves are composed of a strange striated mix of moldaviate and opal, at least on their surface. The interior layers of these 'pearls' is unknown at this time.

Written by Loravelle.

Comets, Asteroids, Meteors, and Other Space Things

Fybltych’zyx

“The One behind the Sun” or “The Eye of Madness”'

Even sifting through all the histories and all the astronomical or astrological journals and publications of all of Hollow’s sentient peoples, you’d be unlikely to come across even one mention of Fybltch’zyk. Yet, if you could somehow broker a peace with something like a mindflayer or a beholder, and then if you could think of the name, and even pronounce ‘Fybltch’zyk’, you’d be met with a longing gaze toward the stars. Or perhaps a glare of ominous knowing. A Knowing that soon, the Eye of Madness will return, and it will be the time of monsters. The time when day yields to an eternity of night. When the ocean swells and waves tower over the land, before crashing down and drowning it. Violent storms and cataclysms will emerge seemingly spontaneously and wreak havoc across the nations of all people. And overseeing it all, is the smoldering, unblinking eye of Fybltch’zyk, calling its children back home. Beckoning them with its infinite arms, reaching toward Hollow with malice. Aberrations of all kinds rise from the depths on this day to see and be seen, while people would prefer to find themselves underground. Those who dare look, are scarred by the visage of a God, one of the old ones. A body of writhing tentacles glows pale white where the sun used to be, and at its core? A single vigilant eye, gazing back. The only light in the sky bright enough to pierce the veil of stormclouds. Aberrations of all kinds worship Fybltch’zyk as their deity, or their home, or both. They seem to be summoned at once, with no coordination between them, and for once unified in their purpose, whatever it may be. And then, after unmeasured time, light returns. The clouds dissipate, the waters return to the sea, the monsters disappear once again into the Earth. And the survivors inherit the world again, almost exactly as it was, with no explanation for what could have occurred.

There is a more mundane explanation. Fybltch’zyk is a low density asteroid with a highly irregular orbit. An elongated elliptical that calls it from far away in space, wrapping tightly around the sun, and then slingshotting back out again. Sometimes, this orbit brings it between the world of Hollow and Kafzhash, where its substantial size and proximity to our world can cause a brief solar eclipse. During this time, torrents of its atmosphere are blown off by solar wind, causing an aura of swirling gas that appears to some like twisting tendrils. To add to its anomalous nature, a long-lived and enormous storm system, scarlet and oblong, is a most conspicuous feature on Fybltch’zyk’s surface. The effects of its gravity on ours aren’t severe enough to cause complete ruin, but the weather systems of Hollow are greatly affected. So are the brains of most creatures, as they are during a full moon, but to a much greater intensity. Although the effects in actuality only last a few hours at most, the confusion and terror linger, before the midnight colored asteroid moves completely across the sun, and once again disappears into space.

Written by Lanlan.

Constellations

Information on about the constellations can be found here.