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Xenosorm

A clear view of Xeronsorm's thick asteroid field, with the planet below. Also in view is a large smuggler base imbedded in orbiting debris

This is marshlike planet (first planet in orbit around rankeri) was given the nickname Xeronsorm meaning "maniac world" by early alien settlers for good reasons, the nearby sun is eclipsed by a nearly impassible field of asteroids caught in the planet's powerful magnetic and gravitational fields, casting the surface of Xeronsorm in perpetual darkness. The world also hosts a wide array of large voracious nocturnal predators adapted to the low light environment, which makes long term colonizing unlikely.

Despite all of this, Xeronsorm earned its unfortunate nickname because the planet's swift moving molten core interacts with the captured asteroids to generate immense magnetic fields that disrupt the nervous system of visiting aliens, causing them to literaly go mad within a matter of days.

This adverse affect, combined with the massive asteroid belt and tendency for Xeronsorm's magnetic fields to disrupt sensors has made the planet and surrounding regions of space a hive of criminal activities. The Planet is spotted with cashes of illegal weapons and stolen goods, dropped there by Pirates and smugglers who know that their hidden stores will go unmolested by galactic law enforcement.

Life on Xeronsorm[]

The planet is particularily notable for its population of wild Enkirid, a subspecies that cannot be found anywhere else in the known universe. The Enkirid were among the first species to attempt colonization of the planet, assuming that their unusual nervous systems would afford them protection from the electro-magnetic stresses of life on Xeronsorm they set up a small offshore colony on the Northern edge of one of the planet's larger swamplands. Although it did take slightly longer for the negative affects of magnetic exposure to affect the decentralized nervous systems of the Enkirid, perhaps weeks instead of days, the colony was eventually overwhelmed by insanity.

It is speculated that thousands of the original Enkirid survived the destruction of their colony, and disseminated across the marshlands. Adapting to a darker existence, this new breed thrived. Dwelling in the dank canyons and murky depths of the Xeronsorm swamplands, they found a niche as a powerful ambush predator in the aggressive biosphere.


Because of the limited sunlight reaching the planet's surface, life has adapted to survive on as little sustenance as possible. Most plantlife is non-photosynthetic, and grows aggressively to ensure survival. Very little is known about life on Xeronsorm, for obvious reasons. Because of the extreme environmental, biological, and social dangers of even opproaching the planet, no official survey of the planet's wildlife has been performed.

Ironically, those with the most information about the life on Xeronsorm are the criminal element who use it for smuggling. Most of what we know is gathered from these frequently unreliable sources. Criminal syndicates who use the planet tell horror stories of huge reptilians lunging from hidden tangles of fungal vines to snatch ships from the air and drag them to a watery destruction, Waskans that move "with the ease and suddenness of a magician's coin disappearing from view" (Quoted from an interview with a crime boss concerning the planet Xeronsorm, who chooses to remain unnamed) and skies that swarm with lighter than air predators that drift like ancient blimps as they grope blindly for prey.

Whatever may turn out to be true, it is clear that there are many dangerous creatures on Xeronsorm, and it seems unlikely that any sort of conclusive biological study will be performed in the near future. For now, this planet and its strange inhabitants will remain hidden from view.


The Asteroid Belt[]

The field of heavy iron asteroids surrounding the Xeronsorm is nearly as mysterious as the surface of the planet itself. Rumors of massive criminal dens, interspecies prostitution houses, and even large spacefaring predators all go unconfirmed.

It is clear that there is a significant sapient presence surrounding the planet, at any given time hundreds of small ships, satellites, and even space stations carved into large asteroids are visible from a short distance away. The Citali also exist in significant numbers there, one of the largest known permanent populations of this elusive species. Little is known of what they do there, perhaps they participate in the variety of illegal activities that take place, trading weapons and dangerous technologies with ambitious members of other species. Or perhaps they too have been driven mad by the perpetual hum of electomagnetic energy emanating from the planet below, although it is also possible that they simply have chosen this swath of rock to call home.

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