Akiton
|
This article might have further canon details available on PathfinderWiki. |
Akiton is the third planet in the Pact Worlds system (or the fourth, counting missing Golarion, or Absalom Station as a full member of the Pact Worlds). It is also referred to as the Red Planet, due to the red-orange color of its iron-rich soil.12
Geography
Akiton's surface is rocky and rich in iron, giving it its distinctive red hue. Over tens of millions of years, its core has cooled considerably, causing tectonic activity to slow down and solar winds to gradually blow away the atmosphere. As the temperature drops, water froze into miles-thick polar ice caps known as the Winterlands, killing most plants and leaving behind immense trenches, salt flats and lifeless plains. Geological research points out several theories, including raging rivers and divergence of tectonic plates. The greatest canyon is the Edaio Rift, which nearly circumnavigates Akiton. Across the Winterlands, winds blow down at extreme speeds, sometimes colliding into powerful twisters that blast the ice into short-lived clouds.1 Within its crust are immense veins of thasteron, a substance once vital in the production of starship fuel until obsoleted by the advent of Drift travel.3
Akiton's barren surface supports various species of cacti, grasses and shrubs whose roots can dig up to 100 feet into aquifers. Dust storms are common, and can last indefinitely until blocked by mountains. Prior to the Gap, a terraforming operation called the Bounty was conducted to stabilise Akiton's soil and restore its flora, although when funds dried up, the project was prematurely ended and most sites withered, except for the Bounty's core.4
Government
Akiton has no central government. Most of the planet is lawless, except for a few city-states. Since most of the oligarchs in charge of their governments prefer to fight over resources and hire mercenaries to perform covert operations against each other, instead of spending money to fight crime and enforce regulations, Akiton is a hotbed for organised crime and smuggling. Although slavery is openly legal in few cities, a vibrant slave market for gladiators and workers exist. Most governments offer a bounty on slavers' heads, while also accepting bribes from them to look the other way.5
History
Millions of years ago, a particularly large meteorite slammed into Akiton at a shallow angle, creating the oblong Irkonian Sea and killing off most of the megafauna, paving way for the evolution of humanoids. Force waves from this event can be seen from thousands of miles, uplifting the Arlkari Plateau.1
The rise of space travel begun a centuries-long thasteron boom as all kinds of businesses and immigrants came to Akiton, bringing their wealth with them. However, when Triune revealed the Drift to the galaxy, the demand for thasteron plummeted. Within decades, the thasteron mining industries crashed as costs outweighed profits; only the purest and most accessible veins are being mined today. After several centuries, the economy stabilised but was a shadow of what it used to be.23
Across Akiton are a huge number of crashed starship hulks which crashed at approximately the same date some time during the Gap, suggesting that a battle once took place on its surface and in its orbit.3
In 422 AG, when the Drift Crash disrupted Drift travel, investors became interest in reviving Akiton's old thasteron industry, refining impure sources and researching on the prospects of faster-than-light travel. However, due to the planet's reliance on imports, particularly food, Akiton has been pushed to the verge of a famine, as the rich hoard food while the poor starve. Especially in large cities, people are indulging in vices to ease their worries, particularly blood sports. The most desperate migrate to the Bounty, never to be seen again. Only the shobhads, who are no strangers to scarcity, have been unaffected.6
Inhabitants
References
Paizo published a major article on Akiton in Pact Worlds, including a map of the planet's surface.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 James L. Sutter et al. (2018). Pact Worlds, p. 49. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-64078-022-4
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Logan Bonner et al. (2017). Starfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, p. 442-443. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-60125-956-1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 James L. Sutter et al. (2018). Pact Worlds, p. 48. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-64078-022-4
- ↑ James L. Sutter et al. (2018). Pact Worlds, p. 51. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-64078-022-4
- ↑ James L. Sutter et al. (2018). Pact Worlds, p. 52. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-64078-022-4
- ↑ John Compton et al. (2022). Drift Crisis, p. 21. Paizo Inc.. ISBN 978-1-64078-419-2
