Atherm

Atherm

(Cosmos)

Type

Moon

Diameter

1/8

Mass

1/10

Gravity

×1

Atmosphere

Normal

Year length (PST)

56 days

Day length (PST)

18 hours

Inhabitants

Criminals

Source: The Gilded Cage, pg(s). 47

Atherm is a forested moon in Near Space. On its surface is an ancient, abandoned complex that has been repurposed as Smuggler's Moon, a haven for all kinds of crooks.

Geography

Atherm orbits an uninhabited planet, which was once home to a civilisation whose technology rivalled that of the Pact Worlds. Its soil is rich, crops grow well, the flora and fauna are diverse, and food is plentiful. Nyssholoras are the apex predators; other predators include sarbas, squat six-legged cats and brinkis, small monkeys with curved claws. Once per two years, Atherm is covered in powerful storms that batter its surface with lightning and torrential rain.

People

An ancient, massive, partially buried stone complex of unknown origin rises from the surface of Atherm. After Dregor Ragazine III, a political exile from his home Bassanio who has been wandering Near Space for 15 years, and his lover Alelell decided to settle there, the complex was refurbished into a wilderness retreat, which eventually attracted all kinds of criminals, earning it the name Smuggler's Moon. A few miles east of Smuggler's Moon are hundreds of farms which provide food for the complex's inhabitants, each of which is protected by two maraquoi guards taking week-long shifts. Farmers live in simple houses, work harder but eat better and have more luxuries and amenities than servants inside Smuggler's Moon itself.

Since King Dregor wants little to do with others, he participates in little trade. Timber, stone, metals and natural gases are harvested but never exported, and only resources that cannot be produced on Atherm are imported.