Urrakar

Urrakar

(Cosmos)

Type

Planet

Diameter

2/3

Mass

1/2

Gravity

×1

Atmosphere

Thick

Year length (PST)

412 days

Day length (PST)

12 hours

System

Urran system

Inhabitants

Shadow creatures

Source: The Thirteenth Gate, pg(s). 62

Urrakar is the sole planet in the Urran system, a shadow-cloaked world with weak connections to the Shadow Plane.

Geography

Urrakar is farther from its sun than Aucturn is from the sun of the Pact Worlds system, putting it well outside the Goldilocks zone. Its abnormal density keeps Urrakar's core molten, which combines with tidal heating and radioactive decay to keep its surface temperature just above 0°C. Despite the great range from its star's solar winds, Urrakar is protected from cosmic rays by a strong magnetic field. Even at its brightest, the sun as seen from Urrakar resembles just another star, dimmer than a full moon.

Molten metals constantly churn within Urrakar's core, making it very volcanically active and giving it a dense atmosphere, thick with metals and ash. Air-breathing creatures usually suffer respiratory diseases if exposed to this atmosphere for a long time without protection.

Urrakar is only lit by the glow of volcanoes and is veiled in huge, dense shadows. The darkest of these areas have portals to the Shadow Plane, which cause Urrakar to be the only known source of black emeralds.

History

The location of the Urran system appeared on numerous Pact Worlds and Veskarium planetary infospheres almost simultaneously, shortly after Triune's followers put a Drift beacon on Urrakar. No one has claimed responsibility for this action, but despite this mystery, many Pact Worlds-based groups have started to explore Urrakar and exploit its resources.

Inhabitants

Urrakar has no native fauna, but shadowy versions of many creatures across the galaxy can be found here, having passed from the Shadow Plane.

Several companies, most notably Arabani Arms, Ltd. and Ulrikka Clanholdings, have built facilities on Urrakar that focus on mining black emeralds. Each usually consists of a heated, pressurised prefab building and is separated from others by hundreds of miles. Direct competition is rare since the exploitation has just begun, but some companies have begun to use underhanded tactics against rivals.