Duende
Duende: Heavens Above
The planet of Duende is somewhat comparable to the size of the planet Jupiter in the Human's home star system, roughly 225,000 miles in circumference at the equator. Due to the unusual properties of the world, it maintains a gravity that is only slightly higher than that of Earth, despite its size and density. Roughly sixty percent of the planet's surface is made up of vast oceans.
Duende is lit by six 'suns' known as the titans. Rather than actual stars, these celestial bodies are actually the connection points where the bubble of Duende connects to the massive ley lines from the elemental planes. Due to the relatively small size of the bubble surrounding Duende, however, they do produce sufficient light, heat, and energy to maintain a fair homeostasis on the planet. Rather than orbiting around a star, though, Duende rotates around multiple axis, much like a gyroscope. It is this rotation that provides for the day and night cycle as well as the seasonal changes that the planet experiences.
In addition to its six suns the planet is orbited by three moons known as the three sisters. While some of the world's inhabitants have slight variations of the standard calendar, most of the populace uses a standard 18 month calendar, with 36 days, or 6 weeks, per month. This pattern coincides with the orbit of each of the three moons crossing the path of each the Titans in a regular pattern. Among the Eldar, this pattern is called the 'Courting' and is woven into their mythology.
Each year one of the sisters will eclipse one of the titans, however they will never eclipse the same titan twice before they have eclipsed each of the others, and the sisters are never the eclipsing moon twice in a row. This leads to a 48 year cycle of 'courting'. Lastly, the first eclipse in each 48 year cycle starts with a new titan and maiden. For the remainder of the cycle they are considered the King and consort. In this manner, there is a ongoing drama being played out in the heavens so regularly that it became a matter of faith as much as science, and as a matter of faith, it had ramifications on the world.
Duende: The Ground Below
The planet itself is broken up into thirteen continents, two of which lie buried below massive ice caps. The remaining eleven span the the globe, separated by vast oceans. Though most are completely unexplored, enterprising explorers have spotted and named the main bodies: Eusocoa, Aefarall, Auqasora, Isaexoris, Lyerox, Jerundai, Ianfrae, Dormon, Aecheatl, Rigda, and Aeleone. Of these, Rigda, Aeleone, and Aecheatl are the most densely populated.
Distances on Duende are immense. Some continents span tens of thousands of miles with most populations concentrated in cities. Vast swaths of land are covered by dense forests and jungles or sweeping plains that can take months to cross on foot. Along trade routes, small villages tend to pop up with fair regularity within two to three days travel of each other (ever ~25-75 miles), however the majority of the planet is still entirely wild and mostly unexplored.
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