Zerza
Zerza is a smoldering world coated in liquid magma with small islands of hyper-dense rock. It is abundant in liquid metals, but without specialized equipment, these resources are locked within the lava lakes of the volcanic world. Being the closest planet to the sun of the Origin System, it gets little attention from others in the system due to the inhospitable landscape and toxic atmosphere. However, on the surface of the planet, the Zerzari dwell easily, harvesting the metals of the world and trading them on their rare trips offworld.
Geography
Zerza is a small lava world with a single moon, an orbital drydock, and a ring of orbital mirrors to light the otherwise dark side of the planet, allowing day to exist on the entire world at the same time. The majority of the planet’s surface is covered in large lakes and oceans of molten lava with small island-like continents made from a highly heat-resistant type of rock. Dotting the surface of the world, the landmasses make up three primary areas suitable for the zerzari to live upon: The Sunspot, the Polar Ring, and the Darkfields. The Sunspot is the smallest, but most important, of the continents on the world, always facing toward the sun. It bears the capitol city of the planet and is considered to be a holy sight by many of the zerzari due to its sun-facing position. Unfortunately, the Sunspot grows smaller each year as the extreme heat of the planet and position has slowly been wearing down the rock. The Polar Ring is the largest of the landmasses, though is not as solid as the others. Instead, it is a large ring of closely situated islands that circle the entirety of the world, cutting the close side of the planet from the far side. Dotting the ring are numerous settlements and rest areas for those traveling between the close and far sides. Finally, the Darkfields are the coolest section of the world, dwelling on the far side of the world. The orbital mirrors help to light and heat this side of the world, but it is still seen as a less favorable area than the Sunspot.Residents
The vast majority of the inhabitants of Zerza are Zerzari. Zerzari long ago evolved from the fire and earth elementals that had spawned from the immense energies of the world, becoming a sapient hybrid elemental lifeform. Since then, they have spread across the planet and constructed great settlements, including some that hold artifical purified atmospheres and environmental protections built in to them in order to allow offworlders that would normally suffocate or burn to death to live on the surface of Zerza. Of the few people that have taken up this offer to visit, the loanbularans are the most common, followed by dwarves.Society
The zerzari are a peaceful people, and with them being the primary residents of Zerza combined with the deadly nature of the world itself, Zerza is a world almost without crime.Conflicts and Threats
With the Sunspot being destroyed by that which created it, the Zerza are incredibly interested in having it restored by whatever means possible. As such, some have begun seeking to haul rock from other planets to refill the Sunspot, letting the new rock melt into it and refill it to its prior splendor. For outsiders, the world is highly dangerous. The heat of the surface is far beyond what most beings can stand, and the gases that fill the atmosphere are highly toxic. Despite this, some still flock to Zerza for the seemingly-limitless treasures it possesses. Dwarves, in particular, seek out this world and set up magma-mines, processing the melted rock and pulling out the metals that reside within. Shortly after the first large dwarf settlement was founded within Zerza, a rich vein of melted adamantite was found, causing more and more dwarves to flock to the world.
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