The Ceruis Rains

The Ceruis Rains were a natural disaster on Denironia in 243 CA. The event was named after the Denironian goddess of death, Ceruis, because of how many Denironians were killed.

It must have been terrifying for those ancient Denironians. They thought they knew their planet and then suddenly this happens. Imagine not only the death and the pain, but the fear and confusion.

— Oliver Lindsay, History Psychologist

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In 243 CA (Conquest of Ancients in the Denironian Calendar), Denironians had finally begun to end their two-hundred-year exploration and settlement of the planet Denironia and had started building cities across the main continent. One of these cities was Shkaterim, built near the ocean. The Denironians had now been accustomed to most of the planet's climate, atmosphere, and flora, but one element they had never been exposed to was the extreme weather.

Most of Denironia's rainfall occurred before summer, never during. When it did, most Denironians had not spent time in it thanks to the extreme summer heat. In 243, however, the Denironians were used to the heat and were busy working on their city. This would prove to be a disaster.
One summer day, the clouds were dark, heavy maroon. Rain was probable, but most of Shkaterim's population chose to remain outdoors and continue working. Then, without warning, the clouds opened and the rain fell in thick blue sheets, pouring over

by Lilliana Casper

the roofs and spilling onto the streets. At first, the people sighed and moved to get inside. And then they started screaming. The rain burned. It burned more than fire, more than the heat of the sun, more than the cut of a poisoned sword. And it kept coming.
Denironians collapsed in the streets, clawing at their skin. Those inside ran to investigate, only to fall as well. A few looked outside, realized what was happening, and stayed out of the rain. They were safe. The ones in the streets were not. Acidic rain burned into gray skin, first causing rashes, then burns, and then beginning to melt through each layer of skin. Within an hour, almost everyone still outside was dead.

It's been years since anyone died from rain, but the danger's still there. Like, it's rain. Sometimes you just don't know when it's gonna fall. My grandfather got stuck in the fields once when he was younger. Burns all over his arms, he used to say, so stay inside if the clouds look funny.

— the diary of a Denironian

The rain stopped after seven hours and the city's denizens slowly emerged from their homes and surveyed the damage. To their surprise, only the people were harmed. The buildings, walls, and tools remained perfectly fine. It took several weeks for the survivors to recover. In the years following, research into the phenomenon was done and it was discovered that while the rainfall before the summer was perfectly safe, any that occurred during the summer or winter contained high amounts of chlorine, which was poisonous to Denironians.

Currently, rules are in place to protect events like this from happening again. When rain is spotted during the summer, everyone must stay indoors, and no one is allowed to work. It has been discovered that the rain loses its acidity after it stays on the ground for an hour. While other species native to Denironia are unaffected by the rain, Bonehunters and several other creatures are.

Localization

Luckily (or unluckily) for the Denironians, the rain that causes such damage does not occur on many other planets. Denironia is the only one with the geography and atmosphere that creates this time of acidic rain. The rain is also not dangerous to every species on the planet, nor is it dangerous to other species in the galaxy. Denironian, Bonehunters, and several other species are the only ones affected.

Type

Natural

Date
243 CA, roughly 8750 BPC

What Caused It?

The acidic rain of Denironia is caused by chlorine. During the summer and winter, vents leading to the planet's core open and release large amounts of airborne chlorine into the atmosphere. If the clouds become thick enough for rain, the chlorine soaks into the water and falls with it to the ground. To most species, this would not be dangerous, but Denironians are highly allergic to chlorine. After the chlorine-infused rain reaches the ground, the acidity is neutralized by the soil (if it falls in water, it dissolves to minuscule amounts before eventually neutralizing) and it becomes safe to touch. While the rain is not dangerous to many species, it is still highly chlorinated and may cause headaches, nausea, and dehydration if it is drunk before being neutralized.
What caused the Ceruis Rains specifically was several factors. First, it had not rained often during the summer and when it did the Denironians were usually inside. Next, rain during the summer rarely lasted longer than an hour, usually less. It takes about thirty minutes for exposure to cause significant pain. Denironians who had been out in summer rain would not have been exposed for long. And finally, Shkaterim was located close to the ocean, where it takes longer for the rain's acidity to be neutralized.

by Lilliana Casper