Liavara

Liavara is a gas giant, the seventh planet in the Pact Worlds system.

Geography Liavara is a gas giant made predominantly of helium and hydrogen. Its outer layer is formed primarily of red, orange and yellow clouds, and is relatively calm, but can also experience all kinds of weather phenomena. Deep in the planet, the gas coalesces into a supercritical fluid state under a pressure dense enough to crush any starship. Throughout all of Liavara's layers can be found all kinds of useful gases, some of which are very rare or non-existent elsewhere in the Pact Worlds.[3] North of the equator is the Ribbon, a band of clouds where air currents are fast and clouds are more yellow than the rest of Liavara, due to the direct exposure to the sun, which results in higher temperatures that push nitrogen dioxide away. Compared to pre-Gap records, the Ribbon seems to have shifted slightly north over time.[3][4]
Liavara is the only Pact World with a ring system, which is shaped by its numerous shepherd moons, among which the most prominent ones are Arkanen, Osoro, Nchak, Melos and Hallas.[4][5]
Government Liavara is not a member of the Pact Worlds government. As its inhabitants have no recognisable society, Liavara and most of its moons are administered by Bretheda's governing entity Confluence, with the exception of large, populated moons which are allowed to govern themselves.[6]
Inhabitants Liavara's most prominent and intelligent inhabitants are the Dreamers, who are not actual natives, but are descended from barathu explorers who came from Bretheda to Liavara within oma starships. In the ensuing years, they have diverged from their cousins who remained on Bretheda.[7] The barathus maintain Liavara's natural ecosystem as a reserve for their kin, enforce strict quotas on corporations who seek to make a profit from its rare gases, and hold a non-interference policy toward the Dreamers, which has put them in conflict with scholars who wish to study their prophecies.[6][2]
The only true settlement on Liavara is Roselight, a gas mining platform where all kinds of humanoids make their living, from android miners, lashunta researchers to vesk bodyguards, human overseers and ysoki executives. The government ensures that it remains fixed in one place, so they could monitor mining corporations' traffic and activity. Above Roselight is Upwell, a space station that serves as the main entrance to Liavara.[4] Illegal mining stations outside Confluence's oversight also exist in restricted, dangerous parts of Liavara. Due to the lack of regulations, violence and accidents are common.[6]
Food production on Liavara is handled by massive floating 'epifarms', devised by barathus and Xenowardens to cultivate symbiotic epiphytes and giant bacteria. The plants produce water from trace oxygen, and the bacteria combine it with other gases to synthesise nutritions to feed the plants. This creates a sustainable source of vitamins and proteins for inhabitants, which has been exported to Upwell and some cities on the moons. The epifarmers have recently developed new strains of bacteria which produce substantially higher yields but might be sentient, raising ethical issues on whether it is acceptable to eat them.[8]
Liavara's native creatures take various forms, all of which are adapted to a gas giant environment. In the upper layers of the atmosphere, the primary producers are giant bacteria and epiphyte vegetation. Kriegakos graze upon them, and are in turn preyed upon by cloud-skates, tarenake and keji swarms. The lightless depths are home to massive predators that hunt with acidic webbing, vampiric tentacles or even magic to attract or ensnare prey. Lightning elementals and oma are drawn to Liavara's rings, and can often be seen among its clouds.[7]
Liavara is subject to an above-average amount of psychic energy, which has drawn cultists who seek to absorb it. It is unknown if this energy is the cause or the result of the Dreamers' transcendence. Although this does not violate any laws, the cultists are still a nuisance, frequently getting in the way and requiring rescue operations, and those who are successful can only gain but not control psychic powers, turning them into walking hazards for themselves and others.[8]

Titles The Dreamer Type Planet Adjective Liavaran Diameter 10x Mass 100x Gravity 1x Atmosphere Dense, unbreathable Year length (PST) 12 years Day length (PST) 10 hours Orbits Sun System Pact Worlds system Satellites Several large, populated moons including Arkanen, Osoro, Nchak, (uninhabited) Melos, and Hallas Inhabitants Dreamers

Type

Planet

Location under

Pact Worlds system

Included Locations

• Arkanen
• Nchak
• Osoro