Planet Seloca

A large terrestrial with low mass for its size, causing the North pole to be tidally locked towards the local star Kimoga. It is the home world of the chelti species and known for its rather dangerous wildlife.

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Mostly landmass with a few small, highly saline seas and two oceans Seloca is largely dry along its equator. The unusual rotation of the planet poses unique challenges to traditional geography and navigation. The locals use a system where the planets is divided into stratas based on its degree from the centre of the planet to the pole. To provide a second coordinate from this system was difficult, chelti of old used the passage of the First Daughter Farsho, one of their collection of moons, as a point of reference. However this system wasn't perfect as orbital wobble and slight unevenness of the moons orbit tended to skew coordinates between seasons. In modern times this line is arbitrarily agreed by inter-factional pact, meaning that coordinates are now reliable and constant.

This strata system allows them to keep track of likely terrain, light levels, and the wild life they're likely to encounter. A strata is ten degrees from North to South, the farthest Northern Reaches lay between Strata 30 and Strata 40, most chelti live below Strata 40.

A hot, desolate place with settlements few and far between, all of them heavily fortified against the creatures that may prey upon them. The Northern Reaches represents the vanguard of chelti encroachment into the jungle, the people here are usually outcasts or adventurist types. Commonly the main source of income for a chel in this area is to scavenge the fruits and resources of the jungle and sell them back in town. However this is a dangerous job, and every now and then another face will disappear.

This band sits South of the Northern Reaches by more than a few degrees. Much of this area has at least been explored by the chelti, and most of its hazards plotted if not exactly dealt with or contained. Many villages and towns live in the trees in this region and its the home turf of the jungle variety chelti. Lack of resources and cramped conditions tend to leave dwellers in this region financially disadvantaged compared to other regions.

Sitting on the edge of the Great Forest is a band where plants still grow in profusion, but none of the great trees block the sun slanting from the North. Here mostly small trees and long grass exist, perfect cover for certain predators.

A relatively small area sitting on scarred soil where trees have difficulty growing. This area is as close to a conventional desert as it gets on Seloca. Barren plains and rolling hills provide a desolate landscape, even the locals aren't overly happy with it, but it's almost free of large predators, making it a favourite for cities and manufactoriums. This region is relatively small and cuts a wedge into the great forest, probably the result of some long forgotten calamity.

Where the sun is too dim to provide for photosynthesis, but not dark enough to freeze are the Cold Sands. An arid place with chilly winds and rough locals who used to live as nomads in this land. Some large land predators also call this area home.

On the equator of Seloca exists a strange balance between the day and the night, this balance changes seasons every five years, allowing frost to advance slowly on one side of the planet, while the thaw occurs on the other. These thaws help create small rivers that sometimes feed beyond the Northern Reaches. This area is known for its tough shrubs and mosses, able to survive their entombment in ice they use the thaw to spread their seeds and spores.

Hurricane level winds are a constant factor of life as the warm air in the north and cold air of the south meet.

The most habitable region of the South, breath fogs and snow is common. Many settlements are built into cliffs, forcing the use of the natural chelti climbing ability. Southlanders are stereotypically a rough bunch, but can be quite friendly to just about anyone, another warm body to keep the cold at bay is always welcome.

This is as far South as most chelti are willing to live, even the natives rarely venture beyond this degree for long. Any further to the South and fully enclosed environment suits would have to be used to allow the usually tropical chelti to survive. A few outposts exist out their, mostly research or outcast clans scrapping a living off mining.

Due to the low mass of the planet the worlds tectonic plates tend to drift much faster than usual for a planet of its type, while not noticeable within a lifetime Seloca will probably be unrecognizable in a few million years as the locked continents slide and shuffle.

High humidity has allowed a massive rainforest to thrive on the hot side of the planet, covering much of the geography. Some of the largest trees near the poles are visible from low orbit. Because of the constant exposure to sunlight the Selocan upper canopy is a mix between the black and dark leaves of plants using carbon to block sunlight damaging the tender inner leafs, or the shining white trees infusing their leaves with trace amounts of silica to bounce sunlight off rather than absorb it. Natural protection to help save them from the constant bombardment.

As the canopy deepens, more colors emerge in the forms of reds and blues, and perhaps even some more familiar greens. As light becomes harder to find the deeper the forest goes dark leaves and black foliage begin to appear. Below them is the forest floor or swamps, a favorite hunting spot for scavengers as they eat anything unfortunate enough to fall from the canopy.

• Selocan Documented Flora and Fauna