Xathor (pronounced "Zay-thor", though some say "Zah-thor") is the second and second largest planet of the Ardaya System. Xathor is a hot, high-mass waterworld, and has been colonized by every species which lives in water anyone could find. Because of Project Alazar, every single possible species that had not been completely assimilated by the Somnar Hive was immigrated to the Ardaya System, with a good portion of them reaching Xathor. After Project Alazar is complete, most of the species will likely emigrate to new worlds, loosening the pressure on the great gem.
Physical
The second planet from Ardaya, it is an unusually large ocean world, with a huge mass and having a diameter of 25959.57 km. Xathor has a rather quick day, only lasting 10 hours and 19 minutes. It has 2 moons, Jarek and Laserith, Jarek being a desert world.
One of Xathor's moons overlooking the sea.
Climate
Xathor is very cloudy, having lots of storms such as cyclones, powerful winds and lightning due to the hot temperatures. Rain also falls harder hear due to the stronger gravity.The seas are also very chaotic, with soaring waves reaching over 40ft high, raging across the vast purple expanse of water. However, there are a few calmer regions with clearer skies. Because of its chaotic climate, immigration is rare as entering and leaving the planet’s atmosphere prove to be a difficult task.
Life
Despite the chaotic conditions, life does exist on Xathor below the oceans on massive reef-like structures. The planet was originally sterile, but various species from the Last Free Systems colonized it and seeded it with their planets' native life.
Examples of Xathorian life:
Telgors: The most intelligent lifeform on the planet. Telgors are 7ft tall, dark grey, semi-reptilian humanoids that inhabit the reefs, mainly living in caves. They are a refugee species from an unknown planet in Somnar Hive territory, and are the most dominant species here. Male Telgors are more muscular whereas female Telgors are thinner but faster at swimming. Despite their intelligence, it is unlikely that they'll ever become a technological civilization due to their homeworld being covered in stormy seas.
Glopes: Bioluminescent worm-like creatures that feed off plants on the reefs. They are 3ft long and glow a dark blue colour as well as having lighter blue patches on them. Glopes also have a symbiotic relationship with bacterial organisms living inside them.
Waverollers: These creatures swim close to the surface, feeding on microscopic plankton and can actually float on the water by curling up like an armadillo, being able to ride the waves, hence their name.
History
Just like most planets, Xathor formed in a protoplanetary disk of gas and dust that surrounded its infant sun, 2.7 billion years ago. Xathor's oceans were stirred up by tides created by Jarek and Laserith, creating vast waves and making it more difficult for the necessary amino acids to bond to each other to create proteins and life.
this bit's WIP
Unlike most planets, Xathor was originally sterile. However, during Ardaya's transformation into a refugee ship to leave the Myrmidan Galaxy, many species from ocean worlds were landed here to colonize the planet. The current most dominant species here is the last remaining Telgors that haven't been taken over by the Somnar Hive.
Gallery
.jpg "Xathor (2).jpg (165 KB)")