Avalon
From Acw
The most recent addition to humanity's galactic empire, owned wholly by the British. Avalon is also the first system discovered by humans that already contained life.
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History
Avalonwas discovered by Lord Gerald Combes-Lyston, current Master-Pilot of New Trinity House, in March 2367. Upon realising that the most likely candidate for terraforming in the system, the planet Avalon-2, already had life upon it, he named it 'Elysium' for the heavenly portion of the Greek underworld where heroic souls were though to dwell.
Avalon-1, 3, 4 and 5 were not named until his return to Earth. The Ministry for the External Colonies felt that an underworld theme full of classical allusion fitted the new system, so the giant and volcanic Avalon-1 was named 'Tartarus', for the prison of the Titans that became the Greek hell. Because Hades and Styx had already been used to name the barren bodies in the Hydra system, Avalon-3 was named 'Asphodel', for the meadows where those whose lives were equally good and evil. Its moons were named for the remaining rivers of the underworld. The purple gas giant Avalon-4 was named 'Erebus', for the son of the God Chaos and domain of Hades, and its moon named 'Stygia', for another of Hades' domains. Having run out of classical names for the underworld, the final planet, a tiny rock hurtling through space around Avalon, was called 'Orpheus'.
Planets in the Avalon System
Avalon-1 - Tartarus
Tartarus is the largest solid planet that humanity has yet discovered. Almost three times the circumference of Earth, its volcanic surface shifts constantly.
Elysium
Avalon-3 - Asphodel
Asphodel is unusual for a number of reasons. Firstly, it size and proximity to Avalon make it seem likely that it will take to terraforming. Secondly, given Erebus' size, astronomers would have predicted that the larger planet had more moons than Asphodel, but the smaller planet seems to have a strong hold on its satellites. This raises questions about the moons' origins.
Avalon-3-M1 - Acheron
Avalon-3-M2 - Cocytus
Avalon-3-M3 - Phlegethon
Avalon-3-M4 - Lethe
Avalon-4 - Erebus
Avalon-4-M1 - Stygia
Avalon-5 - Orpheus
A tiny rock that orbits at unprecedented speed. Though it teeters on the edge of Avalon's gravity field, it orbits faster than Erebus.
