Astronomy
From Reydala
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Astronomy in Reydala
Thanks in part to the followers of Lucion, much is known about the stars and planets surrounding Reydala. When new initiaties come to a Library, they are often given tasks of catagorizing and discovering new astral bodies to help develop their range of arcane vision. That said, even the strongest of wizards have difficulty picking up details beyond the basic system of Reydala. Even Lucionites have some difficulty explaining just what the stars are, though there are many theories (One of which is the correct one, but enough proof cannot be gathered by current means). The common man would likely attribute stars to the actions of Gods: "That's Regial protecting us from Hald's darkness", "Those are the tears of Nathicana", etc.
Most of the study of Astronomy is thus confined to wizardly practice, though a few places have sprung up to exclusively study the world outside the atmosphere. The largest such observatory is nestled in the mountains west of Riscana and is staffed mostly of Lucionites who wished to take their practice much further as well as some like-minded individuals from all over the world. Not only is this observatory home of some of the best arcane scryers in the world, but it also holds some advanced stargazing technology, thanks to the prescence of a stranded ark gnome.
Inner Reydala System
The Sun
Throughout the world, Reydala's star has many names. Most common folk simply refer to it as "Fianna", thinking of it as an extension of the Goddess, a gift of her to the planet, or even her home. Lucionites have dubbed the Star as "Logos" during their many studies, a play on it's light illuminating the sky just as their logic illuminates many of the mysteries of the planet. It's not uncommon for the sun's name to change from city to city, due to different cultural traditions. As a result, the term of simply "the sun" has become widely understood as a generic word so as to prevent confusion.
The sun itself is a bit smaller than our own, but is classified as a type G Yellow Giant. Much like our own, it creates heat through fusion chemical processes, but the details of these are largely unknown to anyone on Reydala. Because of this, a more romanticised explanation is often used, again usually references to Reydala's Gods and Goddesses.
The First Planet "Barasarg"
A relatively small spheroid planet that orbits extremely close to the sun, about 0.2 AUs. It is rocky and barren, and is often seen from Reydala as a minute dark spot crossing the sun. It orbits once every 25 Reydala days. There is no evidence of water, nor any life to speak of. It's high velocity and density keeps it firmly within the sun's gravitational field.
Not much is known about this planet, though there are some legends. Some claim it as a stellar battlefield for Regial and Hald, citing as evidence it's rough and cratered surface. There is also a legend that it was a planet created by Nathicana that sorrowed her so much that she tossed it into the sun's embrace, burning all the life away into ash.
The Second Planet "Reydala"
Reydala is the second planet from its sun, orbiting with an average distance approximately 1.2 Astronomical Units.A complete orbital cycle takes approximately 400 days to complete, with the days being slightly longer than an earth day (Just over 25 hours). It is the only planet in the system known to harbor life. Most of Reydala's surface is covered by great oceans, once surrounding a pangea-type continent before it broke apart from seismic forces, most of the land mass drifting toward the northern hemisphere of the planet.
Reydala has a sizable Tundra and a cooler average climate than Earth, though deserts and jungles of great heat exist around the equator, they do not get quite as hot as their earth equivalents, though the freezing nights in the desert can be said to be even harsher. Climate remains fairly regularly from year to year, in part thanks to Reydala's Gods and Goddesses. Typical temperature ranges from -20 to 80 degrees in the tundra regions, and from 40 to 100 degrees closer to the equator.
Reydala has many moutain ranges, most on the fringes of the established continents. For the most part they are tall, barren, and home to many volcanoes. Thanks to Terrema these mountains are filled with a large amount of precious minerals, making their control an important factor for several nations.
Reydala's Moon
A small rocky planetoid whose orbit coincides with Reydala's daily cycle. Unlike our own moon, the moon of Reydala is completely free of craters, with a very smooth surface. Its rock gives off a faint bluish glow.
