[Cosmosdex] The Universal Encyclopedia
[Cosmosdex]
Real Yermo
Desert of the Real
Real Yermo
No art currently, maybe you can help
Dominant Residents: Soledade
Fauna: Many kinds of fauna that are inexplicably capable of talking and imparting morals.
Weather: Unpredictable, and unnatural.
Danger Level: Medium
Purpose: Hideaway, destination for spirit journeys.
Original Creator: greatwheatshrike
Physical Description
This environmentally-diverse planet contains many abandoned settlements, communities and cities, due to discovery after the introduction of spacegoing vessels invalidated those settlements' isolation. Most who live on the planet have used new technology to establish new, more hidden settlements.
There are also various landmarks dotting the planet that are former soledads who spontaneously turned into a landmark at the end of their life, whether that be a tree, a sign, a cactus that continuously oozes liquor, etc.
History
Ask one of its inhabitants and one will get one of a million different stories of that place's history. Each story contains a grain of truth to it for the book's greater truth.
Locations
Brushscript: An abandoned desert outpost. Now said to be run by animals who have taken the roles of townspeople. A lost traveler dying of heat and sunstroke reported being dragged into an inn and nursed back to health, but after becoming well again, the fauna would not show their faces. Nearby mesas act as a natural sundial that casts improbable shadows upon the town square. It's said that upon a certain alignment of the stars, the shadows will converge on the town perhaps bringing its old inhabitants back again.
Shallows Mountain Lake: An inverted lake mountain balanced upon its peak, said to have been uprooted and thrown back down that way by a god of the hot springs inside the mountain who was tired of being afflicted with Seasonal Affective Disorder and wanted some sunlight. Now, the mountain's bottom faces the sky, with a shallow disc of water floating a foot above its surface. Some say the lake is much, much deeper than it looks... and the depth may not be only physical.
One may also decide to explore the elaborate series of caverns and tunnels inside the mountain; many live in this secluded cave network. The cave society seems friendly enough on the surface, but beneath every mountain, there's a vein of ore not unmined.
Abyssus: Abyssus is a rainforest of nearly impenetrable thickness and darkness. It constantly rains over Abyssus, yet no rain ever touches the ground. It is impossible to see more than three steps ahead of oneself without artificial light, so this place serves as one of the most heavily populated areas on Real Yermo. The darkness is said to be so permeating that it can cause the unacclimatized to experience intense hallucinations. At night (how can you tell, though?), it's said that an impossible light show takes place beneath the canopy, with many soledades taking part in the festivities. What the festivities are though are a well-kept secret.
Special
Chaos: Things that probably should not happen, happen here.
Trivia
• Among publishers of travel information, Real Yermo is infamous for being "misplaced" on lists between yearly editions. One tourist writer reported that they saw the entry for Real Yermo on their travel list delete itself at the exact second the date between galactic years changed on New Years. I will probably have to rewrite this entry again next year.
Image Gallery
No art currently, maybe you can help.
