Saylua
Saylua is the planet that the Saylua game takes place on. The planet of Saylua is tidally locked, which means it does not rotate relative to its sun. This means that one side of Saylua is always light and the other side is always dark. Residents on Saylua call the light side Sayleus and the dark side Luaria. In between the two sides of Saylua, there is a border region called the Dawnlands, a place where the sky is always the color of a sunset/sunrise, and the temperatures are the most moderate found on the planet.
Contents
Physical Characteristics
The orbit of Saylua around its sun takes 365 days. Saylua spins on its axis, but its spin cycle is exactly 365 days long as well. So the planet of Saylua makes one planetary rotation for every revolution around the sun made. Thus, while Saylua both revolves and rotates, one side of the planet is always facing the sun, and the other side of the planet is always facing the darkness.
Saylua has one moon which orbits the planet.
The sun of Saylua's system is a red dwarf.
History of Saylua
Life before The Impact
Saylua was originally not tidally locked and used to have a day and night cycle much like Earth. Before The Impact, Saylua was originally known as the planet of Sayleus by its residents, a word which referred to the prosperous life living on the planet. The planet had a large amount of biodiversity and a moderate climate which allowed life to thrive. Humans on Saylua tended to rely heavily on animals for labor and tended to value their animals as companions who helped them live. However, compared to the present, the relationship between humans and animals was more of a master-servant relationship than the mutual companionship-based pet relationships currently present on Saylua.
The Impact
In the year of 0 ATI, a meteor of great size hit the planet of Saylua in an event known as The Impact. Immediately following The Impact, much of the area on the side now known as Luaria became inhospitable to life as a result of the large dust clouds generated by the meteor strike. Many animals and humans died as a result of the collision. Those humans that did survive migrated to the area now known as Sayleus as the dust clouds grew and a large area of the planet became uninhabitable.
After the Impact
Biological Significance
The few animals that did survive The Impact and the associated climate changes adapted to the new environment. Although much of the flora had died, the meteor filled the area with magical high energy particles. These particles accelerated the pace of mutations for the creatures still living in the area, causing the creatures on the side to evolve rapidly. New plants in the area near the meteor crash site evolved to absorb the magical energy in the air. In addition, the pets started to gain abilities which seemed magical to the humans on Saylua as they evolved to absorb the high energy particles left by The Impact. Pets were able to harness the high energy in order to power magical features such as the ability to breath fire or spit water at high speeds. In addition to that, the energy reserves allowed pets to develop higher intelligence, causing them to become capable of understanding the languages used by humans. Although pets could not speak for themselves, they could communicate their intentions and feelings through gestures and animal sounds and tended to act much more strategically in their own self-interest. As a result, the relationship between humans and their animal companions became much more of a mutual partnership than in the past. For example, humans could ask pets to do complicated tasks such as helping them construct a building, but pets would only do so if they wanted to.
Humans themselves were generally unaffected by the rapid evolution that came from the harsh environment and exposure to high magical energy brought by the meteor because most humans fled the area of the crash. However, a few rare human tribes who stayed near the meteor crash site area experienced the high mutation rates and developed a mix of new features, including more animal-like physical traits or a small amount of ability to use magic.
Despite the scarce resources in the area, life eventually started thriving in the area of the planet hit by the meteor with the aid of magic. Thus, humans came up with the word Luaria to refer to the renewed hope brought by the magical particles in the area.
Geographical Significance
There was another effect however, not noticed at first but soon to become the most significant result of the impact. People noticed the days and nights were getting longer ever so slightly. While this was a slow effect it soon became clear that the planet’s rotation was slowing down. (although I’m not sure people in universe would know enough about planets to know that) What had once been a 24 hour cycle stretched to weeks of sunlight followed by weeks of darkness with no sign of reversing course.
Once the day had stretched to last what was once a season, it became clear that the old ways of living were no longer maintainable. This lead each family to make a very difficult choice, stay where you are and endure the long days and nights, or pull up stakes and become nomads.
The vast majority of nomads traveled in order to chase the sun. Hunting, foraging, and trading with each other and those who were staying put. Some of the most enterprising and formidable nomads decided to travel in the night instead, delivering much needed supplies from those parts of the planet that were in sunlight to those who were hunkered down waiting for the next light to come.
For those who stayed put, life consisted of a hectic, but bountiful growing season during which families worked the land to the best of their abilities, followed by a peaceful but terrifying dark season during which only magic and stored up supplies were available. As the planet continued to slow, and the dark season got longer and longer, more and more families decided to abandon their homes and take to the road, living and working in the constant sunlight.
As far as the fauna of the planet, at first the only way to survive outside of companionship with humans was to migrate with the sun, as the nomads do. Eventually, some species began to evolve to live in the darkness, depending on their inborn magical abilities and plants that were beginning to develop the ability to feed off of magic.
Etymology of Saylua
Sayleus no longer seemed like a fitting word to refer to the whole planet, so the word Saylua started to gain popularity as a reference to the fact that the planet was never the same after The Impact, which destroyed a lot of life but brought back hope in the form of magic. The exact origins of the name Saylua for the planet were lost in history, but recording of its usage date back as far as 80 ATI.
Geography
The planet has always had a high amount of biodiversity with lots of different animal types living in a variety of different biomes.
