new sphere

CLIRTALERE

	Clirtalere is located towards the interior of the Beacon Cluster.
Nearby spheres include Foiglex, Screenspace, Violet, Vwoskgu, Mullama,
Yongwu and Simocoles.  It is a very small sphere only a million miles
across.  While the outer surface appears to be normal, the inner surface
has reflective mirror-like properties which have caused innumerable
headaches for sages who study such things.  There are no stars other than
the endless reflections of Broy Lirh, and that hardly counts.  The
Clirtalere wildspace is free of debris, random asteroids, comets or any
other phenomena common to other crystal spheres.  Only one planet and its
single moon occupy this most unusual sphere.
	The planet Clirtalere is an oval earth type world 35,000 miles from
end to end.  It does not spin on an axis but it does have poles and an
equator.  The poles are considered to be at each end of the oval.  The
equator is the path midway between the two poles from which the orbit of
its single moon, an extremely hot tetrahedral fire body called Broy Lirh,
never deviates.  Broy Lirh circles the planet in a mere 24 hours.  It is
composed of white flames and is 5,000 miles across.  Because of these
conditions, the areas within a few hundred miles of each pole never see the
sun as anything other than a reflection off the crystal sphere.
	Only the areas furthest from the equator are truly comfortable for
habitation by humans and their ilk.  Most of the inhabitable sections of
the planet are occupied by quite uncomfortable people.  The equator is home
to fire giants, salamanders, and other creatures who find such environments
to their liking.  Temperatures at any particular location on Clirtalere
rarely vary more than a few degrees.  At the poles it never gets below 65°
or above 85°, and this range of temperatures gets higher and higher the
further one gets from the poles.  Only 5,000 miles away from the poles the
temperature ranges from 100° to 120°.  The everpresent wind blows towards
the equator at about 20 mph.  This varies by only a few mph or through
magical intervention.  Large shallow seas of heated water help keep the
hotter areas unbearable for habitation by providing lots of humidity.
Going closer yet towards the equator is not recommended unless magic
providing protection from heat and fire is available.  Many people do dare
the extreme heat in order to gain access to the abundant mineral wealth
that exists there.
	Each pole is in the firm grip of a strong nation possessing the
means to keep it from falling into the hands of others.  Poladia, which
controls the northern pole, is run by elven, saurial and human mages.  Drow
elves mingle freely with both humans and other types of elves.  This
situation seems volatile to outsiders but actually is quite stable because
the drow of this planet were never successfully seduced by Lolth or any
other of her ilk, and have a quite different origin from drow of other
spheres.  The economy of Poladia revolves around spell components and magic
items.  One of their most lucrative exports is leaves from the extremely
rare and magical wendancer plant.  When the red leaves are properly
prepared, any non-magical disease can be cured by sucking on the leaf for
half an hour.  Certain concoctions steeped with a gold wendancer leaf will
instantly cure some rare diseases which occasionally afflict wizards.  Pale
blue wendancer leaves can be dipped once into a cup of wine to create a
virulent poison that is completely undetectable by normal means.  The
rarest wendancer leaves are silver with deep blue edges which are actually
seeds.  Each wendancer plant has a 1% chance to produce one seed each year.
Wendancer plants never live more than 50 years and only grow in rich soils
with temperatures above 80° but under 100°.  These conditions are found
only at the extreme southern border of Poladia.  Cleverly constructed
strongholds tend to be built around wendancer plants.  Constant vigilance
must be maintained lest they be overrun by the numerous aartuk tribes or
the rapacious hoards of hot and sweaty humanoids which periodically test
Poladia's supremacy.
	Conditions at the other pole are much the same.  Owrpol, which
controls the other pole, is run by a dwarven, grav and gnomish mining
consortium which encourages individuals and small groups to do their own
prospecting.  Such activity is not without risk, however, as vicious tribes
of humanoids are constantly seeking to prey upon anyone who dares cross the
border of Owrpol.  A large variety of metals and minerals are taken from
the southern mountains of Clirtalere.  Salt, gold, silver, adamantite,
mithral, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, jade and more are all mined here.
Ores and uncut gems are very rarely exported from Owrpol because the
artisan and jewelry cartels keep a firm grip on the three largest
spelljamming ports and maintain a strong influence on the other four.

CLIRTALERE ADVENTURES

1.  Seeds of Dissent.  A wendancer plant has produced a seed, and local
factions struggle to control it.

2.  A Hideous Scheme.  The players accidently discover evidence that the
heads of MoreOres, one of the minor mining companies, are preparing a deal
with a group of gnolls to eliminate some of their more powerful competition
and perhaps aquire some of the competitions considerable assets.

3.  Control Freaks.  Incredible reports from an area near the equator claim
that giant red skinned demons in a mobile metal castle are enslaving the
fire giants and commanding them to war on their neighbors.