Twilitespace: The Sun

Hehehe, again, hello all!  Guess who?  
	Anyways, I dug this out this morning & finished it up (was working on
it at school, but I had to hunt for the disc; got it on the first
guess!:)  Didn't want to post it too early, or I'd give away too much
too early!:)  So, without further delay, here is Twilitespace's sun!:)

The Sun 
Name:			The Sun
Type:			Spherical Radiance Body
Size:			H
Escape Time:		24 turns
Satellites:		7 planets
Day Length:		45 hours
Year Length:		none
Population Analysis:	creatures from the elemental plane of fire

	The primary of Twilite space is, like in so many other spheres, is a
great fiery body.  It is slightly flattened at the poles, and has a
diameter of 180,000 miles.  It has a golden hue to its flame, with a
slight reddish tint.  
	It has been observed by mages with using powerful magic that great
geysers of flame spewing millions of miles into space.  These massive
plumes of fire seem to be related to the randomly opening portals to the
plane of fire.  Such fire-loving creatures as fire elementals,
salamanders, efreeti, and lava worms are likely inhabitants on the
hellish surface.  They cluster about the portals, which is where they
may have originated.  For some reason, these creatures will not depart
more than four or five miles from the portals, as not to become trapped
here.
	Dotting the surface of the sun, mainly at the equator, are several
hundred "sun spots."  These sunspots appear as dark reddish disks
floating slightly above the surface.  They are, in fact, portals to the
plane of fire, but are larger and slightly more permanent than the
portals described above.  At least one portal is permanent, and home to
a vast empire, described later.  Hordes of fire creatures are always
found near these sunspots, which are cooler than the surrounding
terrain.

Climate/Weather 
	Heated violence is the best way to describe the atmosphere of the sun. 
The whole place is heated to extreme temperatures, such that no
spelljammer could ever hope to approach.  Everywhere, vast plumes of
solar material rise out of the sun's interior to flare out with enough
energy to fry entire planets.  Flares and solar storms are fairly rare,
but can sometimes be extreme.

Continents 
	Except for the golden citadels of the flame angles, there are no
continents on the sun's surface.
Life Forms 
	Only extremely fire resistant creatures (almost all of which are from
the plane of fire) dwell here.  Given the size of the sun and small
number of creatures that dwell here, the sun is considered barren in
terms of life.
	Lava worms are the most powerful non-intelligent creatures dwelling on
the sun.  Tens of thousands of the creatures exist, but are so widely
scattered that the chances of meeting one are nil.
	The most common creatures that dwells in the atmosphere of the sun are
elmarins and flame swallows, which endlessly play in the atmosphere,
often times in groups of 20-200.  They are safe from attack, with the
only exception being trophy-hunting efreeti.

Guide to Groundlings 
	Of all the creatures that play in the fiery atmosphere of the sun, only
one has any settlements what so ever.  A large empire of flame angels,
ruled by priests, controls the only permanent sunspot.  The flame
angles, or Pheon, as they call themselves, are a race of mystery.  Most
are good aligned and maintain an well-ordered empire, while a handful of
others are evil and seek conquest.  The empire consists of some 100
floating citadels scattered above the only permanent sunspot.  Each
citadel is a small town that is built upon a golden hemisphere, floating
curved side down.  The towns usually hold a mere 500 or so Pheon each
and most are about a mile across.  Pheon buildings are well built of a
strong, sand-colored stone with flat roofs.  There are no walls, as the
inhabitants can all fly.  All towns are within sight of at least two
others, and if one is attacked, other towns can rally a defense.  On
occasion, Efreeti and salamanders visit the cities, but their stays are
usually short and not well received.  For the most part, the Pheon try
to give such evil creatures a wide berth.  
	The Pheon Empire spans over a small easily overlooked sunspot, which
burns along the sun's equator.  The storm is much cooler and darker than
the rest of the sun.  It has a large oval shape, spanning almost 300
miles at its widest point and 200 miles at its narrowest.  All of the
citadels are located above this storm, which serves them as a marker for
their territory.  The citadels orbit a point directly over the center of
the storm, following the hurricane-like 'wind currents' of the storm. 
The citadels all float at roughly the same altitude of five miles above
the storm.  Because of the cooler and darker nature of the storm,
visibility is much greater within the storm than the rest of the sun. 
One can see, with proper eye protection, roughly 6 miles distant.  Pheon
citadels average about 5 miles distance from each other.

Resources and Trade 
	There is little that the sun has to offer that would interest the
average spelljammer.  The only exception would by items crafted by the
Pheon Empire, (which are mostly crafted from heat-resistant metals). 
Such items fetch a high price in markets all across the Known Spheres,
but the risks in obtaining these items most often far outweighs the
price they fetch.  Traders will probably forever avoid the sun, as there
is no conceivable way to approach it.
	The Pheon themselves have virtually limitless resources in their
empire.  The storm below their empire sweeps up a great deal of material
from within the sun's interior.  Nuggets of super-heat resistant gold
collect in the winds and float to the upper cloud deck to be collected
by Pheon prospectors.  Red and yellow gemstones are also found, often
larger than a flitter!  These gemstones may look similar to diamonds or
other gemstones, but these sun-born stones are completely immune to any
heat and are ten times denser than normal diamonds.  The few stones that
have made it to ports outside the sun command extremely high prices on
markets throughout the galaxy.  Special worms dwelling at the heart of
the storm weave great floating nests of silk (some as large as cities)
which the Pheon harvest to make garments.  These garments are finer than
virtually any other, but need extremely hot conditions to remain intact.

Ports of Call 
	None.  No spelljammer can possibly hope to approach the sun and
survive.  No known fire resistance spells will provide protection enough
to defend against the searing heat of the sun.
	This does not mean, however, that a space port does not exist.  The
town of Sunchild, near the center of the Pheon Empire, has a small dock
for the empire's two spelljammers.  Both are specially built eelships
that were constructed out of a heat resistant brass.  These two ships
usually remain docked at port, but once every few years the ships will
depart for the azer ports on Lagorith.  However, instead of flying to
the cities and back, these two spelljammers each has a magical device
that will teleport the ship to a point one hour's travel from Lagorith. 
When the ship is ready to return to its homeport, it activates the
device again, and the ship is safely transported back to Sunchild. 
Because of these random trips, goods from the sun are available for sale
at the azer cities.  Note that these two trade ships, while very
resistant to heat, cannot survive the environment that is the sun's
surface.  
	The heart and soul of the Pheon Empire can be found at the very heart
of the storm.  Several miles below the floating citadels is the city of
Aranakana, a massive place built upon a floating continent over fifty
miles wide.  The city itself is virtually deserted; it was built to
house over five hundred thousand souls, but the Pheon number only two
thousand.  Most of the Pheon living on the continent reside in the hills
and mountains outside of the city.  The rural population is roughly
three thousand Pheon.  The temperature of the city is very cool, to the
point of being tolerable by humans.  The Pheon themselves are chilled
when in the city, and always wear heavy clothing to keep warm.  The
city, while in excellent shape, was obviously not built by the Pheon. 
The buildings are human in make, and constructed of materials not found
on the sun, including sandstone and wool tents.  The city was, in fact,
the ancient capital of the Crux Empire, before the fall of that great
empire.  The Pheon are descendants of the last survivors of the city.

History 
	The exact age of the sun is completely guesswork, and is estimated to
be several thousand centuries old, at least.  Other than as the primary
heat source for the entire sphere, there is almost nothing about the sun
that would mark it as unusual in the annuals of history if not for the
anomaly of the Pheon Empire.
	The Pheon Empire was born in the destruction of the ancient Crux Empire
on Ethwold.  During the final days of the Empire, the Crux Valley was
invaded and all was lost.  In desperation, both sides attempted to
channel great magic and call down the wrath of their gods.  The
conflicting magics was devastating, and a great Sunstorm, as the massive
firestorm was known, fell upon the valley.  The land was scorched and
all life was destroyed.  The fires destroyed both the Crux and the army
of their enemy, the Raer.  As millions died in the inferno, Solran, the
Sun God, wept.  His chosen people were being destroyed, and the sum of
their culture was obliterated in a single day.  Putting himself in great
peril, he came down to Ethwold scooped up the last remaining bastion of
Crux culture, the city of Aranakana.  Once the ancient capital of the
Crux Empire, this city had been ransacked by the Raer, who left it,
somewhat intact, to pursue the fleeing Crux Emperor.  Many refugees
huddled in the burnt out and deserted city, waiting for death to claim
them.  Solran took the city to his heart, and with a wave of his hand,
created a place for it in the Sun.  The survivors were also altered,
infused with the nobility and heart of those who died, and they do died
but were reborn as the Pheon.  Thus was born a new race, who would be
caretakers of the last piece of Crux culture until the time that it
would be needed, as foretold by Solran.  Solran was their savor, and
they discarded all other gods as false.  


-- 
Night Druid