Song of the Earth: Understanding Elysium's Creation

Scientists estimate that about 48.5 tons (44 tonnes or 44,000 kilograms) of meteoritic material falls on Earth each day.   Rocks from space that land on Earth are often known as meteorites, and scientists often estimate that fewer than 10,000 meteorites collide into Earth's land or water, which is a drop in the bucket compared with the moon, which doesn't have an atmosphere and gets hit by varying sizes of space rocks: about 11 to 1,100 tons (10 to 1,000 metric tons) — the mass of about 5.5 cars — of space rock dust per day, and about 33,000 ping pong-ball-sized space rock collisions yearly. Instead, most rocks that fall to Earth are very small. These rocks, known as meteoroids enter the atmosphere at very high speeds, ranging from roughly 25,000 miles per hour to 160,000 mph. As they travel further into the increasingly dense layers of the atmosphere, they rapidly decelerate while being vaporized and as a result, relatively few ever survive their fiery plummet through Earth's atmosphere, often burning up before they even have a chance to hit the ground, leaving a bright trail fondly called "shooting stars". Several meteors per hour can usually be seen on any given night and sometimes the number increases dramatically—these events are termed meteor showers.   Giant impacts, such as the one that likely ended the reign of the dinosaurs on earth about 66 million years ago, caused by an asteroid or comet measuring about more 6 miles (10 kilometers) across, are extraordinarily rare and portions of meteoroids that are sufficiently large may survive their passage through the atmosphere and strike the ground, in which case they are referred to as meteorites.   Much like on earth, Elysium itselfs also has had its fair share of space-rock hailing from the sky; in fact continents such as Gudeth are no strangers to incidents involving space debris falling to the planet, which is perhaps not surprising given the country's vast size as well as the increased size of the planet itself compared to earth. However, despite the similarities Elysium may hold with its earthen counterpart and their relation with falling space rock, the similarities appear to stop there.   Despite being almost a mirror image when it comes to following the same similar evolutionary pathways and significant events that earth had gone through over the years, the planet itself seems to have gotten lucky, as recent studies have shown that despite the intense similarities it may share with Earth, that unlike Earth, Elysium was and has apparently been spared from traumatic, cataclysmic events involving meteors and asteroid collisions, having never seeming to have had ever experienced anything similar to any significant impact events such as the K–T extinction event that wiped out nearly all life on Earth. On earth, the K–Pg, also known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) extinction had a profound effect on the evolution of life on Earth. The elimination of dominant Cretaceous groups allowed other organisms to take their place, causing a remarkable amount of species diversification during the Paleogene period, with the most striking example being the replacement of dinosaurs by mammals; this catastrophic event allowing human evolution to be made possible by allowing the surviving mammals to flourish, including little proto-primates that would eventually evolve into the beings now known as man which quickly evolved to become the next rulers of the planet.   While speculation on earth over the years has led many to try and imagine what life would be like if dinosaurs and non-avian reptiles survived such a tragic event and evolved alongside humans, the people of Elysium don't really need to speculate all that much.   In the world of Elysium, Dinosaurs have gotten a second chance in life and have become one of the more prolific creatures found amongst the continents of the world. Long ago in the Dawn Era when Elysium was first believed to be in its infancy and before the advent of civilization, there were ancient beasts that roamed the ancient lands that would later form the continents known throughout Elysium. While many creatures trudged along, many got to a certain point before tragically dying out. But amongst those who did beat the odds and survived and found a foothold in the changing world, some were amongst the most fascinating of them all.   The lands that make up Elysium are an Earthen-paleontologist's dream come true. Wherever you look, ancient creatures, both dinosaur and other, roam free, swim and fly in their own little paradises. Extinct on earth, they thrive in these lands; many of them becoming a symbol to the testament of nature's strength to keep going even in the most dire of situations.   When the first Realm-Walker landed in the world of Elysium, they were shocked by what they found. Large, reptilian beasts swooped within the air, jumped amongst the waves, galloped and sprinted across the deserts and the grasslands. Some to visitors' surprise, even lived amongst the barren and cold lands of the north.   When later Realm-Walkers arrived, those with extensive knowledge about their homes natural world and all its per-recorded history, they helped categorized many of these beasts, writing books and dedicating their new lives to aiding the populace with what knowledge they brought with them from their home world, utilizing it and sharing their wealth of knowledge amongst the scholars and naturalists who lived within the world of Elysium. To this day, much of this knowledge, with which so few is rarely outdated, still spreads its wings in libraries and studies and allows those wishing to learn about the fantastic creatures who live in their world. Many dinosaurs and prehistoric animals roam the lands throughout Elysium.   In many of the continents, similar to earth, they have become extremely successful, with many of them being able to compete with or thrive with some of the world's most prolific and successful herbivores and carnivores. Despite living in a different world, many of these creatures seemed to have followed a series of similar evolutionary pathways that coincide with that of Earth's past-dinosaur species. As a result, many do not appear much different in anything other than name when it comes to appearance. In fact, they are so similar, that researchers who landed on the planet from earth, actually believed that they could have been used as a base for the behaviors that scientists on earth still speculated and debated about when it came to dinosaur behaviorism and nature.   As it also stands similar to earth, Dinosaurs on Elysium can be classified into several distinct groupings.   Major groups such as Ankylosaurians (armored herbivorous quadrupeds), Stegosaurians (plated herbivorous quadrupeds), Ceratopsians (bipedal or quadrupedal herbivores with neck frills), Pachycephalosaurians (bipedal herbivores with thick skulls), Ornithopods (bipedal or quadrupedal herbivores including "duck-bills"), Theropods (mostly bipedal carnivores and birds), and Sauropodomorphs (mostly large herbivorous quadrupeds with long necks and tails), make up much of the classifications of Dinosaurs on Elysium, as well as involving any major subclassing that might have developed during the changes of Elysiums march through history, that differed from Earths and caused different evolutionary changes, such as the introduction of magic, which has seemed to have the ability, when at least "wild and free" to enhance certain creatures in various ways by altering certain DNA sequences.   While much of this classification has not changed completely throughout the years, one has had some changes. The clade, Sauropodomorpha, which often included any species of of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that included the sauropods and their ancestral relatives, has gone through a few naming changes throughout the years for one particular reason.   Before the appearance of Realm-walkers, many dinosaur-groups tended to have their own naming sequence. For example, Theropods, often those of the Raptor family, tended to be classed as Bird Wyverns along with anything that looked like them. Bird Wyverns are a small to medium sized class that includes many creatures that are often classed as Flying Wyverns with slender bodies that are bipedal and, in some cases, either have wings or lack wings.   Other theropods, such as those of the Carnotaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex family where often classed as Brute wyverns; a flightless group of wyverns well adapted for life on land, using their powerful hind limbs to get around from place to place rather than using wings or other means to travel. However, many scholars wanted to classify them as their own thing, believing that the wide-range of species throughout the dinosaur clade deserved it's own classing, and that terms like Brute and Bird should be left solely to those of distinct grouping and not just be used as a throw away classification.   It wasn't until the introduction of words such as Theropod, Sauropod by Realm-walkers and such, that dinosaurs ended up being their own classification. However, despite this regrouping, the clade, Sauropodomorpha did not change until much later, due to disagreements between scholars on what name sounded better and if the change was even needed. This was because up until that point, Sauropods were classified as Behemoths; a grouping that included such a small selection of creatures native to Elysium that it was believed that it didn't need to be changed, compared to the many many creatures that got thrown into the classification of Bird and Brute.   Up until the point that the term Sauropod got introduce to Elysium vocabulary, Behemoths only accounted for such a small percentage of the planet's native populations that grew to become extremely large. In addition to members of the Sauropod family, creatures that got classified as Behemoth also included the various species of Elysium Kraken, which got transferred to the "krakenid" family, and the Wardens, which were so confusing to scholars, that they just decided to make them the founding species of the Behemoth Clade, with them being the first under that classification, and the Sauropods being the last before the classification became moderately defunct following the reclassification of Kraken and Sauropod, leaving Titans the only member of this classification.   In addition to classification, the evolutionary background of these ancient creatures still fascinate those who remain starry-eyed whilst encountering them. The effects of a lack of mass die-off is palpable on the planet; while the evolution of mammals continued even when being faced with such tremendous odds, the effect of evolving around apex-predators has shown to have had staggering effects on the populations.   Unlike Dinosaurs, mammals still succeeded in becoming a well diversified species; to this day in Elysium, mammal populations often still outweigh the number of Dinosaur/Higher-Reptilian species that thrive on the planet. However, the continued evolution of Dinosaurs/Reptiles who already had a foot in the door when it came to their spot on the evolutionary timestamp allowed for the evolution of things unheard of on earth.   Ancient Archosaurs evolved to become things like Tarasque.   Lasiosauropteryx which as a whole is a very unremarkable creature by appearance standards compared to many other creatures that live within the continent of Arkael, seeming looking no more like a furred dragon than anything else yet not possessing the magical or at least biologically reasonable traits of one, became the most important and ultimate split down the middle between reptilian/bird and mammal, allowing it too often be known as "The Grandfather of Dragons" with many "modern" dragons species owing their success as Apex predators to their now much smaller but nonetheless fierce relative.   Mammals themselves during this time also underwent changes as well.   Following the asteroid impact on Earth, the resulting climate change in the years that followed is believed to have been what ultimately drove the remaining larger dinosaurs and creatures to extinction which thus created large ecological niches for mammals to rapidly evolve and take over. While Elysium has gone through numerous climate fluctuations over the years, none have been as dramatic as the one hypothesized to have occurred on Earth after the KT extinction event.   The resulting slow-going climate change over the years on the planet allowed for an even distribution of evolution to occur within both mammals and dinosaurs, with both sides developing traits to allow them both the chance to survive in the ever changing world. On Earth, the species that were not driven and doomed to immediate extinction by the cold commonly evolved larger, more massive bodies as a means of producing and retaining more heat. This was especially true of mammals in the northern hemisphere on Earth, such as Wooly Mammoths, Rhinoceros, and other large distinguished mega-fauna, much of which find a home on Elysium.   However, in a surprise twist, dinosaurs on Elysium also seemed to have learned that bigger was and is indeed better as well, especially when it came to migrating to larger more northern territories as the years went by. Much like on earth, lizards and various species of reptile are found worldwide, excluding the far north and Antarctica, and some islands. On Elysium the same goes for Dinosaurs. Similar to as it was on Earth, Dinosaurs roam the lands of Elysium in a multitude of different Biomes. From arid deserts, to lush forests. From tropical rain-forests to even the cold mountains of the northern hemisphere, dinosaurs have been truly lucky enough to carve a place for themselves amongst Elysium's more steadfast and headstrong fauna. While many are highly adaptable and can live in all but the most extreme environments, many species seem to have evolved traits to allow them to survive in climates most would not necessarily assume a dinosaur would generally desire to live in.   Multiple species of Tyrannosaurids for example, come in multiple variations; while they are often scaly in warmer climates and slightly smaller in musculature and body-fat distribution, there are others like T.Dolrax shown at the bottom, that are covered in shaggy proto-feathers to survive colder climates. In addition to the added insulation, T. Dolrax also exhibits a much more boxy stature with added fat distributions, indicative of a creature who relies on body size to help conserve heat. In a similar fashion, various species of Dromaeosauridae, also call the north home. Much like their earthen counterparts, these various species of Dromaeosauridae are bipedal, feathered carnivore with a long tail and an enlarged sickle-shaped claw on each hindfoot, which is thought to have been used to tackle and restrain prey.   Dryptorhinus (Tearing Snout), is one of the largest of this variation of dinosaur to live up closer to the northern range and the changes in physiology are staggering. While many members of the family Dromaeosauridae tend to be known as light weight and “bouncy”, Dryptorhinus shares traits with earths Achillobator; a large, heavily-built, ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore known to be an active feathered predator hunting with the enlarged sickle claw on each second toe. Measuring around 5 m (16 ft) long and weighing between 250–350 kg (550–770 lb), Dryptorhinus is considered to be one of the largest dromaeosaurs and this size is thought to have contributed to their success.   The stocky and short leg ratio of Dryptorhinus, specifically D.qoboiisk, compared to smaller, faster relatives, indicates a creature not known to be cursorial—that being an animal adapted for high speed or the ability to maintain said high speeds over an extended period of time. Moreover, the complete robust morphology of the maxilla suggests a predatory behavior based around hunting large prey. This additional bulk in size allows the raptor the ability to take down prey that many smaller species are unable to, though it is unable to outrun most smaller creatures.   With it’s above average weight and size, this carnivore is the epitome of feathered ferocity. Undeniably stunning, but also incredibly lethal, this ruthless predator has scythe-like claws that could stop almost any victim dead in its tracks which aids in survival in a territory where smaller prey are hard to come by during the bleakest of winters.     While debate still continues on earth about the pattern and processes that lead to the mass of extinctions that brought about the end of the Ice Age, many studies have largely centered around the cause being based on two main culprits. One suggests that their extinction was caused by a warming climate and the expansion of vegetation that created unsuitable habitat for the animals. Another suggests that in addition to other developing factors, the overhunting of large megafauna by rapidly developing humans is also said to have exacerbated the issues said megafauna were already facing.   And while the struggle between Man (and now ner) vs Nature still persists on Elysium, the general animal population still goes on steady with not as many Critical Extinction Events. While Earth steadily continues to go through what is known as the Holocene extinction, or Anthropocene extinction, mass extinction caused by anything other than natural environmental issues such as natural disaster is practically unheard of in Elysium. And while the reason for such is still generally unknown as there are indeed certain species who still face extinction/endangerment caused by humans, one of the major reasoning is thought to be once again,   size   More so the size of the planet itself.   Elysium is huge-nearly double the size of Earth's current mass, and while this makes traversing the planet just a bit harder without alternative means, this also means that there are still sections of the planet yet to be discovered where Mer and Ner have not yet colonized. This added increase in size also helps sustain many gargantuan creatures without a complete depletion of natural resources. The planet's ability to sustain these large creatures is thought to have contributed to the success of mammals as well as dinosaurs.   While some animals appear to have gotten larger because of the efficiency of size-IE larger prey = larger predators and vice-versa, larger mammals were also able to exploit food resources and adapted to colder climatic conditions quicker then most dinosaurs and this combination of factors led to them increasing in size.   Some of the largest mammals, for example, often rival the still existing dinosaurs in terms of bulk. In addition, larger animals could accommodate a larger gut, permitting these creatures to specialize in different kinds of herbivory, eating parts of plants that are not that nutritious. Such animals could rely on gut bacteria to break down plant cellulose. This change in diet and size aided many creatures and as a result evolution still permitted the raising of many familiar mammals on Elysium even if some required just a little adjusting to the planet compared to earth to compete and live harmoniously with their ancient neighbors.