Sol System

 
Welcome to Solaris, traveller! This is a slower-than-light science fantasy set in our own solar system.
About Solaris | Guide to Solaris | Prologue
 

Inner World

Within the confines of the Asteroid Belt lie the four inner planets, small rocky bodies with few moons and relatively small atmospheres. Their incredibly dense population has allowed the Inner Planets to remain competitive economically and technologically, leading some to claim that Venus, Mars, and previously Mercury are the "core" of the Sol System.
 

Icon depicting the planet Mercury

☿ Mercury

  No planet has felt the wrath of the Chained Sun more than Mercury. Her people have fled, but with Penumbra at the helm, Mercury remains the first line of defense against the Solar Invasion.  

 

Drawn by Annie Stein in MS Paint

Venus

  Brilliant toxic smogs protect and obscure Venus from outsiders. Between the fog is a lush and hostile paradise, the fumes nurturing unique lifeforms that can't exist anywhere else.   Its inhabitants are the strange and alien Fei.

 

Icon depicting the planet Earth

Tellus

  Tellus is a verdant blend of forests and oceans placed under protective sequestration. No travel to or from the planet is allowed, and there are strict regulations on what can be expelled in the space around Tellus.   Luna advocates on behalf of Tellus in interplanetary councils.
 

Icon depicting the planet Mars

Mars

  Mars is a planet of great contrast, from the colourful padi fields to the monochrome cities that stretch up towards the skies. Its two oft-forgotten moons, Phobos and Deimos, are easy to miss among the sea of glittering space stations and massive arcologies occupying low Martian orbit.   The people of Mars, the Lysa, believe they have forged today's technologically advanced Mars through the power of rationalism and meritocracy.

 

Outer World

Beyond the Asteroid Belt are the massive atmospheric giants of the Sol System, swirling titans attended to by dozens of moons and smaller planetoids. Jupiter and Saturn are powerhouses of industry and commerce, while Uranus and Neptune stand vigil over the existential threats from beyond.  

Icon depicting the planet Jupiter

♃ Jupiter

  Countless moons orbit Jupiter, the self-proclaimed cradle of civilization. Internal trouble has kept the Jovians focused inwards, handling a succession of wars for lunar independence known as Catamite Wars. Now that these wars have been decisively ended, the Great Cyclops again turns their eye outwards.

 

Icon depicting the planet Saturn

♄ Saturn

  The brilliant skies of Saturn are ringed with advertisements. Merchant Princes carve out their domains both on the planet and her moons. The planet is known as the Grey Market, anything can be acquired for the right price and any law broken with the right bribes.

 

Icon depicting the planet Uranus

♅ Uranus

  Constant storms whip across the skies of Uranus. On those wild winds fly the Eyries; floating vehicle-cities. No one lives on Uranus without knowing how to fly, be it with craft or their own wings.  

 

Icon depicting the planet Neptune

♆ Neptune

  Mysteries lurk in the depth of Neptune. Her oceanic nature has led Neptune on a different path than the other planets, without metallurgy or glass the people of Neptune instead honed their innate abilities and talent for mysticism.   In spite of Neptune's dedication to keeping the interior planets safe, shrines to the unlife in the Oort Cloud are tucked away in underwater caves.


See Also

Planets Mercury · Venus · Tellus · Mars · Jupiter · Saturn · Uranus · Neptune

Comments

Author's Notes

Feature Friday 43-2024   Solaris started as a daydream about Blue and Eun, and a bullet point list of each planet. It was important that each planet to have it's own character and its own unique identity. Ideally it would harmonize with the associations we have with each planet. Everything flows out from these initial ideas and themes.   They echo eachother too. For example, Venus and Uranus are both defined by clouds, but Venus is dangerously warm and alluring, while Uranus is frigid and hostile. To further divide them, I let Uranians fly through the skies and planted Venusians on the surface. Neptune and Mercury are both frontlines and empires on the decline. Neptune has been at this for a long time, the invasion of Mercury is new. Mars and Jupiter are both staking out their claims on the Asteroid Belt, with Mars at the self-proclaimed pinnacle of technological development, and Jupiter as the self-proclaimed cradle of civilization.   If there's anything I have learned with Solaris, it is the importance of a good start. Because I knew my themes before I knew anything else, it all comes together. Because I made articles like this early on, that gave a quick overview of each planet, I could give you guys the greater picture before we zoomed in.


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Dec 20, 2022 14:05 by Chris L

This is gorgeous and so well done, as always with your work! I didn't realize that you don't have an Earth in your system until now! Is this far future or far past? Is the Earth now a nature preserve of the past, or will it be the cradle of our future civilization? Or is it none of those? So cool!

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Dec 20, 2022 14:36 by Annie Stein

Thank you so much! Yes, this is basically our own solar system, except, well, in all the ways it's very very different from ours. I think those are some excellent questions, but I deliberately leaving it up to the reader to decide if this is the distant past or distant future, or perhaps a parallel or alternate dimension. Obscuring Earth and leaving it mostly unexplored helps preserve that, I think.

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Dec 20, 2022 15:02

I absolutely love the clean style and article layouts. Easy to navigate and well structured!

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Dec 20, 2022 15:04 by Annie Stein

Thank you! Very glad to hear that, because making it easy and clean was a big priority.

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Dec 21, 2022 01:38 by Aster Blackwell

Your art is beautiful as always. I love how Tellus (Earth! <3) is left mysterious and as a nature preserve. I do have to ask, though, where are Pluto and Charon?

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Dec 21, 2022 12:10 by Annie Stein

Thank you! I decided not to cover planetoids and other trans-neptunian objects in this article. They still exist, and they'll be touched on more in articles focusing on Oort influence and other distant and extrasolar threats.

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Dec 22, 2022 00:22 by Aster Blackwell

Oooo that's exciting!

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Jan 1, 2023 17:36 by Mochi

Lovely article as always! I really like the layout, and the little images of each planet are so cute!

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Jan 1, 2023 18:15 by Annie Stein

Thank you so much!

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Jan 19, 2023 16:04

I love the simple adorable layout complemented with the drawings. The text is short, but gets to the point. It's always nice to read one of your articles.

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Jan 19, 2023 16:38 by Annie Stein

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoy them

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Nov 24, 2023 12:21 by Dimitris Romeo Havlidis

That is an extremelly well done top level article.

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Nov 24, 2023 12:35 by Annie Stein

Ahh, thank you!

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Nov 24, 2023 12:34 by Dr Emily Vair-Turnbull

Every time I read a new planet I was like 'this one's my favourite!' XD I think each one has such a unique flavour and so many things I'm curious about that I can't choose just one. I love the new art.

Emy x
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Nov 24, 2023 12:36 by Annie Stein

Gosh, I'm so glad to hear that! Thank you!

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Nov 24, 2023 15:05 by Rin Garnett

New art is so pretty and sparkly! Saturn is usually my fav in other contexts, but here it might be Neptune!

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Nov 24, 2023 15:43 by Annie Stein

Thank you! They're both very good picks. Neptune is one of my favourite icons too, despite all the trouble it gave me to figure out a good texture! Or maybe because of it!

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Nov 24, 2023 15:26 by Chris L

I've already liked this article, but I'm definitely enjoying the new and improved planetary icons! Jupiter in particular is striking. Congrats on getting it done!

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Nov 24, 2023 15:44 by Annie Stein

Thank you! Feels really good. I like jupiter too, it was so fun to draw!

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Nov 24, 2023 15:48 by Joella Kay

Wonderful article. Love the planetary images.

Nov 24, 2023 15:50 by Annie Stein

Thank you!

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Nov 24, 2023 15:59

The new images are so pretty! Can't pick a favourite. Either Uranus or Neptune.

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Nov 24, 2023 17:34 by Annie Stein

Thank you! I like those too!

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Nov 24, 2023 18:32 by Doug Marshall

I absolutely love the structure of this article. It presents the basic information of each planet in a manner that's both easily digestible and makes me want to read each individual article that's linked. Also, the planet icons are gorgeous!   I have to ask: how did you create the asymmetric columns? I've been seeing that around a lot but I don't know if it's some bbcode trick I haven't learned yet or clever css wizardry.

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Nov 24, 2023 18:46 by Annie Stein

Thank you! The columns are containers, a grandmaster bb code trick basically, swapping [col] out for [container:col-md-6], where you change the number to make it smaller or wider. A full row adds up to twelve.

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Nov 24, 2023 21:15 by Stormbril

Absolutely LOVE the artwork update on these :D Neptune is just so pretty, she's my fav for sure.

Nov 25, 2023 09:58 by Annie Stein

Thank you! I'm very happy with how Neptune turned out too, getting it to look the right amount of watery was a process!

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Nov 26, 2023 14:19 by Amanda McRoberts

The new planet icons are gorgeous! Absolutely well done Nnie.

Nov 26, 2023 20:54 by Annie Stein

Thank you so much!

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Nov 26, 2023 17:00

I like how you have a very abstract style of art, also the color scheme for each planet is chef's kiss, especially Neptune's love the blue and purple. Is there going to be a separate article for Luna because it speaks on behalf of Tellus?

Nov 26, 2023 20:54 by Annie Stein

Ahh, thank you! Yes, the moons that are the highest priority are Luna and Ganymede, hopefully I can get around to writing them during worldember next month!

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Aug 7, 2024 19:52 by CoolG

Your styling and layout is so tasteful and easy to understand ^^

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Aug 9, 2024 08:10 by Annie Stein

Thank you!

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