Volel's Spine
Rolling through the orange clouds of Jupiter is Volel's Spine. This natural megastructure is biotic of origin, built on the corpse of an incredibly large prehistoric animal.
Geography, Location & Climate
Volel's Spine orbits the Rollen Ring, a massive ring of floating islands on the border of Jupiter's Edge. The island itself is the remnants of a giant ancient animal, dated back to about seventy million years ago. Rock and soil clumped together around the corpse, and over these millions of years the island formed.
The "Spine" refers to the main length of the island, which is formed along the backbone of the animal's corpse. Volel's Spine is practically hollow, including the remaining bones, which are wide enough for several jovians to comfortably travel through.
Due to the size of Volel's Spine, it has formed its own weather system and climate. Clouds circle the island and funnel into the caves, where they condense and form large pools of water. This water exits the island through several smaller tunnels, and as they do some of it evaporates and turns back into clouds.
Biota
Thanks to the abundance of nutrients in the island, flora and fungi have bloomed. There are thirteen hundred recorded herbaceous plant species on Volel's Spine, and just under three hundred fungi species. The entirety of the island is covered in flora of some kind, like a warm blanket.
Many animal species migrate to Volel's Spine for the summers and winters, as the cool climate is perfect for most animals. It is not too hot and not too cold, and is one of the few places where the climate is steady all year round. The abundance of flora provides enough food for millions of migrating jovian rays, as well as many other animal species.
Comments