Maf: Planetary Physics, the Gold Dust, and Enth (Full Text)

Type: Systems — Planetary Geography/Physics Reference (Full Text) Status: Canon (confirmed by creator) — full text preserved per archival standard

Maf's Core Planetary Physics

⚠️ Corrected figure: Maf is ~56,000 miles in diameter (this page originally stated 100,000 miles, sourced from an earlier, inaccurate figure — since corrected and reconfirmed independently in a separate source; see Ark Royal for the fuller correction history) with gravity approximately 1.09-1.1 times Earth's. For centuries, the physics behind this combination remained unexplained; current scientific consensus holds that the planet is mostly hollow, consisting of a honeycomb structure of giant crystal cylinders — superstrong (diamond-like) yet extremely lightweight, formed under conditions of vacuum, high pressure, and high heat. Atop this honeycomb structure sits a 1,500-mile (or thicker) crust layer, whose topmost tectonic plates collided to form the continent of Norihing.

Additional confirmed facts: axial tilt of 19.23°; 22 moons, 2 of which are Earth-sized and inhabitable (though neither developed intelligent life); the sun is a blue-white giant; no planetary rings.

The Great River

A 20,000+ mile river originates in the northeast-central part of Norihing, travels south through a 1,000-mile-long alpine canyon, turns westward, then southwest, eventually ending in a vast delta thousands of miles distant.

The Gold Dust

One of Maf's central mysteries. The planet's supporting crystals (forming the hollow honeycomb structure) decompose extremely slowly over billions of years, with molecules leaching through the crust into the atmosphere. In sunlight, these crystal molecules create a sparkling effect, sometimes giving rise to legends of spirits and angels; high-altitude golden-hued clouds occasionally form as well, feeding further myth and legend.

✅ The undiscovered truth: the crystal molecules permeate the entire atmosphere, not merely where they achieve visible optical effects — and they possess genuine longevity and healing properties for anyone who breathes them. This is the root cause of Maf's confirmed average humanoid lifespan of 120 years, and the near-total absence of the plagues and epidemics common on other planets.

Enth (Nth) — The Southern Continent

Norihing extends from 35° south to 45° north; a 3,000-5,000-mile-wide ocean separates it from the northern polar continent of Palas. South of the equator lies Enth, a vast, largely unexplored subcontinent — current population estimates suggest as many as 20 million people could live there, though its true extent remains unmapped.

The Equatorial Mountains

Separating Enth from Norihing's northern portion — the highest mountains on the planet, running literally sea to sea, roughly 3,000 miles wide (north-south) and 15,000 miles long (east-west).

Enth's Regions (South to North)

Northern rainforests — stretch ~2,000 miles south from the Equatorial Mountains' southern flanks
Plains, steppes, and grasslands — 1,000-3,000 miles further south
Great interior forests — extend to Enth's southern coast
Western desert — huge bays, peninsulas, and formidable mountain ranges, extending ~3,000 miles east from the western coast
The Great Eastern Bay — a Mediterranean-like inland sea, roughly 5,000 miles inland from the eastern coast

The 490 Tombs of Enth

An unnamed civilization arose in Enth tens of thousands of years ago, its name lost to history, but its ruins — labyrinthine structures known as the "490 Tombs" (490 discovered to date, believed to be the complete count) — dot the continent. Most are square or rectangular (a few hundred to 1,000 feet on a side); one is a perfect 1,000-foot-diameter circle; another is a 1,000×400-foot oval.

✅ The undiscovered truth: these "tombs" were actually the basements and foundations of huge stone temples, their superstructures long since carted away for other uses over the centuries. The labyrinths beneath housed libraries, secret ritual chambers (varying by the deity worshipped above), prisoner holds, or — at their centers — demons, dragons, minotaurs, or ghouls, since the builders were adept at conjuring and binding such creatures within the labyrinths. All such creatures have long since vanished from the tombs, with not even legends surviving to explain their fate — only mysterious artifacts, wall paintings, and engravings hint at the temples' true former purpose.

The Pateers

Centaur-like remnants of a once-powerful race that existed in Enth before being hunted and enslaved by the civilization that built the 490 Tombs. Standing 7-8 feet tall, the Pateers are excellent hunters wearing utility vests holding gear, first aid supplies, ammunition, and water. They prey on every living creature and find humans especially "tasty" — well-known and feared across the planet, with universal warnings to avoid their territory. They live in small villages and nomadic tribes; total population estimated at only 20,000-30,000, inhabiting the swamps and lower rainforest reaches below the Palasser highlands on the Equatorial Mountains' northern flanks.

The Palasser People

A strong, sturdy humanoid race with psychic abilities, population approximately 20,000,000, inhabiting the entire Equatorial Mountain range at higher elevations — partly to avoid the Pateers, but primarily as a matter of inherited culture. A handful of large cities (several hundred thousand population) exist, but most Palasser live in small towns, villages, orchards, farms, and vineyards.

Economy: excellent coffee, wine, chocolate, dairy products (goat and cattle), healing drugs/potions, and hallucinogenic drugs used ceremonially or recreationally. Certain villages specialize in mountain beer; one city is noted for champagnes and sparkling liquors infused with Gold Dust discovered in a secret hidden-cavern deposit.

Culture: highly mobile — trading caravans, year-long hunting parties, seasonal migration for work or opportunity. Deliberately eschew modern technology (cars, phones, aircraft) despite full awareness of it, in favor of traditional handcrafted tools, weapons, clothing, and homemade goods (though they do possess firearms). Hardy, somewhat aloof, highly intelligent, skilled toolmakers, strong and loyal friends once earned, formidable warriors when pressed, and prone to large extended families and rich storytelling traditions.

Shellones Plateau

A 3-mile (east-west) by 1-mile (north-south) high plateau on the Equatorial Mountains' northern flank, at 14,000 feet elevation — its north face a dramatic layered descent (4,000-foot sheer drop, a 2,000-foot sloping escarpment, then an 8,000-foot sheer drop to the forest below).

Discovery and the Jones Family

Discovered in 1940 by the Jones family — founders of the LMT Corporation and the city of Jonesboro. Shelley Jones (sister) built a 30-room stone castle, Shellones Castle, at the plateau's eastern end against the mountain flank — originally a secret family retreat from business and social pressures.

Public discovery: found by mountaineers in the early 1960s; despite the family's efforts to preserve secrecy, rumors of a "magical castle on a high plateau in the clouds" spread across the continent. By the 1990s, the family embraced the inevitable, expanding the castle to accommodate visitors. A village grew on the plateau through the decade, with the Palasser bringing produce and goods to trade with "outsiders." By the present day, Shellones Castle has grown to 300 rooms, and the surrounding village features hotels, restaurants, and lodges catering to hikers, sportsmen, sightseers, and tourists.

Caverns and the Hidden Mines

Nearby caverns — featuring colorful mineral formations, cold clear streams and waterfalls, transparent ponds, and unique rock formations — have become popular with tourists and spelunkers. Persistent rumors describe 2 or 3 hidden mines, but no one who claims to have found one has ever been able to locate it again, leading most to dismiss the mines as myth.

✅ The truth: two ancient mines genuinely exist — so old that not even the Palasser retain any legend or record of their origin. They are semi-guarded by rock nymphs and fairies (whose existence almost no one believes in), which is precisely why anyone who stumbles upon a mine can never find their way back to it again.

Appearances

Creator-provided detail (ChatGPT export, "Continent Topography and Climate" — see RAW SOURCE, conversations-001.json #19)

Open Questions

Full detail on the rock nymphs/fairies guarding the hidden mines, and the true origin of the mines themselves, is not given in this source