Remains of Phaethon

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Phaethon
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Type: Snow
Planetary Information
Population: Unknown
Day Length: Unknown
Year Length: Approx. 1680 Earth days
Surface Temp: Below 0° C
Gravity: Standard
Atmosphere: Nitrogen, Oxygen
Moons: Unknown
Societal Information
Races: Unknown

Phaethon was a planet in the Sol System destroyed before the rise of modern galactic civilization. Its true history and reasons for destruction are unknown and possibly will never be known until the Titan language is deciphered. What is known was established from observing remains of the planet which became the asteroid belt of Sol System.

Geography[edit | edit source]

No features of Phaethon's land are known, but from its location and the total mass of its remain we can deduce it used to be a planet between the sizes of Earth and Mars and was colder than Mars, barely qualifying for habitability. Unless it was heated by some other means, it was a snow planet. Presence of water can be attested from large amounts of water ice in the remaining rocks.

Inhabitants[edit | edit source]

It's unknown if any mortal races inhabited Phaethon but in astronomical Titan reliefs, the planet is presented along with icons showing Titan habitation, suggesting Titans visited it and studied or inhabited it. This suggests that Titan constructs, such as dwarves, sphinxes or humans, were present as well. The world never disappears from Titan record, although it's never present in post-Titan records of any race that visited Sol System since.

One myth told among the remaining Earth dwarves is that they are not, in fact, native Earth dwarves but descendants of Phaethon's inhabitants. Allegedly a war broke out and one faction developed a horrific weapon capable of destroying their planet. The other faction began fleeing through a portal to Earth, but shortly thereafter, the weapon was fired and Phaethon was destroyed. Why would anyone destroy their own planet is unknown, but the unlikelihood of this story places it firmly in the realm of legend. Therefore, if there were dwarves on Phaethon, they are likely extinct.

Theories on destruction[edit | edit source]

There are many theories about Phaethon's destruction. One theory, posited above, claims it fell prey to an internal war which destroyed Phaethon in the same way Atlantis nearly destroyed Earth. Other theories suggest it was destroyed by a natural cataclysm, which would have to occur between 77,000 and 15,000 years ago, and there is no evidence of catastrophic meteor showers on nearby worlds which would unavoidably follow.

The most popular argument is that Phaethon was destroyed during the Titan Apocalypse, either by the Titans or the Elder Things. Both races were capable of destruction on such a large scale and although the Elder Things would not hesitate to obliterate an entire planet, Titans' motives for doing that are unclear. Perhaps it was too deeply infested by the Elder Things and beyond rescue. Perhaps it was an attempt to destroy the invading creatures, or even an experiment at devising a weapon capable of harming the true masters of this invasion. Whichever it would be, it clearly failed.

Ceres[edit | edit source]

The biggest body remaining of Phaethon is known as Ceres. Large enough to collapse under its own gravity into a spherical shape, Ceres is a rocky and icy body whose surface appears to house the remains of facilities built by its previous inhabitants, possibly Titans. Curiously, there is also an energy signature emanating from one of the craters, visible from certain distance as bright light. Said energy source has never been investigated as far as current knowledge is concerned.

Sol System
The Sun - Mercury - Venus - Earth (Moon) - Mars - Asteroid belt - Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune - Kuiper belt - Nemesis
Related nearby worlds: Helias - Panchaea - Taprobana - Sigu Tolo - Polaris System - Hebdom System