cosmology
Némand - The Ninth Planet
The Soul-Star, Cosmic Frontline, and Divine Prison on a 10,000-year elliptical orbit.
Astronomical Properties
Némand is the ninth planet of the solar system, but it defies conventional astronomical categories. Its orbit is highly elliptical, with a period of approximately 10,000 years. At aphelion (farthest point), it is barely detectable even with magical instruments. At perihelion (closest approach), it becomes visible to the naked eye as a pale blue-white star that does not twinkle.
True Nature
Némand is not simply a planet—it is a Cosmic Frontline and a Divine Prison.
The Eternal War
On its surface and in the spiritual dimensions that overlap it, a war has raged for millennia. The Yazatas (the ascended crew of the Broken Sun) and the remaining forces of the old gods fight to contain the Divs—parasitic, extradimensional entities that seek to breach into the mortal realm and feed on human suffering.
The Prison Function
Némand was transformed by the Primal Gods into a containment vessel. The Divs cannot fully escape it, but they can influence the mortal world more strongly when Némand is close. Think of it as a spiritual dam: when the planet approaches, the pressure increases, cracks form, and leakage occurs.
The Core: Azhur's Ore
At the heart of Némand lies a massive deposit of Vohu-Mána (Azhur's Ore)—the psycho-reactive God-Metal that is the foundation of all magical technology. This ore is what makes Némand valuable beyond its role as a prison. It is also what makes it dangerous: the ore resonates with conscious thought, and the Divs have learned to corrupt it.
Effects of the Approach
When Némand draws near (as it does in the current era of the novels), several phenomena occur:
- Spiritual Turbulence: Magic becomes more potent but less stable. Devices that once functioned predictably now fluctuate. Aether-Vapours burn hotter and faster.
- Div Incursions: Weak points in reality allow lesser Divs to slip through, manifesting as nightmares, possessions, or corruptions of automata.
- Ancestral Echoes: Those with divine bloodlines (like Anahita) experience dreams and visions of the past—particularly of the Long War and the Broken Sun's tragedy.
- Fravashi Awakening: The idealized souls of the dead become more active, able to communicate more clearly with the living.
- Simurgh Instability: The great guardian becomes more active but also more vulnerable to corruption, as its systems are pushed to their limits.
The Cycle
Every 10,000 years, this happens. Every 10,000 years, the mortal world must endure a period of heightened danger and spiritual chaos. And every 10,000 years, the question arises: will this be the time the prison fails?
The Philosophical Question
Zahhak, the antagonist, asks: Why maintain this cycle? Why not end it—end the suffering, the eternal war, the cosmic prison? His nihilistic solution is to destroy the Simurgh, break the Broken Sun's vow, and let entropy finally win, bringing silence and peace through oblivion.
The heroes must grapple with this question: Is eternal vigilance and suffering worth preservation? Is hope inherently valuable, or is it just prolonged pain?