Krugel

Territory of: none (disputed between various factions and Hagbeadi)

Host star type: White dwarf

Planets: 3

Populated Worlds: 1

Population: Unknown, at least ten billion

Krugel is a white dwarf star located near but not within the space of the Calor Khaganate. It is estimated that Krugel had shed its outer remains a very long time ago, as there is little remaining planetary nebula, thus making Krugel one of the oldest objects ever recorded. Krugel hosts three planets, all of which are rocky bodies. In order from closest to farthest from Krugel, these bodies have been named Rhyloid, Prudon, and Tamyk. All three are very far away from their home star, with Rhyloid being a little under seven astronomical units (AUs) away from Krugel, Prudon at nine AUs, and Tamyk at 24 AUs. All three planets have high levels of carbon and silicon. 

Rhyloid and Prudon both contain high amounts of iron, Rhyloid in particular being almost entirely composed of the substance. Quantities of igneous rocks consisting of heavy metals and carbon are prevalent on the surface of Rhyloid, possibly indicating that it was a gas giant turned chthonian planet before Krugel's conversion into a white dwarf. Prudon contains less heavy metals and is of smaller size, if it was indeed a chthonian planet like Rhyloid, then its original mass was likely less than Rhyloid's. Neither planet appears to have been successfully exploited, despite evidence of past attempts in the form of records and ruined mining equipment on the surfaces of both bodies. The mining equipment in question appears to be Calorian in nature, likely abandoned due to the outbreak of war with Dolesmos and Clementina. Neither planets currently possess any meaningful atmosphere.

Tamyk is the furthest object in the system and contains extremely high amounts of potassium-40 and uranium-235, to the point where the two substances alone make up ~2 percent of the planet's crust. How such high concentrations of these elements occurred on a planet such as Tamyk is a question that has been plaguing scholars for millennia, but so far it has been impossible to mount an expedition there for a variety of reasons including location and armed conflict on the planet. Additionally, Tamyk experiences high amounts of cosmic radiation, partially due to a lack of magnetic field and distance from Krugel's already weak magnetosphere. Tamyk has a moderate atmosphere made up of hydrogen, helium, and synthesized chemicals such as mustard gas. The atmosphere's components regularly precipitate as fallout, before evaporating from chemical reactions caused by the heavy radiation present on Tamyk's surface. 

Against all odds, Tamyk has a very high Snorx population estimated to be in the tens of billions. It is unknown how long the locals have lived on Tamyk, but they have done so long enough to somewhat adapt to the heavy radiation and expend much of the planet's natural resources. Tamykian society is a brutal one, while most Snorx communities keep to themselves, the hundreds of city-states of Tamyk are extremely hostile to one another and have been for quite some time now. The planet is dotted with trenches, barbed wire, and ruins, evidence of millennia-long wars. Most Tamykians are raised to work or fight from day one, being put into brutal agoge training for much of their childhood to root out weakness and fear of death, before being sent to the trenches at age 15 to fight and die for their city-state. The city-states of Tamyk fight for resources and manpower, often sending raiding parties to abduct children en masse so they may be forcibly recruited. If a new resource deposit is unearthed or comes down from asteroids, nearby factions will brutally fight for it, with death counts often reaching hundreds of millions. Tamykian soldiers wield guns and artillery pieces that fire depleted uranium rounds propelled from liquid hydrogen-filled bullet casings, and wear radiation-proofed suits defined by a gas mask that protects from gas attacks and gives the wearer chemicals that prevent bodily systems from absorbing too much radiation. Hydrogen-powered tanks and colossal ground-to-space guns are also not uncommon, though the latter is typically only used against extraterrestrial threats. An estimated 2 million Tamykians die every day due to war and the average life expectancy is 17 years, with the expended population replenished by unknown means. 

It should be noted that the only things Tamykians hate more than each other are those that aren't them. Tamykians believe their planet was forsaken by "the light" thousands of years ago, and believe any aliens to be agents of the light here to finish them off. As a result, Tamykians will temporarily truce to kill any extraterrestrials on sight, even Snorxes from other planets. The Calor Khaganate attempted to subjugate Tamyk in the 4260s, but were repeatedly driven back despite possessing vastly superior technology and orbital superiority, eventually abandoning the system entirely after mass nuclear bombing proved ineffective. General Olben of Nulor described the conflict as follows:

"Most Tamykian cities are mostly underground, so we could not bombard them from above. I commanded a force of roughly five million to assault a series of local fiefdoms locally referred to as "The Silklands" for their high-quality textiles. Upon landing around the outer regions of one such polity, we were immediately attacked by hordes of masked Snorxes with primitive guns. Their bullets could not bypass our shields and barely made dents in our armor, and we could easily mow them down like nothing. But they just kept coming and coming constantly for weeks on end. Their planetary defense guns would intercept any reinforcement drop ships and our supplies began to dwindle rapidly. Eventually, they found weak points in our armor and began doing just enough damage to let the surface radiation bypass our armor and get us killed, slowly and painfully. We couldn't even deploy wimbly dimblies for support because the Snorxes would blast them point-blank with PDCs. There is nothing of value on this rock, only death and destruction."

In the 4450s, the Hagbeadi too invaded Tamyk, with considerably greater success. However, the organic nature of the Hagbeadi makes them more vulnerable to the planet's radiation, and Tamyk's many trenches and ramparts have allowed the locals to hold off Hagbeadi swarms that would overwhelm lesser armies. Reverse engineered technology from the Calorian invasion has also proven effective in combat, with laser weaponry and primitive shields reportedly deployed by Tamykians in engagements. Currently, the Hagbeadi occupy roughly 11% of the planet's surface, but the process has been extremely slow as the heavy radiation on the planet makes Tamykian biomass produce critical defects in Hagbeadi units. Not much is known about the war itself, except that inter-Tamykian conflicts have dropped dramatically and space interest has boomed, with Tamykian spacecraft having reportedly landed on Prudon in 4583. Some view Tamyk as a buffer delaying Hagbeadi advances into the Gergosphere, but others are concerned the planet may become a threat in the future if its inhabitants master Jell capabilities.