Crystal Shelf
Kryvax
Prismatic cities on a shelf of very fragile crystal.
Huge crystalline escarpments and reflective cliffs give Kryvax its blinding beauty. Layers of diamond-like carbon run through the rock, and prismatic cities perch on fragile mineral shelves.
The deep crystal sustains the planet's weather shield. When miners steal too much, the sky starts getting ideas. The largest known gathering of Meep Rocks lives here, and they are not pleased to see you.
The Prism-folk build their cities inside giant crystals, carving rooms that bend light into rainbows. Nobody needs lamps here. Everybody needs sunglasses.
Kryvax is also where most Meep Rocks hatch. Juveniles chew through the crystal shelf, grow huge, then float off into space as giant Meeps. It is the most important stop in the Meeps' endless cycle, and the Prism-folk treat them like noisy, hungry neighbours.
Atmosphere
Bright, refractive, every sunrise a light show. Easy to get lost in your own reflection.
Local quirk
Onobo's phase scanner is the only way to tell which Zamfyr is the real one in a mirror canyon.
Regions · proposed names, not locked canon
Crystal Shelf
Fragile mineral plateaus and mirror lakes.
Prismatic Cities
Settlements built inside light-bending towers.
Meep Nursery Flats
Wide grey plains of chewed rock where baby Meeps grow. Very crunchy underfoot. Very loud at feeding time.
Mirror Canyons
Canyons so reflective you can see a hundred versions of yourself. Only one of them is lost.
Hazards
- ▲Refraction blindnessLight bounces everywhere. Without filters, you'll see stars for hours.
- ▲Shelf collapsesThe crystal is thin in places. Meeps make it thinner.
- ▲Meep RocksNot dangerous on purpose. Just hungry, heavy and everywhere.
Visitor tips
- ✦Bring tinted visors.
- ✦Step where the Prism-folk step.
- ✦Don't leave your toolbox near a Meep.
Local life
- ●Prism-folk
- ●Meep Rocks (many)
- ●Light-feeding moss
A day on Kryvax
Sunrise turns the whole planet into a rainbow. For about ten minutes, everything is colour. Then the Prism-folk close their shutters and get on with their day.
The afternoon soundtrack is crunching: thousands of Meeps eating rock in the nursery flats, endlessly.
Locals & customs
Lumen Sarai
A Prism-folk architect who builds houses by singing to crystal. Zamfyr once asked her to sing his ship a garage.
Grandmother Meep
An enormous old Meep floating just above the nursery, watching over the babies. She is roughly the size of a hill.
- ◆It is rude to look at someone's reflection instead of them.
- ◆Every child is given a small crystal at birth that grows with them.
- ◆Meeps have right of way. Always. They do not stop.
Legends & history
The Shield That Thinks
The Prism-folk say the deep crystal is alive in a slow way, and that it chose to protect the planet with its weather shield.
Scientists say that's poetic. The crystal hasn't said anything either way.
Crew log
“I caught the thief. It was a reflection. Then I caught the real thief. Probably.”
“Many Meeps. They chewed my toolbox. It's fine.”
Story seed · in development
Diamond Misunderstanding
Stolen mining crystals are weakening Kryvax's weather barrier. The thief's cargo is bound for Earth markets. Zamfyr chases the wrong reflection for twenty minutes.
The 'thief' is a Meep who swallowed the stolen crystals by accident. Getting them back requires the whole crew to make it burp.
Earthward stakes
Unstable crystal sold on Earth could be hazardous cargo, and a local civilisation could lose its sky.
Science inspiration
Inspired by the hypothetical 'diamond planet' idea for carbon-rich worlds. 55 Cancri e is NOT confirmed to be made of diamond.
Cal Academy: diamond planetsRelated lore