Heavy Meadows
Velgora
Picking up your bag is an achievement.
A high-gravity super-Earth of low, compact forests, broad sturdy animals and squat cities that hug the ground.
Without Onobo's gravity normaliser, visitors move like they're wading through soup. When it fails, the results are humiliating.
Velgora is a super-Earth, much bigger and heavier than home. Everything here is low, wide and sturdy. Trees are short and thick. Mountains are gentle bumps. People are built like friendly furniture.
Visitors feel the gravity immediately: every step is a workout, every jump is a mistake. Without a gravity normaliser, Zamfyr is basically a rug.
Atmosphere
Thick, heavy, hazy gold.
Local quirk
Local high-fives can dislocate shoulders.
Regions · proposed names, not locked canon
Heavy Meadows
Flat, dense grasslands.
The Low Hills
Hills worn so flat by gravity they look like gentle waves in the grass.
Heavyhome
The main town: squat stone buildings, wide doors and very strong chairs.
Hazards
- ▲Crushing gravityWalking is hard. Falling is worse.
- ▲Thick airDense atmosphere slows ships and makes landings bumpy.
Visitor tips
- ✦Wear a gravity normaliser.
- ✦Don't jump.
- ✦Accept the big chair.
Local life
- ●Broad flat grazers
- ●Squat, extremely strong locals
A day on Velgora
Mornings are hazy gold. The air is thick and warm and carries sound a long way, so neighbours chat across whole fields.
Work is slow and steady. Lifting a bucket of water here is like lifting three at home, so locals are very strong and very patient.
Locals & customs
Wild Chicken Bocks
Home turf of the Chicken Bocks. Flocks sprint the Heavy Meadows screaming BAW! at anything that moves.
Farmer Gorm
Can carry a fully grown grazer under each arm. Gentle as a cloud. Thinks Zamfyr is 'a lovely little man'.
Mat-grazers
Flat, rug-like animals that roll across the meadows. Very soft. Do not sit on them.
- ◆Never jump indoors. It's rude, and you'll hit the ceiling at speed.
- ◆Guests are offered a big chair. Accept it. The small ones are for children, and they'll still be too heavy to lift.
Legends & history
The Feather Child
Velgoran stories tell of a child born light as a feather, who floated over the meadows and could see further than anyone.
Every child here is told: 'You might be the feather child.' None of them are. They all keep checking.
Crew log
“I set the normaliser to 'Moon'. That was a mistake. I could see my house.”
“Heavy here. Good for the legs.”
Story seed · in development
Too Heavy for Heroes
A shipment for Earth needs collecting. It's one small box. Zamfyr cannot lift it. A toddler can.
Velgora's gravity is getting stronger, slowly. Onobo traces it to a stolen gravity device buried in a meadow, and the thief is planning to use it on Earth.
Earthward stakes
The shipment is replacement parts for Earth's park-protection drones.
Science inspiration
Massive rocky planets can have stronger surface gravity than Earth. Velgora itself is fiction.
NASA: super-Earths