Selay (planet)
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Selay is one of two habitable planets in the Beta Renner System and is the fourth planet in that system. The planet hosts a reptoid species of the same name. It also has a heavy gravity (1.22 G) and an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere. Selay is a hot, humid world of dense forests. Humanoid visitors to Selay find the climate oppressive. It is covered with swamp. The Selay species are religious by nature and enjoy storytelling.
Climate
The vast majority of Selay, from the equator all the way up and down through the subpolar regions, is warm and humid most of the year. The only part of the planet where the climate is dry is the desert at the center of Sshtalha, the main continent, which is closed off from rain bearing weather systems by mountains.
Geography
Selay's largest landmass is the continent called Sshtalha. From space, it resembles an egg lying on its side, and its horizontal axis lies directly along the planet's equator. Smaller islands dot the rest of the planet. Sshtalha has many freshwater lakes and four major river systems. Each river has its source in the ring of mountains at the center of the continent, and each runs roughly along one of Sshtalha's axes to the sea. Every source of freshwater on the planet has marshes or swamps, which the Selay find hospitable.
Places of Interest
There are about two dozen sites scattered across the planet that the Selay regard as holy. They are secluded bogs or patches of swamp where, since prehistoric times, Selay shaman have gone to meditate and receive visions from their gods. Federation anthropologists call them oracles, but the Selay themselves only speak of them in roundabout ways, refusing to name directly what is most sacred to them. These oracles are usually marked by stones (even though they sink into the soft ground over time) or some manipulation of local flora. Scientists who have studied them have determined that these places emit a peculiar mixture of methane and other gases that generates psychotropic effects in some species, but the Selay prefer their own explanation.
Reference(s)
- Burns, Eric, Kenneth A. Hite & Doug Sun. Star Trek Roleplaying Game Book 7: Worlds, Decipher, 2005. ISBN: 1582369097.