Zafitori

Zafitori is the second moon orbiting the gas giant Balregoth. It is an oceania home to the Aquiterians, one of the many planets located in the Deep Nebula.

It was discovered in the 74th century by Francisco Misaki, who named the moon after "the land where sapphire was took from", due to having sapphire crystals underneath the ice caps.

Physical properties

This moon is one of the two oceania moons that orbit the planet Balregoth. About 10% of its internal composition is comprised of water, while the rest is mostly comprised of iron, titanium, and chromium. The latter is mostly common at the surface and the crust.

Being these the main components of blue corindum, a very large amount of sapphire crystals can be found at the deepest parts of the ocean. These crystals are then pulled to the surface by glaciation processes in the poles.

The huge amount of crystals make the ice in the planet seem blue when looked from space, although at the surface it retains the white-ish color of regular ice in some areas.

Zafitori is tidally locked to Balregoth, and its rotational axis is almost perfectly vertical.

Surface and climate

99.983% of the surface is an ocean. The remaining land are the frozen ice caps from the poles. The ice pushes the sapphire crystals inward, making the coastal areas mostly white and the central areas in blue, filled with sapphire crystals.

In a set of two islands lies Aquiteria City, a metropoli where the Aquiterians have existed for hundreds of centuries. It also hosts the Aquiteria City Modracing course.

The climate is mostly arctic throughout the entire planet, except in the equator, falls between ranges of temperature of 5 to -50 degrees Celsius. At the poles, this range is from -10 to -70 degrees Celsius. Record temperatures easily surpass the hundred degrees below zero.

At the equator, the climate is mostly oceanic, with the minimum temperatures barely reaching values below zero when the moon orbits further from the star. Extending from the equator, it quicky turns into sub-glacial climate, but with a very turbulent weather. Hurricanes of categories 7 and 8 have been registered moving from the equator to these regions.

Biosphere

Almost all of the life in Zafitori is aquatic, although there are a small number of land critters, like the Aquiterians. Most of these land critters are mammal-like creatures with a deep coat of fur to protect them from ultraviolet light and the freezing temperatures.

Life under the oceans of Zafitori are very diverse: From sponges and algae, to "gliderfish", a genus of batoid-like rays that feeds of mollusks. Other lifeforms include serpent critters, trilobita-like crustaceans that nourish from corindum grains at the coasts, and plants that can implode and emit a very poisonous gas when threatened.

Gallery

Although almost invisible, the ice lands can be seen thanks to differences in the way land reflects light.
Nocturnal view of the Deep Nebula and the moon Quivrel.
A view from the coasts, showing the moon Spenzien orbiting Balregoth.
Sunset view from the inner sides of the south pole, showing Quivrel and Enmagol with Balregoth near the horizon.