Zaurion

"A Void Island born from dust and silence, and turned into a replica of ancient, bygone era - A testament to the advancement of the Void Age."

Zaurion is a Void Island located within the Mesozara Void Archipelago, within the Sky River Gyre of the Voidsea. It is under the control of the Cosmic Union. It is classified as a "Primordial" world - A world dedicated to the preservation of ancient life, for research, scientific, terraforming, or ethical reasons, settled during the Void Age.

It is one of several Primordial Worlds which have been rediscovered- It shares this distinction with Niysil, Sköllara, and Chimera. More exist, and it has been speculated that many have been lost, and await rediscovery.

Originally a barren world, it was terraformed by the Kin of the Solar Union. The world was used to perform a great number of scientific endeavours, and went on to become a world focused primarily on genetic engineering, and de-extinction projects. It's primary focus was on ancient life from Earth's history - Dinosaurs, pterosaurs, marine life, and various other extinct lifeforms. Many of these did not co-exist within Earth's history. It is believed that there were plans to create various other worlds, with specific focuses on time-frames and era's of ancient history. While several others have been documented, the vast majority of these plans were destroyed by the Technopocolypse.

It was considered a lost world until 144 VA - Where it was discovered that there was a Kin population still on the Void Island. Since rediscovery, the system has since been part of the Cosmic Union.

Void Age

Before it's settling, Zaurion was a barren rock, entirely without any remarkable features. The Solar Union had already settled the Void Island Paleon, and was likely to tear apart Zaurion for it's resources. However, it was instead given over to the Science Division, who argued that the world would be better suited for massive De-Extinction projects.

Terraformation took many years - The De-Extinction process did not. The Kin had long since discovered the means to de-extinct creatures, and sought to do so on a far larger scale, but also needed to do so in a way that would not interfere with Voidsea travel, trade, or infrastructure. Zaurion was a prime candidate.

Over the course of decades, various extinct animals were introduced to Zaurion, until it was eventually a thriving ecosystem. This served many purposes - Scientific observation, biological research, and even trade and resource harvesting - Some other sentient Kinde sought to have these creatures within their own zoos, and valuable commodities, such as biological armour, teeth, and defence mechanisms provided benefits to the Solar Union.

The following is a description, discovered from a database dated back to the Void Age:

Here, Jurassic predators roam steamy jungles, that rise from land once scorched dry, stalking herds of Pleistocene megafauna and Triassic reptiles. There are Carboniferous-like forests, thick with giant club mosses, and towering horsetail trees, sprawl across entire continents, their air rich with oxygen. Dragonflies the size of hawks and centipedes the length of a man flit and coil through the canopies.
The seas shimmer with prehistoric wonders — Ammonites are commonplace throughout coral reefs, beside Dunkleosteus, and liopleurodons rule over the deepwater trenches. Near the poles, fields of giant ferns stretch endlessly, where glyptodonts and ankylosaurs graze under the low, silver-blue stars.
Zaurion's atmosphere has been fine-tuned to allow higher oxygen levels, accommodating creatures evolved for ancient Earth. This makes the air denser, the weather more volatile, and the storms vast and primal. Lightning dances over mountain ranges where quetzalcoatlus wheel through boiling clouds.
It's an ecosystem in flux — artificial at first, now slowly becoming wild. The intermixing of creatures never meant to meet has created hybrid ecologies. Some thrive, while others collapse. A Carboniferous insect might outcompete modern pollinators, a Cretaceous raptor might vanish without its ancestral prey. Evolution will take over - Eventually, it will settle, and become what it becomes.
If we seek to create custom environments, we will have to fine-tune our efforts further. However, we have created something incredible here. Whatever the outcome, we should look upon it with pride.