The world that bears the system’s name, Herios is a world of contradictions. Orbiting the system’s star at a distance of slightly more than five hundred twenty million kilometres, Herios is so far from the sun that even during the day, the best a citizen can hope for in a slight brightening of the night sky. In other parts of the galaxy, planets orbiting so far out from their suns are almost universally frigid, with temperatures completely inimical to life. This is not the case with Herios. The planet is home to vast flats of lava and volcanic mud that continuously flow from the planet’s mantle, and then are churned back into the depths of the earth by the movement of tectonic plates. The heat released from the planet itself keeps average temperatures approximately five degrees above the freezing point of water, enabling life to exist.

Below the permanent ice sheets covering the northern and southern polar regions, Herios was covered in cold, damp tundra that stretched around the planet, interspersed with large, cold forests of pines, firs and assorted evergreens. Rather than drawing energy from solar radiation, these plants utilise compounds within the soil, and have roots that delve deep into the planet’s crust, close to the rivers of molten magma that constantly flow below the surface. Utilising the geothermal energy to power their life cycle, these plant species manage to thrive, covering every available inch of the planet’s surface that was not covered in lava, boiling mud or ice. Approximately a century ago, and intensive urbanisation programme was ordered by the system government, and Herios’ natural surface was swiftly covered in vast urban sprawl. Although not yet as tall as buildings on older ecumenopoli such as Coruscant, the vast cityscapes promise to one day rival those of that fabled Core world.