Krizaelius

Krizaelius is the second planet in the Szon system. The planet is roughly three times as large as Ucharpli, and its high gravity combined with its intense pressure leaves most of the surface uninhabited. This has not stopped the Dhragolon Federal Monarchy from undergoing mining operations to extract the valuable, rare mineral known as Dragonrock.

Atmosphere
For a terrestrial planet, Krizaelius has one of the densest atmospheres known in the Milky Way Galaxy. Its atmosphere is composed mainly of carbon dioixide with a small amount of nitrogen, and apressure about 120 times that of Earth. Combined with thick clouds of sulfur dioxide, the planet has a brutal greenhouse planet making it just as dangerous to enter as the lower altitudes of a gas giant.

The middle to lower cloud layers are far more forgiving, and here is where floating settlements have been established. Airborn extremophile microbes have been discovered in these areas suggesting the planet was much more hospitable in the past.

Interest
Krizaelius's atmosphere has been flagged as a major source scientific interest. While Szon already has three habitable planets, Krizaelius was believed to be one at some point, but it seems impossible that Krizaelius could have existed within the life zone at the same time as Pelietta, Ucharpli and Ackarra. Even with the aid of computer generated models, scientists have yet to confirm how exactly the planet formed.

It is believed that during Szon's earlier formation, Krizaelius sustained a similar atmosphere as Ucharpli. It is unknown how exactly it acquired its thick atmosphere, but one theory proposes that Krizaelius was a large planetoid that migrated from another star system long before Szon's gas giants were formed. As it approached its new, energetic parent star, the water and carbon dioxide locked inside the ice on its surface was torn open as the sun jumpstarted the planet's vulcanism, releasing these gases into the air. This would make Krizaelius the oldest planet in the Szon system, at least six billion years.

Although this theory has become the most widely accepted, the discovery of Omni ruins on the nearby planet Pelietta has given rise to an alternate theory where instead Krizaelius was the result of a failed terraforming experiment by an ancient alien race, either the Omni or another species that preceded them. No evidence of past artificial structures on the surface has yet to be found which discredits this theory.

Geography
Until the late imperial era when a probe mapped it out, Krizaelius's geography remained a mystery. The surface is covered in volcanic plains, though there is a surprising lack of craters. This is likely attributed to meteors burning up long before they touch down on the surface; any impact craters will be at least several kilometers in diamter.

In comparison to Yolkor, Krizaelius is far more volcanic with over 400 volcanoes, although evidence of lava flow has yet to be found. This is likely attributed to Krizaelius's lack of tectonic activity, meaning that the planet does not have a magnetic field. Unfortunately, this makes it useless to perform a core dump. Visitors to this planet will usually stop by Pelietta first to do so.

Points of interest
Krizaelius has a famous artificial landmark, the Dragonrock Mine of Krizaelius itself. Only robots ever travel to the mine, though some can be directly controlled by individuals on the floating colonies. The mine itself is essentially a giant hole in the ground around forty kilometers deep and fifteen kilometers in diameter. Large elevator shafts bring the valuable Dragonrock ore from the planet's dangerous lower levels. This mine is the deepest hole ever drilled by the Dhragolon Federal Monarchy, making it among one of their greatest technological innovations.

Moons
Kaszar is a large captured asteroid about thirty kilometers in diamter. When it was first discovered, it was set for a collision course in approximately 1,000 years. Artificial rockets were installed on it later to redirect it into a stable orbit. Today, the asteroid serves as a checkpoint for delivering Dragonrock as Kaszar is much easier to reach by supply ships. Kaszar has large patches of strip mined regions. Materials from this asteroid were extracted to help build the Dragonrock Mine of Krizaelius.

Colonization
While most of the population is on the asteroid Kaszar, there are some facilities in the cloud layers of Krizaelius which have artificial telekinetic fields that both keep it afloat and keep the gravity to reasonable levels. These fields lower the mass of the facility and "push up" on the objects aboard it. Krizaelius was the last terrestrial planet in the Szon system to be colonized due to the amount of careful planning and technological devices required to build such settlements.

Economy
The discovery of Dragonrock on Krizaelius has made the Dhragolon Federal Monarchy one of the largest distributers of the material. The ore is usually exported to Yolkor first for refinement as that planet is the only nearby body hot enough to actually forge the mineral properly.