Othol

Planetary Data
This planet is one of the coldest inhabited worlds, so cold that even beings adapted to frost abundant planets are unable to survive in it, as this planet has a completely different composition than most terrestrial bodies. This celestial body is far beyond the carbon lifeform habitable zone of it's star, being a planet mostly composed on methane, ice and nitrogen. It has been theorized that it might be an old moon of a gas giant that was flung away from its parent body aeons ago.

Othol is a very cold and chemically different analogue of a normal terrestrial planet. Blanketed under a dense atmosphere that stops most of the sun’s energy, the surface is covered in a mostly global liquid hydrocarbon sea, with a large continent made from clay like solid methane and water ice, with occasional spike like iron deposits sticking out of the crust. The ocean is thick with hydrocarbon molecules, and has frequent hydrothermal vents spewing even more chemicals into the liquid.

The continent is mostly barren of life, its environment too harsh for nearly all lifeforms to survive. However, the thick chemical soup that is the ocean is the perfect place for life to thrive. Feeding on microbes that in turn eat the hydrocarbons in the liquid, numerous aquatic fauna make their home in the sea, their chemical composition vastly different from any other due to the environment they evolved in.

Atmosphere
From space, Othol is a featureless sphere, a characteristic caused by its dense atmosphere. Being more than 95% nitrogen and the 5% being methane, hydrogen, and other hydrocarbons, the atmosphere blankets the planet in a thick smog. The clouds of the planet blocks most of the energy from its dim Sun, reflecting it or using it up to break any hydrocarbon more complicated than methane, the planet's magnetic field being just strong enough to prevent the break-up of methane.

Although mostly invisible –with one notable exception– there are many definite and throughly-mapped wind currents and other common weather phenomena that one might see in a terrestrial planet. Mostly around the equator, where the sunlight hits the strongest, the evaporation of the hydrocarbon ocean heats up the air above it and creates clouds where, mirroring local sea-currents, will carry the clouds to the poles, where the cool air will precipitate the hydrocarbons in the shape of polar hailstorms. Said weather is constant, but it increases in intensity and size during the local hemisphere's summer and decreases in winter. Precipitation of any kind outside the poles is rare.

The sole exception to the exclusivity of precipitation, visibility of weather and definite shape of the wind currents is the storm known as the Spiracle. The uplifting of the sole continent and exposure to the atmosphere of the otherwise-cold materials making up the seafloor –such as water ice– has caused a perpetual patch of warmth to form above the continent. In addition, a cold air current coming from the poles is in direct contact with said warm air, with said collision fueling a perpetual storm. Said storm rotates clockwise and, although does not seem to have much strength in terms of wind speed, is able to make itself felt throughout the planet, and unlike the poles, it precipitates liquid. Furthermore, it is electrically charged and has one of the highest frequencies of lightning of any storm in an inhabited planet.

The Ocean
As stated above, one of the most visible characteristics of Othol is a nearly-worldwide sea of liquid hydrocarbons, with the most prevalent of them all being CH4 and C2H6, also known as methane and ethane. Nonetheless, a variety of many different and more complicated hydrocarbons float in the soupy freezing seas of the planet. This liquid has been thought to have originated from a formation around a gas giant, where it could have been flung out of its orbit through some close fly-by.

The ocean itself is shallow, its average depth is only about 300 meters (with some deep sea trenches being 5000 km in depth) but due to the relative darkness of the planet most of the sea is well within the midnight zone and as such, any kind of photosynthesis is (mostly) unheard of. The planet also sports plentiful of dark smokers spouting heated ammonia and hydrocarbons well beneath the sea, with most of these being found on the many underwater ridges that lie just below the surface.

Interestingly enough, the planet does not have polar caps of methane or ethane ice. Instead, the poles are constantly battered by polar storms as hydrocarbon clouds cool up and precipitate as hail, but since the solid hydrocarbons are denser than the liquid it falls into, the falling hail sinks to the bottom and forms piles that slowly melt. The resulting cold is brought to the equator through sea currents, where it warms up and goes back to the poles. This constant interchange of heat is enough to keep the melting rate of the sunken ice constant and does not allow the piles to reach the surface.

The Klert
The only emerged large landmass is a small continent roughly 500 thousand square kilometers located in the Tropic of Capricorn, colloquially known to the natives as the Klert. Due to a combination of plate tectonics and a chain of volcanoes located at the east of the continent, it has been steadily growing for the past 30 million years; likely starting as a simple chain of cryovolcanic islands that has bee steadily expanding towards the west as the plates move but the hot spot below the volcano doesn't.

This continent is a mostly flat desert, with occasional iron deposits being revealed under the water ice surface. The only sizable elevation are the eastern volcanoes, which are on average about 2000 meters tall from sea level; the rest of the Klert having an average height of 500 meters. The eternal Spiracle storm provides a constant erosive force that easily carves rivers through the clay-like material composing the land. Thus, many drain-basins constantly expose the harder ice and rock beneath, and the erosion of the liquid methane bring rare nutrients such as metals to the mouths of the rivers, in addition to the occasional eruptions of the very active cryovolcanoes. The erosion though affects different regions in different ways, creating vast deltas on the western continent while carving sharp and mineral-rich fjords on the east.

Most of the continent is located on a set of plateaus of uplifted land which lies very close to the surface, with vast stretches of seafloor being between 20 to 50 meters below sea level with relatively thick and varied concentration of diverse hydrocarbons. In these locations is the only place where the scarce flora of the planet actually thrives. These plateaus are separated by chasms formed by crumpling crust and, in one case, by an enormous crater located in the north. Unlike the shallower parts, the chasm seas are clear and devoid of anything other than methane and can be toxic to species acclimated to a mix of chemicals the same way distilled water can be toxic. The plateaus seem to be volcanic on origin, possibly through the breaching of liquid water en masse into the hydrocarbon sea and freezing, uplifting land to the surface. The resulting structures can also grow and are shaped by the currents of the liquid, and as hydrocarbons are deposited as the ice sinks, it creates these plateaus, most of the times located at the mouths of rivers in the Klert. These formations have been named as "Taules", and there are 5 distinct Taules located by the Klert: Nïl, Aulae, Vikferd, Ébr and Ia'Lai.

Located to the north-west of the Klert, Nïl is the sole Table that has two major river mouths within its territory, It is characteristic by its very shallow height, with an average of 10 meters below the sea surface in depth throughout all of the Taula. The terrain could be described as swamp-like, with a lot of humidity and with impressive ecosystems thriving on the scarce sunlight and filtering detritus from the rivers. However, the northern side of Nïl tends to be more barren compared to the south, but is much more mineral rich due to an impact crater bordering it from the east.

To the utmost west of the Klert lies Aulae. Located mostly around a delta full of islands it is dominated by the river, with occasional flooding increasing the local sea level by dozens of meters only to recede and leave shallow pools of methane isolated from the rest of the ocean. As one travels away from the variable delta, the Taula becomes sandy and eventually ends in desolate deserts bordering the edges of the underwater mesas.

To the south-west is the area known as Vikferd. Its characteristic elongated shape follows that of the delta its located on, curving in on an enormous gulf but never closing in to the other shore. Unlike most other Tables it is the deepest of the 5 with an average depth of 50 meters, and rocky ice with metallic impurities is abundant. Nonetheless, it is one of the smallest Tables in comparison to the others, but enjoys a relative calm weather at it is the furthest plateau from the eye of the Spiracle storm.

In contrast, the neighboring Table of Ébr is the largest plateau of the entire planet. With a hilly seafloor caused by the strong, constant currents of the massive southern delta, it has a truly astounding level of geological variety as well as some volcanic activity to the west of the plateau, hinting that this large landmass may be the youngest of the planet. It has a moderate average depth of 30 meters below sea, and other than its massive size and geological activity is is unremarkable.

To the north-east, the Table of Ia'Lai is easily one of the most mineral-rich places on the Klert, as well as the most inhospitable. Thin, deep and located not only next to treacherous fjords that are dangerous to any kind of living being, but also right below the chain of volcanoes that made up the Klert. In addition, the eye of the Spiracle storm is located in the northern side of Ia'Lai, making travel through the surface extremely dangerous due to lightning strike and ferocious winds. However, its proximity to cryovolcanoes makes it ideal to find rare materials that lie deep within Othol's crust.

Approximately 100 thousand kilometers northwest from the main continent lies a single active stratovolcano –named Mount Pillar– reaching a height of 5000 meters. Likewise to the continent, the volcano is located in an uplifted Taula –named like the mountain it is around– which allows some flora to survive, but it has not any chasms separating in many pieces. Unlike the cryovolcanoes of the continent, this volcano seems to tap into the molten core of Othol itself, and it is one of the few places on the planet with lava, sulphur and other igneous rocks.

Biosphere
More to be added later...

Inhabitants
The sapient Otholians are no exception compared to the other animal species on the planet and live in the methane sea. They’re long creatures with a large cone-like head, ending in a purple fin which they use to swim. However, they are capable of propelling themselves by spewing liquid from their teeth-rimmed mouths located underneath their head and surrounded by three retractable and dexterous tentacles. They have a single, large eye with a cross shaped pupil, specialized in seeing through the hydrocarbon sea. These beings lack a skeleton, and are able to squeeze themselves through tight spaces such as cervices or holes.

Despite their environment, Otholians have formed a remarkable civilization. Residing in shallow seas near the continent in characteristic spoked wheel cities, they have made up for their inability to use fire or oxygen by exploiting natural hydrothermal vents as well as using many cold analogues of most of the technology found on other planets (such as purifying iron ore through chemical reactions instead of smelting). They even explored their local system using fuel electrolyzed from the water ice they extract from their frozen soil before first contact.

Otholians seem to lack gender, and most nations have an equalitarian society centered around a republic, as well as having no prejudice against aliens -quite the opposite, their government was very eager to join galactic society-. However, these beings die shortly after giving birth to thousands of offspring, which are then put through rigorous examination to determine which of these has desirable traits while the others will be killed and/or eaten as a delicacy. Otholians justify this behavior by defining it as a measure against overpopulation and their evolutionary nature. This does not stop various races from being wary of these newcomers to galactic politics.

Nations and Society
Unlike most space-faring societies Otholians; due to the combination of abundant resources, natural cooperation, and speed of development; they have not consolidated their planet as a single nation, instead being split into several smaller countries with individual ambitions. At the time, most of these are willing to cooperate with each other and with aliens, but each country has its own interests and most Otholian embassies represent solely their country of origin. Furthermore, only 7 have enough resources to achieve spaceflight while the planet-bound territories are usually inaccessible to foreign species due to the hostile conditions of Othol.

In addition, the incredibly inhospitable nature of the planet itself has only made a select few places where the Otholian species can thrive; and due to ecological isolation between each, Otholians have adapted to their site of birth and may have wildly different physical characteristics between each other, resulting in various varieties of the Otholian species.

More to be added later...