An independent beginning
The Thalassari evolved on Nerathis, a world covered entirely by a connected ocean. No continents, permanent islands or shoreline interrupt its surface. Beneath the sea lie a mineral interior and ancient geological processes. This civilization arose from the planet’s own independent life rather than from a transplanted offworld lineage.
A vertical geography
Geography on Nerathis is measured as much by depth and pressure as by horizontal distance. Resource pathways connect upper seas, productive water masses, sedimentary basins and geological frontiers. Ocean circulation is part of political and economic life—even where no coastline exists.
The world above the water
Sunlight is not simply a blessing: surface conditions can introduce turbulence, exposure and unfamiliar chemistry. The sky is an enormous scientific discovery for a people whose civilization begins below.
Where did so much water come from?
A working formation scenario combines ice-rich planetary building blocks with prolonged accretion and heavy bombardment by icy planetesimals and cometary bodies. A molten interior and global liquid ocean are not contradictory, but pressure-ice phases, mantle chemistry and heat transfer must be modeled before precise depths are chosen.
Explore the scientific and fictional design choices in Planetary Formation →
