Venenum is a moderately sized terrestrial planet in the Caperion System. It is the planet second closest to the star, Caperion. Its atmosphere is toxic to most organic life, while the oceans are sulphuric acid.
Astrological
Venenum is the second closest planet orbiting the star Caperion, and has an unusual elliptical orbit, at a distance of 97.5 million kilometers at its closest and 181 million kilometres at furthest. This elliptical orbit results in wild temperature fluctuations from 10 to 120 degrees Celsius. It is a moderately sized planet, 10,300 kilometers in diameter, with roughly a 4/5s standard planetary gravity. It completes one orbit of Caperion every 276 standard days, and completes a full planetary rotation every 42 hours.
Venenum has a single moon, Ly'palion.
Physical Geography
Surface of Venenum
Venenum is a hostile terrestrial world with a poisonous atmosphere, composed primarily of rocky mountainous terrain, along with rivers, lakes and oceans of sulphuric acid. The climate of the planet is influenced heavily by its elliptical orbit. For the majority of the planet’s 276 day year, the temperature is a moderate 10 - 30 degrees. However, as the planet approaches Caperion, the orbital speed and temperature increase, causing an evaporation of the oceans as temperatures soar to 120 degrees. As the planet passes the closest point of its orbit, the temperature rapidly falls, leading to a standard month of intense acid rain.
History
Venenum was the first planetary step for the people of the Caperion system. Due to its elliptical orbit, and depending on its relation to the orbit of Seraph it can become the closest orbiting planet. In a rare sign of solidarity between the major political powers of Seraph, Venenum was to be home of a cross cultural colonization effort. However, underestimating the extreme environmental shifts on the planet, along with the strength of the acid rains on the planet as it moves further from Caperion, the colonization effort failed, leading to the deaths of over 25,000 individuals from all political parties of Seraph.
Since that time, nearly all of the citizens of the system consider the planet cursed, and further discussion on a second colonization attempt have always been shot down quickly. The Meraxis Empire became the only ones who have attempted further use of the planet, sending slaves to its surface to work at one of the four established prison camps.
Flora and Fauna
Wildlife on Venenum is as hostile as the planet itself. Everything that has evolved here has evolved to last, poison and venom dictating food chain superiority. Giant carnivorous plants, in bright shades of yellow, green and purple, corrode the skin with acidic coating.
In the animal kingdom, predatory birds in a sickly shade of yellow or green and capable of spitting streams of acid rule the sky. Their typical prey are the insects which defend themselves by a venomous bite, with a neurotoxin capable of incapacitating a human in five seconds. Meanwhile, in the oceans, armies of small yellow fish camouflaged within the yellow oceans defend themselves from the aerial threat with the poisonous barbs on their dorsal fins.