H'Catha

H'Catha
Basic Information
Crystal Sphere	Realmspace
Type	Planet
Size Class	C
Shape Class	Flat world
Type Class	Water body
Satellites	Turnbetl Lumbe
Satellite of	The Sun
Day Length	Infinite
Year Length	2,004 months
Population Summary	Beholders, eyes of the deep, other beholder-kin
Orbit Distance	1,600 million miles (16 days)

H'Catha is the eighth planet in orbit around the Sun in the crystal sphere known as Realmspace. Known as one of the Five Wanderers by the natives of Toril, this size C sundial-shaped water world has two moons.

Overview

H'Catha is a flat disc-shaped water world with a tall mountain at its center, resembling a sundial from wildspace. The disc of water that makes up the planet is surprisingly clear, and is 300 miles (483 kilometres) thick throughout, tapering to a rim at the planetary edge which is perpetually shrouded in mist and fog. The water that makes up the bulk of the planet constantly flows over the rim, turning into water vapour almost instantly. The resulting mist and fog accumulates below the planet and obscures the rim, making it very dangerous to approach the edge on a sailing vessel, because the possibility of sailing off the edge of the world is very high. The civilization that used to live on H'Catha before the beholders arrived sent three ships over the edge before realising that their world was flat.

As H'Catha revolves around the Sun, it looks very much like a wagon wheel. The large central mountain, known as the Spindle, always points towards the Sun, while the rest of the planet rolls along in its orbit. H'Catha is a cool planet that maintains a constant ambient temperature of 50°F (10°C). Because of the planet's angle of inclination to the ecliptic, the amount of light that reaches the planets' surface never changes. The two moons of H'Catha also never obscure the sun, as they revolve along the planet's orbital axis.

The Spindle

The Spindle is central to H'Catha, both physically, culturally and spiritually. The mountain is located at the exact center of the planet, and is 200 miles (322 kilometres) thick at its base, tapering to a point over a 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometres) above the surface of the planet. The Spindle is also the tallest mountain in Realmspace.

On H'Catha, the beholders' vie for supremacy over others of their kind by gaining possession of the Spindle. Whenever one nation becomes strong enough to gain a foothold over the others, the other nations instinctively act to bring the stronger nation down, until another nation becomes strong enough to lay claim to more territory on the Spindle, and so the cycle repeats itself. The constant battle has done nothing but stain the mountain green with beholder blood, and keep the beholder nations from conquering other worlds that would otherwise be theirs for the taking.

The summit of the Spindle is obscured by a never-ending storm, which shrouds the peak in thick clouds and a constant barrage of lightning. This is where the beholders believe all knowledge in the universe is kept. However, to prove themselves worthy to gain access to this knowledge, supplicants must first ascend the mountain from the base, stopping at hundreds of stations to prepare their minds to receive this knowledge, before finally ascending the summit.

On the summit, the supplicant will receive wisdom and knowledge accumulated over the eons. However, if the recipient's brain is smaller than 2 feet (61 centimeters) in diameter, they suffer irrevocable and complete insanity. Those who receive the knowledge of the ages unscathed are changed in fundamental ways, the least of which is their alignment shifts to lawful neutral. A few individuals, most notably the beholder known as Large Luigi, have made it to the summit of the Spindle, but when they returned to their communities, they were inevitably ostracised and were eventually forced to flee for their lives.

Inhabitants

The vast ocean of H'Catha is calm, but the two moons that orbit the planet cause tidal fluctuations and currents which ensure the water is continually circulating. Thousands of various kinds of algae thrive in the oceans, converting the Sun's dim light into oxygen. The algae are eaten by small animals which are in turn eaten by progressively larger animals, which are preyed on by the eyes of the deep. The eyes of the deep have no concern for their environment and spend as much time as possible consuming the various aquatic lifeforms. Their unrelenting predation is destroying H'Catha's ecosystem, which was in balance before the beholders arrived. Apart from the excessive predation by the eyes of the deep, most of the native aquatic life forms have also fallen victim to the constant warfare between the various beholder races that have made the planet their home.

Trade

There are at least six ports located around the base of the Spindle where spelljamming vessels can dock. However, they are used almost exclusively by vessels owned by the respective nations which own the docks. The beholders have no interest in non-beholders using their ports; however, if a trader arrives with trade goods they desire, the vessel will be allowed to dock until all trading has been concluded. If the trader has nothing of interest to the beholders (who can be extremely difficult to please), they will insist the vessel leave immediately or be destroyed. Vessels of a particular beholder nation will not dock at a port belonging to another nation: doing so would result in immediate hostilities breaking out, even resulting in a full blown war.

The only exception to outsiders using H'Catha's ports are the Arcane. The beholders allow the Arcane to dock whenever and wherever they choose, as they supply the beholders with their unique vessels and other essential spelljamming technology. This makes the planar traders strategically important to the plans of the various beholder nations.

The beholders engage in piracy, attacking ships that pass through wildspace near H'Catha, in order to steal their ships and cargo to finance their own fleets. This means that the region around H'Catha is considered extremely dangerous, especially since beholders don't take prisoners, unless their foes are spellcasters or experienced warriors, who they will then enslave.

Satellites

H'Catha has two moons which circumnavigate the planet along its orbital axis (i.e. along its rim), and create tidal fluctuations which ensure the water in the oceans continually circulate.

Turnbetl

Turnbetl is the first moon of H'Catha. This size B spherical celestial body is under strict quarantine.

Lumbe

Lumbe is the second moon of H'Catha. This size A cylindrical celestial body appears to be an artificial structure.

Appendix

See also

• Baris to the Right, one of the oldest living hive mother's on H'Catha (relatively speaking) and leader of a beholder nation located on the western side of the Spindle.
• Large Luigi, one of the few individuals to make it all the way to the summit of the Spindle.
• The Seed-Beholder Company, an off-world company that specialized in caring for juvenile beholders.

External Links

• H'Catha article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.