The moon before you is a pale, blue-gray orb. A ring of bright blue outlines the almost solid gray. The world almost glows with an inner light.
Zephyr is a tiny gray air world that orbits closely to its parent planet. It is a world of warm temperatures and gentle winds. Storms are unknown, although clouds dominate the sky. Night on Zephyr is very brief, as there is no solid ground to block sunlight. The layers of clouds do block enough sunlight to cause brief periods of twilight-conditions on the side of Zephyr farthest from the sun. Zephyr has an overall diameter of about 400 miles and lacks any solid landmass greater than a small island in size.
The skies of Zephyr are dotted with hundreds of small, floating islands. These islands are covered by dense rainforests and orchards of fruit trees. Occasionally, the thick forests give way to open meadows where the elaborate palaces of the native fey dwell.
Zephyr is so named because it darts so quickly across the sky, taking a mere one standard day to complete an entire orbit around its home planet. A Zephyr day is but 8 hours long, so thus a Zephyr “year” has only four “days”.
Zephyr has no gravity of its own. Individual rocks and ships will have gravity, yet all of the rocks within will not leave the atmosphere, instead drifting where the winds take them. A ship with no active helm will simply drift just like the islands of this world. The cause of this peculiar effect is unknown.
The air of Zephyr is slightly poisonous to non-fey creatures. Anyone breathing the air of this world must make a successful saving throw (AD&D: Save v. Poison; d20: DC 15 Fortitude Save) every minute or enter a state of bliss. The effects last so long as the affected creature remains in the atmosphere of Zephyr. The sylphs grow a special plum that renders a person immune to the effects of the air for a period of 1 week, after which the effects of the immunity wears off. If not rescued, it is entirely possible for a bliss-affected creature to remain right where the effects took over until they perish from starvation. The rainforests have claimed the remains of many such unfortunates.
Twilight Region: The center of Zephyr is a region of perpetual twilight. This area has special significance to the sylphs and faeries alike. Every twenty-four Zephyr “years”, the natives gather in this spot to engage in trade, gossip, and merry-making.
Dragon Point: This small island is home to an extended clan of faerie dragons, about forty in all. The dragons shroud their island in all manner of illusions. These illusions change hourly, such that Dragon Point may be invisible one hour, then a mighty fortress the next, and a peaceful oasis the next.
Benign insects, especially dragonflies, butterflies, and honey bees, are commonplace in the thick rainforests. Monstrous insects are unknown. Songbirds also thrive in the forests, filling the air with their chirp-like songs. There are no known mammals, reptiles, or monstrous creatures living on this moon.
Zephyr is ruled by a loose confederacy of sylph houses. A sylph house typically numbers 12-120 sylphs as well as 10-100 human, elven, and halfling consorts. Air elementals are the personal bodyguards of the sylphs, with larger elementals guarding the most important sylph ladies. Faeries, pixies, and sprites of all sorts fill the roles of servants, messengers, and advisors. A house owns 1-6 opulent palaces, most noted for high vaulted ceilings, wide open windows, and luxurious furnishings. A total of about 24 sylph houses make up the confederacy.
Ships occasionally wander into this moon, sometimes managing to escape before falling victim to the bliss-inducing effects of the air. Those ships whose crews do all fall into a state of bliss are quickly raided by sylphs, who take everything of value. Charismatic males of good alignment are rescued and fed fruit that both renders them immune to the effects of the air and makes them utterly devoted to their sylph rescuers. Afterwards, the ship is simply left to drift in the winds, and eventually it becomes another small island as plants take root in its hull. As the sylphs value things of beauty and hate ugly things, searching some islands might prove gainful, as there are numerous treasures, while not pleasing to the eyes, may have potent magical qualities or otherwise be valuable.
Although Zephyr is fairly barren in terms of absolute resources, the sylphs have managed to accumulate a good deal of wealth from passing ships. On rare occasions, they will sell delicious fruit that remains fresh for years at a time. This fruit goes for a gold piece for a small basket-full, and is the primary commodity for merchants. In return, the sylphs desire things of luxury and leisure, such as silk pillows and clothes, and finely made and comfortable couches.
Sometimes, the families of rich (and handsome!) merchants will pay ransom for the release of their relative from sylph bondage. Sylphs do not ask for these ransoms, but are willing to make such deals, so long as the ransom is paid in the luxuries they desire. Sometimes, these ransoms are paid with handsome slaves to satisfy the sylphs.
Starflower in the Sky (Village, 500): This village is began as an elven outpost, much like the Crown of Corelleon, placed in close orbit around Zephyr in the closing days of the Unhuman Wars. The Elven Fleet quickly abandoned the outpost when their best officers and crewmen began vanishing, kidnapped by lonely sylphs. The sylph confederacy quickly moved in, and has modified the place to suit their needs. The weapons are long gone, and the towers now rise into a leafy, tree-like crown. The village is run by a dozen or so sylphs, several score of elven and halfling consorts, and hundreds of pixies.
Trade with Zephyr flows through this port, as the air lacks the bliss-inducing quality of Zephyr’s air. Starflower in the Sky orbits a mere 10 miles above the upper atmosphere of Zephyr, close enough that a sylph can hitch a ride with an air elemental to fly back and forth without aid of a ship.
The history of Zephyr is difficult to decipher, mostly because the sylphs are not particularly good record-keepers and the rest of the Known Spheres has taken little interest in this small air world. Sometime during the early days of the Unhuman Wars, a small flotilla of orc scorpionships, perhaps eight in all, entered Zephyr to conduct a raid. The raid proved a failure, as the orcs fell victim to the bliss-inducing quality of Zephyr’s air, and the flotilla lost. Despite this, some elven admirals fretted that the orcs might try to besiege this fey world again, and ordered construction of an outpost to guard it. After the war, the outpost was abandoned.
Starflower in the Sky is the only satellite of Zephyr.
