the wounded heart
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a desolate, ancient Sith world for narrative and exploration purposes, serving as a location for Sith lore, hidden tombs, Force nexus mysteries, and potential plot development tied to the Five Veils Trade Route.
- Image Credit: AI Art by ChatGPT via Me
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Katabasis | Five Veils Conspiracy
GENERAL INFORMATION
- Planet Name: Katabasis
- Demonym: Katabasii
- Region: Outer Rim Territories
- System Name: Sarrik System
- System Features: Red dwarf sun ("Vhentar"), two unnamed moons, irregular meteor belt known as "The Husk Crown." 32-hour day cycle; 278-day orbital year.
- Location: Between the Secundus Ando and Zaadja
- Major Imports: None
- Major Exports: None
- Unexploited Resources: Obsidian-like volcanic glass, kyber-adjacent mineral traces in buried structures
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
- Gravity: Standard
- Climate: Arid, with volcanic and wind-eroded zones. Frigid nights, searing dry days. Occasional sulfuric storms.
- Primary Terrain: Craggy mountains, collapsed stone valleys, basalt plains, buried ruins, dry chasms
- Atmosphere: Type II (Breath mask required in many zones due to particulate concentration)
LOCATION INFORMATION
- Capital City: None (planet is abandoned)
- Planetary Features: Ancient stone causeways, shattered Sith shrines, long-abandoned subterranean structures accessible through cave systems. Mostly Wild terrain.
- Major Locations:
- Temple of Broken Chains: A deep, forgotten Sith structure with a blood-channel altar, designed for ritual sacrifice and trials of darkness.
- The Hollow Gate: A chasm-rimmed sinkhole surrounded by statues weathered beyond recognition; said to emit whispers to Force-sensitives.
- The Black Spiral: A ruinous, obsidian-spired complex aligned with a dark-side leyline; treacherous and unstable terrain.
- Force Nexus (Optional): Yes
Intent: To provide a compelling dark side nexus of ancient Sith origin, influencing characters who explore or interact with the ruins.
Nexus Name: The Heart of Descent - Nexus Alignment: Dark
- Size: Medium
- Strength: Moderate
- Accessibility: Located deep beneath the Temple of Broken Chains; sealed behind collapsed stonework and Force-locked doors; not publicly known.
- Effects: Induces a subtle mental disorientation in light-aligned Force users; feelings of dread, fatalistic visions, and Force-induced memory distortions increase with proximity.
POPULATION
- Native Species: None known (possible extinct species referenced in carvings)
- Immigrated Species: None
- Population: Uninhabited
- Demographics: N/A
- Primary Languages: Ancient Sith runes etched into stone; no known living speakers
- Culture: No current culture; ancient records suggest a Sith cult structure based on sacrificial rites, spiritual isolation, and Force purification through ordeal.
GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY
- Government: None
- Affiliation: None (currently considered independent/unclaimed)
- Wealth: Poor – No active economy, largely uninhabited ruins
- Stability: Low – No law or governance, hazardous terrain, and strong dark side presence
- Freedom & Oppression: N/A – Planet is empty save for Force phenomena and decayed ruins
MILITARY & TECHNOLOGY
- Military: None – Any current presence would be from independent explorers, Sith cults, or Force-wielders seeking secrets
- Technology: Galactic Standard (long since deteriorated; remnants of Sith tech embedded in ruins)
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Katabasis was once a world of pilgrimage for a fringe sect of Sith mystics during the height of the Old Republic, well before the Gulag Plague. Isolated even from the greater Sith Empires, it became a place of spiritual descent—where initiates confronted darkness not just in battle, but through starvation, silence, and sacrifice. The Heart of Descent was the focal nexus of their belief: a place where the line between Force illusion and reality blurred.
Over time, the cult perished—some consumed by madness, others sealed beneath collapsing temples. The world was left adrift, recorded only in scraps of Sith legend and forbidden texts.
Now, with the expansion of the Five Veils Trade Route, Katabasis reemerges as a concern for explorers and Force-users alike. The ruins pulse again, subtle and silent… and watching.
