The Kaen Mountain Range braces the entire western coast of Reitoru until they subside in the far south end of the island. The rain shadow they provide also ends here, allowing a massive lowland rainforest to flourish. An auxiliary maintenance station for ITS’s Aquamarine Line sits near the eastern border of the forest, along with a small group of structures. A team of scientists live here full time studying the area, and a very small community of people have begun the surveying process for a new colony. The area is known as Surakineau. 

The designation was first given to a large lake surrounded by a clearing in the forested foothills of the Kaen Range. Discoverers took specific note detailing how the calm reflective surface mirrored the sky, blurring the boundaries between water and air, which likely led to its poetic name.

This name was then extended to the region itself, the last southern peak of the Kaen Range, and the transit station and facilities built due east of the lake. The planned colony and district will likely take a similar approach.

The rainforest consists of layers of different flora and fauna very similar to planet Earth. The key difference on Jaladri is the scale—the median canopy height in Surakineau is over 45m tall.

The Soryu river begins at Lake Surakineau in the foothills about 560 meters above sea level. The path curves like a blue dragon through the hills of the rainforest. Most of this stretch is violent, ranging from Category III and VI rapids. Roughly 3km from the coast, the river enters a tiered waterfall system that gradually reduces the velocity and turbulence, creating a gentle, stepped descent. 

At the base, the depth of the river doubles until it reaches the Kineau Estuary and enters the ocean.

Flying south from New Cascade and hugging the eastern coast, you will pass over a semi-active pyroclastic plateau known as the Ignisara. A fascinating location that is essentially a grouping of stratovolcanoes that were nearly buried by a larger ancient volcanic eruption. The resulting feature resembles a plateau with occasional “lava geysers” that erupt through the lava rock sporadically. The upper 50m of this plateau is a network of caves and lava tubes. 

Electronic devices and communications are all impossible while flying over the plateau, so pilots generally navigate around it, opting to fly over the shallow coast instead. Old style compasses will also give false readings within 1.5km of the Ignisara. 

In 1987 scientists discovered what could only be referred to as “cosmic radiation” emanating  from the Ignisara. Almost devoid of classic markers of terrestrial radiation, the current speculation is that there is a massive asteroid that impacted the area recently (on a geological scale, so within the last 1000 years), and was swallowed by the pyroclastic flow from the larger eruption that buried the stratovolcanoes. This lava cocoon is theorized to have “insulated” the asteroid and maintained whatever massive dose of cosmic radiation the body received before impacting Jaladri. 

An expedition and excavation is planned for the year 1998. As of today, only core samples have been taken, but they have not been able to pinpoint the exact location of the asteroid, or prove that it actually exists.

The Ceramic District in south New Cascade is home to one of 2 Unified Traffic Command Towers (UTCT) on-world. These facilities monitor and control all air traffic. The reason New Cascade’s tower is not within Reitoru Skyport is because both structures required deep anchoring in the magnetic bedrock below the lava flats that the city is built upon. This position in the south was chosen for the shallower depth of the lava field. 

The towers themselves are the tallest structures on-world, standing at 56m. Beneath the offices on the top floor,  two levels contain a lounge and restaurant, in addition to a viewing gallery. New Cascade’s Taylor-Park Spire was finished in 1983, and is open to the public. In Port Worden, The Mendoza Terminal was completed in 1990, as of 1994, the entire facility beneath the Traffic Command Offices has been privatized by the Baisho-Caplan Conglomerate.

From the viewing galleries of either tower, especially at early morning or late sunset, you can watch the lanes of air traffic pass by over the ocean. Atmospheric perspective presents multiple layers and hues of twinkling bright purple lights, sometimes obscured by rain or fog.

On Jaladri, all aircraft have been equipped with a modified form of tracking and identification. Because of the severe weather and atmospheric events that take place on-world, conventional earth-based solutions were not up to the task. Created almost by accident while developing gravitational wave mapping technology, gravitational wave communication has become a new Jaladrian innovation. 

Wave Beacons are industrial grade devices that emit a dual signal consisting of modulated light and faint gravitational waves for terrestrial air tracking. Within the unit, a miniaturized high-energy oscillation system generates faint, localized gravitational waves. These waves are synchronized with the flashing light, effectively "stamping" the visible light and infrared signals with a gravitational signature. The waves can carry encoded signals that identify the specific aircraft, track its location, velocity, and altitude in real time, as well as monitor atmospheric conditions based on how the waves propagate through the atmosphere. These faint signals are tracked by ground-based interferometers. The visible light is a very bright lavender intermittent strobe that is generated by a phosphor-coated, plasma-based diode. The bulbs are stamped “Arctic Purple 8,000k”. 

This new system also includes enhanced security; gravitational waves can not be blocked, reflected, or interfered with by traditional countermeasures. In addition, they are immune to weather conditions and atmospheric scattering. Gravitational tracking is so precise, even slight variations in the signature can be detected, allowing for sub-meter accuracy in locating aircraft.

There are quite a few structures that, as of today, are not reported on official surveys around the transit station in Surakineau. The train only diverts there for maintenance, and even then, it’s generally just the engine module. There are rare times where the train will route through the area to avoid a particularly rough sea, but it doesn’t stop. Proximity to the station however, does come with benefits. Hardline power and info cables, and hot water. 

There is a small dirt road that will take you all the way from the Ceramic District outskirts to the transit slums. There are probably less than 25 vehicles on-world that can make the drive, and most of them belong to people who live in the slums. It’s essentially illegal to land anywhere near the vicinity because of airspace restrictions around the track. The survey teams for the new colony are sympathetic as most of them are based in Columbia Reach.

Smaller Pelican Craft have found an efficient way of travelling when the oceans are calm—travelling very close to the water’s surface, they are able to maintain a steady course with greatly reduced energy usage. Modern upgrades have turned lighter models into makeshift Ground Effect Vehicles (GEV). 

Flying low against the ocean for small cargo runs came from a pilot named Markie Bryant. She was the first pilot on-world to maneuver the unique shape of the pelican crafts over the ocean at low altitudes. After many tests, she found that by cutting VTOL jet propulsion and using only auxiliary electric engines, she could maintain speed and heading.

Rainwater that has passed over and through the Ignisara becomes heavily acidic. Over thousands of years, hundreds of solutional caves have formed in the rocks and cliffs lining the volcanic field, eventually connecting to the already existing lava tubes within the Ignisara. Over time, the ocean softens the edges, and neutralizes the acid. 

Within these tunnels and small caverns, a coastal migrating rainforest has developed. It will expand and contract with ocean levels, tides, and temperature changes. The larger the plants, the less they migrate. Because of the porous nature of the geology here, the forest has been able to grow deep within the network of caves, receiving sunlight sometimes deeper than 10 meters. The mineral rich sediment from the erosion of the volcanic field feeds the vegetation.

The Reitoru Survey Committee’s offices are on the 8th floor of the Gold Leaf building in the Burgundy neighborhood of New Cascade’s Ceramic District. One of their many services is the meticulous mapping of the entire island. Using a combination of satellites and piloted aerial imaging, they track the erosion of the coasts, and new landmasses and islands due to volcanic activity. 

In addition to this, they happen to be the only official office On-World that is publicly listing information regarding anomalies they encounter. They present their data unedited, and they have confirmed many eso stories. For the past year, they have spent the majority of their resources exploring Mondo Canyon in south Reitoru.

A large variety of coffee plants were brought to Jaladri on the city ships. Shade grown Arabica was the most viable, and after decades of experimentation and hybridization, Jaladrian Arabica was created. 

Grown primarily in the shady eastern slopes of the Kaen Mountain range, above New Cascade, it is the number one export item. There is a very rare and specific sub-variety grown in Mondo Canyon by the people living in the Surakineau area. They supposedly only trade in New Cascade for printing supplies with the local JTC. JTC in-turn distributes the coffee system wide. 

People in Port Worden say that Baisho Caplan employees only drink Mondo Canyon Blend. So many theorize that private funding is entering Surakineau.

Dorsalyn Softech was established in the late 70’s as a joint effort between the Engineering and Information Committees from each of the city ships. They are responsible for building essentially all software after First Landing that did not come pre-installed on the Ops Cores.

The company was privatized in 1985 and began building printing facilities and hiring hand builders to create well made, high end electronics.

You can print utilitarian, mundane versions of almost any piece of technology. But most people barter and spend energy usage credits to obtain rarer options.

In addition to high end personal electronics, industrial software applications, and experimental technology research, Dorsalyn Softech have also developed the first neural-gel based Ops Core.

The tides on Jaladri are heavily influenced by the moons. Such distinct cycles have been observed that have wide ranging effects not only on the ocean levels and the shape of the coasts, but also the native wildlife. The coastal migrating rainforest is just one example of this phenomenon. The Lounzé Tides are like a “storm season” for the ocean. They can reshape islands in the span of 48 hours, the waves can reach over 40 meters high. The tides represent times of change and transformation. They are also the reason that not many structures are built close to the waterline unless they are heavily reinforced.

A curious form of native citrus tree grows in the Kaen Mountain range and at the top of Mondo Canyon. They propagate with the help of jungle or forest birds and other creatures that take the fruit and spread the seeds. Strangely, even very young plants will start to drop small seeds as they grow, resulting in the trees only being found in tight groups, all gathered together along the ridges of the mountains above the canopy, ensuring almost all day sun absorption.

Gathering Citrus trees are a symbol of community and friendship. The fruit is perfectly safe for humans and is quite delicious. “Green Grapefruits” resemble a gigantic, sweet lime the size of a grapefruit. The flavor is one of the most popular On-World for beverages and cocktails.

Mondo Canyon lies over a small fault-line, and is the second known location on-world for similar anomalies to those reported in and around the Hydrophane Ravine further north on Reitoru. A shield volcano used to sit on top of this fault-line, and continuous eruptions formed the canyon over millions of years. Multiple intense earthquakes changed the course of streams and rivers and created a path of erosion that carved out a massive, deep, sloping canyon that cuts all the way down to the ocean.

Over 1.5km wide, and 1158m deep, Mondo Canyon is one of the most impressive and dangerous areas on-world. 

The Reitoru Survey Committee currently has the lower canyon closed to the public, not that many people can get there anyway. The RSC has been quietly working alongside Port Worden’s Geothermal Solutions for the past six months. Large digging equipment and customized Tread Walkers have been seen being airlifted into the canyon.

Jaladri has two moons. The catastrophic space collision that essentially broke Jaladri in half and created two distinct celestial bodies. Makahoa is the larger Estuary Moon. A dense forest covers large areas of the surface, pockmarked with lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds. The atmosphere is suitable for humans, but only one experimental landing has taken place.

The Jaladrian Local Space Program was founded in 1983 and is currently developing the technology for an advanced survey team to land on the moon and set up a permanent outpost. This mission is scheduled for late 1999.

The smaller foggy ocean moon, Yurei, orbits further out, behind Makahoa. It is less than half the size of the former moon. The entire surface looks to be a glassy ocean. A small probe with the task of measuring oceanic depth on Yurei measured over a mile deep in multiple different locations. One of the main reasons for setting up permanent outposts on the larger moon is to facilitate future exploration of Yurei. Makahoa shines bravely blue in the night sky, while Yurei hides behind him, a pale, greenish dot, moving like a ghost through the sky.

In the middle of the Dark Seasons, daylight hours are very short. Before the Expansion Era, when people were tied more directly to their city ships, they learned early on that it is not always a wise idea to go wandering outside in the dark.

After the 15th missing persons report, curfew went into effect. None of these people were ever found.

Even stranger, to this day, no large predators have been identified on-world that would account for missing people. These disappearances were logged as “natural loss” and eventually turned into folklore and legend.

Despite having the entire Dusk Shift working at night all over the planet, without incident, for decades, the stories persist. Every Dusk Shifter knows the stories of hearing your name being called while listening to music, electrical malfunctions, and talking rocks.