ASTROVITAE ISSUE 01

CAPTIVATINGWORLDS | ANEXTRA-TERRESTRIALFIELDGUIDE
Planet Ateria. Ateria has features similar to Earth. The left image is a render of the planet during
the middle of the spring season. Due to an elliptical orbit (shown on the right) Ateria’s spring is
brief and warm, while the winter period lasts two savage years.
eccentric and have profound effects on
the planet’s surface. The majority of
summer months are warm and wet,
while the winter months are savagely
cold—lasting over two years. Both plants
and animals on Ateria have to adapt
accordingly to this bizarre circumstance,
and the most prominent group of animal
life is the Arthostreptans. This chapter
was really fun to worldbuild, even after
completing the manuscript. I could
expand upon my writing with my art,
and the arthostreptan lineage is a good
example of this. Much like how dinosaurs
were the dominant animal group for tens
of millions of years, arthostreptans are
very similar to Ateria. An example of an
arthostrpean, the alien I wrote most
about for this chapter, was the isher
crame, a small lying alien which is
similar to beetles or spiders found on
Earth.
Fisher Crame. Skeletal anatomy of an adult
isher crame (above). Supericially these animals
are similar to Earthly arthropods, but their
internal physiology is incredibly alien. Adult male
isher crames are larger then females and are a
bright hue of red (left).
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