Short Description
The Saturn is a planet of contrasts: On the surface of the gas giant, in gigantic
floating islands, lives a highly organized, matriarchally influenced society, whose structure
strongly resembles the romantic Middle Ages. There, grace, beauty, and
caste-bound order prevail. In Saturn’s rings, however, mining colonies,
smuggler bases, pirate hideouts, and mobile trading platforms can be found – chaotic, adventurous, and
free. Nowhere else in the solar system do order and wildness clash so intensely as here.
Environment
The Saturn itself has no solid surface – but on stabilized, floating platforms
and artificially created “heavenly islands” the Saturnians have built a breathtaking civilization
that hangs like shimmering fortresses over the dense, golden-glowing
cloud layers of the gas giant. The atmosphere at these heights is pleasantly tempered, rich
in volatile gases and full of dancing light reflections – an almost dreamy place for the
aristocratic elite.
In deeper regions, enormous storms rage, inscrutable and deadly. There, only machines or those seeking suicide dare to venture.
The rings of Saturn, on the other hand, are a world unto themselves. Between ice and rock fragments, hundreds of small stations, colonies and fleets circle, existing mostly beyond official law. The space here is wild, raw, dangerous – but also full of opportunities. Settlement
The celestial society of Saturn is strictly hierarchical and divided into five large castes:
- The Toilers – workers, craftsmen, and servants. They live simply, but solidly.
- The Merchants’ Guild – merchants, freight forwarders, organizers of interplanetary trade.
- The Learned Brotherhood – alchemists, technicians, doctors and philosophers.
- The Sky Knights – men who dedicate themselves as bodyguards, ambassadors or advisers to noble ladies.
- The Rose Order – exclusively women who are considered rulers, diplomats, artists and leaders of society.
While women in all castes hold sway and can rise, men’s social ascent is almost forbidden – unless they gain special honor through a Minne Bond with a noblewoman. This bond is more than a knightly ideal: It grants status, influence – and a certain security in a system in which men otherwise must submit.
The floating cities are architectural marvels: glass domes, graceful towers, and flying gardens, connected by airship docks and flux rails. Art and etiquette are the lifeblood here – but also intrigues and social scheming.
Special Features
The Saturnians maintain a strongly pronounced aesthetic ideal. Beauty is not superficial luxury, but an expression of order, virtue, and discipline. The scholars develop salves, scents and devices that refine the ideal. Noblewomen consult daily; men adorn themselves for their ladies – appearance is a political statement.
The Sky Knights, exclusively male, devote themselves to the Rose Order. Each knight is bound to only one lady, but a lady can bind several knights – this strengthens her influence and protects her at the same time. The Silver Path, a sub-group of particularly loyal knights, accompanies selected individuals on quests through the solar system.
The Free Ones – a group of rebellious idealists – rise up against this rigid caste system. They hide in the nebulae of Saturn and among the debris of its rings, and, with their speedy airships, carry out small raids again and again to take from the rich and give to the poor. They are wild, independent souls who resist life in chains and constantly seek new challenges.
It is a world full of contrasts and adventures, where the romance of the Middle Ages meets the endless vastness of the universe. A world in which the impossible is possible, and in which every day holds a new surprise. Saturn is a place where you are continually enchanted and lose yourself in its beauty.