Ep 16--the Temple of Trax

We add yet another sentient race to Amzot.

There is an ancient decaying city located in a remote jungle area surrounded by mountains. Since Dorno and Tara didn't know about it, but Zandor did, then I think that means Zandor did some lone scouting/studying of Amzot before deciding this would be the home of the Herculoids. Putting this together with what we've assumed from past episodes, Zandor then returned to Amzot with Dorno & the creatures and began to put an end to the chaos, with Tara joining them a bit later.

We also get some more indications of Zandor's scientific skill. We've established he's primarily a geneticist, but he has enough skill as an archaeologist to learn something about Trax.

Anyway, I have a proposed back story about Trax. A few thousand years ago, some humans on Earth (during the early Middle Ages) somehow ended up in space--perhaps kidnapped by alien slavers. They end up on Amzot and manage to achieve dominance over the decadent Traxian civilization. But most of the humans died out, so that by Zandor's time only one human is left--kept alive by the last of an ancient Traxian potion that they no longer remember how to make.

The Traxians were dying out as a people, with a civilization desperately trying to save themselves by sacrificing captives to their clock-work idol. But soon there were so few that a survival instinct put them into hibernation for centuries, until the Herculoids arrived and they were awakened by their insane & immortal human high priest.

So we add the Traxians to the list of native fauna, along with the amphibious beasts that nearly eat Igoo, which I think largely inhabit the subterranean rivers and lakes of Amzot. I've dubbed these guys Gator-oids.

___________

AMZOT--GENERAL INFORMATION: Amzot is in the same solar system as the planet Zodan, both of which have breathable atmospheres and Earth-like gravity.

Amzot is tidally locked, with one hemisphere always facing the sun. But the solar system is near a nebula, which causes large clouds of cosmic dust to drift through the system. This dust occasionally eclipses the sun, causing "night" on Amzot's daylight side.

AMZOT—DAY SIDE

A--Desert (mesas, cliffs, occasional tar pits, occasional flora including Iron Trees) The home of the fortunately rare Giant Vultures. The north end of the desert area contains the White Cliffs.

B-Jungle (various flora, including Rubber Vines & Kona-nuts. Also, Lizard-Birds, ants, grubs & snails)

C-Canopy Trees

E—Endless Caves: On the surface, the terrain is very much like the desert area near the Herculoids' home. Underneath this is the domain of the Spider Men. These are four-foot tall insect-like humanoids. They are sentient, have a language, and have the technology to produce “web guns,” which fire blobs of sticky and very strong webs. They train large ants the size of small ponies to use as mounts. The Spider Men are a nomadic society, though their domain is largely underground in the huge and labyrinthian Endless Caves. They conduct raids on the Mole Men (traveling to the Mole Men domain via secret tunnels) and occasional raid the surface for slaves and/or resources. Because they are tribal, they have never banded together strongly enough to be the threat that the Mole Men and Parrot People are, but they are still dangerous.

U-Underground domain of the Mole Men. The Mole Men are small but resilient humanoid creatures with a monarchical government. They have a technological society, with the skill to produce energy weapons and advanced vehicles such as hovercraft. They were once very aggressive, conquering vast portions of the surface world. Only internal dissension among them (some factions of the Mole Men society were more pacifistic) prevented them from gaining supremacy over the technologically backwards Parrot People. They are now largely contained in their underground domain by the Herculoids.

BP—The Black Pool. A large lake of water that is laced with a chemical compound unique to Amzot. When struck with energy (such as Zok’s laser beams), the water is transformed into a thick, viscous solution in which creatures and vehicles are trapped and rapidly disintegrate. The lake will slowly revert back to water at a rate that depends on how much energy was added. The area north of the lake are home to giant snakes (about 30 feet long) and rhinoids—large dinosaur-like quadrupeds about the size of Earth elephants.

M—A small mountain range. The Kyanite gladiatorial arena is located atop one of these mountains, though the Kyanites themselves live on another planet and only occasionally visit Amzot.

W--(off map to the west): The Western Sea—a large sea located some distance to the west of the Herculoids’ home ground.

T--(off map to the northwest)--The Temple of Trax. This is a jungle area surrounded by mountains. The Traxians built a city here thousands of years ago, with a clock-work idol they worshiped as a god being the centerpiece of the city. The city is built atop fast, underground caverns, many of which contain rivers or lakes infested with Gater-oids.

With human high priests (displaced from Earth), the Traxians used to capture and sacrifice other sentient creatures to appease their god. They once had a fairly sophisticated civilization, producing an immortality serum as well as clock-work mechanisms. But they went into decline until the few remaining Traxians placed themselves into hibernation, watched over by the remaining human priest.  

The Traxians are about 8 feet tall, very strong, with tough armor like skin and a single horn protruding from their forehead. 

1. The Dark River--flows south from jungle, with a 300-foot high waterfall known as The Bottomless Waterfall located not far out of the jungle.

2. Monkey-People--strong but shy & unaggressive flying monkeys. They are semi-sentient, with a very primitive language and loose tribal structure. They eat plants, insects and small mollusks.

3. Hill area that is home to the Parrot People. They are avian humanoids with a warlike, aggressive culture that once enslaved the Monkey People. They are omnivorous & have a sophisticated language and some technology, allowing them to make clothes and fashion wooden clubs. They are largely contained to the hill area due to their fear of the Herculoids.

Iron Trees--Large (50 foot or higher) trees that sparsely populate the desert area. These trees have very deep roots to access underground water sources. Their name derives from their extremely tough outer bark, which can withstand violent impacts without showing any damage. Zandor's shield is made from Iron Tree bark.

Rubber Vines--Thick, pliable vines that grow down from the limbs of certain tall trees. They anchor themselves in the ground to search for additional water. Zandor has learned to use the vines as personal catapults to vacillitate rapid travel through the jungle.

Canopy Trees—Large trees whose thick, tough foliage form a sort-of ledge half-way up the trunk, with more foliage forming a roof. Zandor and his family make a home in one of these trees.

Kona Nuts--a tasty fruit found in the jungles of Amzot. In size, shape and taste, it is nearly identical to Earth's coconut.

Lizard-Birds—A bird/reptile hybrid about the size of Earth’s condor.

Giant Vultures—These very large predatory bird/reptile hybrids are more reminiscent of pterodactyls than Earth’s vultures. They like to carry captured prey back to their nests while the prey is still living, then consume it there. Giant vultures are solitary, living alone when not in heat.

Giant Ants—Subterranean ants the size of small ponies that live in the Endless Caves. They  have the intelligence and capacity to be trained similar to ponies as well, being used as mounts by the Spider Men. They can run at very fast speeds for short distances.

Gater-oids--Amphibious carnivores about the size of an Earth horse. They are vicious four-legged creatures with an armored carapace and a vaguely shark-like head. They are able to rend and digest nearly anything organic, no matter how tough (including Igoo!)

 AMZOT—Night side.

One of Amzot’s hemispheres is in perpetual darkness.

1: The Stone Forest—an area in which many stone towers give the impression of having grown there like trees. Some of the small rocks are “flare rocks,” which generate bursts of light upon impact. This area also contains many cliffs and chasms. The following fauna lives here:

The Dorgytes—A sentient species of pygmy-sized humanoids with large eyes designed to allow them to see in the dark. In fact, Dorgytes can’t survive for lengthy periods of time in direct sunlight. They build huts in the “branches” of the towers in the Stone Forest and have limited technology.

Night Scarabs—Semi-sentient species of insect-people. The Scarabs are carnivores and lurk in the shadows in packs, leaping out at helpless and unsuspecting prey but running when danger seems to threaten.

Hooded Caterpillar—This creature is about 20 feet long. Able to fire the spikes that grow out of its body, it is carnivorous and very aggressive.

Armored Killer—About the size of an Earth pony, this four-legged carnivore is also aggressive. It is protected by a thick, spiked carapace.

Electro-Beetles—5-foot long insects able to fire energy blasts from their antenna. They are carnivorous and travel in packs, working together via instinct.

Episode 15--The Gladiators of Kyanite

Another awesome episode in terms of a deliriously fun fight scene. But it does make one think about what we should add to Amzot in terms of its native life.

Here we learn about the Kyanites, who apparently periodically capture some of Amzot's nastier wildlife for use in fighting their gladiators. So is there a native human civilization on the planet? We can't argue that the arena is off-planet. Even if we assume that Tundro is carried off-planet after being captured AND that Zandor & Zok fly after him (since we know Zok is capable of inter-planetary flight)--Dorno & the other Herculoids follow on foot. So off-planet doesn't work.

BUT--the Kyanite arena is all by itself on a mountain top. If the Kyanite civilization is based on Amzot, where's the city? It's not impossible that they build their arena in a remote area, but it still seems odd.

So I propose that the Kyanite civilization does indeed exist on another planet (Kyan?). This is backed up by the fact that their leader Neron does not at first recognize the Herculoids--something that would be very unlikely if he lived on Amzot. On the other hand, Zandor recognizes Neron-- but I think that means Zandor maintains sources of information about off-planet shenanigans that might some day affect Amzot.

So Kyanite is a decadent Roman-esque civilization from another planet. They are a very military society that is proud of their martial skills, so they establish arenas on planets known for dangerous wildlife, then travel between them holding gladiatorial contests. In fact, let's say that different factions from Kyan hold games, with those who have the best win/lose record earning military and political power on their homeworld. They've been to Amzot before and now its come up on their circuit again.

So this episode does not add anything new to Amzot's native flora and fauna, though we do now know there is a Kyanite arena built on a mountaintop (part of a small mountain range) somewhere on the day-side. Based purely on Zok's orientation when he arrives at the arena, I'm placing this mountain range northwest of the Herculoids' home.

This is open for debate--if we assume that Amzot's earth-like gravity means its the size of Earth, then there's plenty of room for multiple civilizations. But the overall vibe of the Kyanites seem to place them off-planet. At least this is true for me and--well, it's MY blog, isn't it? BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!

_________

I've tried to improve the ongoing map a little and it does look slightly better, but I'm afraid I simply don't have the talent to produce a map that looks cool enough to really do Amzot justice. Hopefully, my brilliant and fascinating analysis of the planet makes up for this.

AMZOT--GENERAL INFORMATION: Amzot is in the same solar system as the planet Zodan, both of which have breathable atmospheres and Earth-like gravity.

Amzot is tidally locked, with one hemisphere always facing the sun. But the solar system is near a nebula, which causes large clouds of cosmic dust to drift through the system. This dust occasionally eclipses the sun, causing "night" on Amzot's daylight side.

AMZOT—DAY SIDE

A--Desert (mesas, cliffs, occasional tar pits, occasional flora including Iron Trees) The home of the fortunately rare Giant Vultures. The north end of the desert area contains the White Cliffs.

B-Jungle (various flora, including Rubber Vines & Kona-nuts. Also, Lizard-Birds, ants, grubs & snails)

C-Canopy Trees

E—Endless Caves: On the surface, the terrain is very much like the desert area near the Herculoids' home. Underneath this is the domain of the Spider Men. These are four-foot tall insect-like humanoids. They are sentient, have a language, and have the technology to produce “web guns,” which fire blobs of sticky and very strong webs. They train large ants the size of small ponies to use as mounts. The Spider Men are a nomadic society, though their domain is largely underground in the huge and labyrinthian Endless Caves. They conduct raids on the Mole Men (traveling to the Mole Men domain via secret tunnels) and occasional raid the surface for slaves and/or resources. Because they are tribal, they have never banded together strongly enough to be the threat that the Mole Men and Parrot People are, but they are still dangerous.

U-Underground domain of the Mole Men. The Mole Men are small but resilient humanoid creatures with a monarchical government. They have a technological society, with the skill to produce energy weapons and advanced vehicles such as hovercraft. They were once very aggressive, conquering vast portions of the surface world. Only internal dissension among them (some factions of the Mole Men society were more pacifistic) prevented them from gaining supremacy over the technologically backwards Parrot People. They are now largely contained in their underground domain by the Herculoids.

BP—The Black Pool. A large lake of water that is laced with a chemical compound unique to Amzot. When struck with energy (such as Zok’s laser beams), the water is transformed into a thick, viscous solution in which creatures and vehicles are trapped and rapidly disintegrate. The lake will slowly revert back to water at a rate that depends on how much energy was added. The area north of the lake are home to giant snakes (about 30 feet long) and rhinoids—large dinosaur-like quadrupeds about the size of Earth elephants.

M—A small mountain range. The Kyanite gladiatorial arena is located atop one of these mountains, though the Kyanites themselves live on another planet and only occasionally visit Amzot. 

1. The Dark River--flows south from jungle, with a 300-foot high waterfall known as The Bottomless Waterfall located not far out of the jungle.

2. Monkey-People--strong but shy & unaggressive flying monkeys. They are semi-sentient, with a very primitive language and loose tribal structure. They eat plants, insects and small mollusks.

3. Hill area that is home to the Parrot People. They are avian humanoids with a warlike, aggressive culture that once enslaved the Monkey People. They are omnivorous & have a sophisticated language and some technology, allowing them to make clothes and fashion wooden clubs. They are largely contained to the hill area due to their fear of the Herculoids.

Iron Trees--Large (50 foot or higher) trees that sparsely populate the desert area. These trees have very deep roots to access underground water sources. Their name derives from their extremely tough outer bark, which can withstand violent impacts without showing any damage. Zandor's shield is made from Iron Tree bark.

Rubber Vines--Thick, pliable vines that grow down from the limbs of certain tall trees. They anchor themselves in the ground to search for additional water. Zandor has learned to use the vines as personal catapults to vacillitate rapid travel through the jungle.

Canopy Trees—Large trees whose thick, tough foliage form a sort-of ledge half-way up the trunk, with more foliage forming a roof. Zandor and his family make a home in one of these trees.

Kona Nuts--a tasty fruit found in the jungles of Amzot. In size, shape and taste, it is nearly identical to Earth's coconut.

Lizard-Birds—A bird/reptile hybrid about the size of Earth’s condor.

Giant Vultures—These very large predatory bird/reptile hybrids are more reminiscent of pterodactyls than Earth’s vultures. They like to carry captured prey back to their nests while the prey is still living, then consume it there. Giant vultures are solitary, living alone when not in heat.

Giant Ants—Subterranean ants the size of small ponies that live in the Endless Caves. They  have the intelligence and capacity to be trained similar to ponies as well, being used as mounts by the Spider Men. They can run at very fast speeds for short distances.

NOT ON MAP: The Western Sea—a large sea located some distance to the west of the Herculoids’ home ground.

AMZOT—Night side.

One of Amzot’s hemispheres is in perpetual darkness.

1: The Stone Forest—an area in which many stone towers give the impression of having grown there like trees. Some of the small rocks are “flare rocks,” which generate bursts of light upon impact. This area also contains many cliffs and chasms. The following fauna lives here:

The Dorgytes—A sentient species of pygmy-sized humanoids with large eyes designed to allow them to see in the dark. In fact, Dorgytes can’t survive for lengthy periods of time in direct sunlight. They build huts in the “branches” of the towers in the Stone Forest and have limited technology.

Night Scarabs—Semi-sentient species of insect-people. The Scarabs are carnivores and lurk in the shadows in packs, leaping out at helpless and unsuspecting prey but running when danger seems to threaten.

Hooded Caterpillar—This creature is about 20 feet long. Able to fire the spikes that grow out of its body, it is carnivorous and very aggressive.

Armored Killer—About the size of an Earth pony, this four-legged carnivore is also aggressive. It is protected by a thick, spiked carapace.

Electro-Beetles—5-foot long insects able to fire energy blasts from their antenna. They are carnivorous and travel in packs, working together via instinct.