Stormseed
The Thunder in the Dark
An unclaimed captured moon whose conductive surface erupts in vast discharges and luminous dust fountains during passages through Oranth’s magnetotail.
Overview
The Record
Stormseed becomes visible by becoming dangerous. Its inclined, eccentric orbit periodically carries the irregular captured moon through charged regions of Oranth’s magnetotail, where conductive metallic veins and surrounding dust accumulate electrical charge.
Violet-white discharges then travel across ridges and fractures while dust rises in branching fountains hundreds of kilometers above the surface. The display is recurrent rather than perpetual and follows the moon’s passage through the magnetic environment, not its 11.8-hour rotation.
Unmanned surveys have mapped only part of the body. During active periods, electrical interference degrades sensors, guidance, and long-range communication; exposed systems may be damaged outright. No evidence of habitation or artificial construction has been confirmed.
Stormseed remains unclaimed and without a permanent observatory. Navigators use predicted active periods as both a hazard warning and a distant visual marker. The same phenomenon that makes the moon useful to identify prevents any institution from keeping instruments close enough to study it continuously.
Political Relationships
Standing
Standing at a Glance
- Civilization Status
- Uninhabited
- Heraldic Standing
- No Unified Mark
Stormseed is unclaimed. Scientific organizations have proposed hardened remote observatories, but cost, interference, and electrical danger have prevented a lasting presence. Tracking or studying the moon does not establish jurisdiction, and Stormseed has no institutional mark.
Physical Characteristics
Ground and Sky
- Diameter290 km
- Mass0.000005358 Earth masses
- Gravity0.01 g
Stormseed is airless. During active passages, electrically charged dust temporarily surrounds its irregular charcoal-gray body and obscures exposed metallic veins, fractures, ridges, and impact basins. The dust is not an atmosphere and offers no protection from vacuum or electrical discharge.
Orbit and Time
Path Around Oranth
- Orbital Order880
- Orbital Radius18,100,000 km
- Orbital Period287.25 days
- Rotation11.8 hours
- Inclination31 degrees
- Eccentricity0.11
Stormseed rotates every 11.8 standard hours. Light and darkness follow that rotation, but the violent electrical cycle does not: activity intensifies when the eccentric, inclined orbit carries the moon through charged regions of Oranth’s magnetotail.
Culture
The Twofold
Stormseed’s discharges are explained by its conductive surface, charged dust, and passage through Oranth’s magnetic environment. No repeatable connection to Dawn or Gloam has been demonstrated, though distant observers use both aspects in the language of revelation and concealment.
Travel
Travel Notes
Do not approach during a predicted active passage. Shielded craft may observe from the assigned distance, but discharges and charged dust interfere with sensors, guidance, and communication and can damage exposed systems. No recognized landing site or permanent shelter exists.