World of Zeer

Zeer is a hexaverse — six interconnected versions of the same universe, each its own unique bandwidth of existence. Think xenobiology meets high fantasy, built on 20+ years of science-adjacent worldbuilding. This is a documentary series dispatched from inside that universe. Field notes, creature features, civilization deep dives, and philosophical tangents — all part of uncovering a world that feels more discovered than invented. The expedition is just getting started. Come explore.

[worldofzeer]

[worldofzeer]

Recently decided to start doing digital 3D sculpts to work out creature designs. Here is the base for the leviathan I’m working on. It’s a gentle giant filter feeder.

[worldofzeer]

“Nothing exists in a vacuum.”

This is a phrase I find myself saying over and over throughout my life. It applies to virtually everything. Waking up grumpy, social injustice, an overpopulation of lady bugs, a shortage of teachers, what type of noodle you’re in the mood for. Because every part of life, every aspect of existence is connected to other factors and is the result of many interconnected factors upstream.

Science adjacent worldbuilding is exactly this. Each and every decision you make impacts your choices downstream. Or, at least, it can. You always have the option to solve anything with “hand waving.” That is entirely your prerogative. But what about taking the narrative bull by the horns and setting up a world that is scientifically structured to have mythic-level ambience and narrative hooks built in?

One of my favorite examples of this is the planet Scadriel in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series. A world of grays and browns, ash blotting out the skies and coating everything with dust and grime. How bleak. It’s almost like the physical reality of the setting contributes to the conceptual and functional value of the story. Hint hint. I won’t give any spoilers in case you have not read those books yet. Just understand that there are real actual physics reasons, combined with magical events, that have produced this depressing atmosphere, which beautifully weaves together science and storytelling.

You can do this too! Anyone can. It just takes a bit of research, some bold ingenuity, and a bit of logical twisting. So that’s what we are going to talk about. From the very beginning of your solar system, you can lay down the foundations to build a beautifully integrated world that hits exactly the right tone you are looking for, without all that “hand waving.” In this article we’re going to examine how the qualities of your solar system’s star have major impacts for everything else, and the creative decisions I made for Zeer.

A note on AI: I use it the way a researcher uses a library — I pose questions, weigh the answers, and do my own thinking. Earning simultaneous degrees in astrophysics, chemistry, geology, and ecology is beyond me, but that doesn’t diminish my commitment to scientific rigor. I am the creator god of this world; AI is just a very fast research assistant.

Now, back to the physics…

Geography is destiny.

That’s what one of my high school history professors always said. And it applies to astronomy as well. Naturally, as a tiny hairless monkey species on a little wet rock circling an unremarkable yellow dwarf, we take for granted just how much of our existence is informed by said star. The same is true for every other planet with intelligent life in the universe (that very probably exists). And can absolutely play a part in making your own created world feel genuinely unique and deeply integrated.

The Spark’s notes version: A star’s type lays the groundwork for numerous important aspects of your planet. Within the Morgan-Keenan system, stars are labeled from largest/hottest to smallest/coolest. There are two parallel cascades; one structural, one spectral (as in light, not ghosts!).With the structural cascade a star’s size impacts habitable zone. Habitable zone impacts year length. And year length radiates into biological, cultural, and mythological consequences. A star’s type also informs us of where its peak electromagnetic emissions sit on a spectrum. This spectral cascade sets a chain of variables in motion such as potential sky coloration, photosynthetic pigmentation, and evolutionary pressures. (There are many more ways in which star type alone can effect your world; this is just a sample).

Let’s start in the habitable zone, because that’s where our planet is going to live. This is sometimes referred to as the Goldilocks zone, where conditions are ‘just right’ for life to exist. More specifically, its where water can exist on the surface as a liquid; an essential ingredient for carbon-based life forms. It is certainly possible for other kinds of life to exist and use something other than water as its solvent, but you’re going to have to do a lot of extra research (or handwaving) to negotiate that. And yes, it would change where the habitable zone lies.

Sol(our sun) is a G2V type star. It’s pretty darn average; a bit on the large size, but otherwise quite common in the galaxy. Earth is marked as being 1 AU (Astronomical Unit) away from Sol. Sol’s habitable zone sits between .95 and 1.37 AU. Closer than that is too hot (water evaporates), further than that is too cold (water freezes). It’s this distance from this size star that gives us our ~365 day orbital period (year).

Zeer’s star (it doesn’t have as of the writing of this article) is a K2V type star. It’s radius is 0.76 that of Sol. And, consequentially, cooler and dimmer. This places the habitable zone between .38 and .65 AU. Zeer sits at about 0.42 AU, making its solar year about 99 Earth days (which translates to 119 Zeer days, accounting for its shorter revolutions).

That seems pretty short to us, but it’s relative. Even on planet Earth, cultures have measured a “year” in a variety of different ways, which remain partly cohesive because of yearly seasonal shifts caused by our planet’s axial tilt and the ovoid shape of Earth’s orbit. Zeer doesn’t have axial tilt, and has a more circular-shaped orbit. So everything from the breeding cycles of animals to religious ceremonies are going to be dramatically different on Zeer. Zeeran cultures would use a very different cosmology for understanding their place in the universe.

For the record, Zeer does have seasons, but is driven by an entirely different cause. That’s a topic for another day.And we still have the second cascade to examine.

The spectral cascade. Those “peak electromagnetic emissions” make a huge difference. The larger/hotter stars are (generally) producing more energy in the higher end of the spectrum; the short-wave rays. The smaller/cooler stars peak lower on the spectrum, moving towards long-wave red/infrared rays. Where your star sits determines what type of electromagnetic radiation is going to be hitting your planet. We are assuming there is life on this planet. Where the peak emissions are on the spectrum contributes to what color the sky appears to an observer, the pigmentation of photosynthetic organisms, and certain evolutionary pressures.

Sol peaks in yellow-green light, and that single fact ripples outward in several directions simultaneously.

First, is the sky’s appearance to an observer: Earth’s atmosphere scatters shorter blue wavelengths more efficiently than longer ones, a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering, which produces the familiar blue sky at midday. And Sol typically appears white or bright yellow at this time.

Second, photosynthetic pigments: chlorophyll optimizes for red and blue light, the wavelengths on either side of Sol’s yellow-green peak. Green light is so abundant it can simply be reflected away cheaply. This is also why plants aren’t black. Absorbing every wavelength would maximize energy capture in theory, but in practice generates damaging heat. Reflecting the most abundant wavelength is an elegant thermal compromise, and it’s one that evolution locked in early.

And third, UV rays: Sol’s output includes enough ultraviolet radiation to apply consistent evolutionary pressure. This drives the development of protective pigmentation, cellular repair systems, and the kind of DNA damage response machinery that keeps complex life viable.

Zeer’s K2V star, called an orange dwarf, peaks in red-orange light. That same ripple effect, as seen with Sol, produces a meaningfully different world. First, the sky: the quality of light on Zeer appears warmer and richer than Earth’s, with more saturated colors and deeper shadows. The star itself appears a soft amber-orange at midday. However, sky color on Zeer is a more complicated conversation than it is on Earth, because each plane carries its own atmospheric chemistry that interacts with that light differently. The Water Plane offers the closest analog to an Earth-familiar sky, but appears a richer electric cobalt blue than Earth’s cyan.

Second, photosynthesis: with red-orange wavelengths now dominant and abundant, the “cheap to reflect” wavelength shifts accordingly. Zeer’s primary photosynthetic organisms tend toward cooler tones like blue-greens, silvers, deep purples, reflecting what Sol-evolved life would consider the warm end of the spectrum. Green just so happened to dominate on Earth. It would not necessarily be winning by the same margin on Zeer, or any other planet.

Third, UV: Zeer’s star emits lower ultraviolet radiation than Sol, which relaxes but does not eliminate UV-driven evolutionary pressure. The result is different pigmentation and cellular repair strategies rather than their absence.

So why make these changes at all? Why not just accept that Zeer has a sun exactly like Earth?

For narrative effect.

The starting query when I began researching stars was if it were possible for colors to look more dramatic and saturated as a way to create more drama without…wait for it…hand-waving (can you tell yet that I really don’t care for handwaving). Zeer is being built for use in transmedia narrative. While I am starting off with a book series, my longer goals involve a video game and an anime. And I’m such a stickler for retconning that it is important to me to have all the foundational variables in place now, so that later when projects become more visual and less text based, I already have a plausible reason behind brilliantly colored skies and scenery that contribute to tonal ambience beyond just “artistic effects.” Zeer is myth-come-to-life. It absolutely deserves the kinds of finicky little details that move out of spectacle and into speculation.

[worldofzeer]

[worldofzeer]

I have a confession to make. It’s honestly a little embarrassing. But hey, I think many of us start there. So here it goes.

I am a recovering fantasy kitchen sink worldbuilder.

There. The cat’s out of the bag. I said it.

Now before I launch into defining it for those of you new to the concept (trope) of the fantasy kitchen sink, I’d like to paint you a little picture of the fantasy genre reader kingdom.

Imagine, if you will, a nice ink-on-parchment style map, upon which are drawn three concentric circles. In the Outer Ring of the kingdom you have the visitors. A large number of people for whom fantasy is just one ingredient in their general literary interest soup. They occasionally pick up a book, or a series, stay for a while, before moving along to other lands. There are a lot of these.

Then there is the Middle Ring. Here lie your true fantasy nerds. 70-90% of their library consists of fantasy and maybe sci-fi reading. Possibly with some crystals, plants, decorative candles, or statuary mixed in. There is a good possibility they play Dungeons & Dragons, Magic the Gathering, one of the big fantasy video game franchises, or some combination there of. These are your citizens, for whom fantasy is nigh on a lifestyle. Their numbers used to be fewer, however the Millennials and Gen Zs have swelled the ranks significantly, often due to escapist pursuits in an attempt to find momentary relief from the late-stage capitalist hellscape.

And sometimes, from among them, the denizens of the Inner Circle will ascend. For those with the fortitude, the tenacity, the oddly specific hyper focus, and the absolute passion for it, you have the world builders. Whether for a game, a novel, a piece of art; it matters not. There will always be those that go above merely consuming fantasy media, but long to create it (with no shortage of creative god complexes in this lot.)

All that fervor for elves, and spells, and swords, and robots, and vampires comes with a certain…enthusiasm. A zeal which, when one finally sets pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and begins building that first world…leads you to wanting everything and its mother to be there.

It’s almost like a right of passage for new, fledgling world builders to get swept up in the excitement and start popping out worlds where fae intrigue, vampire Neanderthals, sapient AI, mushroom magic, and pan-dimensional anthropologists all exist simultaneously.

This is the fantasy kitchen sink. TV Trope describes it as everything being true at once. It doesn’t matter if their origins don’t make sense or are contradictory. It’s all there.

If it sounds like I am speaking about kitchen sink world building negatively, I do apologize, but I must admit that I have mixed feelings about it. As do many authors, world builders, and game designers. It isn’t that it’s “bad.” It’s more that you must be very intentional in its use to pull off well.

You’re probably already quite familiar with some very successful examples of this phenomenon. Dungeons & Dragons, Discworld, the Marvel cinematic universe, and Star Trek are prime examples of kitchen sink world building working (mostly) well across a spectrum from hardcore fantasy to sci-fi (I do often lump the two together as both require similar neural pathways to enjoy and produce.) Each one pulls it off in a slightly different way, but the central thread between them is purposeful containment.

As of the writing of this article, Dungeons & Dragons has 39 official planes of existence, not including the many Demi planes, or counting that different campaign settings exist within or adjacent to this core all at the same time, while having different rules, play styles, base lore, etc. The purpose here is to accommodate a wide range of aesthetics and subgenres so that players can role-play across a variety of vibes and stories with it all somehow fitting together. Containing these options within different planes keeps things tidy, while also accessible.

Discworld takes a similar approach. While the purpose is not interactive in a game-playing sense, for readers the various tones are managed by having regions of the world be distinct from one another. Same disc, different file; Terry Pratchett had a palette of locations for telling stories with different points.

At first glance, the Marvel cinematic universe seems quite different from the first two examples. But it’s basically doing the same thing but with an approach that seems to say “time and space are huge; there is plenty of room for all these different stories to be happening simultaneously.” The containment becomes the logic that there is simply so much existence in which things can occur. And thus you get Thor: Darkworld happening in the same reality as Guardians of the Galaxy. Iron Man tech + Dr. Strange magic + X-men mutants. As long as you don’t look too closely, it works.

Star Trek uses a similar containment logic, in that the universe is vast and all you need to do to tell a different story is go to a new planet and throw some technobabble at it. In addition, the writers use the monster of the week approach, highlighting a new species, race, or technology within the confines of each episode.

You may look at these examples and think “these are all really successful. How can kitchen sink worldbuilding be bad?”

The key critique leveled at the kitchen sink is that it risks going wide instead of deep. For every unique element you add, you take weight away from the others. The number of races present in a world highlights this point beautifully. It’s already implausible to expect a world to have multiple intelligent races, and without careful management of their origins and coexistence it breaks the immersion. If you have only 2 races, you can put 50% of your energy into developing each one. At 10 races, each one gets only 10%. At 100…you can do math; I won’t insult your intelligence. This is a very simplistic model of this issue, but valid nonetheless. The more going on, the less any of it seems to matter, and a world winds up feeling superficial.

This creates a structural issue for narrative. Actions stop having consequences. If you can be resurrected by making a deal with a demon, having your consciousness put into a computer, being absorbed into a shiny tree, and clones, suddenly death is kind of pointless and killing off significant characters for effect elicits no emotion. Setting rules for a world and sticking to that internal logic drives consequences, allowing stories to unfold rather than be episodically installed.

So how did I escape the kitchen sink trap? I accidentally applied purposeful containment. “Accidentally” because when I decided to split Zeer into 6 unique, interconnected planes I didn’t know that this was an actual strategy. My obsession with speculative evolutionary backgrounds for mythic races had me answering questions like “how would a race like ogres and a race like fairies evolve in the same space” with “they wouldn’t, they’d come from different environmental pressures.” At least for my version of ogres and fairies. Maybe yours are different. But for me, I’m always looking at the crucible giving rise to a creature or race and figuring out how it could be tweaked to produce different results.

It wasn’t containment alone in which I found the satisfaction of Zeer’s hexaverse. But also limitation. Giving yourself limits and constraints forces you to be innovative and think of inventive solutions to reach desired outcomes. I wanted a visitor to Zeer to walk into a marketplace and stare in wonder at a multitude of different cultures with different aesthetics hawking goods deeply intwined with their identity without feeling contrived

Originally I thought including 76 races was a great idea! That was until I actually started searching for that plausibility and lore depth that would make the marketplace vibe stick. So chop, chop, chop, and 13 races emerged as the champions that would find deep belonging across the Zeeran landscape. Per plane, only 1-4 intelligent races needed to evolve, and then over time they could migrate to other planes, adapt, and form subraces, further creating the illusion of immense diversity, but without breaking any of the internal rules that make Zeer tick.

Recovery, it turns out, doesn’t mean you stop wanting everything. It means you learn to trust that depth creates the feeling of everything. That marketplace full of wonder I was chasing? It was never going to come from 76 races I could only describe in a sentence each. It came from 13 races I could describe in my sleep. From knowing what an ogre smells like after rain, what a fae considers an insult, what a merchant from the water plane puts in their tea.

Limitation wasn’t a loss. It was the whole game.

So I’ll leave you with a question to sit with, fellow travelers of the inner circle: what’s still living in your kitchen sink? What wild, beloved element have you been holding onto that might actually thrive more if it had a plane, a rule, or an origin all its own?

I’d genuinely love to know. Drop it in the comments.

[wanderingokali]

(click to enlarge the image, she's a big girl)

Omikti, the goddess of the valley!

She is known for her insatiable curiosity, her long antennae reaching over to plants and creatures within her habitat to form brief connections. The valley she travels back and forth through is aptly named the "Goddess' Passage", and although that's where she's been known to reside for all of recorded history, she says that she used to roam other lands, and will move again one day.

Miisumn, the tiny village which is built on her back, is about 300 years old, having been constructed a few decades after the people living in the area started communicating with her more often. Indeed, one can only hear her voice when touching her directly, and it used to be considered taboo to bother the goddess. As it turns out, she's just as happy when people do come up to her! Since then, she has greatly enjoyed getting to try out people things, and apparently appreciates trying out many different foods.

Bonus : The various plants that grow on her. Many are local to the mountains, a couple are imported crops. The mushrooms are endemic; they feed on her magic energy. She doesn't care, she has enough to go around.

[worldofzeer]

So many things I love going on here. Massive animal. Surprisingly friendly consciousness. Love of food and curiosity.

[aphractal2]

comm from a while ago where a client requested me to turn their dog into a dragon

best request ever

[worldofzeer]

Hey there! Welcome to Zeer, or maybe more accurately, the pocket of spacetime in which Zeer is being born.

I’m Zack; a science adjacent nerd, fantasy world builder and writer, and someone who finds joy and wonder ruminating on how all the different parts of what we call “reality” are connected to one another.

The first spark of this world came into being when I was 14, slowly growing and materializing into its own living, breathing entity (well, at least in my head). Now it has become a sprawling hexaverse, 6 interconnected versions of the same universe, each with its own unique spin on existence, similar to how if you pass white light through a prism it becomes divided into separate bandwidths.

Zeer has always been my own personal playground for examining life, pulling apart, twisting around, and putting the pieces back together in novel ways. It was only within the last few years that I realized the common thread running through all of these thought experiments has always been Connection.

Nothing exists in a vacuum; everything is made up of smaller systems, is a system, and is part of greater systems. To gain a better understanding of the whole one must understand both the individual units and the nature of the connections between said units. Such seemingly disparate parts as the chemical make-up of the atmosphere, the evolutionary roots of a fantasy race, the kinds of minerals available in a local environment are all active parts of shaping the peoples that call a world home.

And now it’s time to begin sharing Zeer with you. What good is a world if you cannot explore it with others? As that has always been my favorite part of the fantasy genre: running away to far off lands, realms, times, and planets. Diving into exotic cultures, bewildering magical traditions, and lifeforms that stretch the bounds of the imagination.

Despite the 20+ years of creative energy already invested in this transmedia narrative universe, there is still so much to explore and discover. I mean that how it sounds. Laying down a science-adjacent foundation, with a bit of magic thrown in, allows me to watch creatures and races, civilizations and histories rise up out of the xenobiological soup of life. My process always feels more like an investigation and an uncovering than an act of creation. And it’s delightful!

In 2026 I have moved out of the “rambling worldbuilding addiction” stage and into a structured plan working towards publication. There are still many missing pieces to find for Project You Lick (you’ll have to stick around to find out more). It would be my pleasure to act as your guide on this adventure.

Think of this space as part field journal, part laboratory, part lore primer. You’ll find a collection of notes, thought processes, open questions, sketches, idea doodles, tangents, and philosophical musings. So take a seat at the campfire, warm your hands, have a cup of tea, and listen to the tale of how Zeer is being born.

The campfire is free and open to everyone. If you want to pull your chair a little closer, I have a Substack that brings you deeper into the workshop, and helps support me on this adventure. One way or another I am so excited to bring you along on this journey!

World of Zeer | Substack

This is a place to come along on the journey as I build Zeer, a speculative fantasy world for use in transmedia narrative. Click to read Wor

[worldofzeer]

I am so excited to be launching my World of Zeer YouTube channel!!!

If you’re into speculative fiction, xenobiology, fantasy, worldbuilding, science adjacent nerdy, and lore dives check it out!