"Oh, you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine.
The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire.
When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song."
- The Doctor
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Click on paragraphs to see color coding for sources
ASTROPHYSICAL LOCATION
During the Rassilon Era
Gallifrey's constellation is 29,000 light years from Sol III (the Earth). The Constellation of Kasterborous is located within a parsec or two of the center (or the edge) of the Mutter's Stellian
(or Stellarian) Spiral Galaxy (aka the Milky Way, or Galaxia Kyklos) on the edge of the Capricorn Tract. This is as close to the center of the galaxy as its possible to be without being
drawn into the black hole. In this area of space stars would be clustered so tightly that they would only be a few light-days apart. Gallifrey would have been located within the Pisces-Cetus Supercluster Complex.
This also happens to be 'to the left' of the center of Universe (so very near the Terminus Timestation). The Kasterborous Constellation is probably in the Sagittarius Constellation (center of the Galaxy) in the Earth skies.During
the Rassilon Era its binary coordinates are 10-0-11-0-0 by 02 from
galactic 0 center. The Nebula of Cyclops is near enough to Gallifrey to be faintly visible.
War Time: The Nine Homeworlds Project
Ninety-five years before the beginning of the Time War the High Council approves House Lineacrux's Nine Homeworld Project. The Lineacrux cousins quietly arranged for the crypto-forming of eight new Gallifrey “Clones” out of existing Gallifreyan Colonies.The Project involves placing 8 planets into Inner Time and anchoring them to the Web of Time. At least one of the planets
that were crypto-formed was inhabited by humans. Each of these cloneworlds was primed with the Laws of Time. The "clones" are to be used as bolt-holes, decoys, and alternative homeworlds because the original is less secure. This brings the total number of possible Gallifreys to nine.
Much of the following numbering is speculative, but this is a key to the various Gallifreys. For example, to differentiate
the events on Romana's Gallifrey III, and the Master's Gallifrey VIII this timeline will (from this point onwards) refer
to Romana's planet as "Gallifrey III" and the Master's planet as "the Homeworld." While there is no hard data, most Gallifreyans feel that the original Gallifrey fell during the first half of the Time
War.
Gallifrey I - The 'original' Gallifrey destroyed in the Battle of Mutter's Cluster at the beginning of Time War. (see The Infinity Doctors, The Apocalypse Element, the Gallifrey audios, and The Ancestor Cell)
Gallifrey II - The Gallifrey where Flavia had a long and successful reign (see The Eight Doctors)
Gallifrey III -The Gallifrey seen in the Big Finish 8th Doctor Adventures Audios (see Sisterhood of the Flame)
Gallifrey IV - The Gallifrey devastated by the High Council to keep Varnax from seizing control of it. (see Last of the Time Lords)
Gallifrey V - The Gallifrey destroyed by the Cybermen (see Real Time)
Gallifrey VI -
The One True Gallifrey which Rassilon later rules over (see The End of Time and Day of the Doctor)
Gallifrey VII - The Gallifrey where the Doctor prevents the Elysian Faction from changing history (see The Final Chapter)
Gallifrey VIII - The Gallifrey where the Master became War King (see The Book of the War and the Faction Paradox Audios)
Gallifrey IX - The Gallifrey where the Celestial Preservation Agency (CPA) hire the actor Daland to play the Doctor
in a museum (see Omega)
By presidential decree the cloneworld colonies are kept completely out of contact with each other and with the original
Gallifrey Officially this was done to ensure that Time Lord society survived the War. However the project was shrouded
in secrecy and it is rumored that the original Gallifrey might have been shifted to a new location leaving a cloneworld
as a decoy in its place. Such a move could have had a large (but unknown) effect on the History of the Spiral Politic.
Officially each cloneworld is occupied by caretaker-Houses but since communication and travel between them is forbidden
each one believes itself to be the original Gallifrey and each has it's own Lord or Lady President. Each of the Clone Worlds think the other Gallifreys are merely Dominions of their Gallifrey.
The original Gallifrey was probably located,
near the center of the galaxy, but by the year 2000 AD Gallifrey could be found 250,000,000 light-years away from the Earth in another galaxy. It
could be seen with the Griffith Observatory's telescope on the Earth in
the 1950s shortly before it was lost at the end of the Time War. One of the cloneworlds was put in the original's location, 29,000 light-years from Sol.Still other sources reported the Kasterborous constellation being located billions of light-years from the Earth, at the very edge of time and space.
About a decade after the Time War begins the Time Lord Braxiatel begins using the energy from KS-159 to prepare the planet Maximediras as a possible new Gallifrey. A
century into the war, even more Gallifreys have been created secretly
and placed in pocket universes as a last resort. This brings the
total created to 12. It would appear that all but one of these
Gallifreys was destroyed by the end of the Time War.
End of Time: Gallifrey Falls No More
After
escaping from a pocket dimension the surviving Time Lords hide the final
Gallifrey at the end of the Universe for its own protection. The Gallifrey is not a recent re-creation but one that fought in the Time War. Its possible that this homeworld is located at the same spatial co-ordinates as the original.
THE RASSILON ERA
According
to "Christmas on a Rational Planet" Eye of Harmony was anchored around
3,500,000,000 BC. Once this happens, time begins moving at a different
speed on Gallifrey then it does the rest of the Universe - around 5
times as fast to begin with. But the differential isn't constant, it is
slowing by about 1 second every hour. The Doctor was born around March
30th, 1213 AD and when Greyjan had served one year as President of Gallifrey (and the Doctor was 753), the Earth date was 1752 AD.
War Time: The Nine Homeworlds Project
Ninety-five years before the beginning of the Time War, House Lineacrux quietly arranged for the crypto-forming of eight new Gallifrey “Clones” out of existing Gallifreyan Colonies. The
Project involves placing 8 planets into Inner Time and anchoring them
to the Web of Time. Each of these cloneworlds was primed with the Laws
of Time. The "clones" are to be used as bolt-holes, decoys, and alternative homeworlds because the original is less secure. This brings the total number of possible Gallifreys to nine.
As part of the defense mechanisms these other Gallifreys appear not be connected with the Protocols of Linearity (aka
the 3rd Law of Time). Indeed it is possible that a new Law of Time was passed to prevent each Gallifrey's causal nexus
from interacting directly with the others. This would mean that any enemy who engaged one of the cloneworlds who then
be trapped by the Protocols of Linearity making it very difficult for them to mount an attack on any other Gallifrey
(or their agents). Any Time Lord who survived their Gallifrey's destruction would only be able to visit worlds which
either had no connection with the War or worlds where it was believed that Gallifrey had fallen. Effectively they would
be stranded in the Post Time War era. This is exactly what we see in the 8th Doctor after The Ancestor Cell. Though
the 8th Doctor was able to get back into the Pre-Time War era, both after the events of Taking of Planet 5 and again
after the events of The Ancestor Cell, so we know it is possible.
These Gallifreys
were also scattered through time. Given that these clone worlds are in different locations in space and time there is insufficient data to convert Time
Lords dates to Gallifreyan Relative Time in Earth's BC/AD calendar. Some the starting points (ie when they were created and the Doctor was 1056 years old) appear to be as follows...
The Gallifrey left at the original co-ordinates, was at 2059 AD at the time of the 9 Homeworlds Project.
One Gallifrey could be seen with the Griffith Observatory's Telescope on 21st century Earth. The image depicts
Gallifrey before the War started.
Rassilon's One True Gallifrey is placed around ~9,000,000 AD
Gallifrey VII was placed between 48,000 BC and 0 AD (Brax believes this Gallifrey is not the original)
One Gallifrey might might have been placed in 3172 AD
One Gallifrey might have been placed in 30,796 AD
One Gallifrey is located at the very edge of time and space.
End of Time: Gallifrey Falls No More
After
escaping from a pocket dimension, the surviving Time Lords hide the
final Gallifrey at the end of the history of the Universe for its own
protection. This location might have been chosen
to assist the Time Lord in reaching the next Universe without the
necessity of the Final Sanction.
HOME CONSTELLATION
Gallifrey is in the seventh system
at the heart of the Home Constellation (a Gallifreyan "constellation" refers to elements of time/relativity/location) - which is known to the lesser species as the Minyan constellation of Kasterborous
(also
known as the Kasterborous Sector). It is named for an astrologist who
was the largest contributor to the New Astrology and personally wrote Our Destiny is in the Stars near the end of the 3rd millennium of the Minyan calendar. Later myths will claim that the gods yolked this astrologist to a chariot of silver
fire. His beliefs have infiltrated the cultures of the Delphons, Phreni, and Sirians. There are a total of 17 stars in the constellation of Kasterborous.
The Kasterborous Ice Ring, and Kasterborous Borealis are in the same sector as Gallifrey's system. The world of Levithia is one of the closest inhabited worlds to Gallifrey with a Type-G environment. Lavithia was center of the Levithian Empire which was allied with the Cyrrhenic Empire. It is possible that Kastria (the homeworld of the silicon based time aware Kastrians) and
Kastor Major (the homeworld of a totalitarian government) are located in this sector. It is also possible that the Kastron scientists from Mawdryn Undead might have come from this sector. The other systems of the Kasterborous sector have no significant populations. One of the stars on the outer edge of the constellation is a red giant which contains the storm belt (filled with ruined
spaceships). Asomidium can be found in an asteroid belt in the Kasterborous Sector. This mineral was used to enhance Time Lord telepathy. It is forbidden to use black hole drives in the Seven Systems.
Gallifrey's Dominions include several planets that would be valuable if mined
(Could they contain Taranium?). Trakkiney is a hot dry dusty world that was one of the Time Lord’s first off-world colonies (after the collapse of the Gallifreyan Empire). Time Lord Way-Stations are located at various points in space and generally have several Time Lords assigned to them. The center of most of the galaxy’s trade routes pass relatively near Gallifrey. This is where most of the more
powerful civilizations in the cosmos can be found. Time Lord traffic control monitor any vessels that pass near Gallifrey's space-time location. Space vessel must request permission to pass through Gallifrey's space-time. The Sisterhood of Karn draws a significant number of space vessels
(probably to steal the Elixir), causing them to crash on Karn. Traffic Control's temporal scans will detect an unscheduled Timeship about 2 minutes before it materializes and identify whether it is Gallifreyan from its molecular patina.
THE KASTERBOROUS SYSTEM
Gallifrey's primary star has no given name by its people, but it is sometimes know
by the Minyans as the Kasterborous System, and they designated its primary star as Gamma Kasterborous A.
Like the Earth's sun, it is a main sequence Class GV (yellow dwarf) star
though other sources claimed it was a large golden red star. This discrepancy might have been caused when the solar engineers re-engineered the star to remain main sequence.From the surface, Gallifrey’s sun appears apricot colored when filtered through the transduction barrier.
In order to protect Gallifrey from Vampires, the solar engineer, Omega, constructed a new
Second Sun, whichhe added to Gallifrey's system. This Second Sunis named Pogar and its Minyan designation is Gamma Kasterborous B.
Pogar is a main sequence class M star. However, because of its artificial origin,
Gallifrey is often described as having only one sun. On Gallifrey the second sun
of Pogar can be seen to rise in the south. In
order for Gallifrey’s 2nd Sun to rise in the south Gallifrey can’t be
orbiting it (or perhaps Gallifrey’s magnetic poles are at right angles
to its rotational axis). These twin suns that Gallifrey orbits
give the planet very short nights.
The Gallifrey system has six planets (though some recordsdon't count Kasterborous and state it has only 5 planets): Those planets are, the Fibster, Gallifrey, Karn, Tersurus, the distant Polarfrey (frozen gas giant), and Kasterborous (an asteroid). Only the second and third planets of the system are considered to be important.
Tersurus
Old Time: Tersurrans
Tersurrans
have huge, jutting, foreheads and scrunched up tiny faces. They are
covered in white hair and have short, but powerful, arms. Tersurrans
can sense the health of the people they touch. They prefer hot weather
and cold weather tends to make them ill. They were considered to be one
of the nicest species in the cosmos. During the Gallifreyan Empire they
were used as slaves of the Shobogans.
The planet Tersurus is
known as one of the Outer Planets by the Gallifreyans. It has at least
one moon. The planet has singing stones and numerous clone banks. Due
to an attack by the Fendahl Predator, the people of Tersurus have lost
all but the most tenuous forms of communications. From
that point forward they could communicate only by carefully controlled
breaking of wind. The species was wiped out after they discovered fire.
Now the Time Lords have surrounded the planet Tersurus with
temporal defenses. On that world is a time-shielded vault filled with
the technology of the Dimensioneers. Raston Robots are built on the
moon of Tersurus Luna by the Raston Hardware Company. They are marketed
as being ancient technology by the inhabitants. But the design isn't
really that old and the company is still in operation in the 21st
century AD. Tersurus was destroyed by the Sontarans with a
cyber-earthshock bomb in 6211 AD/GRT.
Karn
Old Time: The Masters of Karn
In ancient times the world might have been known as Winter. When the galactic empire is at its height, the metal walled Citadel of Karn is the scientific and technological
center of the Gallifreyan Empire.
The
Citadel was powered by Karn’s sun and was administered by a massive
computer. This computer was charged with repairing and protecting
the secrets of the
Empire. The brilliant engineers, artificers, and scientists who work there held titles of King and Queens, and were known as the Masters of Karn. The Masters were ruled by the Grand Master of Karn.If it was the will of the majority, the Grand Master of Karn could be dethroned. They construct many fantastic weapons and other machines. While the
Masters of Karn were arrogant and over-confident, they weren't actually
evil. The people of this world will live in peace and prosperity for thousands of years.
During the Time of Stones, the Master of Karn known as Drextor had Slendor, design and build a massive
'Ultimate
Weapon.' This weapon could change the nature of cosmic rays throughout the Universe so that they would drain energy from animal tissue and use it to make the air itself burn.
The
Weapon could be configured so that specified species are immune. Selendor also mined a powerful ore from beneath the surface of Gallifrey
(probably Taranium) to create the
Crystal of All-Power.The Crystal of All-Power was required to as a catalyst to boost the power of the Ultimate Weapon. When
Drextor was crowned King he announced the completion of the Weapon. But
it was not long after this that Drextor's own wife poisoned him to
prevent the weapon's use.
The civil war on Karn leads to the use of
Slendor's Ultimate Weapon as the Empire collapsed. The world is devastated and most of the Masters of Karn are killed. Some of the
Gallifreyan colonists survive but give up on science and live simple lives far from the remains of the cities. After the fall of civilization on Karn the Giant Land Crab evolved.
The remaining Grand Master of Karn decided that the Crystal of All-Power was be split up into
the Seven crystal
Keys to Doomsday. Once for each of the crimes of the people of
Gallifrey: Price, Injustice, Power, Exile, Knowledge, Wisdom, and
Nevermore. Each key hidden in one of the Karn's 7 provinces. According
to a fairy-tale, Swowana later persuaded Slendor to give her the 7th
Key of Nevermore. She used the Key to make an impenetrable forcefield
box. She trapped herself and the key inside the box to save
Gallifrey.
Karn
is probably the second planet in the system, and is only a few billion
miles (could be SI or European "billion") from Gallifrey. Karn has one moon. The planet is divided up into 7 provinces, one of which is called Seazalon.The
Citadel of Karn now lies in ruins and is contaminated with atomic
radiation. Those who remain in the cities have been mutated by the
radiation, becoming Clawrantulars. In the modern era, Karn appears to have population of no more then a few million, who have mostly abandoned science. Much of Karn is cliffs, and hexagonal basalt-like rock stack formations. If Gallifrey had similarly rock formations it could explain the importance of hexagons in their mythology. Bogs are common. The Gospel Shores and the Devil's Pass aren't far from the fire fountains. Most
parts of the planet experience almost continual electrical storms and
rain fall, and it’s common for many Gallifreyans to regard it as the
rainiest place they've ever been.
During the Time of Stones, the followers of the Pythia Heresy went to
Karn and found the Sisterhood of the Flame.Given
that the sisterhood has only been around for centuries a long time past
the 20th century, it is possible that the Sisterhood used a time scaphe
or labyrinth to travel into the future. If so, the probably went to
a point after Gallifrey had been devastated by the Time War. Once on Karn, they discovered
the Elixir of Life that is produced by the Great Flame of Life. The Elixir is produced by
rare volcanic numismaton gases and the
even rarer chemicals in the rocks of Karn's fire fountains. It can heal almost any damage, keep a person alive forever
and
allows a Gallifreyan precise control over their regenerations.
Gallifreyans who drink it are rendered fertile again.After consuming the Elixir for long periods, it becomes impossible to die from a lack of food or water. It tastes like a cross between apricots and custard. They set up the Sisterhood of the Flame of Life, a cult that
worships the Great Flame. Their mental powers are dependent on their proximity to the Flame. Reverend Great Mother Maren is already quite old when the Elixir is discovered. Given the emphasis on motherhood and fertility it is possible that the Sisterhood is immune to the Curse and capable
of breeding. If this is so then Patience might have been a member of the Sisterhood. The rituals
of the Pythia survive in the form the Sisterhood of the Flame though they the use the title Great Mother instead of Pythia. The Great Mother controls Sisterhood. Under the Great Mother of the Sisterhood was High Priest Cassandra of the House of Jadedreamers. Lady Peinforte was also a member of the Sisterhood. A
sister in the order must pass several Ascensions as they gain
experience. A sister who has passed their first ascension can be
trained to be an Apothecary. They carry herbs and creams that can heal
wounds, such as the Elixir derived Sisterhood Salve (also marketed as
Dr Solon's Special Morbius Lotion). By the end of Brain of
Morbius there will only be 70 members of the Sisterhood of Karn. Elder sisters can create Dream-Guards that
are hung on the wall of sleeping quarters. The sisters have talismans
that are supposed to protect them from misfortune. These are not to be
shared with outsiders, but some of the sisterhood do sell beads and
signs that they claim will protect those who carry them from misfortune. The Visionaries are seers from the Sisterhood of Karn.
The Sisterhood will eventually surpass some areas of Time Lord science,
most notably in the fields of biogenetics. Using the Elixir they can prepare potions that will tailor a
Gallifreyan’s regeneration to enhance whatever trait is desired (including gender changes). Before the end of the Time of the Stones Rassilon signs
the Pact (or Treaty) of Rassilon with the Reverend Mother of the Sisterhood of Karn. The Treaty states that the Time Lords will provide protection to the Sisterhood for as long as they share the
Elixir of Life with Time Lords need it during certain rare cases
of regenerative trauma. The Sisterhood has a secret portal that connects back to the Capitol on Gallifrey. The Sisterhood of the Sacred Flame is said to be tied to the Time Lords until the End of Time.
After his Renegade Presidency, Morbius and his army try to capture the world in the Battle of Karn, but they are defeated by the
Alliance of the Sisterhood of the Flame and the Time Lords. The Battle
of Karn devastates the civilization
and planet of Karn and most of the people living there move away. Morbius becomes the first Time Lord to be executed by his own people. But
Solon saved Morbius' brain from disintegration. The Sisterhood of
the Flame begin crashing any ships that attempt to land on Karn. Its possible that the planet had a much more plentiful ecosystem before the final battle of Morbius’ war. The planet Sarn might later become known as Karn in the future.
THE WORLD OF GALLIFREY
Gallifrey is the third planet from the primary star. The
name Gallifrey translates as 'they that walk in the shadows' and refers
to the Old Times, when its people existed in the shadows between the
warm darkness of magick and the cold light of science. Gallifrey is known as the Shining World (or Jewel) of the Seven Systems. Depending on the season Gallifrey appears from space, to be a brown and green snow capped planet. Gallifrey's diameter is about 3 times that of Sol III (Earth). Despite this, the gravity, orbital radius, pressure, temperature, and oxygen levels are the same as Earth.
Out of Time: Alzarius
Gallifrey has the exact same space-time coordinates as its 'mirror world' of Alzarius in the universe of Exo-Space. Gallifrey also appears to have the exact same diameter, day length, year length, and orbit as that world.
Alzarius is a lush world of forests, jungles, and marshs. Inside
caves across the world are pools of glowing blue water. The water in
the pools is filled with energized mineral from the world’s crust. This mineral is likely Zeiton ore, as it can cause sub-conscious driven mutations in subject in under a day. The
mineral gives the pools life enhancing properties. Within the water
points of bright light swirling, connecting, and detaching in a
hypnotic fashion. This water soaks through the soil and is absorbed by the vegetation, which is consumed by the animals.
The blue mineral water seems to vastly
accelerate ‘adaptation’ of all the life forms. So their DNA and
cellular biology is much more similar then you would expect. These genes allow all the organisms to make use of the minerals, and creates a fully integrated ecosystem. It
gives the species of this world the ability to adapt to new situations
and environments in a matter of hours, as well as very rapid
healing. The native species find the pools to be soothing, and feel safe. The caverns are known as the Heart of the World by the Marshmen.
Every 50 years, another near by planet, draws Alzarius away from it sun causing an event known as Mistfall. At this point ground-quakes would cause the
planet's marshes would begin to emit a non-toxic mist like gas. The
temperature would drop by several degrees, and the minerals in the pools are energized (probably because the geological shifts release more of it into the water table). The entire ecosystem of
the world shifts. Aquatic sapient creatures known as Marshmen
would emerge from the swamps and begin breathing oxygen.
Its
quite possible that, before the environmental damage caused by the
Anchoring, Gallifrey was very similar to Alzarius. If so, it almost
certainly experiences a Mistfall like event ever 50 years.
In the modern era, Gallifrey has two large moons (each probably about 6000 km in diameter). One of these moons (likely Pazithi) might even have a habitable atmosphere.One of the moons is called Pazithi Gallifreya which orbits Gallifrey every
27 days. The Moon is named after Pazithi the mystic virgin moon goddess. Depending on conditions, the moon appears to be copper colored and shines even in the sunlight. This moon has a large supply of Taranium and the moon was covered in mining colonies during the Dark Time. Flocks of Pazithi Bats (Pazithi Bats known for their poor eyesight) can be found there. The
other moon appears to beivory or heliotrope colored. Because of their size, the moons exerts a much stronger tidal force on the planet.
Gallifrey’s
lost moon of Botoya was the subject of a parable in the Book of
Rassilon. It says that Botoya the Sublime holds a Time Lord machine
whose technology surpasses that of the modern Time Lords. Botoya was
‘plucked from the night’s sky and sent who knows where.’ Time-tots sing
songs about the moon of Botoya. In the modern era most feel that the
story of Botoya is thought to be a symbolic metaphor designed to teach
Gallifreyan’s a lesson.
Old Time: The Lost Moon of Botoya
During
the Old Times, Gallifrey’s moon, Botoya the Sublime, was converted into
the Cosmic Restorator. It was designed to undo the errors of the past.
Its implied that the Restorator can only affect things in its own
relative past. The whole moon is an essential part of the device
(almost certainly because of the massive amounts of obsidian other minerals).
When
first powered up the Restorator creates a maelstrom of dark energy
above a large obsidian deposit. The moon requires four Time Lords
working together to control and focus the dark energies. These energies
can unravel space-time itself. Once these energies are generated they
must be focused on some target or the temporal reflux will build and
build until it compromises the entire space time vortex. The Restorator
has safety brakers, and generators and continuum flux disruptors.
Botoya has a chamber carved into the obsidian which has Old High
Gallifreyan inscribed on its walls.
For
full and safe control of all systems, crystalline chrono-core needed to
be plugged into a control plinth. This core could be split into 3 part.
When assembled it allows its space-time chart to function as a portal
through time and space to access the Restorator at a point in time
before it was self-destructed. The crystal is booby-trapped with a
three-part disintegration field generator.
The
moon was lost during the Old Time. This occurred before the Book of
Rassilon was written. The Doctor speculates that the ancient Time Lords
might have hid the moon because it was too powerful. The moon ended up
in the territory of the Death Lords of Ketha on the dark side of a dead
planet, and was, eventually, destroyed by the Doctor.
Like most places that are shifted out of time, one can still see constellations of stars in the night skies of Gallifrey, including the constellation of Lion's Paw.Karn, Tersurus, Polarfrey and some wisps of nebula can be seen in Gallifrey's night sky.There
are also several artificial satellites that can be seen from the
surface, even during the day. These include a Remote Matrix Station
with giant beam weapons. In this area of space stars would be clustered so tightly that they would only be a few light-days apart. Due to being shifted out of time, an observer can see a billions of years of star movement in just a few minutes.
By the time of Death Comes to Time the constellations around Gallifrey appear similar to the constellations around Sol
III.
Because it located in Inner Time, Gallifrey (or maybe just the Death Zone) shows up as no time and no place
on TARDIS instruments. Despite the fact that Gallifrey has been primed to resist the effects of entropy,
the planet is very old and appears quite ancient. From orbit Gallifrey is the color of rust, with brown lakes and dust-gray clouds.
There are
three small oceans
(which were once quite large) and several seas
but less then half its surface is water.
Many of the lakes are gold colored (reflecting light from the burnt orange sky?) Originally the sky was cerulean blue in the daytime. But, due to the transduction barrier, the skyis burnt orange at night and pearlescent orange in the day. The burnt orange sky of Gallifrey famous among the time aware worlds. In addition the sky is often filled with filled with purple, green, and yellow lights. Violet clouds and hovering flocks of air diamonds can be found at the upper most levels of the atmosphere.
Under certain circumstances the sky will also appear blue.
Though most Gallifreyans never venture outside
the Gallifreyans do make extensive use of weather control. Day 1 of the Gallifreyan New Year probably corresponds to their winter solstice. Because of the motions of its two suns, Gallifrey technically has more then 24 seasons, but the effect of the suns tend to cancel each other out, so that
most areas of the planet resemble the conditions and dryness of Earth's
Serengeti throughout the year. For this reason many claim Gallifrey has
no seasons at all. One of these 24 seasons is called Haytime. The Autumn breezes would blow through the silver leafed trees, creating a musical effect. At one point the
planet might have been very much like Alzarius from E-Space and possibly had a Mistfall every 50 years caused by another
planet (almost certainly Karn) pulling Gallifrey farther from its sun. Despite the use of weather control technology, the
planet is currently in the midst of an ice age, and the rivers around the Capitol freeze every winter. In the summer,
Gallifrey's sun is still intense enough to cause sunburn on a human.
Even with the the ice age, Gallifrey's ice caps are quite tiny (probably due to the overall lack of water). There is
little water and no argon in the atmosphere. Despite this, one side of the planet is known as 'the foggy side.' Cloud color ranges from dust-gray to violet.
Most of Gallifrey is covered in burnt red
rocky deserts (with orange and red sand) and
near endless mountain ranges. Brown, purple and gold are other common rock colors. The water of Gallifrey's streams often tastes slightly sweet, but many of the river beds are dry. There are some green forests, and golden fields strewn with rubble - but they make up a minority of the terrain.
Gallifrey's surface is divided up into sectors including Prydonia, Capari, Anarcos,Barnakadon (with its Valley of the Shadow), and the Province of Arbesk. The Prydonia Sector and its city of Prydos is located less then 400 miles to the south of the Capitol. Lake Abydos might be near House Heartshaven (or Dvora). The Arkanian Desert is another other area of the planet as is Mount Serenity. Before the Time War there are only between 3 and 9 million Gallifreyans, most of which live in city-complexes other than the Capitol. This leaves many ancient settlements and roads completely
abandoned.The undeveloped areas of Gallifrey are known as the Wild-Lands.
The majority of continent of Wild Endeavor appears to be in the northern region, extending up to the arctic. But the continent also extends well into the southern hemisphere. There are some jungles on the continent of Wild Endeavor. The Capitol city is found in the northern hemisphere of the of Wild Endeavor near the center of the continent. Its located in the wastelands between the mountains of Solace and Solitude. Mount Solace likely lay to the west, while Mount Solitude probably lay on its own to the east.
The valley between those mountains was known as the marshlands in the Old Time and had explosive swamp gas. But the ice age has given it the moniker of the Drylands by the outlanders who live there. The Untempered Schism is found just outside the south-west edge of the Capitol. Another schism, the Crevasse of Memories That Will Be, is located outside the Capitol. During the Dark Times the Capitol often suffers from a bitter wind from the Northern Lakes located at least 200 miles north of the Capitol (if not more).
The Capitol isn't too far from the red grass covered hillsides of Mount Perdition. The Master's Chapterhouse of Oakdown can be found on its slopes. Perdition
is probably less then a two day's walk from Mount Solace (so less then
20 miles) and is part of the same mountain range. This range stretches
over a thousand miles to the south-west from the Capitol and probably
encompasses Mount Cadon. The areas around Mount Perdition were once
filled with fruit and wild game. The Sea of
Life lies near the base of Mount Perdition. Its shore is made up of
orange sand. The water of the Sea of Life is silver (or maybe
just often appears silver). There are caves in the mountain, and legend says that it was here that Death first came to Gallifrey. Legend
also says that a being known as the Stranger reshaped a tributary of
time that flowed down the mountain into the River of Time and the Sea
of Life.
A massive canyon can be found about 800 miles to the north-east of the Capitol. The
Fettarian pass offers a way through the mountain range and allows
access to the west coast of Wild Endeavor. A train route leads from the
Capitol through this pass. The Soonwell Valley is located in the pasture belt valleys about 500 leagues (~2000 miles) from the Capitol. The Camation Desert is located thousands of miles from the Capitol.The Prydonian Academy is located in Prydos City at
the northern boarder of Southern Gallifrey. It sits at the base of the
northern slopes of Mount Cadon (also known Mount Lung, Mount Plutarch,
and Mount Rycadia) about 600 miles due south from the Capitol. Prydos is an old city built on an artificial mound in great plane.
Most of the mountain ranges on Gallifrey are quite tall. The planet's highest mountain is Mount Cadon, which reaches to the fringes of Gallifrey's atmosphere (beyond even the transduction barriers). The mountain is found in the southern half of the continent of Wild Endeavor, but within sight of the Capitol (so both are near the equator). It is near the Lune Forest and the inland sea. The
mountain has had many names over the eons, some of which are still
used. The cousins of the House of Lungbarrow generally referred to it
by (its pre-Rassilon) name of Mount Lung. The Legends of the Unhappened
Days designated it as Mount Plutarch. Others called it Mount Rycadia. It was said that the name one used changed one's experiences when climbing the mountain. This gray-green mountain holds the founding exo house of Lungbarrow about half-way up. In the months leading up to haytime stiff tall (red?) grass dominates these slopes. Other times of the year they are covered in lizard-eating little blue flowers or grey snow. Presumably Cadonwood Trees can be found on Mount Cadon. The
snow is known to be hallucinogenic, giving Gallifreyans visions of
their past or future, with the effect becoming stronger the closer one
got to the peak (which is always snow capped). The mountain air
carried the scent of tristort and weanskrike. Cobblemice, beatitude
flies, owls, and tafelshrews can all be found living on the slopes of
Mount Lung. The Sisterhood told tales of dangerous and powerful Boojums (eight-foot gray hair covered humanoids with a bare Shobogan-like face) living on Mount Lung. But many Neo-Rationalist don’t believe them. The base of the mountain slopes gently into an aired plane that covers the 400 miles to the south of the Capitol. The 28 square kilometer Prydonian Academy of Time is found at the northern base. Its students are forbidden from climbing the mountain. The River Lethe was located within walking distance of Mount Cadon as is the river Cadonflood. Both are probably located to the west of the Prydonian Academy. As its name implies, Cadonflood is know to flood from time to time. Gallifrey's Second City of Arcadia lies to the south-east of the Capitol in the Arcadian Sector. The Lowlands of Outer Gallifrey are separated from the Arcadian Desert by the Myridian Mountains and it would take well over two months to walk from the Capitol to Arcadia (so at least 900 miles).
Southern Gallifrey is considered quite wild and beautiful, appears to be regarded as something of a vacation area. If
Gallifrey's habitable continents are mostly located in the northern
hemisphere then the 'Southern Gallifrey' could refer to territories are
around the warmer equator. Southern Gallifrey filled with arid planes which often experiences warm nights where the stars shine brilliantly. There are occasionally blizzards. The Death Zone (or Forbidden Zone) is a pentagon shaped valleyabout the size of North Wales found in the southern hemisphere, about 400 miles south of the Capitol. This zone served as an arena for the Games during the Dark Times. It is surrounded by a powerful forcefield that can trap even a TARDIS.
The
mountains of Southern Gallifrey are located thousands of miles from the
Capitol, and are know to be inhabited with stray cats and hermits.
There is a large desert near these mountains (possibly the Camation Desert?). The Gin-Seng Sector covers some of the southern mountain near House Ixion (the southernmost chapterhouse). The feral so-called Killer Cats lived in the Gin-Seng Sector. These precognitive cat people despised the traditions of the Time Lords, and had their own mercenaries and oracles.
Gold has no special value on Gallifrey (indicating it is quite common?) The planet also has a significant amount of Gallifreyan Zinc which is one of the strongest metals in the universe. Madranite is fairly common as well. The area of Gallifrey known as Mansippia once had massive amounts of Zeiton ore. This Zeiton ore probably significantly accelerated evolution on the world by re-shaping the inhabitants morphic fields. The Arcadian Sector of Gallifrey is the only place in the cosmos where one can find white-point star diamonds. These Arcadian Diamonds the most expensive substance in the Galaxy. White
Star diamonds are one of the strongest stones in the cosmos and can
even survive inside the vortex or entering a time lock. They have a
complex cellular structure that allows them to be programmed like a
circuit board to resonate with a specific person's biodata. Once
inside the Vortex a properly programed diamond will be drawn towards
its target. Since they can be tracked through time and space, they can
be used as a beacon to pull things out of even the strongest of time
locks.
FLORA OF GALLIFREY
In the modern era very little of Gallifrey's original biosphere survives. The leaves of the plant life come in the following colors: red green, blue, bronze, silver, and some are transparent.
* There are Cadonwood Trees (with silver leaves),
and Ulanda Trees (silver leaved with tasty fruit, this might be the Gallifreyan tree that grow sweet yellow fruits), Maldor Trees,
Cerub Trees (with hallucinogenic truffle-flavored nuts),
Magentas (fruit tree),and Oaks.
* Flowering plants include Sarlain (a yellow flower that resembles a Terran Daisy,
Daffodil or Rose), Moonlight Blooms (silver petals, symbolizes peace and meditation), Flowers of Remembrance of the Lost Dead (Memento Mori - 6 pale yellow petals), Schlenk Blossoms (golden-green with a strong scent), Gallifreyan Heather (which is harvested for its scent), Arkytior (a pearl-gray Gallifreyan rose), iridescent velvet-red Madevinia
Aridosa (small desert plants that have an incredibly rapid life cycle
and do mass bloomings after rain storms. Often used in science
experiments), and red-petaled orchids. Some flowers look like candle flames glowing in the dark, and some might be as tall as trees. Others flowering plants found on Mt. Cadon are small and blue with long stamens that eat lizards.
* There are Trumpberries, Lushberries (probably edible),
Molten Rushes (with zinc hawthorns), and Grass (both in deep red and probably purple). Biotrophic fungi include Feathergills, pogsquats, skullcaps, and Cardinal's collars.
*Other plants include ferns Hefzi Moss, Tristort (strong smelling plant found on the mountains of Southern Gallifrey), Weanskrike (another strong smelling plant found on the mountains of Southern Gallifrey), Onions, Grockel Root (a type of plant
that is eaten and used to make alcohol), Swamp-Mint (used to season food), and Nitvil (a slimy plant with healing properties)
FAUNA OF GALLIFREY
Though they claim that the planet's ecosystems haven't been damaged by the Gallifreyan people, over the millions of years since the installation of the Eye of Harmony, very little of Gallifrey’s original biosphere
survives and some of the surviving species, like the fledershrews, are in danger of dying out. While the outer ecology has been devastated, the
Time Lords have used the Time Scoop to collect all the extinct species
from its past and place them in zoos. For this reason, no animal ever
became completely extinct. Some of
the more fearsome ones were placed in the Death Zone. There are also
Xeno-Zoos that hold alien creatures from other worlds.
* Invertebrates: Beatitude Flies (beginning as maggots, they pupate into golden winged nocturnal insects that use nectar to create helium in their bellies, they are attracted to light and decay), Butterflies, Bees, Gullet Grubs, Blossom Thieves, Scrubblers, Neversuch Beetles,
Sandbeetles, Waspbeatles, Dustworms, Scissors Bugs, Flutterwings (3 meters by 25 meters, they never land, 5 races of flutterwing: wild endeavor, mandrigal, silver-band, blue crystal,
perdition), Snails, Water-Sligs, and web spinning insects,
including spiders about an inch long. There are really nasty creatures that live beneath big stones.
* Marine life: Singing Yaddlefish (will sing
and can be eaten), Kittensharks (are hatched from eggs and presumably grow up to be Catsharks), and Axolotl Salamanders.
* Elapids:Taipan (a 10 meters long venomous snake), Venal Snakes, Bat-Snakes, and 20 meter long reptiles that resemble a brontosaurus with thick chitinous scales and serrated teeth. This might be the heavily armored and very destructive Dinosauria.
* Avians:Owls (the symbol of Rassilon), Flurry Birds, Trunkikes
(game bird whose eggs are often eaten), Air Diamonds (which fly in the upper atmosphere), and various song birds.
There are dinosaur-like
Gargantosaurs and a massive creature (twice the size of a hab-bloc) with 2 legs, 2 vestigial wings (with purple
and white feathers) and 4 eyes.
* Mammals:Gallifreyan children play with stuffed animals that look like teddy-bears with long ears. Plungbolls (thumbnail
sized furry creatures, live in mountains, attach en masse to warm objects), Taffelshrews (edible rodent-like mammals), Fledershrews (bat-like, mushroom eaters, that are nearly extinct), Cobblemice (which sprout wings), Rovie Mice (live in fields, long lived if kept safe, sometimes used as pets, short memories), Moss-Rats,
Vex (burrowing animal), Gallifreyan Womprats (1 meter long rats with
fifteen legs), Pig-Rats (which live in the Drylands), Rabbits, Flubbles (small six-legged koalas), an animal similar to a rabbit, but rounder, tiny Ounce-Apes, Sealak (often eaten), Bear-Ass (a donkey like animal with bear-like qualities), Horse-Cats, Sagittary (a horse like creature), Elephants, Pig-Bears (which can be trained to be household pets, and can probably suffer from swine fever),
wolf-like creatures (with very long snouts and black-and-white striped
fur that are almost as big as adult humanoid), Broakir (live in
foothills and are often hunted for food), Baanjxx (arboreal browser,
eats cerub nuts), cows, and probably walrus. The Gallifreyan Marlot is purple and unique in all of time and space. The Doctor and Ruath
re-introduced house cats into the eco-system (probably at a point before The Infinity Doctors).Cats are revered on Gallifrey
as the symbol of intelligence, and,
in ancient times, it used to be traditional for every President to have one.
THE KILLER C.A.T.S OF GIN-SENG (Calculating Animals with a Tails)
During the time of the Gallifreyan Empire, a solar engineer (possibly Omega himself) discovers that the square root of negative three is impossible to calculate. Gallifreyan biological engineers (possibly using the Loom of Rassilon's Mouse?) create a new sapient creature that has that knowledge breed into it. It is known as a Calculating Animal with a Tail (CAT).
The
ancestors of the Killer Cats were the Felinetta cat-people. They are
born in litters, and the females were much smarter then that males. The
Cat-People had very good night vision and sense of smell, but they hate
water. Some are shapeshifters. The space-time jumping telepathic Kitlings were another race bred from the Felinetta by the Cheetah-people of the Cheetah Planet.
A
CAT's instinctive precognitive powers allow it to sense what is
possible and what is impossible. The CATs could thus prevent inventors
and theorists from wasting their time for foolish projects. They also had surprisingly stable biodata. At the time, the creation of the CAT people was the Gallifreyan Empire's greatest achievement. In ancient times, it was to be traditional for every Lord President to have a CAT as an advisor. Cats became revered on Gallifrey as the symbol of intelligence.
But, shortly after the Intuitive Revolution, the Warpsmiths of Phaidon, sent the Death (or Killer) Cats to wipe out the Time Lords. It was only thanks to Rassilon's creation of the Special Executive that the people of Gallifrey were spared.
In modern times, the feral, precognitive, so-called, 'Killer Cats' live in the Gin-Seng Sector of Southern Gallifrey. This Sector covers some of the southern mountains near the House of Ixion (the southernmost chapterhouse). The Killer Cats have a highly refined culture which includes mercenaries and oracles. Their entertainment includes lethal gladiatorial contests. These
cat-people despise the traditions of the Time Lords. Most departed
Gallifrey during the Morbius presidency because they had forseen the
coming Time War.
End Time: The Death Particle
After
the Time Lords had removed Gallifrey from the pocket dimension, the
Master hacked the Matrix. He stumbles on the secret of the
Timeless Child and, enraged, he burned the Citadel and killed all the Gallifreyans. Not
long after that the Master began turning the corpses into CyberMasters.
The human Ko Sharmus triggers the Death Particle to destroy this new
cyber-race. It kills every organic cellular life-form on the planet
Gallifrey.