Further Adventures In No Man's Sky

FURTHER ADVENTURES IN NO MAN'S SKY

My journey took me to the outer edges of the system, above a world permanently encased in ice. The sunlight reflected off of its many snow-capped mountains, occasionally dazzling me with the harsh glare that easily penetrated the thin atmosphere.

I descended toward the surface, those mountain peaks rising up to meet me. Far below, in the many valleys that cut through the mountainous terrain, I could make out woodland areas. Incredible how life could survive so far from the local star. Landing here would be tricky.

By the time I had spotted a place where I could safely touchdown, the sun had risen and banished the frigid night. My landing place was a small clearing in between a woodland area. Disembarking from my spacecraft, I surveyed my surroundings. The air was absolutely pristine, affording me an uninterrupted view all the way to the horizon where a neighbouring planet was rising up over the distant mountain peaks. There was no wind, and the leaves on the trees stood still, the frosty foliage twinkling like a forest of countless diamonds.

I set off on my trek across this frozen land, taking care not to slip on the treacherously icy rocks. As I gingerly made my way down into the valley, I caught sight of one of this world's species. It was a surefooted creature, nimbly bounding from rock to rock on four paws which seemed to find none of the icy stones at all slippery. Appearance-wise, it looked like a dog mixed with some dragon-like qualities. It halted in its tracks at some bushes, intent on something it sensed was hidden among them. Spines on its back stood erect and twitching, conveying a sense of anticipation. Then, it tensed its muscles and sprang into the bush. I heard a painful squeal and then the dragondog emerged from the bushes with some small creature inescapably held between its powerful jaws.

Onward I journeyed. The mountains loomed over me, majestic in their grandeur. And rising over their peaks was that neighbouring planet, the sunlight glinting off of its atmosphere. What life was inhabiting that world and witness to that sunrise?

The sound of some large creature not far from my vicinity turned my attention to the life that dwelled on this planet. Lumbering around on the rock face above me was a giant, fat creature, similar to the dragondog only in that it too had spines on its back. There was a thick bony crest on its head, suggesting that this animal engaged in competition for the right to mate. It emitted a low, almost melancholy vocalisation that was answered soon after by some fellow creature out there somewhere among the mountainous terrain. I wondered if it was this animal's mate.

The sun was beginning to set by the time I had made my way to the base of the mountains. Down there, I made a most startling discovery. There was a woodland area that was free of snow and ice. I felt like I had found an oasis of summer among the permanent winter of this frigid world. I was most curious as to how this one little patch of woodland could have escaped the ice which had conquered every other inch of ground, so I inserted a sensor into the ground. It registered considerable heat, and I conjectured that some kind of localised geothermal activity warmed the ground.

This seemed like the best place to set up camp for the night. The tall trees provided the perfect place to set up a shelter, suspended high above whatever predators might prowl the ground at night. My environmental protection suit kept me tolerably warm as the last rays of sunlight gave way to the inky black of night, and countless stars sparkled like diamonds, promising further adventures to come.

My journey continued...

Thanks to Hello Games for the images