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We've taken a look at the classes, the creatures, and the technology that appears in NCSoft's Tabula Rasa, so it's high time that we take a look at the environment where all of them will be moving around in. The war against the Bane will take place across quite a few planets, so it's good to be familiar with their various terrains and points of interest to have a leg up on the game.
We'll first point our viewholes at the planet Arieki, a harsh planet with rugged features, volcanic activity, and violent electrical storms. Unless you're someone who feels totally at home in an environment like that, then Arieki is definitely no paradise. Steam-venting geyser chimneys and fissures litter the landscape, making nearly every step you take a gamble. The ground's not the only place you should watch either because the sky can be just as dangerous. Lightning strikes, flame tornadoes, and acidic ion rain can fall down on you at any moment, so alertness and preparation is always key to survival in Arieki.
  
Arieki may not be such a treat for those with sensitive skin, but with its high geothermal and volcanic activity it can produce a whole lot of power. That's why the Bane developed underground facilities that leech power from deep inside Arieki itself to keep their war machines running. One of these is Purgas Station, one place where you'll definitely have to make a run at if you want to slow down the Bane onslaught, because remember: a weapon without power may just as well be non-existent.
  
Other points of interest in Arieki include the Burning Mires, Atta Hive Colonies, and the Abyssal Zone. The Burning Mires is an expanse of burning lakes that is the central feature of Arieki's Torden Mines while Atta Hive Colonies are - as the name suggests - colonies built by creatures known as the Atta. The Abyssal Zone, on the other hand, is just as forbidding as its name suggests. It is a dark chasm from which steam and other volcanic gases are vented upwards, forming a wall of vapor like a continuously flowing curtain.
  
Even though Arieki is a planet with one heck of a harsh environment, it is somewhat surprising to note that it still has quite a few species of flora. One of the most interesting of these is the rain tree. Rain trees have developed a unique survival mechanism in the harsh landscape that they thrive in. Since there's almost zero rainfall on Arieki other than the acidic ion rain, rain trees evolved in such a way that allows them to suck up water from the ground, conduct it upwards and then showering the hard ground with it, essentially watering themselves.
There you have it: a short travel guide to Arieki, one of the many planets where you'll have to fight toe to claw with the menace of the Bane. Study your environment, study your enemy, and study yourself. That's the only way to gain an advantage in the war for survival against the Bane. Good luck, soldier.
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