In our previous chapter, we created and named a fictional planet and populated it with some oceans and continents. Now that we’ve done that, let’s start fleshing out some more high-level lore.

Given we’ve created an alien planet somewhere else in the universe, we’d expect it to function in a different manner to Earth. It should have a different day length and year length. And the locals likely tell the time in a very different way to how we do. Not just their hours, minutes, and seconds, but their calendar and how they denote months and days of the week.

The reason I’ve decided to create this bit of lore first is because I’d like to start building some local vocabulary. The style of the words we choose once we find that perfect output will guide the style of other vocabulary created in future prompts.

By the way, you’re not forced to keep any of the AI’s suggestions. Feel free to edit its output to your liking before running subsequent prompts. This includes any names or values it comes up with. Remember that the AI will sometimes hallucinate and get things wrong, even if the prompts are short enough to fit into its context window. Even models that support longer context windows still manage to sometimes overlook facts in their prompts.

That summary we created in the previous chapter? I pulled only part of it into this new prompt. Information about Lira’s oceans is probably not relevant to their timekeeping. Perhaps information about their continents isn’t either, but the names it generated for those continents will likely have an effect on the names it chooses for days of the week, months, seasons, and so on.

Lira is a thriving, peaceful planet twice the size of Earth, with a single moon, Veil. It’s part of the Laniakea Supercluster and forms the Amity Ring with nearby habitable planets Zyre, Hela, and Tora, fostering trade and cultural exchanges.

Lira features five unique continents: Zirah, home to the luminous Andara Forest and sparkling Crystalline Spire Range; Velnas, known for the Shrouded Plains and the snowy Nosk Volcano; Ero, an archipelago with the striking Kivu Arch and the Sea of Talir; Sion, culturally rich with the Sahiri Desert and the musically enigmatic Yavi Rainforest; and Orbix, with its Tesserine Lakes that mirror the sky.

Due to the planet’s size and proximity to its host star, it has significantly different days and years compared to Earth. Please tell me how long a day on the planet is in Earth hours and how long a year is in Earth days.

The length of a day on Lira is approximately 32 Earth hours, offering ample daylight and extended periods of nocturnal splendor, mainly due to the planet's slower rotation. A year on Lira spans about 450 Earth days, due to its slightly elongated orbit and greater distance from its star, giving each season on the planet a prolonged duration, which significantly affects the native flora and fauna's life cycles.

I used GPT-4 Turbo for the above prompt and ran it a dozen or so times. It came up with similar values on each attempt. Day lengths were never shorter than Earth’s, and in fact tended to be very similar to Earth’s – values between 26 and 32. Year length varied a bit more. In one case it suggested a shorter year – 200 Earth days, in another, a significantly longer year – over 650 Earth days. In many cases, it settled on a value of 450 days. Varying the prompt will, of course, help here. You could, for instance, specifically instruct it that days or years are much longer or much shorter than on Earth. In this case, I opted to have it make those values up, mostly just to determine how much creativity the model is capable of.

Reminder: if you’re using a ChatGPT-style interface, remember to prepend the previous prompt and its response to this next prompt.

Time on the planet is measured in a significantly different manner to that on Earth and is derived from local customs spanning back millennia. Please explain how timekeeping works on the planet. How is the day broken into equivalents of hours and seconds on Earth? How do those values compare to Earth’s own timekeeping? Explain the cultural basis for their timekeeping and for the names of each unit. Units of measurement should not use any English words or terms whatsoever.

Liran timekeeping is deeply rooted in their historic celestial observations. Locals divide their day, called a "Dilune," into 20 "Rylix," each of which equals 1.6 Earth hours. A Rylix further splits into 100 "Qentas," roughly equivalent to 0.96 Earth minutes. This system originates from the orbit of Veil, their moon, whose movement was central to ancient Liran lore and rituals. A Qentas finally divides into 100 "Picos," akin to 0.576 Earth seconds. These units, while differing from Earth's, reflect Lira's unique rotational period and the Lirans' value system, which prioritizes harmony with their moon phases—integral to their cultural and agricultural practices. The Dilune starts with Moonsrise, symbolizing rebirth, and progresses into five Rylix called "Zyther," representing varying states of energy similar to the zodiac signs. The last Rylix, "Quietus," signifies reflection and rest. It's during Quietus that the Lirans believe Veil imparts wisdom to those who meditate under its light. These measurement names are derived from ancient Liran dialects, each bearing a specific mythical or natural significance linked to the Lirans' way of life.

I chose the above output after running the prompt a few times because I liked the mystical feel of the generated lore. I’ve also noticed that large language models frequently ignore the directive to not use any English words or terms. And while “Moonsrise” and “Quietus” are derived from English words, I’ll begrudgingly go with this output.

Interestingly, GPT-4 Turbo did manage to calculate the conversions between Lira and Earth time units correctly. In every attempt with this prompt, the AI split days, hours, and minutes into units of one hundred. It’s clearly learned our human preference for base-10 counting systems, despite our own timekeeping not being base-10 at all. You could, of course, specify that their timekeeping is not base-10 in the prompt, if you’d like to avoid that particular cliche.

The planet’s calendar follows a very different pattern to the one we use on Earth. It is derived from local customs spanning back millennia. Please explain how the calendar works. How is the year broken into equivalents of months and days? Explain the cultural basis for their calendar and for the names of each day and month. Names should not use any English words or terms whatsoever.

The Liran calendar, known as "Valax," is structured around the concept of ten "Briska," which are akin to months on Earth. Each Briska spans 45 Liran days, known as "Solons." Reflecting the importance of their moon Veil in Liran culture, the start of each Briska is marked by a significant moon phase, which influences the activities and festivals during that period. Solons are further divided into the Dilune cycle of day and night, with special attention paid to Moonsrise and Quietus.

The names of the Briska and Solons are derived from the ancient Liran language, drawing upon elements of nature, mythical figures, celestial events, and significant numerical symbolism. For example, the first Briska, called "Alevora," signifies new beginnings and is celebrated as a time of renewal and planting. The middle Briska, "Terevint," is a period of growth, where daylight is at its peak, and the focus of the Liran people is on cultivation and nurturing. The final Briska, "Ombrulex," represents the culmination of the year's efforts, with harvests and preparation for the cooler season.

The Liran week consists of six Solons: "Nayada" for reflection, "Beryl" for communication, "Cyane" for commerce, "Dravite" for craftsmanship, "Elore" for artistry, and "Feyara"  for celebration, embodying their six most revered cultural values. Each Solon within the Briska has distinctive rituals and societal roles, ensuring a harmonious flow of life on Lira that aligns with the agrarian and artisanal aspects of their society.

Festivities and solemn observances are intertwined within the Valax, each Briska bringing its unique traditions. Communal gatherings on "Elore" Solons, for instance, are dedicated to performances of local music and dance, reflecting Lirans' deep appreciation of art as a focal point of their culture. On "Feyara," Lirans partake in communal feasts and games, celebrating their communal bonds and the bounties of their planet. 

While the AI gave us the names for their days of the week, it didn’t list all month names. This is okay – the resulting output is already quite long and contains some nice detail. One could always follow this output with another prompt specifically asking for a list of month names. But for the purposes of creating a short story or even a novel, this level of detail is fine.

The prompts and outputs are already quite long, so let’s grab a summary from all of this and copy-paste it into our lore document.

Please present a short summary of the above that includes all units of measurement and names for months and days.

The Liran system of timekeeping is unique, with a day called "Dilune" divided into 20 "Rylix" (1.6 Earth hours each). "Qentas" subdivide each Rylix and consist of 0.96 Earth minutes, which are further broken down into "Picos" (0.576 Earth seconds). Their calendar, "Valax," features ten "Briska" (months), each with 45 "Solons" (days), with cultural significance ascribed to each. The names of the days of the week are "Nayada," "Beryl," "Cyane," "Dravite," "Elore," and "Feyara," symbolizing values such as reflection, communication, commerce, craftsmanship, artistry, and celebration. The Briska are named with a natural and mythological emphasis on life's cycle, like "Alevora" for the season of rebirth and "Ombrulex" for closing the year with harvest. Each unit of time and date carries cultural importance, aligning Liran life with celestial events, especially the phases of their moon, Veil.

This isn’t the shortest of summaries, but it can be edited down by hand, if needed. When using these summaries in future prompts, we can selectively copy-paste bits out of our main summary document that are relevant to the task at hand. Just as we did at the beginning of this chapter when we omitted the bit about Lira’s oceans.

One more thing to note is the fact that we’ve started to create a set of terms – names of continents, oceans, days, months, and so on. Here on Earth we have hundreds of languages. Different cultures use different calendars. And the names of things like continents, seasons, months, and days vary across all languages. Thus, a summary like this could be useful if you want to create cultural diversity in your story. To do this, simply ask the AI to translate those terms into different fictional languages.

We can now use the above summary, and a little more, to dive into native flora and fauna, and general biodiversity. Since continents are large and host to a myriad of differing landscapes and natural features, let’s first break each continent down. Here’s an example prompt.

Lira is a thriving, peaceful planet twice the size of Earth, with a single moon, Veil. It’s part of the Laniakea Supercluster and forms the Amity Ring with nearby habitable planets Zyre, Hela, and Tora, fostering trade and cultural exchanges.

Lira features five unique continents: Zirah, home to the luminous Andara Forest and sparkling Crystalline Spire Range; Velnas, known for the Shrouded Plains and the snowy Nosk Volcano; Ero, an archipelago with the striking Kivu Arch and the Sea of Talir; Sion, culturally rich with the Sahiri Desert and the musically enigmatic Yavi Rainforest; and Orbix, with its Tesserine Lakes that mirror the sky.

There are three oceans: The Belenic Ocean, with clear waters and deep underwater canyons; the Thalric Ocean, notable for stormy conditions and whirlpools near the Stratos Isles; and the peaceful Silvian Ocean with its coral labyrinths.

Please name and describe some of the different regions on the continent of Zirah. Names should not use any English words or terms whatsoever.

You’ll notice that I prompted for a description of regions for just one of our five continents. The prompt can be edited and re-run for the other four. And, of course, re-run as much as you want. Let’s look at some of the output and illustrate it as we go.

Amalis Depths – A valley shrouded in perpetual twilight, the Amalis Depths is home to a vast network of caverns. The luminescent flora casts a ghostly glow, creating an ethereal landscape that is both haunting and beautiful.

Midjourney prompt: cinematic scene; offworld valley, large sparkling, glowing flora; rainy night; pinks and purples 35mm f/2.8L –ar 3:2 –v 6.0

Yes, this 5.2-style Midjourney prompt still worked well in version 6.0.

Taliri Cliffs – The Taliri Cliffs ascend sharply from the Zemrin Sea, piercing the sky with jagged spires of gleaming amethyst. Flocks of winged creatures nest within the nooks, their iridescent feathers mirroring the splendor of the cliffs.

Midjourney prompt: cliffs, sea, sparkling amethyst spires; flocks of winged creatures; offworld; overcast, sunrise; Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM lens on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV camera –style raw –ar 3:2 –v 6.0 

This prompt contains a long and detailed description of the camera that I found ages ago and can’t remember where. It works well, and as you’ll see, I use it a lot.

Virendra Forest – Thick canopies of bioluminescent leaves blanket the Virendra Forest.  During the night, the glow from the foliage is so bright that it eliminates the need for artificial light, allowing the native creatures and visitors to wander safely. The forest floor is dotted with luminescent mushrooms and otherworldly flowers, some of which are known to have healing properties. 

Midjourney prompt: thick forest canopy, bioluminescent leaves; luminescent mushrooms and flowers; offworld; night scene; closeup shot, Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM lens on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV camera –stylize 200 –style raw –ar 3:2 –v 6.0 

Midjourney’s –style raw sometimes aids in photorealism. I often try the same prompt with and without that option just to get an idea of what will work best.

Zypheria Basin – This expansive basin is filled with unique, colorful geothermal pools that are surrounded by rare mineral formations. Steam gently rises from the warm waters, contributing to the constant, ever-present mist that gives this area a dreamlike quality.

Midjourney prompt: ​​an expansive basin filled with multicolored geothermal pools and mineral formations; steam, mist; dreamlike night scene; offworld; Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM lens on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV camera –stylize 200 –ar 3:2 –v 6.0

Here I used Midjourney’s –stylize option. The default value is 100. Upping this setting adds frills and detail to the image. Lowering it generates truly terrible images akin to the previous generation of AI art models.

Kirana Plateau – Amidst the rolling gemstone hills, the plateau stands as a natural observatory. Under the open sky, astronomers and scholars gather to study the stars and constellations, drawing upon the ancient knowledge encrypted in the firmament. Rare crystals found scattered on the plateau's surface are said to enhance the clarity and reach of the telescopic arrays used by the local stargazers.

Midjourney prompt: multicolored glittering crystals strewn across a plateau amidst rolling hills; night scene with vivid stars; offworld; wide angle shot; Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM lens on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV camera –stylize 200 –ar 3:2 –v 6.0

Here is a nice example of –stylize in action. Lots of wonderfully glittery things in the scene!

A neat trick to work towards these Midjourney prompts is to pass the description provided by the large language model through Midjourney’s /shorten command. It will often pick out interesting keywords to string together for the desired image.

Now that we’ve created some regions, we can ask the AI to imagine flora and fauna native to them. Here’s one such prompt that will create creatures and plants native to the Amalis Depths.

Lira is a small, verdant planet, almost twice as large as Earth, with a single moon named Veil. It is located in the Laniakea Supercluster and orbits a sun-like star. Lira boasts five continents. Zirah, one of them, features bioluminescent forests and gemstone mountains. Zirah is home to many regions. One of them is Amalis Depths – a valley shrouded in perpetual twilight, the Amalis Depths is home to a vast network of caverns. The luminescent flora casts a ghostly glow, creating an ethereal landscape that is both haunting and beautiful.

Please name and describe some of the flora and fauna native to the Amalis Depths. Names should not use any English words or terms whatsoever. Use a separate paragraph for each.

See how we created continents, regions within each continent, and now species native to each region. To go through all continents and regions would, naturally, take quite a bit of prompting, but the result would be a fantastically detailed description of the planet and its natural habitats. Plenty of science fiction tends to leave out such detail. Whole planets are deserts, jungles, or forests. This wouldn’t be the case in the real world. Using techniques like this, it is possible to create rich, biodiverse planets. And illustrate them, to boot. Let’s illustrate a few of the outputs from this prompt.

Zanthei Luminos is a spectacular plant with delicate, glowing leaves that cascade in layers. These bioluminous leaves absorb and re-emit light through a natural process, providing illumination to the gloomy environment of Amalis Depths. The plant is adaptable, able to thrive in the low-light conditions, and plays a crucial role in the local ecosystem as a primary producer.

Midjourney prompt:a large offworld shrub with cascading glowing, glittering leaves; dimly lit cave scene; eerie purple glow; closeup shot; Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM lens on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV camera –ar 3:2 –stylize 250 –v 6.0 

Sleek and mysterious, the Noctivara Sailex is a creature of shadow and gossamer, characterized by its translucent wings. Often mistaken for a ghostly specter, this insect-like animal flutters silently among the Zanthei Luminos, feeding off the nectar-like secretions it produces. Its life cycle is inextricably linked to the luminescent flora, as Noctivara Sailex pollinates the plants during its nightly forays. The species' uncanny ability to blend into the ethereal landscape makes it a rare sight for the untrained eye.

Midjourney prompt: a see through dragonfly feeding from a flower; dimly lit cave scene; offworld; eerie blue glow; closeup shot; Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM lens on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV camera –stylize 200 –ar 3:2 –v 6.0

Crysathine Vines are thick, rubbery tendrils that weave through the cavernous landscape, often encasing rock formations and other plant life. Their surfaces are studded with crystal-like nodules that radiate a soft, multicolored light, serving as natural prisms. These vines possess a slow pulsating bioluminescence, synchronized in a mesmerizing display. They are known for their incredibly slow growth and long lifespan, sometimes outliving many generations of other species in Amalis Depths.

Midjourney prompt: thick green vines weave through a cavernous landscape; gemstones radiate multicolored light; dimly lit cave scene; Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM lens on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV camera –ar 3:2 –v 6.0

Honestly, this one didn’t work all that well. I couldn’t get both gemstones and thick vines no matter how many times I ran it.

The Echolocarion Vaprix is an aerial predator, utilizing echolocation to navigate the convoluted terrain of the caverns. With a leathery hide and elongated limbs, this bat-like animal emits a series of high-pitched sounds that bounce off surfaces, allowing it to detect its prey with remarkable accuracy. Echolocarion Vaprix hunts primarily the tiny, bio-luminescent insects that thrive in the Amalis Depths. This skilled hunter is an essential part of maintaining the delicate balance within the ecosystem, ensuring that no single species becomes too dominant.

Midjourney prompt: otherworldly bat-like creatures in a cave; dimly lit; offworld; closeup shot; Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM lens on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV camera –style raw –ar 3:2 –v 6.0 

I could show more, but you get the picture. No pun intended.

As for all the descriptions of regions, flora, and fauna, there’s probably no need to condense them into a summary. This is lore you can apply to your story as-is. Use the AI-crafted descriptions as inspiration for your own writing, asset creation, or what have you. I’d anyway save all the long-winded outputs into a separate file. Pull bits and pieces out of there as needed as you’re crafting your narrative.

Naturally, an alien world wouldn’t be complete without alien races. And that’s what we’ll cover in the next chapter.