Cratons

Nobedila is one of the Scattered Worlds, notable for its population of sapient rock formations, an offshoot of Talebba lifeforms. Nobedila has an atmosphere of almost pure nitrogen and argon, and is absolutely devoid of biological life. Nevertheless, it supports a thriving (if extremely slow-paced) culture and a varied silicon-based ecosystem.

The dominant lifeform on Nobedila is the craton, a stable and long-lived formation of subcontinent size. Cratons swim on the denser mantle, taking millions of years to move any appreciable distance across the planet. Cratons generally communicate with one another via seismic waves propagated through the mantle and core of Nobedila. Craton communication has been likened to the song of whales, but of course the timeframe is hundreds of thousands of times slower.

The inhabitants of Nobedila also communicate with the rest of the Scattered Worlds through a form of telepathy. They are best able to communicate with other long-lived lifeforms such as the Hlutr. One craton of Nobedila, an individual colloquially known as "Grandpa Basalt," allowed a portion of itself to be moved to the Secluded Realm, where it serves as a platform for th Eldest Hlut.

Nobedila is one of the few inhabited worlds in the Galaxy to have no native Hlutr population.