The Siderealists of Aetolia

Roleplaying a Siderealist

What is the Empyreal Vault?

Sometimes shortened to just 'the Empyreal' or 'the Vault', the Empyreal Vault is the vast cosmic gulf that yawns open all around Aetolia. Freshly forged beneath the unerring eye of the Eschaton, the Empyreal's dimensions remain beyond the comprehension of mortalkind. However, common astronomers have charted the movements of six additional planets beyond Aetolia, raising questions about what could reside beyond this once-solitary star. In addition to these planets and the bleak darkness betwixt them, myriad stars, nebulae, comets, asteroids, and other cosmic fixtures dapple its endless canvas, providing limitless sources of the mysterious energy that empowers the Siderealist's magics.

What is the Mejevsavelnel and Ostension?

Sapience's skies host many constellations, including twelve major ones that make up a legendarium called the Mejevsavelnel. Stargazers have charted their patterns for centuries, and each of these twelve major formations possesses a myth explaining its name's origin. A diverse gallery of heroes and horrors source these popular stories, offering timeless wisdom whose ultimate culmination can be glimpsed in an Aetherial's apotheosis. All of Sapience's constellations - and the faith instilled within their tales - empower a Siderealist's magic of Ostension, allowing them to beseech the memory of these fabled figures for their intercession in the form of sidereal regalia. Imbued with the very essence of the legends they represent, the regalia offer a diverse array of powers that emulate famous wizards, celebrated martyrs, and tormented souls aplenty.

What is Astranomia?

Astranomia is a young branch of magic that manipulates vast cosmic energy from beyond Aetolia's bounds. Some mortals are born with the capacity for this magic, though it takes some degree of training for most. In some rare cases, a mortal can possess wild talent with its powers, making it inevitable that they will wield sidereal sorcery to some degree. Usually, this talent reveals itself in the form of trance-like states while young. It can eventually progress to involuntary communion with the higher order of the Empyreal Vault or hallucinatory contact with the legendary Mejevsavelnel, which can be interpreted as psychosis or trauma if onlookers are ignorant of the truths of Astranomia's budding strengths. In serious cases where the child's talent is exceptional, they might pose a threat to themselves or others without meaning to, with extreme duress often catalysing unintentional expressions of their power.

Those who are properly trained to channel their potential exhibit glowing eyes without exception, for embracing the power and acting as a cosmic conduit is, first and foremost, a matter of discerning the celestial energies around them. Accomplished Siderealists can manipulate all manner of astral forces and manifest anomalous formations such as miniature moons, rings of stellar dust, and even entire systems of tiny stars. From dying stars to the force that set planets on their oscillating course, wielders of this art express their magic in various manners, drawing inspiration from whatever fantastic sights they behold in their luminescent communion.

What is Crystalism?

Originally studied by the Magi of old, then the Ascendril Order and the Sciomancers, Crystalism was a brand of earth magic that relied upon shape, momentum, and sound to carry its effects. Following the rebalancing of elemental levels within Sapience, the two guilds found their Master Crystals no longer suitable for resonant magics. Thus, the art was lost due to mortals' inability to engineer a new, tonally pure Master Crystal. Sapience soon progressed to different branches of arcane power, leaving Crystalism to gather the dust of history until the Eschaton's acts of supreme Creation filled crystals and stones throughout the world with new strains of power that breathed fresh, celestial life into the field. No longer relying upon simple elemental forces, Siderealists utilise different crystal shapes to conduct invisible energies to new heights, capturing the power of cosmic vibration with each arrangement.

Though laymen might relate Crystalism to music, experienced Siderealists and Magi of old insist that no such aptitude is necessary to work its arcane forces. Instead, experts claim that the shape of an individual crystal matters most, as its dimensions adjust the frequency at which it can resonate with the celestial might that flows through it at all times - and thus the manner of its vibration. Given voice by this shaping, the powers express themselves in rigid ways that influence a mortal's mind or body. Pioneers of the field constantly search for unique shapes that exhibit undocumented effects, with their studies necessitating a nigh-permanent occupation of the Fractal Bloom and other sources of natural crystals.

Visual style of the class

Owing to a lack of a formal guild, order, or other organisation, Siderealists possess no distinct uniform. In fact, due to the talent's indiscriminate visitation upon individuals from all walks of life, a Siderealist is just as likely to be in a leather jerkin as they are to be in a ball gown. Upon taking up the practice in full, many Siderealists eventually adopt iconography of the Mejevsavelnel as accessories or miscellaneous spell foci, allowing commonfolk to pick some out in a crowd without a second thought. In addition, those focusing on Crystalism's rigid study tend to garb themselves in durable clothing that is less likely to tear or rip during geological delves into crystalline deposits, setting them apart from learned arcanists and forest-dwelling ritualists.

Without exclusion, Siderealists exhibit a cosmic glow in their eyes whenever they embrace their power via astral luminescence; simply holding the power is enough to cause this, with its brilliance intensifying when a user engages in actual spellcraft. When filled with this astral essence, Siderealist's scars, tattoos, and other bodily markings adopt a similar glow, revealing how thoroughly the energy permeates mortals. Beyond this, many find it easiest to channel their power when they emulate the graceful motions of the Eschaton, for the True Creator was the one Who forged the stars and cosmic phenomena from which Siderealists draw their power. For this reason, many practitioners exhibit ethereal calm and move with a tranquil certainty that lends them an otherworldly air even when they are not working their strange sorcery.

Side effects of the class

Due to the colossal scope within which a Siderealist operates, many users eventually grow detached from the physical world in many ways. Quoting the overwhelming nature of the forces they work, some users become hermits or social recluses if they survive the dissociating trances that come with working raw astral force. Forced to view the big picture constantly, Siderealists sometimes lose sight of reality and life's complexities, viewing them beneath their notice compared to the wide wonder of the cosmos. Besides this, some wielders of Ostension grow disenchanted with childhood tales or interpretations of the Mejevsavelnel, as their proximity with sidereal regalia drains most of the fantasy out of such speculative stories and burdens them with a truthful understanding of the constellations' powers. Those who devote themselves to Crystalism likely exhibit bruises, scrapes, or cuts from their geological pursuits, and those who frequently experiment with new vibrations oft complain of a perpetual ringing in their ears.

Roleplaying the class

A common grit necessary to handle the tremendous power at their beck and call would be a trait shared across most Siderealists, especially if that power were gained through natural talent rather than strict study. Some hopeful neophytes of its triune fields seek knowledge in hopes of divining the will of the stars or gleaning hints of the future from their twinkling patterns. In contrast, others approach the study with rigid discipline and a 'no nonsense' thirst for grandeur and might. Owing once more to its users' wide variety of backgrounds, Siderealists share very little in the form of belief systems, instead attributing their interpretations to anything beyond the craft's common parlance. Though mortals lack a clear picture of what dwells upon the distant planets beyond Aetolia's reach, some users claim to have communed with the cosmos and thus speak to wild conclusions drawn from the visions they behold. Though clumsiness is not out of the question, many Siderealists achieve a microscopic fraction of the Eschaton's grace at the very least, lending them an otherworldly demeanour in their day-to-day interactions.

Customisation guidelines for glimmercrests and cosmic sprites

Cosmic sprites and glimmercrests are mere simulacra of untold cosmic power, acting more as stable vessels of sidereal energy rather than sentient companions. Though they must all adhere to roughly the same dimensions and physical attributes as the default sprite and glimmercrest, you are welcome to portray different hues or other astral phenomena that would make sense as present within the Eschaton's cosmos, i.e. emphasising a colour that happens to be present in gaseous nebulae. In addition, it is important to note that even though cosmic sprites resemble fae of the same name, they are not fae - if anything, they merely capture the same look due to common folklore across Aetolia's settlements.