The Star-Readers of Old

“Those Who Heard the Stars Speak”

“Before the Shattering, the stars answered when we called. After, they fell silent. We are the last who remember their voices.”
—Anonymous Star-Reader testimony, 15 S.

Quick Reference

The Star-Readers of Old - Those Who Heard the Stars Speak

Overview

The Star-Readers were the priesthood of pre-Shattering civilization—scholar-priests who practiced Astral Geometry, maintained astronomical observatories, and claimed direct communication with the constellations. They were humanity’s intermediaries with the divine, interpreting stellar movements, performing sacred rituals, and teaching that the stars were conscious, benevolent entities guiding humanity toward enlightenment.

For centuries, they served faithfully. Then the Luminar Council—composed of the twelve greatest Star-Readers—attempted the Apogee Working, and the world shattered. Most Star-Readers died instantly at the Nexus Spire or were killed in the catastrophe’s aftermath. The few hundred survivors scattered across the newly-formed Aetherium, traumatized, guilt-ridden, and stripped of certainty.

In the years following the Shattering, surviving Star-Readers attempted to rebuild their order, but everything had changed. The constellations, when they finally returned after a year of silence, were “wrong”—twisted, incomplete, uncommunicative. The clear dialogue of the past became cryptic whispers and ambiguous signs. Astral Geometry, once a precise science, became unpredictable and dangerous.

By 50 S., the old order had transformed into the Constellation Clergy—similar in structure but fundamentally different in practice. The original Star-Readers, those who remembered the stars’ clear voices, gradually died off. Today, any surviving Star-Reader would be 287+ years old, kept alive by unknown means, carrying knowledge lost to subsequent generations.

They are history’s ghosts: revered, blamed, studied, and perhaps—just perhaps—still walking among us in disguise.

Historical Role

Pre-Shattering Function

Spiritual Authority: - Interpreters of constellation will - Performed rituals (weddings, funerals, blessings) - Granted or denied spiritual legitimacy to rulers - Maintained temples and observatories

Scientific Leadership: - Astronomers (charted stars, predicted movements) - Mathematicians (developed Astral Geometry) - Engineers (designed buildings according to stellar principles) - Timekeepers (maintained calendar)

Educational Role: - Trained new Star-Readers (10-year apprenticeship) - Taught public (schools, lectures) - Preserved knowledge (libraries, archives) - Published research (advances in understanding)

Social Status: - Highly respected (below Luminar Council, above common rulers) - Well-funded (state-supported) - Politically influential (advised governments) - Socially integrated (not isolated priesthood)

The Hierarchy

Luminar Council (12 members): Philosopher-kings

High Star-Readers (~1,000): Senior priests, observatory directors, ritual masters

Star-Readers (~10,000): Qualified practitioners, temple priests, teachers

Apprentice Star-Readers (~30,000): In training (5-10 years)

Acolytes (~60,000): Beginners, students, support staff

Total: ~100,000 directly involved in order

Training and Initiation

Apprenticeship (10 years typical): 1. Years 1-3: Basic education (reading, mathematics, history, theology) 2. Years 4-6: Astronomical observation (star charts, mathematics, instruments) 3. Years 7-8: Astral Geometry theory (sacred architecture, ritual geometry) 4. Years 9-10: Ritual practice (prayers, ceremonies, constellation communication)

Initiation Ceremony: - Candidate spends night alone in observatory - Attempts to hear constellation speak - If successful: Become Star-Reader (genuine spiritual experience) - If unsuccessful: Fail (rare—most heard something)

Post-Initiation: - Assigned to temple or observatory - Continued study (lifelong learning) - Specialization (some focus astronomy, others ritual, others teaching)

The Apogee Working and Fall

Pre-Working Status

Consensus: Most Star-Readers supported Working - Believed Luminar Council’s assurances - Trusted constellation approval (Arduous claimed) - Excited by transcendence promise

Dissent: Small minority opposed - Veilantha’s warnings - Memoria’s conservatism - Some junior Star-Readers with bad feelings (ignored)

Participation: 10,000 Star-Readers at Nexus Spire - Performing ritual simultaneously - 7 days of continuous prayer - Believed they were ascending humanity

The Catastrophe (0 S.)

Day 8 Dawn: - Ritual climax - Instead of ascension: Shattering - Instant deaths: Thousands at Spire - Fragmentation: World tore apart - Survivors: Scattered, traumatized

Immediate Aftermath (0-1 S.): - ~500 Star-Readers survived (0.5% of order) - Scattered across fragments - No communication (each thought they alone survived) - Guilt, trauma, confusion (what did we do?)

The Silence (0-1 S.): - Constellations completely absent - Prayers unanswered - Spiritual devastation (abandoned by gods?) - Faith shattered alongside world

The Return (2 S.)

Constellations Reappeared: - Patterns “wrong” (twisted, incomplete) - Communication unclear (cryptic, ambiguous) - Some Star-Readers received visions (disturbing) - Others heard nothing (deaf)

Realization: - Old way destroyed - Clear communication gone - Everything changed - Must adapt or perish

Post-Shattering Evolution

First Generation (0-50 S.)

Survivors’ Response: - Guilt (we caused this) - Responsibility (must help survivors) - Adaptation (learning new reality) - Preservation (saving what knowledge possible)

Rebuilding Attempts: - Established temples on major islands - Trained new generation (adapted methods) - Created Constellation Clergy (formalized structure) - Wrote down what they remembered (many texts lost)

Changes in Practice: - Rituals less effective (constellation response weak) - Astral Geometry unstable (dangerous) - Communication unclear (interpretation difficult) - Faith tested (gods seem absent/wounded)

Notable Survivors: - Founded major settlements (Skyport Eos’s first temple) - Became advisors to new governments - Taught astronomy (practical navigation) - Some went mad (guilt, trauma, horror)

Transition Period (50-100 S.)

Original Star-Readers Dying: - Natural lifespan ending - Taking direct knowledge to graves - Each death = loss of understanding - Younger Clergy never knew “the voices”

Institutional Transformation: - Constellation Clergy replaces Star-Readers (name change symbolic) - Focus shifts: Less communication, more interpretation - Theology adapts: Gods wounded, testing us, will return - Practice simplifies: Complex rituals lost

Knowledge Loss: - Astral Geometry theory fragmented - Advanced techniques forgotten - Pre-Shattering history distorted (survivors contradicted each other) - Star charts lost (constellations moved anyway)

Modern Era (100-287 S.)

Constellation Clergy: - Spiritual descendants of Star-Readers - Similar structure, different practice - Don’t claim direct communication (interpretation instead) - Some rituals work (simplified versions)

Lost Knowledge: - How to hear constellations clearly (extinct skill) - Astral Geometry mastery (dangerous to attempt) - Pre-Shattering history (fragments only) - True cause of Shattering (suppressed/forgotten)

Potential Survivors Today

The 287-Year Question

Could Any Still Live?

Arguments For: - Abbot Silas (appears 60s, founded Sanctuary 167 years ago, definitely older) - Some pre-Shattering artifacts still functional (preservation methods existed) - Astral Geometry might extend life - Constellation blessing could grant longevity

Arguments Against: - 287 years far exceeds normal lifespan - Would require extraordinary means - Survivors would be traumatized (hiding likely) - Most confirmed deaths (records exist)

Estimated Survivors: 0-10 possible

Known or Suspected Cases

Abbot Silas (Drifting Sanctuary): - Age unknown (appears 60s) - Founded Sanctuary 167 years ago - Possesses pre-Shattering knowledge - Never discusses past - If questioned: “I am old enough” (won’t specify) - Likely candidate: Pre-Shattering Star-Reader

The Watcher (Throne of Stars): - Lives in extreme environment (should be impossible) - Seeks prophecies (Star-Reader behavior) - Ancient knowledge suggested - Identity unknown - Possible candidate: Survivor Star-Reader gone hermit

“Old Kellan” (Murky Chasm Ferryman): - Claims to have “seen much” - Pre-Shattering engineer knowledge - Keeps Chasm functional with lost techniques - Could be: Star-Reader engineer specialist

Others: - Hidden in plain sight? - Disguised as normal elderly? - Unwilling to reveal (trauma, guilt, fear)?

Why Hide?

If Survivors Exist, Why Not Reveal?

Guilt: Participated in ritual that killed billions

Blame: Public would execute them (complicit in catastrophe)

Futility: Can’t undo Shattering (knowledge unhelpful)

Trauma: Psychological damage beyond healing

Purpose: Hiding allows continued service (Silas’s healing work)

Fear: Someone might force them to attempt another Working

Legacy and Knowledge

What They Left Behind

Observatories: - Constellation’s Reach (maintained, functional) - Glimmering Spire (corrupted, dangerous) - Highfall structures (Veil-Born preserved) - Ruins scattered throughout Periphery

Texts (Fragmentary): - Astronomical tables - Ritual procedures - Theological treatises - Astral Geometry mathematics - Personal journals

Artifacts: - Instruments (telescopes, astrolabes) - Ritual objects (still sometimes functional) - Blessed items (powers faded but present) - Architectural features (buildings aligned to stars)

Traditions: - Constellation Clergy inherited structure - Prayers simplified from originals - Festivals trace to Star-Reader ceremonies - Astronomical charts based on their calculations

Lost Knowledge

Cannot Replicate: - Clear constellation communication - Advanced Astral Geometry - Life extension methods - Precise ritual timing - Complete pre-Shattering history

Partial Understanding: - Basic Astral Geometry (dangerous, incomplete) - Constellation theology (distorted over generations) - Astronomical observation (adapted to Aether) - Ritual structure (works sometimes)

Sought By: - Archivists: Historical understanding - Alchemists: Technical knowledge - Clergy: Spiritual authority - Desperate: Solutions to Rot/Shattering

Cultural Impact

In Modern Society

Reverence: - Founders of faith - Last who heard stars clearly - Wise elders - Historical heroes

Blame: - Enabled Council’s hubris - Should have stopped Working - Complicit in genocide - Why did gods listen to them but not us?

Nostalgia: - “In the old days” (refers to their era) - Simpler, better time (romanticized) - When gods spoke clearly - Before everything broke

Mystery: - Who were they really? - What did they know? - Could they speak to stars or just interpret? - Were they wise or deluded?

In Clergy Doctrine

Official Position: - Faithful servants who erred - Tragic figures (well-intentioned) - Founded modern Clergy (continuity) - Their methods lost but spirit continues

Internal Debate: - Some clergy: We’re inferior copies - Others: We’re evolved, adapted - Question: Did stars really speak or was it delusion? - Fear: If delusion then, delusion now?

Reformation Pressure: - Some want to “return to old ways” (impossible—don’t know how) - Others want to move forward (embrace change) - Bishop Vael caught in middle (seeking evidence)

Philosophical Questions

Did They Really Hear the Stars?

Position 1: Yes - Multiple independent accounts - Rituals demonstrably worked - Astronomical predictions accurate - Something responded

Position 2: No - Shared delusion (cultural conditioning) - Confirmation bias (seeing patterns) - Psychological need (created voices) - Post-Shattering silence proves it

Position 3: Yes, But… - Heard something - Misinterpreted what - Constellations not what thought - Communication real but understanding wrong

Were They Complicit?

Guilty: Participated in Working (even if didn’t understand)

Innocent: Misled by Council (trusted authority)

Complicated: Some knew risks, proceeded anyway (prioritized transcendence)

Modern Verdict: Varies by who you ask

Quest Hooks

1. The Survivor: Discover Abbot Silas (or another) is original Star-Reader
2. The Archive: Recover Star-Reader texts from dangerous ruins
3. The Ritual: Find complete pre-Shattering ceremony (attempt it? Destroy it?)
4. The Communication: Learn their method (try to hear stars clearly again)
5. The Guilt: Counsel survivor through trauma (if they reveal identity)
6. The Vindication: Prove they opposed Working (clear historical record)
7. The Blame: Confront survivor (seeking justice/understanding)
8. The Knowledge: Extract Astral Geometry secrets (before last survivor dies)
9. The Reformation: Help Clergy return to “old ways” (possible? Wise?)
10. The Truth: Discover what they really heard (stars? Something else?)

Related Topics

• Luminar Council
• Constellation Clergy
• The Shattering
• Pre-Shattering Era
• Abbot Silas
• Constellation’s Reach Observatory

“We were so certain we heard them speak. Their voices were clear as dawn. After the Shattering, I listen still. I hear only echoes… or perhaps my own desperate prayers reflected back.”
—Anonymous Star-Reader journal, 15 S. (Glimmering Spire Archive)

“They say we caused this. Perhaps they’re right. But we meant well. Does that matter? Can good intentions excuse apocalypse? I don’t know. I only know I would give anything—anything—to undo what we did.”
—Final entry, same journal