Xorieh

Astralis; Astralia (Plural):

The Astralia were once normal dragons that migrated from the deepest depths of the ocean to the surface, searching for answers to Tidelord disappearance. The dragons prayed to the stars for that was all they could pray to without their deity. The stars, moved by a few of these prayers, descended from their celestial tapestry and crashed into the waves around the praying dragons. The stars bursted as they hit the water, blanketing the waves in stardust and star fragments.
Some of these dragons prayed to the stars looking for guidance in their time of loss. They were grieving over the hole in their hearts from the disappearance of Tidelord. A hatchling, was the first to hear the voices of the stars. He collected a star fragment in his claws and at the beckoning of the voices, brought the fragment to his maw, he swallowed the star down. And down it went, descending deep into his soul and nested into his heart. The voices grew stronger, introducing themselves as the Aether.

The Aether is the network of celestial bodies that are always connected. Each Aether identifies as a “child,” but only one is referred to as “Mother.” She has slept for centuries since the creation of the Aether and no child knows when she’ll awaken again. They grant wishes at the end of their life. Then, they fall into a deep sleep and are reborn again into the network. They cannot differentiate between good or evil, they can only grant the wishes within their powers. The Astralia became connected to the Aether by proxy from the sleeping stars in their hearts. They knew, with the help of their new sleeping companion, they could continue their search for their missing deity. The Astralia became star-touched, the words of hopes are inscribed into their bodies in the form of constellations. The Astralia travel the sea, helping the Aether find wishes to grant while bringing hope back to their dragonkin.

Each Aether child dreams as they sleep and, as they dream, their thoughts manifest as tiny lights dancing around their Astralis companion. Thus, Astralia are often mistaken for Starlit Fathomsearchers and will often be bombarded with questions about Tidelord’s whereabouts. There’s often an attempt from determined overzealous dragons to wish for Tidelord’s location, which often ends in disappointment. The Aether theorize that Tidelord, or something more powerful than they, must not want him found. If an Astralis is not found granting wishes, you can bet they’re explaining the differences between them and Starlit Fathomsearchers. The most obvious, is their starscales are constantly shifting because dragons can be fickle and their hopes change often.

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