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Euphraxia

Euphraxia is the blue star of the Calathean system. She is also the mother of 5 celestial children. The forces of gravity, the male counterparts of the Archdrakes work in harmony with the females, condensing life engergy, magical energy, and physical matter into planets. These planets are hatching grounds, and on each planet is deposited a singular titanic egg. Each egg has it's own gravitational pull and distinct attributes. The Motherdrake retreats to her home, and spends the next cycle of her life manipulating her planetary hatching grounds, bringing them into the perfect orbit for incubation.     This life cycle gives us a unique opportunity to tell a story about the death of a star, and the havoc it can wreak on it's denizens. As Euphraxia gives of herself endlessly, her soul, her core weakens. As she weakens, her power disperses, and she begins to lose her grip on her children.   Astoria struggles with her changing planet, Voren-Kaa stirs from an extended slumber, and Absentia cradles her children as she feels herself dispersing.    

Refuge

In my darkest moments, I constantly sought refuge from myself. I was never safe with my thoughts. Eventually, through group, residential, and personal therapy; I learned how to create a refuge for myself. I worked through negative core beliefs, and dedicated myself to improving the safety of my own mind. Lately, my thoughts have been returning to that time in my life. I want to write about what it was like. I'm going to use that by telling the story of Astoria.   She is the dragon core of a molten planet, with only her thoughts for company. Astoria is the youngest of her siblings, she only hatched 2,000 years ago. For reference, this would put her at around 20 human years.   She has watched her siblings create life, leaving her home in a projection of herself. She marvels at what they have done. The unstable atmosphere and ever changing landscape of her home makes the progression of a species very difficult. The constant creation and destruction of land masses gives Astoria very little to work with. For the first 500 years or so, she was constantly losing progress. She tore a hole in the core of her planet to create a single volcano. This allowed for the first stable landmass.   With the permanent landmass, she was able to create more intricate and sturdy beings. A maddening itch forms in the back of her mind when she sees cognitive growth in her creations. She has to get rid of them or they will turn on her. This leads to a manic destruction of her creations. And afterward? The loneliness returns.   So she hides from herself. She loses herself in metallurgy; she bends and shapes the natural elements of her home into masterworks. Only when she is lost in a project does she truly feel safe. But of course, she feels safe because she feels nothing at all. She has succesfully hidden herself in the refuge of numbness.  

Chaos is comfortable.

 

Belief

I want to really prioritize the display of Astoria's erratic behavior. It is similar to the temperaments of the Greek Gods and Goddesses. Obviously a story without sentient life would not be very interesting, since we would have no point of view to follow. We could do something akin to an almanac for field guide; but even that would be more supplementary than a stand alone publication. In order to display this, there needs to have been sentient life long enough to have myths and legends of the wrath and grace of Astoria.   Art is considered holy, and creation is the highest calling. To create in any capacity is to emulate Astoria herself, and is thought to please her. Anything that is broken is recreated, in an attempt to create something even more beautiful.   I think the pure will of Astoria has coalesced into a life giving magic. Her will condensed has a tangible power. This power inherentely creates life, sentient life. Astoria's first attempt at humanoid creations ended up being the forms that are most able to use this power. They are the closest Astoria has come to being able to create a vessel that Astoria's magic can inhabit perfectly. They are even capable of creating life on their own. They are the first creatures to be able to create new generations.   Astoria is unsure of how to handle her creations. She is proud and terrified of them.   Her psychosis caused her to destroy her first generation of humanoids. There were survivors; some of the original generation, but even more of the second generation. They survived by creating homes underground.   Creation, beauty, and growth are the main tenets of the faith. This means they have fairly advanced technology and art. To be grotesque, lacking creativitiy, and refusing change is said to bring down the wrath of Astoria herself. While this mindset creates immense amounts of progress, it also creates a certain confusion. How can you truly know yourself if you're constantly pressured to change?  

Decay

On the planet Astoria there are two inhabited land masses. The primary landmass, the largest and most welcoming to life is the island of Austrima. This is the island that grows around the volcano of mist. Austrima is not exposed to nearly as much decay as her traveling sister.   The other follows the storm. The ever present hurricane of ash and water. The storm moves slowly across the planet. Directly beneath it is a moving island. This island crawls slightly behind the storm. As the storm drops water into the planet's magma oceans, it creates solid lava stone. As the storm leaves the island behind, the lack of moisture causes the stone to crumble.   The island is known as Seraphina after the seraphiron that live there. Their lot in life is one of instability. With the island crumbling and regrowing at a rate of approximately 500 kilometers per year, it is likely that a less wealthy family will have to relocate several times in a single lifetime. Children will watch as their childhood homes crumble and fall away into the oceans of magma. Adults will have to ensure they still have the means to provide regardless of where they end up.   The buildings on the outer edges of the islands were once rich and luxurious, belonging to the wealthy. As the homes moved closer and closer to the edge, the wealthy relocated and these homes fell into disrepair. To keep a home standing on Seraphina is not an easy task. Relentless winds and endless acid rains corrode buildings rapidly if they are not maintained. This makes the slums a truly miserable place to live.