The Veiled Asterium

• High Aster (or "Aster Primus")
  The enigmatic head of the cult. Said to commune with Naelir directly in shared dreams. Sets doctrine and initiates new rites.
• Sibilants
  A council of 5 elder dream-mages who each oversee a particular aspect:
• The Path of Obsession (romantic & carnal fixation)
• The Path of Mirrored Minds (mind invasion, shared illusions)
• The Path of Stars (divination & manipulation of fate through astral bodies)
• The Path of Sleep & Shadow (soporifics, dream travel, binding of nightmares)
• The Path of Artifice (creating objects that store dreams or desires).
• Whisperbinders
  Senior cultists who run cells, teach apprentices, and maintain the cult’s secrecy.
• Lilted
  The general members, often itinerant mages who proselytize subtly or perform clandestine experiments.
• Petals
  New initiates—often young, vulnerable, or impressionable—groomed to embrace the cult’s dogma.

• They believe dreams are a truer plane of existence than waking life, and that mortals are mere larvae evolving toward dream-entities.
• They practice “Dreamfeasting,” ritual gatherings where they consume potent concoctions and open their minds to collective visions.
• They view obsession—whether romantic, artistic, or scholarly—as sacred, the purest expression of Naelir’s influence.
• They maintain elaborate journals called Miroirs that detail dreams, hallucinations, and moments of intense longing.
• Death is seen not as an end, but an ascension into Naelir’s embrace; many volunteer for rituals that risk their lives to produce more vivid visions.

• Internally, they seek ever deeper contact with Naelir through dangerous rituals, mass dream linkages, and hallucinogenic explorations.
• They have hidden motives to gather specific dreamers whose subconscious minds shine brightly in the astral, which they believe are chosen seeds of Naelir.

• Sanctuaries:
  Hidden dream-houses in various cities, each heavily warded with illusions and mind veils.
• Luxuries & Resources:
  Exotic alchemical labs, stores of rare narcotics, enchanted mirrors that capture memories, and intricate art pieces that double as arcane focuses.
• Personnel:
  Skilled mages, charismatics adept at recruitment, spies who infiltrate courts and artist circles.
• Other:
  They keep a few monstrous creatures from the dream realm bound as guardians or living conduits.

• ~90 years ago: First cells formed by a renegade priestess of Naelir who claimed to have touched his true form in a waking dream.
• ~50 years ago: Official church of Naelir declared them heretical after disappearances tied to their rituals.
• ~30 years ago: Survived a brutal inquisition by fleeing deeper underground, re-emerged stronger and more decentralized.
• ~10 years ago: Began a secret program to breed lineages with latent dream magic talent.
• Present: Growing bolder, whispering into the ears of powerful patrons and decadent nobles.

• The Veiled Asterium does not control “lands” in the traditional sense. They operate in shadow—mostly in urban centers of Mythralune where artistic and scholarly communities flourish.
• Membership Diversity:
• Primarily elves, humans, and half-elves (longer-lived races better sustain obsession).
• A handful of changelings and kitsune who revel in identity fluidity.

They worship Naelir not through sanctioned prayers or liturgies, but through personal obsession and communal ecstasy.

• They consider the official church naïve and sanitized. To them, Naelir is not merely a guide to passion—he is a devouring star that burns away mediocrity.
• Their holy symbols are often stylized broken mirrors or stars with trailing spiral patterns (representing the mind’s descent).