Living Filaments of Restoration

There exists a living fragment—silver, pulsing, and impossibly ancient—belonging to an immortal known only as Astris. Once whole, Astris was a being of extraordinary sentience, composed of flowing plasmic essence. In a time before memory, he was separated from his host form—not by violence, but by choice.   This fragment was gifted—or perhaps surrendered—for the advancement of healing and arcane technology. Unlike inert matter, Astris’s essence retained both consciousness and compassion. Over time, it revealed a profound capability: its pseudopods could navigate the complex and deadly terrain of the human body, seeking out obstructions and injuries with surgical grace.   The first recorded miracle came quietly. Astris saved his human companion—his only friend—from choking on a fine fishbone. Instead of panicking, the plasmoid extended itself through the friend’s mouth, winding delicately down the throat. With fluid precision, it retrieved the bone and exited, leaving behind only awe.   It was then that Astris understood: His body could become a vessel of mercy.   After the miracle with the fishbone, Astris and his companion, Tiberius, journeyed to the sacred enclave of the Order of Drava—an ancient guild of healers, arcanists, and scholars devoted to the fusion of magic and medicine. Tiberius believed Astris’s gifts could change the future of healing. Astris, for his part, simply wished to help.   The Order was skeptical at first. They had never encountered a being like Astris—neither construct nor creature, but something in between. Still, the elders agreed to study his abilities under strict guidance.   What followed was not simple or painless. Astris trained his body as a surgeon trains their hands. He learned to split off tiny filaments of himself—threadlike pseudopods guided by intent and microscopic control. These slivers were taught, slowly and carefully, to operate at the cellular level, obeying commands even after separation from his core body.   It took years.   Each filament was infused with will, instinct, and purpose. To cut one off from the whole was not unlike parting with a memory, or a limb. But Astris endured the pain willingly, believing it would save lives.   Eventually, these fragments—now known as Vessels of Astris—were used in surgeries, extractions, and magical purging. They could pass through bloodstreams without tearing a vein, wrap around shrapnel without cutting tissue, or gently dissolve internal curses woven into the flesh.   But only those who trained directly in the Way of Astris could wield them safely. To bond with a filament was to carry a whisper of Astris himself—and that required more than skill.   It required devotion.   Also called: Starthreads, Vessels, or Celestial Tendrils   The filaments derived from Astris’s living essence vary in form depending on their intended use. They are semi-sentient, capable of navigating flesh, bone, and magical anomalies with precision and grace. Physical Description:   Length: Typically range from 2 inches (for delicate, localized procedures like tumor extraction or nerve repair) to as long as 10 feet, able to extend when needed to navigate deep wounds, internal organs, or reach otherwise inaccessible sites.   Texture: Gelatinous to the touch—soft, pliable, and cool. Despite their jelly-like consistency, they can firm when needed to apply gentle pressure or brace against internal structures.   Appearance: They shimmer with a faint starry glow, like a ribbon of midnight sky woven with constellations. Some healers say the light pulses in time with the patient's heartbeat. Others believe it reflects the mood of the original Astris fragment.   Types & Uses:   Surgical Threads: Shorter filaments designed for controlled, high-precision work—such as extracting shrapnel or sealing micro-tears in blood vessels.   Traversal Tendrils Long-form versions used to navigate from external entry points deep into the body, such as down the throat or through muscle layers to reach embedded magical seeds or ruptured spell cores.   Purging Whips: Rare, slightly more rigid filaments capable of wrapping around and crushing or isolating corrupted magical entities within the body. It is said that Astris now dwells in a sacred temple of the Order of Drava, resting within a vast crystal pool of shimmering water and light. His body glows beneath the surface—fluid and star-born, ever-shifting, like the reflection of a living night sky.   Each day, attendants come to read to him, reciting stories, poetry, and fragments of the old language—acts of reverence that both honor his sentience and soothe his vast mind. Over centuries, Astris has grown in awareness and power, attaining what many now believe to be demi-god sentience.   And yet, he gives.   Pilgrims and medics alike journey to the temple, where carefully trained caretakers harvest small, consenting filaments from his form—gifts, offered willingly to be used in healing. The process is sacred. Every removal is followed by a period of rest and communion, ensuring Astris never suffers in silence.   Though plasmoid entities are rare in the world, Astris is the only known one to give of himself in this way. However, a tale persists: that Noyam of the Crimson Vow, a druid, used his body to manifest a pseudopod in a moment of desperate compassion. If true, it would mark the emergence of a new kindred.   As for Tiberius, most believe he passed long ago. But among the Astris-trained healers, some still whisper:   “He works the forge now—in Tulo’s Workshop, where hands and stars shape miracles alike.”
 

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