Starskin
On Binku Island, there exists a strange and beautiful phenomenon: a sect of mages known for a rare condition called Starskin. Their skin bears deep shades of blue, marked with intricate constellations and swirling celestial patterns. These markings are not tattoos or scars—they emerge naturally, a result of diet.
The transformation begins with the consumption of three rare sea-sourced foods: the Sapphire Fin Fish, the Cerulith Eel, and Glazure Kelp. Each contains a unique blue protein, but it's the combination that triggers the change.
The first known case was a mage named Everly Jane. Driven by curiosity, she began experimenting with local foods in Stardock to see if diet could enhance her magic. She consumed generous portions of the Sapphire Fin and Cerulith Eel, pairing them with stews rich in Glazure Kelp. She couldn't help herself—they tasted like the heavens, like memory and starlight made edible.
Over time, her skin slowly shifted in hue. The blue deepened, and faint, shimmering patterns began to emerge across her arms and shoulders. Soon, some of her close companions followed suit, drawn by the promise of enhanced magic—and the taste. Within months, they too bore the telltale markings of Starskin, a condition now both feared and revered among coastal spellcasters.
The enhanced magic skill, though, is debatable.
Causes
The cause of Starskin is prolonged consumption of foods rich in a rare pigment-protein known as glaucin. Over time, regular ingestion of glaucin-laced ingredients causes the skin to take on deep, rich shades of blue. But it doesn’t stop at simple discoloration—the skin becomes marked with intricate constellations and swirling celestial patterns.
These markings are not scars, pox, or tattoos. They emerge naturally from within, as if the body itself has become a canvas for the cosmos. The more glaucin is consumed, the more vivid and elaborate the patterns become, with each individual's skin telling a different starborn story.
Treatment
With a change in diet, it is possible to reverse Starskin. As glaucin levels decrease in the body, the blue pigmentation and celestial markings begin to fade over time, eventually returning the skin to its natural state. However, most who develop Starskin choose not to reverse it. The transformation is seen as a mark of identity, a connection to magic, mystery, and something greater than the self. For many, the blue-dyed skin becomes a badge of devotion—a visible sign that they’ve tasted the heavens and chosen to carry the stars within.
Ooooh this gives amazing mystical vibes, very fun. The idea of tasting of the stars, of the Great Beyond, upon one's own planet and being 'touched' by the magick of the unknowable via culinary methods is truly amazing. I adore the description of the markings and how they come to life, as if drawn from within, from the curiosity that perhaps led to one to indulge in these culinary tastings in the first place, or as if we are of stars and perhaps eventually to stardust would we return. We are of the universe and it is of us. Another fantastic article and definitely getting tucked into my collection :)
There was something I read once, where a character said, "Thus taste the cosmos." The idea kinda of came to me. I am very glad you enjoyed the piece. I've been on a writing project for some poetry lately, and a lot of the themes are based on stars, stardust, so the theme stuck out to me. I am interested too if my players will meet these starskinned mages.