So the idea for this fount really came about because my partner loves astrology, and I also think it's neat. Figured that a Fount focusing on the vibe/aesthetic of the stars and the world bowing to heavenly motions to be pretty cool. As well as me thinking about the Carian Sorceries of Elden Ring, and how they made star magic look so cool from shooting star blasts to the imagery of making night sky mists to cover a retreat. So here we go.
Universal Repository: The Stele of Heaven
Immortality Flaw: To kill an Astromancer, you must determine the constellation they've built their immortality upon. Once you do so you must craft a weapon within the Hour, Day, Month, and Year of that Constellation and then kill the astromancer using that weapon. (This idea came about due to the concept of the "Great Four Tiger Sword" of Korean folk practice. Said to be smithed in the appropriate time related to the Tiger, it's said to be the most Yang-aligned weapon possible and thus perfect for banishing evil spirits. Thus where the Astromancy immortality flaw derives from.)
Principles
Imbued Symbolism:The meaning of any star or constellation is determined by the land you stand on when you look to the night sky. When working magic it's better to honor these meanings and strengthen magic as a whole than to work against it, and thus weaken future magic to come.
As Above So Below:From the actions of gods in the Worlds Beyond to the smallest ants of the Basin, all are but reflections of the great motions of heaven. Look to the actions of the stars to understand the actions and events of the world.
Rise With the Sun Not Against:There is an auspicious time for all things. Better to wait for the appropriate time and succeed than to be impatient and doom your workings to failure.
Living Constellations:Every star is a wish of Aion's and we are the assembly of those wishes given form, constellations of the flesh. Thus, to know the stars which make you is to know the entirety of your life.
Manifestations
- Planting a Curse into a star so that all born under it are immediately cursed.
- Tattooing the Constellation of an Archetypal hero to borrow their expertise.
- Wrapping yourself in a blanket of pure night to camouflage your flight.
- Cloning stars to create an installation of them to aspect the local Flow in a room.
- Releasing an energy wave of shooting stars to slam into your foe.
- Bouncing a Farspeech message off of the moon to reach a loved one.
- Inscribing a tablet with a star chart that you implant within an automaton's body to grant it personality.
- Bind the perfect Flow-aspect within a bottle of ink left to soak in the light of a specific star.
- Examine the stars of yesterday to psychometrically read the events that occurred the other day.
- Radiate the inner light of an ominous star to cow an army.
- Paint the beams of a house with the repeating star chart of a famous architect to Ward the building against collapse.
- Create a grove of an eternal eclipse.
Unique Limitation: While the stars rule much they do not oversee all as the chaos of the Dream Realms lay beyond the orderly touch of their light. All Astromancers who wish to leverage power of such realms must make a choice: they can either refine their craft so they might let the stars guide their Dream Travel, or they can learn to hold the power of the stars in their mind enabling them to Dreamshape. Each Astromancy Tradition known can have a different choice.
Typical Arts: Star-work (an Expression I made up for manipulating the heavens and making certain astrological events happen as needed), Blessing, Curses, Personae, Expanded Expertise, Weather-work, Knotwork, Lagged Curses, Warding, Psychometry, Precognition, Hallucination
Typical Paths: The most common would be Artistry, Language, and Geometry. Basically, evoking the names of the stars and constellation, using artistic rendering and songs to evoke them, and using the sort of angle heavy star charts common to astrological readings (just look at one of those natal charts and tell me that doesn't look magical). The least common paths would likely be Patrons and Wild Magic. Also another common one would technically be Calendar magic.
An example Tradition would be one I had devised for a custom Civilization, The College of Empyrean Revelation. The Tradition is, the Measure of Heaven, and is Geometry to Astromancy. A Tradition pioneered by the college as an introductory Tradition for young mages so they might best understand the nuance of Astromancy through the relationship of one star to another, the angle of their ascent beyond the horizon, and more. They often devise a star chart and then trace the connections to form sigils they might tattoo, inscribe, or what not in different tools and objects to cast their Expressions or guide magic into tools and structures. Due to its introductory nature, it's become a standard across the territory the College holds and can be seen in all manner of public works. The more nuanced forms of Astromancy are taught within specific colleges or by professors to their cherished assistants who show them the deeper mysteries behind heaven's workings.
Anyways, hope y'all dig it.
