Star

Star's Story

Mortal Origin

No one really remembers the name Emma when they think of Star, nor do they connect that a mortal person and a mysterious dream spirit could somehow be linked. These are only a few of the details lost to time when it comes to a young dreamer that accomplished something that shook the fabric of life and death.

Emma was born to a low family tending to imperial farmlands. It seemed that from her birth she had a certain knack for finding her way through the dreamlands. Her ability to return to places in her dreams meant that she could recall exquisite details of those places, and because of this, she could come up with some incredible stories. Her family scraped up what funds they could so that Emma could become a writer, and while she never got away from her farming origin, she did manage to write on the side. Some of her tales even made it into the palace though she didn't know it.

Most questors come from navigator class dreamers, and it is commonly thought that questors are stronger dreamers. However, Emma was a dedicated navigator, and her sense of direction expanded outside the dreamlands. Each night, she struck out not just for dreams but for the edges of other realms. She crept past the gates of Heaven, stalked along the shores in the Land of the Dead, and even pulled a fast one on a demon or two all without being captured. Not being captured is not the same as not being seen, and her nightly antics earned her quite a fate.

Still Smiling

At the age of 75, Emma outlived all her family. Highwaymen took her husband, war took her grandsons, and plague laid low the rest of the family all in an effort of the greater powers to punish her for her actions. Why they didn't simply smite her may well have had something to do with the sort of spirit she was becoming. Emma could fly with the highest flying dreams on wings of love and find everyone she had lost. Most people go home to sleep, but Emma went to sleep to go home. She could always find them regardless of how well any entity tried to hide them from her. And for that reason, she always remained a happy and friendly person with a spirit that could not be crushed.

One night while walking along the shores of the great river separating not just living and dead but also dreams from both, she found a man lashed down by strange machines and cables. He was standing on the living side of the shore looking on towards the land of the dead with his strange devices preventing him from crossing or even approaching the water. While satisfied with the result, he looked miserable, and Emma was able to recognize him as the Emperor. She said nothing but instead wrote him a letter which she posted the next day.

My Lord. I have seen you on the shores tied back to hold you entering the waters, but you will find no peace in such a delay. Last night you dreamed an old woman smiled to you upon the shores as she passed you. If you wish to meet her, I am at your service.

The letter floundered for a time in the hands of officers who deemed it trash until Emma appeared in his dreams again and told him where to find it. Thinking her a seer, the emperor summoned her to the palace. She found out that he had read her works as a young man, and upon hearing the fate of her family, he inquired as to how she remained in such high spirits. She relayed to him how she can find her way through any dream as she slept, and on several nights she proved her ability to him. It was then that the conversation about his situation began.

The emperor, like nearly every man, feared his old demise. By medicine, machine, and more, he was preventing himself from advancing towards death, and while it seemed to work, it came at the cost of terrible dreams and constant exhaustion.

"My lord, we must all make that crossing. In fact, it will soon be my time. I will cross, as I must, and then I will break free. We cannot come back, but we can certainly go sideways. In two months time, my time will end. If you still fear the end, look for me by night. On white wings I will light the sky so you will know it is I, and when you are ready, I will find you once again. We shall cause quite some mischief."

Emma was true to her word, and over the course of the next two months her health began to fade. She turned down treatment and instead invited the emperor to follow with her as she put her affairs in place in preparation of her leaving. Then the night finally came.

Metamorphosis

Emma and the emperor were asleep on the night she died. She made no fuss as the ferryman helped her across the river, and then she turned back to the emperor with a smile. She had a secret that she was about to reveal, a path that no other spirit or soul had known to or dared to try. An entire lifetime of navigating the planes meant she knew a great deal about them all. She could not return to the land of the living as she was, and neither heaven nor hell wanted to deal with her. However, she did point up towards the great flying dreams who's pure love carried lovers back and forth without care about the border between the living and the dreaming.

Emma's power as a dreamer was likened to an architect class that never let anything out but instead poured a lifetime of dream into one magnum opus. By the time she started her little trick, the reapers, angels, and even demons were already getting the sense that something was about to go very wrong in their plans.

Emma allowed her spirit to be enveloped in a sort of white light like a cocoon, but it did not last for long. The light grew brighter to the point that not even an angel could look upon her without shielding their eyes. Soon wings emerged, but they were not the wings of an angel or a demon. The huge, shimmering sheets were instead absolutely massive butterfly wings. The wings were the only thing more brilliant that Emma herself, and with seemingly no effort at all, she launched herself upwards, over the border, and into the realm of dream.

The emperor woke from his sleep and remembered Emma's prophecy. He looked out the windows and into the night sky to watch a single point of light grow until the great star outshone the moon and turned the night into day. Many would have called it a supernova, but there was no star there, and such events don't change direction and fly away.

That year, the emperor made his peace, set the kingdom on a path of prosperity in preparation of his passing, and made sure he left a legacy he could be proud of. The night that he died, a great shooting star traveled across the night sky, and when it looped back along its path, there were two trails left in its wake.

The First Esper

Emma became the first esper, and her name was lost to time, but all know of her as Star because of her appearance in the sky. Her soul transformed from one of a mortal plane to one born in the context of the dreamscape. This is why espers are born in the dream realms and dream of the living world when they sleep or inhabit a vehicle.

Many consider Star to be the great goddess of the espers, and nearly all espers speak of her with wonder and awe. She is a pathfinding esper, and she specializes in carry kindred spirits over the boundaries that separate the living waking world and other realms. She is strictly non-violent and will not lend her powers to someone that intends to use it offensively. IN defensive situations, she will often take the blows for anyone who will trust her and stay true to non-violence.

While Star did not intend to create other espers, her transformation caused ripples that resulted in other souls finding their own way, and this caused parallel transformations that resulted creation of many others including the translocation of natural spirits to esper status such as those that would eventually give rise to the Promethean espers like Lucky.

Some say that when an esper is in dire need, especially if they are protecting someone, Star will appear to shelter them. No one, espers included, has seen such happen in recorded history, but with something like Star still flying about, stories tend of grow on their own.

Physical Appearance

No one has an accurate size for Star, and the somewhat mercurial nature of dream beings does complicate this. However, Star in her unbound form is usually seen as an intense point of white light that is often blinding. Should one be close enough and manage to keep their eyes open, she has a humanoid body dressed in the humble clothes of a farm hand. From her back are four wings in the style of a butterfly with the lover wings having long sweeping tails while the upper wings are very long and oval in shape. They are always glowing white.

When Star appears in dreams, especially those of someone she will fly with, she appears in a much smaller form about the size of a real butterfly and less blinding. She and Serendipity are often found together when it comes time to inspire a new pilot to build a frame for her and welcome her into their life.

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