New Celest

The Pool of Stars

Celest, Resurgence of Light
Patron	Terentia
Divine Pantheon	Darvellan, Valtreth, Carakhan, Terentia, Weiwae
Political Structure	Religious
Governance Style	Benign
Guilds	Magisterium of the Holy Father, Sanctifiers of Saint Loathys, Archons of Dawning Hope

Out of the ashes of the fallen Holy Celestine Empire, which saw the destruction of the imperial capital on the Isle of Celest, survivors fled as far from the Tainted area as possible, relocating to the western side of the Inner Sea. There, the Celestines and Aquamancers consecrated a new Pool of Stars, once again establishing a connection to the Light, and thus arose New Celest to challenge the darkness. Paladins were re-established as the Holy Warriors of the Light, charged with protecting the fledgling city. However, the peoples of the Basin of Life did not flock to New Celest as they did to Celestine Empire of old. Wrongly or rightly, they blamed the Empire for the Taint and the name of 'Celest' still held bitter memories. Nevertheless, New Celest struggled and survived, yearning for the days of old and hoping to see the return of the Empire's former glory. The nexus of power in New Celest is the Pool of Stars, located in the center of the city's hub. It simultaneously exists on the Elemental Plane of Water and the cosmic plane of Celestia.

History

The story of New Celest's people and culture begins in the aftermath of the Elder Wars with the founding of a city on Celest Isle in the Crystal Sea by a mostly merian population. The very first mortal mages of the Basin arose from efforts to cleanse the waters of residual pollution from the Soulless Gods. New contact with the Elemental Plane of Water and Cosmic Plane of Celestia permitted the building of the Pool of Stars, the fourth Nexus of Power known to Lusternian history, but the first created through artifice.

Events during the Taint Wars culminated with the destruction of the original Pool of Stars, ruining Celest and marking the fall of the Holy Celestine Empire. The shades of those who perished that day still haunt Spectre Isle in the Sea of Despair.

New Celest was settled to the west along the Inner Sea. Since the Coming of Estarra, New Celest has continued to change. Landmark events of the current era include the following:

• freeing of Rhapsody's Voice and the development of Starhymn among the Cantors.
• diplomatic relations with the kephera led to establishing the Tahtetso Priory.
• During the War of the Wheel, New Celest was the first city or commune to turn the lessons of a ruined future into an entirely new approach to elemental magic, this practice became Aquachemantics.
• 472 CE - Centuries-old guilds had to dissolve to form the Archons of Justice, Eclesiarchy of the Light and Sanctifiers of Loathys.
• 561 CE - Reforms and revelations leading to the 3 recent guilds reorganizing in their current form.

Landmarks

The Pool of Stars

Set at the heart of New Celest, the Pool of Stars is the city's nexus of power. Reforged from the ashes of its predecessor, the Pool of Stars connects the city of New Celest to the higher planes - piercing the Elemental Plane in the Mystic River, the Holy Land of the cosmic plane Celestia, and even the distant Astral Plane on the sphere of Cancer. Within the city, however, it is a gathering place for the citizens who wish to socialize or watch others as they go about their day.

The Tabernacles of the Holy Supernals

Above the Pool of Stars, resting upon the Upper Deck, are the five tabernacles of Celestia - each built in honour to one of the Holy Supernals. Each tabernacle is simple in design - a widened section of the Upper Deck with the name and symbol of the related Supernal. Often times the citizenry of New Celest are found worshiping at these tabernacles, enveloped in a protective glow cast by the Supernals themselves. It is through their prayers that the Star of Celest is able to maintain the protective shield about the city, staving off outside attacks by those who would do the city harm.

The Syrinx Plaza Hotel

South of the Pool of Stars and on the next level down is the Syrinx Plaza Hotel, an elegant structure built for the citizenry and her visitors. Possessing the same charm as much of the city, the Syrinx Plaza touts some of the finest collections of seashells and artwork that have ever left the shore of the Inner Sea, having been used to decorate both the floors and the walls, as well as having been used in the furniture. It is here that one can also find Celest's own art gallery, a mellow lounge for relaxing visitors and, above all this, her blackjack and roulette tables, her office of lotteries and an exquisite aquarium bar. Also here, tucked away behind the bar, is Celest's Rising Tides Distillery, where the city's brewmeisters set to work creating the finest of celestian brews.

The Deep Blue Cathedral

A sacred place blessed by the Light, the Deep Blue Cathedral is home to both the Holy Supernals' sacrosanct statues within the city but also the Celestial Abbey, home to the Celestines. Each statue, so legend has it, is able to bless objects placed into its hand, imbuing it with the blessings of that Supernal. High above the second deck of the Deep Blue Cathedral, it is said, are two loges - one for the city's upper class and one for the Star Council themselves, allowing them to view the sermons being given far below.

The City Park

Resplendent with a duck pond and the Commune Consulate, the City Park of New Celest is a gardener's dream. Lush green plant life and the occasional animal are pleasant sights for those who regularly, or irregularly, stroll through the fine gardens. Also home to the city's chessboard, it is not uncommon to find two old friends matching wits in one of Lusternia's oldest challenges.

The Magistrate's Amphitheatre

Inside the city's park is the Magistrate's Amphitheatre, a wide, semi-circular structure built of sandstone and tiered so as to provide seating. Within waits the Illuminator's Magistrate, one Thiodone Ladyn, envoy of the Holy Supernal Japhiel. An unpleasant place for those who are brought there, Thiodone Ladyn is left to cast judgment upon those who have wronged the Light or the city's laws, leaving citizens at the even-handed mercy of the Merciful Justice himself. Few have been found so wanting as to be cast from the Light, yet the Rite of Petala, as it is known, is one with heavy consequences for those who are so judged.

The Star Palace

The seat of power for New Celest, the Star Palace is home to the governmental workings of the city. Within the Steward of New Celest, Naedaros Inalai, works quietly and peacefully to ensure that business runs smoothly and that the government's records are kept clean of "errors". Above the muted meeting chambers of the Star Council lie the Prince's private quarters, offering a magnificent and marvelous overlook of the city.

The Pearl of the Amberle

This is the city's arena. Combatants can come here to practice mortal combat without fear of death. Named in honor of Amberle, perished Elder of the First Circle and sibling of Meridian.

Notable Denizens

• Meleris, Keeper of the Pool of Stars - Fine scales of deep blue, like the ocean at midnight, shimmer over with faint pinpoints of light and give this ancient merian a regal and statuesque appearance. He almost appears as though he were part lucidian, but the state of his scales and the marks of his raiments make it obvious that he has gained his looks from a long life attending to the Pool of Stars. His features are rugged and well-defined, with ridges of bone and scale marking his chin, cheekbones, and eyeridges. His fanning ears sweep back, long and graceful, accompanying twin dorsal fins with iridescent sails that arch back from his shoulders like wings. He wears a painstakingly detailed regalia of white robes fringed in gold and platinum threading, and a sash draping his dorsal fins made of a black silken material studded with reflective points.

• Naedaros Inalai - Dressed in fine silk garments of rich aquamarines and endless azure blues, this young merian has an air of duty and devotion about him. A gentle but firm look remains upon his aquatic features, his ocean blue eyes set into his thin face, while his azure-crested fins rise up from his scalp and falling behind him, close to the skull yet far enough to lend a sense of noble presence. The star of Celest has been stitched over his left breast, just above where his heart no doubt beats below. About his neck, on a single cord of silver, hangs a small pink conch shell, which glows with the same gentle tones. Naedaros' dress robes have been layered with a dazzling golden stole of silk that wraps about his shoulders and his upper arms, hanging in against his chest while leaving the long, rich scarlet sleeves bared as they run down his arms, split for his forearm's fins and ending in gold stitching and gilding, near skin tight while his fins fit perfectly through the sharp, v-like openings in the material on both forearms. His robes have been loosely bound at the waist with a braided rope of golden thread, the knotted ends tasseled and dancing with the slightest caress of the air. Hard leather boots dyed a gentle azure colour peak out beneath his outfit, their metallic heels clacking against the stone floors of the halls he often treads.

• Brother Neluane Serole, Colporteur of the Stars - A short, thin-looking imperial merian, Neluane Serole looks as though he is generally underfed. His soft, feminine features mix with a strange, boyish enthusiasm to give the old male an oddly gender-neutral appearance. His cheeks are somewhat sunken in and his scales somewhat dull, though his smooth, blue skin manages to bear a vibrant, healthy glow. Airy robes of gauzy white cloth have been wrapped about him in layers, more often than not caught about in the warm salt breeze that washes in from the Inner Sea, bordering the city of New Celest. Silver-rimmed spectacles sit atop his nasal-ridge, their temple tips resting behind fanned, aquatic ears. His fin more rolls down his back than it does rise from it, a testament to his lackadaisical attitude towards anything but the stars that he so often charts.

• Professor Yimone Shervalian - Her thick, deep ocean-toned lips pursed slightly in thought, this scholarly aquamancer offers a cool, detached appearance, her gaze occasionally shifting away from her research to partake of her surroundings. Garbed in a two-piece outfit of aquamarine samite, this female imperial merian is a specimen of fine form, her regal features feminine yet sharp, the look of one who has spent years amongst books and bears little patience for those who would disrupt her work. Her silvery scales glisten wetly as she shifts her weight, the light that eternally drenches the city of New Celest lending her an almost white sheen. Her fins are as sharp as her demeanor, rigidly rising from the fore of her crown and lancing down to the mid-section of her back where it fans to its end. Her gentle seashell ears curl close to her head, whilst her arms and waist have been decorated in variegated seashells, sand dollars and chains of precious metal, heavily laden with charms bearing striking semblance to the wide variety of sea creatures of the Inner Sea and even strange, great porpoises many times the size of dolphins.

• Gathelta Highwater
• Aural Tildarmin
• Thiodone Ladyn
• Jarana Farain
• Carien, the Celestian Locksmith
• Neran, Imperial Caretaker
• Astor Dekoven