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| Orion | |
|---|---|
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| Nation State | N/A |
| Ruler | N/A |
| Other Present | N/A |
| Languages | Varied |
| Religion | Draconism |
| First Recorded | 15,000 BC |
| Demonym(s) | Orion |
Orion, often also called Star-born, Children of Light, or Dragon-Tears, are an extra-terrestrial people of bright stardust held together by unknown forces and given life. The Orion are rare but have fallen as stars down on Aloria for millennia, for unclear purposes. They are the only living things that come from beyond the Terrasphere, the space beyond the breathable atmosphere of Aloria itself, even if they have no memories of space itself. The Orion are tied to the Draconist faith for their obvious similarity in name to the Dragon, Orion, but they often seek a purpose outside of these ties. The Orion are classic star-children who fall to the planet as infants and are raised by the people of Aloria. Longlived but often also very ignorant to the world, Orion are a good choice for new players because they are frequently clueless about the world. Raised by backwater peasants or travelers, Orion who end up in Regalia know very little, which means the lore can be explored and experienced through playing, instead of reading.
Design
Orion don't have a physical body per se but are made physical by the congestion of stardust and star gasses compressed together so densely that they start radiating strong light. This compressed light becomes solid, meaning they can be touched and their body feels warm when they are touched. Orion are often born in the radiance of the Celestial Bodies as found in Astronomy. This means, for example, that Orion born of the Red Celestial consists of red or orange light. Those born of The Maiden are made of blue or white light. Those born of the Green-Red Farsight are made of green or yellow light. Lastly, those born of Solfa are made of purple or pink light. Orion are naturally shapeshifters with the shape of their light-made body, but one feature is always consistent: the Star Crown.
Star Crown
Every Orion has a Star Crown which they must always wear, which is always the same no matter how they change the shape of their light-body. They are born with the Star Crown and it continues to grow with them as they become adults. Every Star Crown looks different, but it is always a type of crown or coronet with glowing glyphs or pictographs. There is no real rhyme or reason for what is depicted on their Star Crown, some are sensible depictions of battle, wheat fields, raindrops, or even random letters. The Star Crown is what makes an Orion's body solid. If they were to take it off, they lose their physical cohesion and fall unconscious, until they can re-form. Each Star Crown also comes with a pair of Star Bracers worn on the wrists with the same appearance as the Crown just smaller, however, these bracers can be removed without dissolving the Orion.
Orion Nova
Orion facial features and general appearance can sometimes be hard to make out as their body is made out of light which does not bounce other light sources or retain shadows that would allow conventional humanoids to be perceived. Because of this, the Orion can shift to Orion Nova. Instead of emitting light in this form, they appear much darker with nebula-like light spots and textures. The most notable trait they assume in this form is that their skin has star signs and constellations that shine like their light-bodies typically would display. The insides of their mouth and their eyes always retain their brightness.
Heritage Traits
In Character Design, Proficiency allows for the buying of Packs, which give Combat Abilities. Heritage Traits add free Packs and Mechanics to a Character, fit around cultural themes. Mechanics are flair and roleplay opportunities Characters have outside of Combat, while Packs are Combat Power. Free Magic Packs can always be defined as any Alignment. Since Orion cannot reproduce at all, there is no such thing as a Mixed Heritage Orion. The Orion also only receive one Free Pack but instead gains extra Mechanics above the standard 5.
Free Packs
- Orion can choose 1 Pack from any Category for free. If any magic is chosen, the player may choose an Alignment between God Magic, Exist, Ordial, Void, and Dragon Magic.
Mechanics
Orion Mechanics cannot be copied, duplicated, stolen, taken, or otherwise inherited by other Mechanics, Heritages, Godborns, Custom Kits, etc.
- Orion can speak all languages spoken in the modern age by a large enough population. That is to say, all languages recorded on the Heritages Pages can be spoken by the Orion. They are not even aware that they can speak these languages. Whenever they speak them, they feel like they are speaking their native language, implying some form of Dragon-Magic translation at work.
- Orion lack many standard biological processes. They do not need to eat or drink but they can if they want to, and they can also become intoxicated. Orion do not need to sleep, though they will occasionally need to meditate to process their thoughts. Otherwise, they develop a progressive form of attention deficit that causes thoughts to overlap with one another which becomes worse the longer they go without meditation. Lastly, Orion do not need to breathe but occasionally need to be exposed to the starry night sky to recharge their light.
- Orion are immune to a specific Status Effect. In Combat Roleplay, the Orion cannot be Blinded (When Blinded, you cannot target anyone. You can spend a turn to end the Effect). Because they are made out of pure starlight and do not have conventional eyes with optic capabilities, anything that would conventionally blind another person cannot blind an Orion.
- Orion can expel parts of the stardust that their body is made of to produce portable light. They can remotely control this stardust in the air or attach it to objects to create light fixtures that remain lit for several hours. Orion bodies also emit a warm gentle light that lights up any dark areas they travel in, though it is never so bright as to blind someone. They can also see at night with night vision.
- When Orion are trapped, imprisoned, or black-bagged and dropped into an area they are not familiar with, a star-path of starlight that only they can see will always light the way out for them. Orion, in essence, never get lost and will always find the fastest way out of any non-Magical location that would otherwise confuse or trap other people.
- Orion Star Crowns can be worn by other Characters which allows an Orion to be present inside the person's body. This causes the eyes of the host to glow like the color of the Orion, and star-light constellations appear on their skin similar to Orion Nova. The Orion can still speak with their voice while inside their host and use their Mechanics from inside the host, but they cannot use any Combat Abilities or engage in Combat.
- Orion do not bleed, cannot be dismembered, break bones, or have any other form of conventional harm occur to them. They are immune to falling damage, do not drown, and cannot be infected with diseases magical or conventional. If they reach 0 HP in combat, their bodily cohesion fails and their Star Crown will fall to the floor. After some time (usually less than an hour), their body re-forms and the starlight re-ignites, re-forming their physical body. If instead their Star Crown was used by someone, they are immediately re-formed inside that person, but trapped until the hour is complete. Destroying the Star Crown is covered by Kill Permissions, as destroying the Crown would kill the Orion which only the Player can give consent to.
- Orion cannot be Afflicted, cannot have Affinities, cannot be possessed by Spirits, and cannot Disguise themselves. That said, nobody can Shapeshift into an Orion, Disguise as an Orion, or change their appearance to approximate what an Orion looks like. To be Orion is to be visually unique, as ordained by the Dragon Orion. Orion can become Aligned - see the information below in the Expanded Lore section.
Language and Naming
The Orion do not have a language or an official naming process. Due to their rareness, and the fact that each of them is born through a meteorite that falls from the sky in a bright light, they are all devoid of a common Orion culture. All Orion are picked up and raised by mortals and thus also given names appropriate for the cultures that they were raised in, and the languages they learn therefrom (refer to other Heritages pages to find their naming conventions). However, all Orion also have a Star Name that they know without a clear explanation. These names always start with "Star-Child of", followed by an adjective like "the raging" or "the peaceful" relating to their personality. This is followed by the Celestial Body they were radiated by (Red Celestial, Maiden, Green-Red Farsight, or Solfa). At the very end, a poetic death concept is added. For example, "fallen in battle by the crystal springs" or "passed a last whisper under the mulberry tree." The Orion speculate that this final part of their Star Name is based on the soul of an Alorian mortal that the Dragon Orion used to reincarnate them as the Orion people. This could, for example, result in a Star-name that reads as: "Star-Child of peaceful Solfa, gasping a last breath in the Western Sea." An unusual aspect is that the Orion are inexplicably uncomfortable around any concept of their Star-Name's death implication. For example, if it implies their reincarnated soul died in battle, they may fear weapons. If it implies they drowned, they may have an irrational fear of water, and so forth.
Religions
Even though Orion are not born with religion, and a decent portion of them adopt the religion of their adoptive parents, many end up gravitating towards Draconism because the Dragon Orion created them. Orion is often called the Star-Father by those Orion people who choose to worship him and feel a closeness to his themes and aspects. Because Orion otherwise have no real impact on history or cultural trauma, it is completely fine for Orion to worship other religions without it being strange optics.
Brief History
The Orion are devoid of a true history of their own. Their numbers are too small to have an impact on global events, but rather find their interactions to stay on a local scale. They have been falling from the sky since the beginning of the Allorn Empire and near-exactly since the end of the Allorn-Dewamenet War. It is recorded that, at first, the Allorn Elves were fearful of the Orion, so many Orion were not welcome in the world of the living early on. Over time, as the memory of the Dewamenet war faded and stars and starlight became more prominent in the Estelley faith, the Orion became a kind of pseudo-divine messenger from the stars, a point of irony given what the Elves were about to do to the Dragons that lived in their Empire's boundaries.
Throughout the major events of the world, Orion have only ever played a footnote role, but with more recent developments in globalization, fast travel, and the winds of trade, the Orion have become more prominent. Those who find themselves in Regalia especially have found it easier to influence global events in a city like this one. While many Orion arrive in Regalia ostensibly to experience more of the world they were thrust into, there is no upper limit to what they can achieve; they are not held back by some of the obvious biological limitations imposed on the other people of Aloria. It is fully expected that the Orion take a more direct role in the world's changes as it moves into the Regalian-Industrial-Global Era.
Expanded Lore
Expanded Lore exists to apply more content and deep-lore exploration. This section is optional reading that is not required for a good experience, but if you play a scholar of some kind, it's encouraged to read this information.
Orion Fallen Star Birth
Orion are always born through a so-called Fallen Star Birth. These events are rare. It is speculated that there are perhaps only thousands of Orion alive in the world at any given time but they can be found anywhere, even in places where nobody lives. A Fallen Star Birth is always precipitated by an unusually bright aurora at night, colored in the same hue as the starlight that the Orion will be made of. A fallen star appears on the horizon with a long trail, moving much slower than a normal meteor and leaving its trail in the sky for much longer. Fallen Star Births only occur at night and are loud and bright enough to wake anyone nearby. Those who search the impact zone would find an infant Orion surrounded by Orionite fragments, a metal that produces brilliant star-like qualities in alloys. The Orionite is often seen as a parting gift from their Star-Father, Orion, to ensure that even if the Orion arrives to poor parents, they have some financial support to give them a good life. Not all Orion are accepted by parents, and not all Orion have a good life, though the majority end up being raised fairly well and never quite lose their bubbly and energetic personality. Orion are technically ageless, meaning they do not age, but they can be killed if their Star Crown is destroyed. Despite being long-living, we recommend that Players do not make their Orion older than 150 years, because the amount of history dating that far back becomes thin on the Wiki.
Daiana Godborn parallels
Some scholars may note obvious parallels between the Orion and Daiana's Godborn. Orion, however, are not Godborn, primarily because they are not conventionally born but also because they are not created with any clear purpose, as far as anyone knows. The Dragon Orion has refused to reveal anything when asked about the Orion people. However, because Orion the Dragon is considered the Star-Father, and because many of the Orion people wish to live their lives in his image, the Orion people can end up living in a similar way as Daiana's Godborn, with a God-given purpose. The Dragon Orion's themes of respect for the dead, passing rites to the afterlife, and tranquility of the mind have caused many of the Orion people to take up the mantle of burial priests, therapists, or just general agents of wisdom who seek to improve the lives of others by helping them reach a higher level of detachment and tranquility, or just solving their problems. Draconism as a religion does not view the Orion as Godborn but some of the faithful will treat the Orion with special preference due to the hand of a Dragon involved in their creation.
Orion and Magic
While many societies across Aloria have strong opinions of Magic Purism or Magic Supremacy, the Orion are not born with any particular habit towards Magic. Curiously, Learning Magic for them is incredibly easy, even more so for those born under the Celestial Bodies associated with specific dimensions. For example, the Orion radiated by the Red Celestial can will themselves into a connection with the Void, skipping the lengthy process of learning to connect and encouraging familiarity with the Void. They find learning spells incredibly easy and intuitive, though this does not mean they do not make mistakes or need to spend time learning. Despite this obvious seeming connection to Magic, purist Orion also exist who despite this ease of connection reject all forms of Magic as a continuation of the Dragon Orion supporting the policy of Occult Annexation. In other words, they will not take on Magic unless it is crucial to save the world.
Trivia
- Orion are very capable of having fulfilling relationships with other peoples of Aloria and can experience the full breadth of interactions with other people, except for childbirth. They are incapable of bearing children, impregnating others, or even having their genetics harvested for artificial birth.
- Orion, despite being a known visual across Aloria, cannot be shapeshifted into or replicated in a disguise. Nothing can imitate the appearance of an Orion. It is speculated that this is because the Dragon Orion deeply resented Nox for what he did when he created the Slizzar, and had the final laugh by re-coding the Shapeshifting Creation Particle of Slizzar to make them unable to shapeshift into Orion, and then rewrote reality in the stars to extend that to all other forms of shapeshifting or shape imitation.
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