FOUR REALMS OF ASTERYIA

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Aeralen is the home of the air signs: Aquarius, Libra, and Gemini. Aquarians are water bearers with the ability to draw and manipulate that element. The goddess Hera, the protector of women and family, also grants the Aquarians healing knowledge. Hephaestus, the god of artisans and blacksmiths, lends his power to heat and cool metal to the Librans. This aids the Librans in their works in metallurgy and other metallic arts. The Geminis are a little less predictable. Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare, bestows magic upon the Geminis. Always twins, one is characterized by a peaceful nature and the other by mastery of warfare. Each possesses several powers that advance their contradictory purposes.

Fyrea is the realm of the fire signs: Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. The god of war and courage, Ares, supplies magic to the Arieses. The Arieses are among the shapeshifters and transform into a ram with long curved horns that can batter and destroy small fortresses in great enough numbers. Apollo, the god of truth and prophecy, and healing and diseases, conveys magic to the Leonians. Apollo gifts the Leonians with healing knowledge, just like me. Far superior to me, Leonians are also prophets and shapeshifters. The Leonians are among the most powerful of the Asteryians and some of the most lethal when in their lion form. Then you have the Sagittarians. Blessed by Zeus himself, the Sagittarians are a different kind of shapeshifter – chimera. Sagittarians can shift into flying centaurs, making for a formidable airborne fleet of expert archers that protect Fyrea from the skies above.

Khthonea is the home of the earth signs: Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. Hestia, the goddess of hearth and home, bestows magic upon the Tauruses. The Tauruses are stubborn and resistant to change and shapeshift into bulls to fiercely protect their brethren. The Virgonians are the peaceful lot of the Khthonean people. The Virgonians get their powers from Demeter, the goddess of harvest and fertility of earth, and can command all forms of vegetation to do their will. The Virgonians use their knowledge of plants and herbs to act as healers for the Khthonean people. Then we have the Capricorns. They are the wildest of the lands. Pan, the god of nature, commands the Capricorns. They are nomads who can speak to and have charge over all manner of nature’s creatures.

Hudorlen is the home of the water signs: Cancer, Pisces, and Scorpio. While you might be thinking that Fyrea sounds like the most inhospitable of all the realms, you would be mistaken. Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and wilderness, empowers the Cancers. Like the Capricorns, Cancers speak to the wild animals of Hudorlen, but they also have familiars – animal consorts - that spy upon their Asteryian counterparts. Cancers are fierce protectors and are known for striking deathblows before asking questions. Poseidon, the god of the seas, storms, and earthquakes endows the Piscesians. Poseidon held nothing back from his people, and the Piscesians can manipulate the sea, cause perilous storms, and shake the very core of the land beneath your feet for miles. Finally, you have the worst of all of the Asteryians, the Scorpions. Fueled by Hades himself. The Scorpions shapeshift into the most hideous arachnids, with tails tipped in poisonous venom that paralyze its victims. No Asteryian healer has ever healed a victim of a Scorpion’s blow.