Leader: Ascendant Empress Dabria, First of Her Name
Population: 20,000
Governmental Structure: Autocracy

“She shall succeed. She must, or else.”

“Welcome to the fold. Stars greet you. The sun is but one star among many, as you are but one gem among many. Your value is as great as the sun, and also nothing at all.”
- Empress Dabria

The Sun was not enough when Empress Dabria was born. It is known that she was once the High Priestess of the Sun Ascendants, but 15 years ago when she arrived at where the Opal Palace now stands she understood with clarity that the Empire of the Sun had become a deeply corrupt and misguided place. In her own words, in its single-minded focus the Empire had stagnated as it failed to understand and foster the beauty that all of the stars had to offer.

So she took upon herself the mantle of Empress, and proclaimed her domain extended to anywhere that the stars can be seen from. As she spoke her words, the Opal Palace rose up from the lake bed and she took her seat upon the Celestial Throne.

The Celestial Empire is small. There can be no argument with that. However, the Empress has set her eyes upon a goal which has sent shocks throughout the Empire of the Sun, and is set to be the stage for continued upheavals throughout the world. The blood of the Emperor stood as a rival to Him, and the consequences of such are still to be felt among the provinces the Empire has subsumed.

Awakened Psions are welcomed to her Palace with open arms, showered with praise and given a place among Her people where they can seek out their own personal goals. Many of them look towards greater things, trying to understand their place among the world and the very place of Archaea itself. Many are forever changed by the insights they glean.

Prophecy of the Stargazers: Someday we will all return from whence we came.

Where are we from? How did we get here? Seeking knowledge always has value, but these are the driving questions we should be asking. We have put together many pieces of our story in the Great Dabrian Library (GDL), but so much is still unknown.

Besides knowledge, our second mission is to spread the word. There are those who understand our true place in this world, and those who do not. Once you have stepped outside the jar that holds our world, you cannot unsee. Take a pilgrimage to visit our Observatory. The rich knowledge you will gain will change your world forever. But the world was always thus, it is you who must adapt to meet it.

Go forth, loyal followers. Listen, learn, see, share.

A deeper look into Celestial culture:

Stargazers believe humans did not originate on this earth. They have seen other worlds, and rumor has it there are ways to travel between them. Their mighty Observatory is supposedly open to all, but few are permitted to see what it holds. Visitors usually tire of the tiers of information they must learn and tests they must pass before being permitted in. Those who persist through all the levels begin to count themselves as Stargazers long before they enter the Observatory. Those who do enter the Observatory gain the title of Observer, as well as a fanatical certainty in the truth of Dabria’s claims.

Celestial Cartographers are on the path of knowledge leading to their Observatory visit or have already been. After they become Observers, some remain celestial cartographers continuing their quest for knowledge, some become Doomsayers spreading the word afar, and a few choose to leave these professions altogether. Those few, known as the Shuttered, usually live quiet lives and are looked upon with empathy. Some knowledge is too much. Additionally, not all Doomsayers have visited the Observatory. Some have knowledge of the Abyss acquired in other ways, and some merely wish to spread the word for the sense of belonging it brings them. While this last outlook is tolerated, it is not likely to lead to advancement.

The Great Dabrian Library:

The Great Dabrian Library is also known as the GDL and playfully nicknamed the G’Dull by beginning Stargazers due to long dull hours spent in study. It is the largest known library in the world, despite being only a decade old. There is a small part of it open to the public, but the underground tomes are only accessible by Stargazers. This is where they learn the ancient knowledge that will prepare them for the Observatory.

For those who have visited the Observatory:

The final test before gaining admittance to the Observatory relates to a giant star map that spans the entire underground library over many floors. Aspirants first must identify the pattern as a pattern of the stars, then find the fixed point from which this world views the sky, and finally identify the significance of the viewpoint from the center of the map. Skilled Observers will be able to navigate the library itself via the star map. The center point, known as the Abyss, has different meaning for each person who encounters it, but all agree that it means we humans are strangers in this land.

Regional Professions

Celestial Cartographers

Trait: Augury

The Empress first guidance was to look to the stars, and the Celestial Cartographers heeded that call. They built amazing contraptions to gaze far into the darkness overhead and began to map the many constellations. Gazing into the void for so long though, some began to see that there were those things which moved, not a thing that could be seen alone but rather a void which at times seemed to gaze back.

Role:: Scientists, diviners, fanatics

Doomsayers
Trait: Scourge of the Abyss

When you know that the end is nigh, what do you do with that knowledge? The doomsayers seek to spread it. They claw at a person's doubts, and in their most delicate of moments tell them the truth of the void that awaits all. That which hides within the stars and ink black skies, that which only the Empress is prepared to stand against.

Role:: guards, zealots, nihilists