🔮 Celestials, Cosmic Magic, and Nebula 🔮

Beyond our beloved planet of Cynderin, throughout the reaches of the cosmos, lie beings of incomprehensible size, complexity, form, and power. These beings are known as Celestials.
All that is known regarding these beasts will be explained here; in addition to Nebula, a powdery substance obtained by killing them, and Cosmic Magic, one of the strongest of all magic types.

What are Celestials?

Celestials are the ravenous beasts that can be found all throughout the cosmos, beyond the planet of Cynderin. Thankfully, our planet is kept safe from these beasts thanks to Shamash, The Annihilator, who perhaps is tied with Vayne as the strongest of the titans. But, it is known that very recently in history, a select few of these beasts had set foot on Cynderin for the first time.

Celestials were first documented before the creation of Cynderin. When the universe was rampant with chaos and disorder, it's said that the Gods went on a long-lasting, mighty crusade against these beasts to bring order to the universe and establish a place in the wide cosmos to create Cynderin. After their crusade was successful, to further ensure Celestials stayed far away from Cynderin, Shulton, the God of Time, created Shamash, the Annihilator, to guard the planet, and destroy any Celestials that dare venture toward it. Even to this day, Shamash remains vigilant, guarding Cynderin from such threats.

Until recent times, the mighty titan had been successful at keeping Cynderin safe from Celestials. But, through various means some had actually set foot on Cynderin, and through this we learnt that killing Celestials is possible by mere mortals but requires an immense amount of power to properly achieve. However, only Lesser Celestials have been encountered by Galron and others on Cynderin, and it is stated by the previous Overlord that while they can be killed, it is not permanent. To truly kill a Celestial, he states, one needs a mysterious substance that he calls Novite. As for how Shamash kills Celestials, no one knows.

These powerful beings come in a variety of different shapes and sizes, but it is known that the stronger they are, the larger and more incomprehensible they appear, with extremely powerful ones being able to drive almost all insane simply by gazing upon even just depictions of them. Most appear as ethereal beings made of cosmic energy and pure stardust, but they are able to appear in almost any form. However, it is known that almost all Celestials are mindless or near-mindless, and only act on instinct and aim to devour and conquer all that is.

According to insights given by the old Overlord and the madmen throughout history who've claimed to speak to or gaze upon these beasts, there are three different classification of Celestials: Lesser, Greater, and Supreme Celestials.

The three classifications of Celestials are listed below.

A few depictions of Celestials, magically created by unnamed madmen throughout history, who have claimed to see "the dwellers of the Great Beyond". Most images or depictions of Celestials have been lost to time, or have been sealed away long ago to prevent the spread of the madness gained by simply gazing on their form.

Lesser Celestials

The most "common" type of Celestial. These are the weakest of the Celestials, but make no mistake, they are still very powerful foes. Recently, Cynderin had seen these for the first time not too long ago, when Zenos Yae Galvus summoned some of the weakest possible to fight against Galron. They are almost near-mindless, but exhibit some forms of intelligence. These exhibit mild cognitohazardous effects, so when faced against one, your sanity will drain slowly but surely and over time you will descend into madness.

Greater Celestials

A rarer type of Celestial that Cynderin has never before faced. These colossal beings, interestingly enough, are actually more ravenous and mindless than Lesser Celestials, making them much more dangerous than them. Depictions of these Celestials have shown them to be devourers of planets. These exhibit great cognitohazardous effects, and if you are ever faced with even an image of these creatures, your sanity will drain rapidly and the descent into madness will be fast.

Supreme Celestials

Legends tell of fabled beings surpassing the strength of even the Greater Celestials. There are almost no documentations of these powerful beings, but it's known that their strength greatly rivals even that of the Gods themselves, possess the most insanity-inducing forms, and possess knowledge that far surpasses even Oracles or Djinn. Depictions of these Celestials have been said to induce severe insanity just by looking once. Calamities such as these may be better off fading into the annals of history, after all.

The existence of Celestials is not something that is kept secret from the public, or kept secret by Oracles, Mind Flayers, and other purveyors of knowledge. No, the knowledge on these creatures has simply slowly faded and is no longer known by the general public. After all, Shamash guards Cynderin, so Celestials are never perceived as a constant threat. Now, knowledge of Celestials is generally only taught to the most well-educated individuals and those of high standing. Worshippers of Shulton, though, are typically the most knowledgeable on Celestials. Though, after a certain point, many go mad. However, while individuals may be knowledgeable on certain things about Celestials, there are things derived from Celestials that are in fact kept secret from as many people as possible, things that very few know about: Nebula and Cosmic Magic.

What is Nebula?

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS HERE SO THAT YOU ALL MAY KNOW THIS OUT-OF-CHARACTER.

ONLY SOME INDIVIDUALS KNOW THIS KNOWLEDGE IN-RP, BUT YOU HAVE TO LEARN OF IT EITHER FROM SOMEONE OR BY VISITING THE LIBRARY.

NO CHARACTER WILL INNATELY KNOW THIS KNOWLEDGE UNLESS YOU'VE COME ACROSS IT IN-RP. YOU CAN'T START OFF WITH NEBULA EITHER!

Nebula is a powdery stardust-like substance with a grain size roughly the size of desert sand, acquired from killing a Celestial.

Upon killing a Celestial, the body quickly disintegrates, and this ethereal powder falls down from the sky in the area around where the Celestial died, with the amount of Nebula that falls down being equivalent to the mass of the Celestial. This substance is highly reactive, but seemingly only to living things, beings comprised of mana, or anything that shows some signs of life or sentience (even if the sentience is artificial). Thus, it can be contained in a variety of things, from wooden crates to glass tubes safely, as long as an animate creature doesn't make physical contact with the substance.

Once Nebula is absorbed, there is no way to remove it from the individual that absorbed it. Thankfully, individuals that have absorbed the substance cannot spread it to others; it does not work like an infection. Additionally, even the smallest speck of this substance has been seen to alter individuals. The amount of Nebula one is exposed to seems to not really matter, but rather continued exposure is what counts. Continued exposure always amplifies its effects on the individual's physical form and mental state, regardless of how much is actually absorbed. When an individual has absorbed Nebula, they are referred to as a Starborne. There are two types of these as well: Transcendents and Fractured.

Transcendents are those who have successfully gone through the transformative effects and not lost themselves, coming out of the process stronger than they were before, albeit changed in many ways. Transcendents are capable of fracturing however if they are exposed to more Nebula and cannot handle the effects of additional transformations.
The Fractured are those who have succumbed to the transformative effects of Nebula and have lost themselves. Once someone has fractured, there is no way to restore them to their original state, and only the sweet release of death will set them free. These mindless creatures act only on instinct, and are immensely difficult to get rid of due to their newfound strength thanks to their transformation. However, there are rumored to be ways to control them...

So, when one absorbs Nebula, what happens? As mentioned, they undergo many changes. They shall be addressed in the following order.

Effects on Mana
Effects on the Psyche
Effects on the Soul
Effects on the Physical State

The effects on Mana and the Soul are permanently gained upon the first transformation and do not change at all with further transformations. However, the Physical State and the Psyche do change with each transformation.

That being said, here are the effects of this powerful substance!

Effects on Mana

Once an individual absorbs Nebula and becomes a Starborne, whether they were magically adept or not and whether they even had a natural mana pool or not, will gain Cosmic Mana. This mana, once gained, replaces their natural mana pool and is vastly stronger than natural mana. This new type of mana allows them to have an increased overall affinity for magic, learning spells with ease and having +5 to rolls when learning spells of any magic type. Starborne also gain a general improved resistance to all types of magic. Gaining this special type of mana allows the individual to both use and learn Cosmic Magic, one of the strongest types of magic. Finally, it allows the caster to have twice the amount of casts per event for all spells, regardless of tier.

Effects on the Psyche

The changes brought upon the Psyche of a Starborne are typically quite severe, and unlike other effects, is perhaps the only completely negative effect to occur. When one absorbs Nebula, they are firstly very disoriented and confused, and for their very first time absorbing it, they will break out into severe panic attacks and experience excruciating pain as their body changes, as well as their mana and very soul transform into a Cosmic Soul and Cosmic Mana. For two months after the absorption of Nebula, the individual will experience severe hallucinations, many of which involve actual visions of Celestials that only further decrease sanity. Additionally, their ability to learn and cast spells is impaired, having no control over the strength of their spells and accidentally pouring in so much mana that they become a danger to themselves and others. This doesn't pair with the mental fatigue and near-insanity as well, as you can imagine. While all of these negative effects clear after the two months are over, the Starborne themselves is forever mentally changed.

Effects on the Soul

Furthermore, one of the other big changes a Starborne undergoes is a change in their soul, transforming it into something known as a Cosmic Soul. This occurs regardless of if the individual has an actual soul, or is an angel or demon and possesses holy or demonic energy in place of a soul. Additionally, this occurs whether or not the individual actually has a soul, as when exposed to Nebula, the individual will have a Cosmic Soul manifest for them. Where normal souls are comprised of soul energy, angels are comprised of holy energy, and demons are comprised of demonic energy, Cosmic Souls are comprised of Cosmic Energy.

Individuals that possess a Cosmic Soul gain the new power to absorb ambient / environmental soul, demonic, or holy energy, and convert it to Cosmic Energy that they can use to strengthen their own soul, "heal" it, and use it to cast Soul, Holy, and Demonic magic. They also gain a high resistance to these three magic types, and are capable of absorbing the mana from these spells, but they must concentrate when doing so, can only absorb 50% of the incoming mana, and can't cast spells when absorbing it. Finally, if the individual dies and travels to Purgatory, or if they are a Damned, Ascended, or undead about to be judged to Heaven or Hell, they keep their Cosmic Soul and never lose it. However, both Cosmic Souls and Cosmic Mana in these realms can attract unwanted attention...

Effects on the Physical State

Perhaps the most diverse and interesting of any of the transformations brought about by absorbing Nebula are the changes made to the physical state of the Starborne. First and foremost, they increase in size quite considerably, gaining an immense boost in their physical strength, durability, and agility, as well as much more heightened senses. Not only this, but Nebula always makes the Starborne "better" in some way, typically manifesting as a rapid evolution of a new trait. For example, a rabbit that comes into contact with Nebula may triple in size, have its fur become sharp enough to slice through armor, and may now possess venom glands that deliver a deadly neurotoxin. This is just one example obviously, but it shows just how greatly and unpredictable transformations to the physical state can be when an individual absorbs Nebula, but regardless of what it is, it always acts in favor of the individual to make them stronger. No two individuals will transform the same though, and every transformation is unique.

But, there are many more unique properties and alterations that Nebula has on the physical state of Starborne. Particularly, Nebula is able to merge inorganic things with organic things, yet give the Starborne control over these new extensions, even though in some cases it may defy logic. However, the inorganic object that the individual wishes to fuse with themselves must be in contact with them on the area they wish for it to fuse to at the same time as when they absorb Nebula. For example, if one were to be holding a cannon and they absorbed Nebula, the cannon would become their arm, yet still be fully functional and an extension of the user's body. This level of connectedness is so great that from the individual's perspective, it's as if they were born and lived with the inorganic object as part of themselves their entire lives. Even more interesting, if the object is removed and the Starborne uses regeneration magic (or is capable of passive regeneration), the object itself will grow back instead of the original limb.

What does it take to handle Nebula, and ensure you don't Fracture?

The information on what exactly it takes to handle Nebula and ensure you don't Fracture is still unknown and requires further research.

However, it is known that it takes a tremendous amount of willpower, sanity, intelligence, and strength to handle it. From everything known to us at this time, the best way to ensure you don't Fracture is by using equipment or jewelry made out of a fabled substance called Novite, combined with suppression spells or other items that fortify the user's mind. The true properties of this substance are unknown, but it's known that it prevents--or atleast, alleviates--some of the insanity brought on by absorbing Nebula.

More knowledge will be revealed the more we learn about this substance...

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