ravenousstar

World History

Sirius's story takes place in a version of Earth which loosely follows history but with a magical twist. Human's imagination and fear of the afterlife created a magical entity. The nameless goddess that was born from that loneliness wanted to be a part of the world that created her so she tore a hole in her dimension and gave humanity a piece of her magic. Over time, people grew to fear magic and its potential to destroy the world if it escaped the other dimension completely. Around the Victorian era, an order dedicated to protecting mankind found an ancient portal and banished the current mages and their supporters to Althiya, a desert world with aimlessly floating islands in a sea of sand. The mages magic awakened hidden crystals that allowed them to stabilize the islands and stop them from wandering.

At first, everyone worked together to stabilize Althiya but the other exiles slowly grew to resent the mages for their banishment and they worked with the locals to imprison the mages, in an attempt to control the disastrous magic that was slowly eating away at their world. When a mage died, a witch hunt was conducted to find the next mage and lock them up. This dark chapter of Althiyan history lasted for many years until the mages finally revolted and slaughtered everyone that tried to oppose them. They created a bloody tyranny and formed the noble houses to rule over the powerless people that imprisoned them. After a unexpected truce, everyone agreed to bury this dark chapter of Althiya’s history. However, there is still a strong sense of resentment towards the commoners among the nobles and fear of crossing the nobles for the common people, it’s just wrapped in layers of arrogance (the nobles believing they are better suited to rule than the weak common people), and a fear of change destroying what they have built for the common people.

Fast-forward to the modern day and no one knows the dark truth about the mages or their bloody history. Althiya is now a mix of the original nomadic culture and an oppressive steampunk-like ruling noble class who are the descendants of the first mages, with seven mages at the top who are chosen by the nameless goddess as divine protectors.

Sirius was chosen the the next star mage, and leader of the mages. A few years after he is chosen, Althiya is destroyed, and he and the other mages flee through the same portal the exiled mages went through. They find themselves on Earth during modern day, where they are hunted by the remnants of the ancient order that exiled the mages.

Character History

Sirius's father was was last star mage so he was born into a very luxurious, and sheltered life. His mother and father always seemed a bit distant and as a kid Sirius tried to live up to his father's shining example. As he grew older, his father's blinding light grew harsher and Sirius felt like he could never live up to it. He started to suffer from panic attacks, which he hid from everyone because that would only prove how weak he truly was. He continued to secretly sink under his low self confidence with books his only escape, while he pretended to be the strong son who would be worthy of his father in public.

To his horror, he was chosen as the next star mage, which only made the chasm between him and his father worse. It was a turbulent time for an inexperienced, young leader too. For the first time a commoner, Altair, was chosen as a mage. No one knew what to do with him. It was too much for Sirius to handle and he's ashamed to admit that he let his advisors handle the situation. They imprisoned Altair, seemingly to protect him from those who would want to hurt him. Sirius knew that was a lie but he didn't have the courage to go against all the nobles so he quietly went along with it, and he kept his distance from Altair because he couldn't face him.

However when Altair went missing Sirius found his voice. He confronted his advisors and worked with the other mages to find Altair before it was too late. It was the first time he acted like a leader. It was terrifying but Altair was in danger. That thought overshadowed his doubts and a hint of the inspiring leader he had the potential for shone through. Luckily they found Altair in time, but he was severely injured, and it had cost him his right eye. Sirius begged Altair's forgiveness, admitting his weakness and promising that he would never turn away from him again.

True to his word Sirius continued to fight against the nobles hatred towards Altair, despite the many whispers that he was a disappointment for taking a commoner's side. It was a hard road but with Altair, who had become his closest friend and confidant, and the other mages at his side, he felt like he could chance the noble's minds.

Before he could realize his dream, disaster struck and Sirius's father used Sirius's own magic, which he had been secretly siphoning from him, to destroy Althiya. Sirius and the other mages barely escaped. They had to flee through the same portal the exiled mages went through, which until then, none of them knew it existed. Sirius was devastated by his father's betrayal and his last words calling Sirius and the other mages monsters haunted him.

Once again he felt overwhelmed and paralyzed with indecision. He should lead the others but he was so shaken by everything and had no idea what to do next. With the help of a young woman named Skylar, who saw the mages in a dream, they were able to adapt to their new world. They all made a vow to never forget Althiya and even changed their birthday to the day Althiya was destroyed as a tribute to their fallen home.

Sirius liked Earth. He didn't feel the oppressive need to be the leader here. They could all just be themselves and Skylar became a part of their broken family. Unfortunately it didn't last. They were tracked down and hunted by the remnants of the ancient order that exiled the mages. They learned the hidden truth about their magic, that their magic is slowly damaging the world around them and they will potentially destroy the world someday just by existing, which was why the last star mage, Sirius's father, destroyed Althiya. He was trying to break the cycle of mages by making sure no one was left alive to become the next mage. By escaping that night, Altair and his friends unknowingly ruined that plan and Althiya was sacrificed in vain.

The truth made Sirius's low self worth crash to an extreme low. Not only was he worthless, but he was also a monster? He could understand why his father acted the way he had, but at the same time, he still wanted to live with everyone.

There was a huge debate on what to do with the soldier they captured, who had told them this damming information. Sirius wanted to let them go as a show of good faith and to prove they weren't the monsters the order thought they were. Altair led the other side, saying it was too dangerous. In the end Sirius managed to convince him. His choice had dire consequences. The soldier turned on them and Altair was taking captive by the Order. Arrakis died when they went to rescue him, and Skylar, who turned out to be the secret eight mage tried to reason with the Order, only to be killed.

The loss broke Sirius and his magic went out of control. His friends were able to stop him but little did he know, the nameless goddess took advantage of his destructive explosion of power to harness some of it for her own goals.

Skylar's death wasn't completely in vain. Some of the higher ups were dissatisfied with how their agents acted and moved by Skylar's sacrifice so they created a shaky truce with the mages. The Order would not harm the mages while they searched for the new air and music mages, Arrakis and Skylar's successors. Depending on how the mages behaved during that time, they may be willing to consider other options. It was hardly a fair deal but Sirius couldn't stand losing anyone else and so he agreed. They weren't strong enough to go against the entire order.


Eclipse

Eclipse was born from Sirius's heartbreak and regret when his powers went out of control after losing Arrakis and Skylar. The first thing Eclipse felt when he was born was an extreme anguish that wasn't his. Sirius's regret that he wasn't strong enough seared itself into Eclipse's soul, creating an inhuman obsession for power. The reason to become stronger, so he could protect those he cared about, was overshadowed by the sheer weight of the emotions tied to his magic. This made Eclipse incredibly ruthless and his morality is often overshadowed by his obsession for power. What better target for these new, overwhelming feelings than the people who killed his friends?

Sirius's gentle soul is inside there somewhere but Eclipse rejects it. He resents Sirius for cursing him with his pain and sees him as the weaker one. The other mages are important to him as well but after being traumatized by the loss of Skylar and Arrakis he never wants to feel that agonizing pain again so he ignores his longing. With one exception, Altair. Sirius's bond with Altair is too strong for him to ignore and he refuses to lose his best friend to his weaker half.

When Altair stumbles on him murdering Order members he tries to get him to join him. When he refused, Eclipse forced Altair's hand. He started leaving his victims wounded instead of killing them, allowing them the chance to run away and tell the Order what was happened. Of course Eclipse knew Altair wouldn't let them make it that far and he continued his little game with Altair for months, desperate for Altair to understand him and join him.

After a year their game came to tragic end. He didn't expect Altair to ask for Sirius's help. That stung more than his other rejections. With Sirius and Bellatrix, another of his mage friends, Altair was finally able to defeat Eclipse. Sirius tried to reason with him at the end, offering him a chance to coexist together but Eclipse refused and tried to kill him, forcing Altair to take his last victim, Eclipse.

Character Details

In order to become stronger Eclipse believes he has to shed his humanity, which just makes Sirius weak. Instead of clinging to human memories like the other mages, Eclipse fully embraced his magic side. Trivial things like touch and normal sight are distractions. He hates that he can't throw them away completely and during vulnerable moments when Eclipse wants connection, he will pull himself away from his magic so he can truly see those around him. A perfect example of this is that when he's with Altair, he always chooses to pull his consciousness back to his human side so he can see his best friend. (However he also would hide behind his magic when he forced Altair to kill since deep down a part of him realized he was hurting him.)

Chess is another one of those annoying human distractions that he can't let go of.

He despises the Nameless Goddess even more than he hates Sirius. She created him to be her weapon nothing more. He will gladly take the power she gave him but he will only use it for his goals, not hers.