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Magic: The Stellae Errantes

I. History of the Stella, cribbed from "A Little More History":

"There have been Stellae, I suppose, though they wouldn't have been called that, ever since there have been human beings," Kali says. "The order itself can trace itself back to ancient Babylon. They were the first to make a systematic study of the heavens. The Chinese did too, of course, and there were Stellae-like orders there as well. There has never been a formal union between the eastern and western practitioners, though there has been close cooperation ever since regular contact was made across the trade routes at the time of Darius the Great. The very earliest adepts were probably a rather wild bunch, but there is always a reversion to the mean where mankind is concerned. The Church has been infested with parasites, and great scoundrels have been crowned Pope. In the same way, even the bloodiest and most depraved cults over time tend to become rather bureaucratic, more mindful of protecting what they have gained than at spreading ruination.

"Certainly it was so by the time of the Achaemenids, and the Court of the Stars, as it was known then, was practically a part of the bureaucracy at Ecbatana. It survived through the Hellenic and Roman periods, being associated with various cults and moving westward into Europe. Its center came to rest in Constantinople, and there, I guess you might say, it was Christianized along with the rest of the Late Roman Empire, through the simple expedient of most of its members becoming Christian, as everyone was becoming a Christian at the time. But the emperors at Constantinople couldn't make it a department of the state, for it was too widespread, with members eastward in Sassanid Persia and later the Caliphate, and westward in post-Roman Europe. That is when the Stellae acquired its present, autonomous form, and struck a long-lasting alliance with the Papacy, which was similarly struggling to free itself from Imperial control."

"That makes it sound like it really is part of the Church," you say.

"No. As I say, it was an alliance and an affiliation, and there have been periods of stress between the Stellae and the Church. There was tension during the Crusades, for instance, for the Papacy wished to use us as a weapon. We refused, for it would fracture the Order. Many of our members were Muslim and lived and worked in the Arabic lands. We got our way with the pragmatic argument that a war between magicians would be very bad business. Since then we have insisted on staying free of sectarian and ideological strife. There are enough bad things in the world for us to concentrate our particular gifts against."

"You mean you wouldn't fight the Nazis?" you ask with no little skepticism.

She smiles coolly at you. "We did. They had magicians of their own--none of us, I'm pleased to say--and we concentrated on taking them out. We left the rest of it to the Allies, though, and would have continued to operate even if the Nazis had won."

That sounds rather cold, but you say nothing.

"But our center of gravity became more Europeanized after the Renaissance, and Atlanticist after the colonization of the Americas. The Ottoman Turks did their best to extirpate us in what is today the Middle East. Of course, we still operated, and still do, in Mesopotamia and Palestine and the rest of the Turkic and Arabic and Persian lands. One of the great heads of the Stellae, in fact, was Sulieman the Star-gazer, who lived in the seventeenth century in Damascus."

"Would you fight terrorists?"

"Bomb throwers," she sniffs. "They can barely mix household chemicals. If they had gotten ahold of the Libra, of course, we would intervene. But we would also intervene if the Department of Homeland Security laid hold of it."

"So you really are neutral."

"No, child, we're only specialists."

Appendix: Kali refers to the Chinese practitioners of the planetary arts. In fact, there are two eastern societies still in existence, one in China and one in the Indian subcontinent. These are known as the Great Sages of the Heavenly Court and the Akshardham, respectively. They all formed independently; since the nineteenth century, though, the Akshardham have operated as a junior partner to the Stellae, and the Sages as a prickly and only sometime ally. The recent global reach of the Western powers means that the Stellae have in recent centuries swept most adepts into its order, and it still has the widest and deepest network for finding and recruiting adepts; thus, it greatly outnumbers the other two. The Stellae have been more circumspect in recent years, however, in poaching on the others' turf.

The Akshardham is closest to the Stellae, both because of they came under direct influence at the time of the British Raj and because the Indian cosmology is very similar to the Stellae's. But though the Indians study the planets, their names for the ousiarchs derive from Hindu mythology. Here is a list of equivalents.

Arbol = ???
Viritrilbia = Hanuman
Perelandra = Saraswati
Sulva = Chandra
Malacandra = Murugan
Glundandra = ???
Lurga = Yama
Catilindria = Kalika
Eldibria = Varuna
Kenandandra = ???

The Chinese cosmology is much different. They do not conceive of an influences as a blending of two ousiarchs, but as a single ousiarch (who is given the name of an august authority) who shares qualities with eighteen others. For instance, the blend that the Stellae call Arbol/Malacandra in the Court is a single Sage known as Sun Tzu. Thus, where the Stellae and the Akshardham recognize ten ousiarchs, the Court counts at least fifty-five, and often more as each sage can appear with very different personalities. These combinations have not all been named. Places where Sage names have been determined are noted in Section III.

* * * * *

II. The Prodigies of the Planets

The Stellae derive their prodigies from the planets: The Sun (Arbol), Mercury (Viritrilbia), Venus (Perelandra), the Moon (Sulva), Mars (Malacandra), Jupiter (Glundrandra), Saturn (Lurga), Uranus (Catilindria), Neptune (Eldibria) and Pluto (Kenandandra). There are rumors of additional planets, but none have been confirmed. The Stellae did not even have knowledge of Neptune and Pluto until they had been discovered; Uranus, however, was known to them at least a few centuries before it was officially discovered by Herschel.

The prodigies come through their essentia, which is entangled with the planets. They sometimes call their essentia "alchemically sensitive," but that's an archaic expression. The planets have certain qualities, and the Stellae powers resonate with those qualities.

Each Stellae has two planets, and the particular prodigies they show depend upon the blended complexion of their two planets. They also depend upon their own native personalities, but these personalities are also affected by the planets, so it's a complex feedback mechanism. Suffice it to say that no two Stellae will have exactly the same prodigies or psychologies, even if they share the same two planets.

There is never more than one Stellae at a time who has a particular pair of planets, and Stellae never have a doubled planet. This means (mumble mumble i hate math) that there will never be more than 45 Stellae in the whole world at a single time. In practice, there will usually only be 38, because there are usually only two who have Glundandra as an ousiarch. (There are four Glundandrans only when the two old ones are about to die.) Furthermore, Sulvans are often hard to find; this cuts the typical number of Stellae in circulation down to 29. At least a handful of these will be hidden at any one time. A score and five, then will be the usual number on hand, parceled out among the three societies.

Here are the planets and their qualities. I've also noted each planet's darker tendencies—the terrestrial corruption of their virtues—that well-trained adepts and their compatriots try hard to temper.

Arbol: Associated with knowledge and wealth. Adepts tend to be studious and learned, burying themselves in books and arcane knowledge, which they may not always be able to explain to anyone else. (Like scientists and philosophers, they find it easy to fall into their own argot and assume everyone else understands it.) They may also have a spooky facility at making money, especially in financial markets, where the ability to research fundamentals and spot patterns can lead to fantastic windfalls. Personalities associated with Arbol tend to be sunny and generous; however, they can also become arrogant and jealous—hoarders of their own wealth (intellectual and monetary), and envious or dismissive of what others can contribute. They can also blow very hot when angered.

Their prodigies will generally be associated with light and heat (illumination and fire), intelligence, and the discernment of truth.

Viritrilbia: Associated with language. Adepts tend to be great talkers, in many languages, skilled at explanation and persuasion; they are natural politicians in the best sense of the word. They are also tremendously quick-witted and show terrific street-smarts even if they haven't high IQs or a lot of education; physically, they tend to be sprinters and runners. Personalities associated with Viritrilbia tend to be extroverts and glad-handers, lovers of parties, and they have a hard time sitting still. In darker forms, Viritrilbians are convincing and ruthless liars, perfect con artists, with sociopathic tendencies to exploit others for selfish gain. Their moods can also be extremely changeable.

Their prodigies will generally be associated with speed and language. They are also associated with twins, either being born as a twin, having the ability to manifest a twin, or in rare cases having two personalities that they switch between.

Perelandra: Associated with creativity. Adepts tend to be artists or muses; either the creators of artistry or the inspiration for it. To be around a Perelandran is either to watch as life and art burst forth, or to feel art and life bursting forth from oneself; even in a social setting, when you're with a Perelandran you'll feel like you're expressing yourself and entertaining others in a marvelous fashion, and will feel that others are at the top of their game as well. Artistry in this case also encompasses the natural beauty of the world, so that Perelandrans are also associated with vegetative and animal fecundity. Physically, they are voluptuous (if female) or virile (if male). Personalities associated with Perelandra tend to be earthy, ribald and sensuous; unless strongly tempered by another planet they are also great tellers of jokes. For a dark Perelandran, picture Batman's Poison Ivy; in male form, a satyr charging at you with rape in his eye.

Their prodigies will be associated with growth and life force: the healing of injuries, the replenishment of energy, or the enervation of adversaries.

Sulva: Associated with restless, undirected energies. Adepts tend to be wanderers and daydreamers. They disappear for long stretches of time, drifting they themselves know not where, or retreating into inner spaces so deep that they vanish from sight without leaving home. They are also sometimes mirrors, creating solitude for themselves by reflecting back what others wish to see, thus creating a protective shell around themselves. Personalities associated with Sulva tend to be introverted, quiet, dreamy, footloose. Dark Sulvans give the impression of lunacy when in the throes of emotion; otherwise they are like psychopathic spiders hunched in a silvery web, waiting to catch the unwary.

Their prodigies will be associated with silences and vacuums: invisibility, stealth, disguise. They also have a preternatural ability to turn up exactly when and where their skills or presence are needed, without consciously realizing it.

Malacandra: Associated with the martial virtues, e.g., discipline, strength, fighting skill, loyalty, and chivalry. Adepts are warriors—soldiers or legionnaires, knights or samurai. They possess an unflinching hardiness and tenacity and will pursue a duty to the point of death. Personalities tend to be grim and stoical; watchful even when relaxed; their humor is often scatological. There is, by the way, is an unusual point of conjunction with another planet: Malacandrans, like Perelandrans, often have an association with vegetation. But where the Perelandrans are the burgeoning growth, the Malacandrans are the tempering gardeners. The same tendency to sharpen and train shows up in their treatment of others; Malacandrans have a tendency to run their cohorts like they're fresh recruits at boot camp. Their darker impulses come out as mercilessness, even murderousness: violence inflicted with a butcher knife, an axe, or any other implement that slashes and gashes and throws lots of blood around.

Their prodigies are associated with strength and fighting ability, of the pre-gunpowder type: strenuous hand-to-hand combat or the muscular power of a compound bow. They are great strategists and tacticians, even of the non-military sort, and can read a situation quickly and concoct a plan to deal with it.

Glundandra: Associated with justice and rulership. Adepts, of which there are always and only two at a time, run the Stellae. The senior Glundandra takes the executive role, dispensing assignments and placing the Stellae in their appropriate roles. The junior Glundandra acts as high judge, holding trials (of retrograde Stellae or of captured magicians) and dispensing justice. A well-functioning Glundandra is keen for his subjects' happiness, in the sense not of contentedness but in their being in a circumstance that is proper for them, from which contentedness should follow. They give orders, but generously and gently, letting the others glimpse their reasons for making moves that might seem counterintuitive. Personalities tend to be noble and kingly (in serious moments) but also jolly and merry (in restful moments). Glundandrans love courtly pageantry, which combines a sense of stateliness and style with the joys of dancing and feasting. The darker impulses—which are rarely realized—tend to be the very worst, however: tyranny, oppression, and an Orwellian desire to control ruthlessly and closely.

Their prodigies are associated with leadership: a spooky ability to discern what needs to be done, and how and when; a charismatic ability to inspire loyalty and love and confidence; a fatherly ability to nurture and support and discipline; a monarchical ability to overawe.

Lurga: Associated with penance and contemplation. Adepts are the nurses of the order, in all the meanings of the word. Depending upon their other planets, they can be spiritual counselors, therapists and psychologists, teachers and trainers, and medics. All other things being equal, they do less field work than any of the other Stellae, but act as support and succor when things go badly for the others. Personalities tend to be grave and reserved, and they lead a cloistered existence of meditation when there is no other business to conduct. In dark moods they are oppressive and demoralizing, exuding the bone-freezing chill of the grave.

Their prodigies as trainers are an ability to lead others and orient themselves correctly and straighten out their mistakes; in field work they can turn their "darker" abilities to good use as wielders of extreme heat, extreme cold, crushing pressures, and unnerving terror.

Catilindria: Associated with evolution and perpetual revolution. Adepts are born trouble-makers, tactlessly disordering and demolishing the tidy little lives of others. It's never pleasant, but almost always for the best: they prevent stagnation by stirring things up, and if they destroy something it results in something better growing up in its place. Still, no one likes having a Catilindrian for company; to be with them is to be berated, teased, insulted, and mocked, and to have all your most cherished habits upended; every rug you stand on whips out from under your feet. Personalities tend to be unfiltered, so that the most socially maladroit behaviors flourish, and anarchy is the rule more than the exception. Darker Catilindrians are almost indistinguishable from the regular ones, except that their chaos is only destructive, never creative.

Their prodigies—which they don't always mean to deploy—complement the others (their own second ousiarch or the ousiarchs of their partners) by ramping up their energy or by clearing away obstacles. As a weapon, Catilidrian energies work by sowing chaos, discord and confusion into the plans and tactics of adversaries while creating unexpected opportunities for allies: it's like Lady Luck taking sides in a fight.

Eldibria: Associated with oceans, layers and buried energies. Relaxed, adepts are swimmers of currents and tides; energized, they are wielders of them. Eldibrians are creatures of layers and layering, able to pierce surfaces and depths to discern deeper realities; able to see and battle entities and energies invisible to all others. They can also harness those energies to create tremendous powers and pressures: not the creative energies of the Perelandrans or the chaotic energies of the Catilindrians, but the inundating, all-sweeping energies of the tsunami and the hurricane, energies that cannot be channeled, only loosed. Personalities tend to be muffled, moody, and inscrutable, even slightly alien and alienating, as of some prehistoric atavism thrown up out of the deep trenches of the sea. Darker Eldibrian energies swell and cover and crush, leaving behind no trace but the heaving swell; the dome of water rising to liquidly bury Atlantis.

Their prodigies typically are only loosely related to water itself; there is little of the "water bending" nonsense you'd expect. Eldibrians see into and through people and circumstances, and it is dangerous to try fooling them. Only in one regard is their "watery" skill regularly obvious: the human body is mostly water, and with training they can become greatly adept at manipulating a person's inner tides, altering their moods as the need may be.

Kenandandra: Associated with industry and organization. Adepts are the engineers of the order, able to craft or disassemble spells, sigils or magical items. They also have a tremendous worth ethic, and will pursue a problem the way a Malacandran will pursue an enemy. They are also great organizers, and in those times when Glundandrans are not to be found to lead the order, leadership has usually devolved onto the Kenandandrans. Personalities tend to be somewhat metallic and rigid, in the way that engineers often are, and they sometimes exhibit obsessive-compulsive or neurotic tendencies. In darker moods, they can be suffocating and controlling, forcing people to act as cogs and gears in their schemes.

Their prodigies are the complement of the Arboleans, bringing practical knowledge and engineering skill to the theoretical knowledge discovered and prized by the Arboleans. Beyond their skill at making devices, Kenandandrans contribute dynamic, steady energy to any project, and are more likely to harness the energies of others (including Catilindrians) than they are likely to be unhinged by them.

There are speculations regarding additional planets. One hypothesized planet, Nibiru, has a sinister reputation.

If you know your science-fiction, then you may recognize that the Stellae's names for the planets come from C. S. Lewis's "space trilogy". Of course, I stole them from him. In this canon, though, Lewis got them from Margaret Dillon and used them in his fiction, much to her chagrin. She shows up in "That Hideous Strength" as "Grace Ironwood."

* * * * *

III.

Here is a list of Stellae agents, with a quick character sketch in some places.

Charles Brennan (Glundandra/Arbol): The head of the Stellae. A spry old man, looks like a department Santa Claus out of uniform. Has a kind of veiled majesty not apparent at first glance. Quiet, paternal, encouraging, full of healthy cheer.

Fyodor Chernomyrdin (Glundandra/Kenandandra): Russian. Huge, bear-like man. Very old (as a young man he fought in World War 2) but hale and vigorous. Loud. Very loud. Likes to laugh. The life of several parties. Has a gift for getting people to confess without oppressing them. Mentor of Hal Swann.

Joe Durras (Arbol/Viritrilbia): Seventeen-year-old kid, blonde and athletic. Skills at ventriloquism, vocal imitation; can project a kind of hologram of himself, through which he can talk and see and listen. Whip-smart, but likes to play dumb and goofy. Sunny and cheerful and a lady's man. Real name is Franz Liebesspruch. Adoptive brother of Frank Durras.

Kali Valentine (Arbol/Perelandra): Scottish/African, with a slight brogue. Late middle age, but looks younger. Teacher of theory, has a job as a high-powered architect/interior designer in Los Angeles. Rather arch and professional and pedagogical in her manner.

Verity Walker (Arbol/Sulva): Australian girl, a few years younger than Will. Blind. First manifest ability: Can spot deceptions, even small ones, instantly and infallibly. TWS only, and when she appears she is Robert Prescott's college girlfriend.

Hu Minquiang (Arbol/Malacandra (Sun Tzu)) [Sages]

Margaret Dillon (Arbol/Lurga): Ancient, wizened woman, hunched and bent; tiny and doll-like. Very ugly. Lives in Oxford, spending time in a small, dark, hot room. Impressions of weight and power behind her, can squeeze confessions out of people. Rarely talks, and usually then only to ask pointed questions. Terrifies all the other Stellae with her age and experience.

Miranda Duggan (Arbol/Catilindria): Mother of Andrew Duggan, a near-contemporary of Joe and Frank. Married to Michael Duggan, an associate of the Stellae.

Alaknanda ??? (Arbol/Eldibria) [Akshardham]

Kim Min-jun (Arbol/Kenandandra) [TWS only]. Only four years old at the time of BoM, living undiscovered in Seoul.

John Reilly (Viritrilbia/Perelandra): The librarian/archivist, lives in New Jersey. Late middle aged, with a ruddy complexion and sandy hair. A good talker and writer; witty and learned. Has a phobia about zeppelins and blimps.

Max ??? (Viritrilbia/Sulva)

Aizan Aliyev (Viritrilbia/Malacandra) [Akshardham] [TWS only] Twin sister of Zarina. Two years younger than Will. Hard-edged, martial, beautiful, lesbian.

?? (Viritrilbia/Lurga)

Zarina Aliyev (Viritrilbia/Catilindria) [Akshardham] [TWS only] Twin sister of Zarina. Two years younger than Will. Dreamy, daffy, prone to corkscrew logic, beautiful; adores virile men and isn't shy about chasing them. Her Catilindrian prodigy usually manifests as causing farce all around her.

Tang Bolin (Viritrilbia/Eldibria (Luo Guanzshong)) [Sages]: Rather arch and verbose, exceptionally frail and elderly

Vidya Mukhopadhyay (Viritrilbia/Kenandandra) [TWS only]

Helene Verdier (Perelandra/Sulva) [deceased]: Beautiful French-Arab. Died before BoM, while still in training, at the hands of the retrograde Luccio Strigiotti.

Hilda Gunnarson (Perelandra/Malacandra): Something of a Valkyrie. Her preferred weapon is an enourmous zweihander

Malaika Mbulu (Perelandra/Glundandra): Tweenaged African and heiress-apparent. For a non-Stellae career, appears to gravitate toward acting or modeling. Has a very caring manner.

Punthali ??? (Perelandra/Lurga) [Akshardham/Stellae] [TWS only] Born after the events of BoM.

Aparjita ??? (Perelandra/Catilindria) [Akshardham]

Maria Cardozo (Perelandra/Eldibria): Tempestous Brazilian telenovela actress reaching the end of her career, with a noticeable dislike for young and pretty women. Exceptionally capable at manipulating other peoples emotions, really bad at controlling her own.

Nash Carnes (Perelandra/Kenandandra): Inventor and tinkerer. Middle-aged, with close-cropped grey hair and small rimless glasses. Talks with a pronounced Northeastern accent (think Peter Griffith from "Family Guy"). Cheerful and friendly, but rather more interested in machines than people.

Minnie Fierro (Sulva/Malacandra): White-blonde hit woman with a bit of a conscience. Weapon of choice is a heavy pistol. Has gone undiscovered at least through the time of BoM and operates as a feral, free-lance assassin with a rudimentary control over her prodigies.

Rosalie Stewart (Sulva/Glundandra): Will's distant cousin. Tall, a little awkward on her feet (like a new colt, or a baby faun); long, curly brown hair. Deep, liquid eyes behind tortoise-shell glasses. Quiet and unassuming, shy, able to bear great pain and hurt with dignity and few complaints. Living undiscovered in Cuthbert at the time of BoM.

Kal Krammer (Sulva/Lurga): Iraq II veteran with a very guilty conscience about his role as an interrogator during the aftermath. Leads a hermit-like existence in the south of Iraq.

Bea Churchman (Sulva/Eldibria). Young teen girl, living undiscovered in England.

Gao Chi (Sulva/Catilindria [Feng Meng]) [TWS only]

Will Prescott (Sulva/Kenandandra): You know this guy. His assignment as a Kenandandran, though, depends upon events in BoM.

Frank Durras (Malacandra/Lurga): Tall, strong, powerful, dark-haired and dark-eyed; sour and saturnine in countenance. A guy who doesn't smile. Monkish and awkward with girls. Skills include an invisible mailed hand and the ability to drop invisible heavy objects on things and swing invisible sledgehammers. Adoptive brother of Joe Durras. Real name is Giovanni Bracchioforte.

Miko Toyotomi (Malacandra/Catilindria): Japanese. Small, but a bundle of fury and deadly skills, even without her katana. Highly changeable in mood, quick to take and cause offense, but loyal to a fault. Taken in by Charles while still a teenager after the murder of her father. Has a secret relationship with Rick Bredon, one built on intense sexual chemistry. NOTE: The Toyotomi clan has had a long and practically unheard-of association with Arbol and Malacandra since the 16th century, and the Toyotomis were central players in a now-defunct Japanese group of Stellae-like fighters.

Rick Bredon (Malacandra/Eldibria): Private investigator. Shabby, dirty, alcoholic; cynical. Think "Sam Spade as interpreted by Mickey Rourke." Deadly in a fight. Can see invisible uglies; immensely skilled at sussing out the solution to mysteries, and has a Sherlock-like ability to deduce facts from meager evidence. Truculent, mulish, gives everyone deprecating nicknames.

Ren Bingwen (Malacandra/Kenandandra (Lu Ban)) [Sages]

Father Edward O'Herlihy (Lurga/Catilindria): Spiritual advisor to the Stellae. Tall, with a mop of gray hair, a turtle-like face behind thick spectacles, and a snapping, honking voice. Loves to tease, but hates to be teased. Rude and tactless in manner, and a terrifying teacher. His virtues have yet to be identified, but his skill is at scaring people into being better than they otherwise would be; and praise from him is high praise indeed.

Imam el-Bayoumi (Lurga/Eldibria)

Dr. Chhaya Joshi (Lurga/Kenandandra): [Akshardham] Head of the Akshardham. Female.

Luccio Strigiotti (Catilindria/Eldibria) [deceased]: Killed in action after going retrograde.

Hal Swann (Catilindria/Kenandandra): Mid-twenties. English. Hard-core socialist/leftist in politics, and dresses like a revolutionary and can't resist the usual rhetorical tricks and tics. Has a special hatred for the Fane conglomerates. Excellent with computers and software, and has a spooky talent for setting up Rube Goldberg-like schemes and contraptions that pay off in unexpected ways at unexpected times. Vocal manner is clipped, fragmentary.

??? (Eldibria/Kenandandra)

* * * * *

IV. Dark Stars

The Stellae, Court, and Akshardham are not the only ones interested in the planets and the prodigies they confer. The Fane conglomerate is trying to develop their own equivalents, under the umbrella project name "Dark Stars." Here is the project name for each of the planets.

Arbol = Mimir
Viritrilbia = Hermod
Perelandra = Ishtar [David "Dave" Pendleton]
Sulva = Diana
Malacandra = Nerio
Glundandra = Huangdi [Amstead]
Lurga = Erlik
Catilindria = Pazuzu
Eldibria = Yam
Kenandandra = Vulcan

In addition, Fane has a special service, called Spartacus, that provides security for these projects and all other Fane operations.