Astromancers

**Astromancer** are mages that predict the future from the stars and can alter the weather. The Astromancer Academy is a institution mostly focused on research of the celestial bodies, the stars, the sky, the study of time, and the material known as aether.

To explain what astromancy is to try to solve a question millennia old. Since the beginning of the professional studies of magic, astromancy has been in the minds of some of the wisest men that have walked the arcane roads, and even they struggle to define it. It has been the bane of many academies and schools of thought, but in the end, all that these entities can agree with is that astromancy centers around the study of **aether**.

## Aether as a field of study

As the single unifying element that all schools of astromancy share, aether is the key to understand this field of thought. The first known accepted definition of aether (or quintessence, as many alchemists like to describe it) was proposed by Da’ihash Kamatmur of Khenomeri:

> “For all the secrets that lay yet uncovered in our land, the aether is surely one of the greatest. Coming from the skies beyond our own, this substance contains an unmeasurable potential. It is purer than water, but runs like it. It is stronger than steel, but it shines like it. It moves and dances like fire, yet it contains an energy from the suns themselves. It is the essence of the souls of the stars themselves.”
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More modern definitions usually are more specific about the nature and qualities of aether. The chemical compound that is aether has many forms and properties, but it’s usually considered a light semiliquid in its natural state, of color similar to clear water, but that can react changing its hue into many different tones. Its shape and consistency also changes when in contact with different matters and under different temperatures. The study of how aether reacts under different circumstances is a great field of research in and of itself.

The natural properties of aether are well known in arcane circles. Aether has been known to emit light and energy under certain circumstances, and that energy can be focused into many uses, capable of even twisting and turning the rules of nature and physics. It has been used to give life to the unanimated, constructing of golems and automata that would form part of the ranks of the Khenomeric armies at its peak. It has been used to break gravity, creating flying machines and buildings that defy comprehension, with the floating island of Fehrum Edzulair being suspected of using aether to make it float. It is said that certain forms of aether are able to pierce to the veil of time, telling the users about many things that may come to pass, though only as a shadow of the possible futures. Other more basic uses is that aether-based items are surprisingly good at nullifying certain magical effects, though they need specific crafting and a deep knowledge of the field.

The origins of aether is actually well known for a change. Astromancers have demonstrated that most of the aether reserves in the step come from the outside of the world, usually in the form of meteorites. It is believed that the space between the sky and the stars is filled with great amounts of aether, and under certain circumstances, it will solidify and fall to the ground. The aether will then take up a form similar to the materials present at the area where it collided. This makes finding aether quite a difficult task, since many caches will be either very deep underground, or hidden at plain sight, not knowing the properties of the material unless a trained eye happen to come by. Extraction of aether is a complicated matter, both due to the varied state the substance can be found in, and due to the unpredictability of how it will react. Both dwarves and drows, experts at living and working underground, consider finding a vein of aether a bad omen: its great value makes its exploitation mandatory, but with it always comes certain calamity for those who mine it. In the past, it was believed that mercury was a form of aether, but further study (and many poisoned astromancers and alchemists later) proved that these two substances are completely unrelated.

The rarity of aether makes astromancers keep an eye on the starry nights at all times, paying special attention to any celestial phenomena that might bring any aether from beyond the sky. It’s this that has made astromancers great at studying the heavens, something they also continue as to develop further philosophical pursues.

## History of Astromancy

The field of astromancy has many different roots, many of them from times immemorial. Since the beginning of time, the sentient races have studied the sky and the stars, trying to figure out how they work or what they represent. Many tried to figure out the rules and laws of the world by looking at the heavens, while others saw them as a means to tell the future. These wise men would eventually find common ground, and alongside the other mystical branches at the time, and in 1.673 BBE the School of Light Astromancy was born. At this point in time, Astromancy was still finding its footing as one of the great Khenomeric Schools of Magic, and as such, its members studied tirelessly to try and develop many great uses for their knowledge, though they still lack a common purpose. It would be around 50 years after the founding when a meteorite fell near the Lake of Wolves. Astromancers had detected the stellar phenomenon a long time ago, and had predicted not only its fall, but also the approximate destination of the stellar body. This allowed the astromancers to find the meteorite relatively fast, and so were able to discover for the first time the substance known as aether.

The newly discovered material fascinated the early astromancers: studying its properties, nature and behavior helped resolve many of the many questions they had gathered over the years, and then helped create so many more. It was quickly established that aether was not a substance natural to the world, but an alien element that was related to the space beyond the sky. Astromancers began investing great amounts of time and effort to track any other sources of aether to continue their studies, which they slowly found over time. Many astromancers dedicated great amounts of resources to improve their tools and methods to explore the sky and the spaces between the stars, with the purpose of finding the original source of aether, as well as to track any other asteroid that could contain the element. At this point, a brewing schism between astromancers began appearing. Some believed that the study of aether was the future, and that it would help find out many of the great questions the order had asked themselves for decades, and to also create wonders never before seen in the world. Others believed that astromancy needed to separate itself from aether, seeing it as a misleading element, a mere intermediate element between the stars and themselves, and thus not really able to reliably answer the many questions of the astromancers.

This peaceful debate would be settled, not by the astromancers themselves, but by the Magoclergy. At this point in time, the Magoclergy ruled the Khenomeric Empire, and sought to use magic to gain as much power as possible. This meant that the more practical and direct branches of astromancy would be supported over the more esoteric and philosophical ones. This push against the less practical branches of astromancy would make them abandon the School of Light Astromancy, though they never really abandoned their studies. The remaining astromancers would dedicate their efforts at this time to the creations of things like automata, floating structures, or the control of divine energies. Even the branches that studied the reading of the future were boosted, but these were not that effective, since the future is a fickle and foggy thing even at the best of times.

These efforts, however, were in vain. The defeat of the Khenomeric Empire, the fall of the Magoclergy and the banning of magic in the empire forced the order of astromancers to leave the empire in search of better and safer places to continue their studies. Astromancers, however, had much better luck hiding from the magical purges. The many astromancical researches that centered around the study of the stars and the many philosophical and metaphysical debates about it made them look less like dangerous wizards and more like a branch of alchemists and philosophers. This allowed them to settle near what would become the Kingdom of Tarot, having friendly ties with their alchemists. The astromancers managed to avoid most of the debates about magic and wizards in the Northern Khenomeric Empire by publicly showing their image of scientists and philosophers while behind closed doors they continued to study aether.

The final independence from the Northern Khenomeric Empire finally granted them the independence from scrutiny the sought for. This would allow their teachings to slowly spread around the world, even having a small organization that represent their interests in the Isle of Wizards, known as the Order of Astrologers.

## Astromantic culture and society

At first glance, the world of astromancy is very similar to the other mystical areas of study, they at least share many similarities with wizarding and alchemical societies to fool the untrained eye. However, the world of astromancy gives a lot more weight of philosophical and metaphysical debate and discussion than regular magic or alchemy. Unlike these two, astromancy was for a very long time more a science and philosophy, and those roots still exist within astromantic society. Public debates about the shape of the world, the universe, the movement of the stars and other celestial bodies, the meaning and effects of said movements, the possible existence of universal phenomena unseen by our eyes… The debates and public speeches are a daily occurrence within astromantic society, and they are not shy to teach the willing public their knowledge and ideas. Many plazas have been carefully designed to accommodate impromptu discussion and crowd gatherings, allowing the spread of astromantic philosophy. These activities are so important that every year they celebrate great debate competitions about the latest astromantic topics, and winning even a single bout of debate is considered a great honor, since they can gather hundreds of the wisest men of the land to discuss and present their ideas.

More practical studies of astromancy, especially in regards to the study of aether, are done in private, usually in their laboratories or their personal chambers. Astromancers develop their own individual studies by themselves, with only the occasional help of their apprentices or some fellow astromancer if the task is complicated enough. And while the development of the practical uses of astromancy has grown over time, the general opinion of its wider use is discussed, having no wish to spread their crafts as much as the wizards or the alchemists have. Hiring the service of an astromancer for something other than theoretical studies or philosophical discussion can be a tall order, and their skills can only be bought for a lot of money or the correct connections.

Astromancers pride themselves in their eccentricity. Unlike wizards and alchemists, who tend to blend into the societies they live in, astromancers always keep themselves apart from the rest of the population. They will wear the clothes and garments typical of their order, even if they completely clash with the population around them. They will show mannerisms and customs that are seen as strange, and even uncouth. In many cases, they will barely bother learning the local language, only knowing the most basic elements as it’s necessary. Really, astromancers only feel comfortable around each other, and around those familiar with their order. This is why astromancers are rare outside of their nation, and those few cases outside are seen as odd by other astromancers. Still, many will move around the world if that allows them enough funds to continue their experiments and investigations.

Astromancers are great lovers of art and culture. They will invest greatly in matters such as geometry, arithmetic, mathematics, physics… applied to the more creative matters. They tend to collect great galleries of art, which surprise many of those who are not privy to this custom. Their taste of arts, however, can be seen as strange to the untrained eye, since they do focus more on the application of the scientific elements rather than their aesthetic value.