Stardust

**Stardust** was a legendary weapon built by the famous Artemis Roaille, apprentice to Orpheus, in the early 4330s. Fashioned with bark harvested from the birch trees of the Wyrd, Artemis proudly wielded the bow throughout her decades of service as leader of the exiled bards, who took up archery out of necessity after being banished from their ancestral home of Erin.

Artemis, having entered into a covenant with the Witches of the Wyrd, became an unorthodox practitioner of the Old Ways, combining the extensive repertoire of the Erinic bards' (or *fili*) canon with the arcane arts native to the uncharted Aphelian interior. She naturally sought a weapon which would embody both the hunter and muse aspects of the modern fili, hoping to replicate the image of their new patron goddess Metarot; as the bards' reverence for the Lady of the Crescent Moon grew with every hunt and performance dedicated to her name, their command over the lost arts expanded, allowing them to imbue their bows with blessings from Metarot. Stardust was the first such weapon, a wholly unique artifact in southern Aquila thanks to its secondary use as a retractable lyre. Legends abound of the enigmatic fili who wandered the Wyrd and the continent at large in search of ever greater foes, hoping to either die honorably in the hunt or live to write songs of their victory. With Stardust in tow, Artemis the Wanderer was unmatched in her skill with the bow and lyre both, mesmerizing all who heard her songs of sorrow and triumph. The day eventually came that the Wanderer faltered before a prey every bit her equal, dying with no regrets as her name lived on in the hearts of her brother and sister bards.

Unfortunately, the coven of fili devoted to Metarot soon thereafter met with ruin at the hands of the Templars, whose grandmaster Lord Tomas dedicated his life to eradicating all traces of the Old Ways on Aphelion. The cult were utterly decimated, with what few fili who survived scattering into the far corners of Aquila to evade the ever-vigilant inquisitors. Edmund DeChamps was the sole known paragon who remained on the continent, gathering what relics he could - including Stardust and the late master's repertoire - and sojourning southward to Dreiton. He interred himself and the artifacts within a sealed crypt located near the sleepy town of Ketsith, a popular destination for refugees from Kent and Erin. Upon his death, he was mourned by the thrifty villagers as a kindly old man who spent his days entertaining children with faerie tales comedic and dramatic, never once repeating one tale twice.

Edmund's story faded into obscurity over the generations, the legends of the bards held in trust by some few wizened town elders at any given time. So it remained until the ruins were unearthed by glory-seeker and trickster Jareth, an infamous seeker of forbidden knowledge known to be obsessed with unlocking the lost power of the bards. Through trickery, he obtained the weapon for some time, wreaking havoc upon hapless villagers before being challenged by fili aspirant Piper. An honorable thief, Jareth agreed to settle his dispute by challenging Piper to a musical battle; both would present themselves to the weary spirit of Edmund who yet lingered in his crypt, and whoever could perform the true story of the tale of Moros and Rhea like the bards of eld would earn the right to wield Stardust. Jareth's deft hand with the harp and angelic voice arguably surpassed Piper in spectacle, but he erred by recounting the popular myth that Rhea created the universe and was struck down by the jealous Moros. Piper told the true story of Moros creating the Aether to please his love Rhea, their romance torn to pieces by their jealous children who destroyed their paradise and created Emanation. Thus was young Piper rewarded with the bow, parting amicably with Jareth who sojourned to one of the far corners of Aquila to atone for his sins and begin anew.