The Three Races

A summery on the three groups that populate the Falling Stars world.

The Zodiac Beasts

One of the three main races of the old world. The Beast folk are the strongest of the three. Made of pure muscle, they are humanoid creatures with a variety of animal-like characteristics capable of great feats and are fueled by instinct but their numbers are limited due to Star Gazer persecution. Their eyes can see clearly in the dark and their ears and noses are sensitive to the world around them. They take great pride in their strength and community. The Beast folk typically either have names related to nature or more pun-like names that play into the themes of their aligned Star (ex. a wolf aligned youth having the name “Hunter”), but have been known to have more average human names as well.

It's said that the Zodiac Beasts of old sowed the first fields and built the first houses, eventually passing that knowledge along to the Voyagers and Star Gazers. Many forms of martial arts and self-defense were also created by them. Beast folk towns are rustic and have a simple, homey, charm to them. Due to their acute senses, they get easily overwhelmed in large, bustling, cities. The largest Beast city at the moment is Mazazoc.

There are twelve alignments a Beast can be born under; Aquila, Aries, Canis, Corvus, Draco, Equuleus, Leo, Lepus, Lupus, Serpens, Taurus, and Ursa. Each one corresponds with a constellation that can be found in the sky, the constellations themselves are said to be made in the image of their ancestors-the first Beasts who helped shape the world. Beasts will gain the traits of whichever star they are born under, like how the Ursa aligned get lethargic during the cold months or how the Draco and Serpens aligned occationally shed their skin as they grow. They are a visually diverse group that have colors, markings, and designs based on real world animals. And maybe even some mythical ones. Although sightings of Lepus or Equuleus aligned with small horns are very rare.

There used to be way more than the twelve varients we see here, but they were either completely wiped out or faded away along with their stars...

Lidia is a Draco aligned Zodiac Beast who comes from a family said to be chosen by the great Celestial Warrior (and distant relative), Drake, to protect the Crown Bearer. She’s a cis-gendered lesbian and strongly classifies as lawful good. Because of this, her morals (and those that were instilled onto her by her peers) often clash with those of Elliot and Dave who are far more neutral on topics concerning The Stars and the role of the Crown Bearer.

The Voyagers

One of the three main races of the old world. Voyagers are the wisest of the three but their numbers are limited due to Star Gazer persecution. With knowledge that spans across the universe, most modern medicine and technology was developed (or influenced) by them. Voyager cities are some of the most advanced in the world, it’s almost like stepping onto another planet. It’s quite rare to see them away from their advanced civilizations and living in more rural areas and even more rare for them to end up in Star Gazer populated towns. The Voyagers are a bit on the uncanny side design wise; yes, they’re human but they’re also not? Their skin looks gray, they’re tall and skinny, their eyes and mouths are wide and unsettling. They're often called "false humans" by those around them because of the aura they give off. It's said that they very first Voyagers once possessed strong telekinetic powers but those of the modern day can't do much more than levitate small objects. Voyagers typically have alien/space sounding names.

The Voyagers would argue that their enlarged brains, superior intelligence, and androgynous appearance have made trivial things like sexuality and gender norms/expression completely irrelevant. They just don't see the point of putting themselves in such a small box, especially since it doesn't really change anything in their lives. Watching the Star Gazers obsesses over certain colors of products, or gender reveal parties, or making a big deal over a newborn baby being misgendered is just so strange to them. In their eyes, everyone should be treated the same regardless of how they were born. As such, they don’t lump themselves into a gender binary or specific sexuality (unless they really feel like it, like Dave- although such cases are uncommon), instead choosing to embrace and feel everything at once. Many Voyagers could be classified as Abrosexual or Omisexual and identify as Pangender or Xenogender.

Dave is a Voyager who likes to identify as male and tours the country with a hippie commune, making him a bit of an oddity by Voyager standards. He’s an Omnisexual guy who likes to start shit and has no real preference for gender when it comes to romance and attraction. Unabashedly chaotic neutral; while he understands how shitty the world has become and how important Elliot’s role is, it doesn’t stop him from not seeing their crusade as all that urgent. While Lidia is more headstrong and devout, Dave is laidback and often flippant with his faith in The Stars.

The Star Gazers

One of the three main races of the old world. Star Gazers are the weakest both physically and intellectually, but are the most populous. Star Gazers are just plain old humans in this universe, with no powers or special traits what-so-ever. There are documents that claim their ancestors (the very first Star Gazers) were able to talk to The Stars above and predict the future. They become a mouthpiece for the heavens and used their knowledge to work in harmony with the other two races, but it wasn’t enough to make them happy.

They got greedy.

The Star Gazers would like you to believe that they’re either completely innocent or are victims in a world they viewed as rigged and unbalanced. They shared their resources and land with people who were far smarter and stronger than they were. The Star Gazers should have been the ones with all the power, not just a fraction of it. After all, they could speak to The Stars directly. Shouldn’t that have made them worthy of more?

The Gazers eventually took the power balance into their own hands by attempting to wipe out the other two races which ultimately got their gifts from The Stars revoked and left irreversible damage for years to come.

Modern day Star Gazers are still without their gifts but have gained power in a different way by owning more land and housing than the other races or filling out more positions of political/economic power. To this day, the power balance and distrust regarding the Star Gazers is still very tense. Their only allies are themselves and they are the only ones to blame for the social climate they created. To the Beasts and Voyagers they’re known to be irritable and vain, valuing perfection and material wealth above all else. Their views on gender identity and sexuality is very narrow minded (very “there’s only two genders/homosexuality is a sin” kind of narrow minded). You could say that they’re similar to puritan/conservative/fundamentalist ideology. It drives Elliot insane and causes her to further resent being born a Star Gazer.

After losing all of their powers and credibility to The Stars, the Star Gazers are just…empty and boring vessels with nothing going on for them. Most would argue that they’re useless since they don’t really have a purpose other than serving as a warning and reminding the other races about darker times and the consequences of being consumed by greed/envy. They are a lesson to every generation born into the world.

Their bitterness and pride prevent them from seeing the error of their ways.

Elliot is a Star Gazer that was adopted by a Beast family and was born as the current Crown Bearer. Like Dave, she's seen as an oddity by her own people due to her being raised by a Beast family and having the deadly, horrible, life threatening disease known as "empathy". She has the mark of Cassiopeia on her body, foretelling her role to (attempt to) unite the three races. She’s a cis-gendered, sex repulsed, asexual and could arguably be considered neutral on an alignment chart. Her belief in The Stars is non-existent (even after being given hard evidence that THEY ARE out there and they have opinions) and has no interest in being the Crown Bearer at all but… somebody’s gotta do it…