Starfallen Submissions: Part 2

In part 2 of 5 in our "meet the contenders" series, we present three more hopefuls for Darktooth's journey to the stars. Names and details have occasionally been tweaked, but we believe the general ideas and spirits remain solid. These are my own summaries crafted for a primarily human audience, so human language conventions are generally used rather than Kin ones.

Many of the Kin who made the voyage did so because they were, in some sense, of an exploratory mindset. The idea of encountering an entirely new reality was, so some Kin, very attractive. Today's candidates feature three explorers among the Draak-Kin. Their experiences in seeking the unknown have led to radically different results, but they do have one thing in common... the scars.

VOIDSEER, Child of the Stars

Youngest of all of the Kin who joined Darktooth in the exodus, this Sapphire Kin was still in its infancy when it made the voyage to Newhome. Having spent its first few years living among Australia’s grand reefs, its heart was given over to the sea, which it loved with all of its being. Hibernating in transit, it was spiritually impacted by the vast darkness and emptiness of space, and it awakened shaken and weak, desperately longing for the embrace of Earth’s ocean. Instead, the deadly sea of Newhome greeted it, in which no life may thrive.

Heartbroken and filled with regret, the very young Kin could do nothing but dream of Earth. Though Darktooth had saved its life by bringing it to Newhome, it resented this new world and could think only of the cool and friendly waters of its first home. Making its lair in the Twilight where the light and dark sides of the world met and the stars could faintly be seen, it became obsessed with returning home. Though counselled by Darktooth to leave the past behind and embrace a new existence, it refused to abandon Earth in its soul, and began to learn all it could about the void between worlds and how to traverse it.

As it grew, it began to identify more with the vastness of space than the world of Newhome, and found great wisdom in the “Sea of Stars”. This eventually led to a collaborative relationship with the stargazing Luxa, some of whom began to see Voidseer as a prophet who would, in a reversal of Darktooth’s voyage, lead them and itself to a beautiful blue-green world where the ocean was not deadly and light and darkness alternated daily, revealing both sun and stars to all. Its quest for Returning may cast a long shadow across the events transpiring on Newhome.

DANCER, Lover of Night

It is rare but not unheard-of for the union between Kin of two different Clans to belong to a separate group altogether. Such was the case with the Emerald Kin, Dancer. Born on ancient Honshu to Sapphire and Ruby parents, adverse conditions while in the egg caused it to be born smaller than usual and suffering from photophobia, experiencing light, especially bright light, as painful. To avoid the hateful glare of the sun, it sealed itself in caves during the day and roamed the land at night. Only then did it feel free, dancing under the stars when the moon was darkened.

Defeated again and again while seeking territory due to its small size and intolerance of light, it learned to use its head to achieve victory over others. It became a rapid and lean survivor, friends with all of the animal denizens of the night, and brought a clan of owls under its vassalage while still an adolescent. Eschewing traps and lies, it instead found how to use quick thought, smaller size and higher speed to its advantage in a fight, and finally carved out a modest territory for itself among much larger competitors.

While well-versed in the arts of stealth and surprise, Dancer was not a shadowy assassin at heart, but a lover of those who dwelled in darkness, a small yet strong ally of all things unseen. Its decision to join Darktooth was an intellectual one; it could not resonate with Allmother’s plea, nor was there any particular love of the land or hatred of humans in its heart (or very much pride, for a Kin – its small size had taught it a certain constructive humility), and it doubted that it would ultimately survive if it joined Many-Times-Burned’s crusade. Having found most of its success through wisdom and intelligence, it had more respect for Darktooth than for the other elders, and stealthily joined its side after the Grand Moot, successfully hiding from Many-Times-Burned’s wrath long enough to escape. Upon arriving on Newhome, it was instantly fascinated by the permanently dark half of the planet, which very few dared to even draw near. Who knows what it will discover there, far from the sight of the rest of the Kin, and how it may influence the history of Newhome?

BITE FROM THE BEYOND, Defiled Beacon

A ferocious and misanthropic (or whatever the Kin version of that is… misdrakonic?) Kin of a traditional yet cunning kind. This Sapphire Draak was abducted by Brightlings and scarred by the experience on more than one level.

From a very young age, this Kin was fascinated by the weird and unknown. When it successfully staked its first long-term territory in the cold waters near Iceland, it was a feared monster to humans, inspiring more than one Viking tale and even a few lasting superstitions among their wave-riding warrior descendants.

But this was no dullard who relied on size and strength alone. Greatness, it believed, consists of discovering and illuminating what is hidden and unknown. When not feasting on other beings of all kinds from fish to giant crabs (the last of them) and even young belugas (its favorite food), it sought pleasure and status in the act of discovering secrets, as many Kin do. For “Lantern-in-the-Deep”. Something called to it from the depths with an alluring song, and it followed, caught in a terrible current.

Its insatiable curiosity eventually led it to unintentionally attract the attention of the Brightlings. First seducing Lantern-in-the-Deep using a "plastic ambassador" and then abducting and experimenting on it, the Brightlings gained information about the Kin as a species which would prove critical in the long term. The Kin was returned physically scarred with glowing silver marks along his tail, but otherwise healthy in body. Its mind, however, was badly affected. Its natural curiosity turned into a twisted obsession with finding the beings who traumatized it. Lantern-in-the-Deep was now Bite From Beyond, 

It studied the mental arts… the path of Air, which it believed was closest element to the Brightlings... and is drawn to its tormentors by a terrible cord. A staunch traditionalist when it comes to its own rights and deserts but uncaring when it comes to those of others, it tends to be grouchy and unfriendly, not valuing the company of gentas, especially Draak-Kin, whom it sees as competitors and threats, It searches continuously for the Brightlings, following every possible lead, chasing a dark star eternally towards the horizons of Newhome, a bold explorer on a search for its own doom.