Star Temples of the Aure'ellar

Perhaps we are made of stars, as our ancestors said. Or perhaps not. But the pull we, each of us, feel to look up when the stars shine down on us cannot be denied.

— Ninue

  The Aure'ellar, the star elves, have strange and mysterious origins. Their own myths can be traced back through the shrouded past only by the tales their Storykeepers tell. According to their ancestors, they were made by an unknown deity who fashioned them from the motes of stardust. Whether this is true is often a subject of debate among scholars but the star elf connection to these celestial bodies is striking. Not only do they bear physical ties, such as their galaxy spun eyes or shining starlit hair, but they have strong spiritual bonds as well.   After the enslavement of the Aure'ellar centuries ago, much their history was lost. Though they have been mostly liberated now, they still rely heavily on oral history to pass down their traditions. Their spiritual tradition always draws them back to the stars. Funerals, weddings, coming of age rituals all call back to the celestial forms of their origin. To aid in these rituals, the Aure'ellar use ancient observatories known as Star Temples.   Many of the Star Temples were built many hundreds of years ago, and most have fallen into disrepair. Still, there are many that are still standing and in use and the liberated Aure'ellar of Gehnnia have even built two new temples within that country's borders.   Each Star Temple is unique as they are built to be part of the area in which they are built. The materials and shapes must vary to suit their environment. The temples must be built upon the highest point of a given region, so many of them are long and narrow to flow with the summits and plateaus upon which they sit. Every temple has a retracting dome of glass and silver which can be folded back to observe the stars, as well as a multitude of telescopes of all sizes. They often feature orreries to track the movements of the heavens so the Aure'ellar can plan festivals and rituals around these movements.   Beneath every temple is generally a reliquary, where the ashes those elves who have died are kept until the yearly festival of Guiding Stars. Then, the ashes are put into paper lanterns and sent up into the sky, where the souls of the departed can join the stars again.