Starku

The Starku religion is a set of beliefs based around the worship of gods who control the magics of Demrefor. These gods are heavily represented by a religious symbol known as the “Eight Star.”

It has a significant following as its main belief, that all people have a connection to magical powers that can be enhanced and improved by study and practice, does not conflict with most other religions and so it can be practiced alongside other religions.

Currently, there are two major versions of the Starku teachings. There are the ‘Old Learners’; who follow the oldest known version of the religion and deny the existence of the second group of deities. And the ‘Full Disciples’; who worship the newer teachings and believe in the secondary set of gods known as the ‘Outlying Spectrum.’

It is considered bad luck in the Starku religion to learn magic under more than one deity because of the physical strain magic puts on the user.

Deities

Starku deities are the rulers of the Eight Star; a religious symbol that represents magic. Starku followers believe that the deities invented the magic they represent and that all magic users are the decedents of either the Starku family or their disciples.

There are seventeen magics and eighteen deities involved in the Full Disciples’ version of the Starku religion; with only nine for the Old Learners’ version. Each deity is represented by their own crystal, which can also be used to enhance the magic they control.

The deities, magics, and their respective stones are listed below:

Deity	Magic	Stone
Arroblas	Prophecy	Opal (Full Disciples) Serendibite (Old Learners)
Orlou	Summoning	Green Andesine
Kitan	Telepathy	Morganite
Tanko	Telekinesis	Cymophane
Prisay	Familiar Taming / Creation	Emerald
Welten	Alchemy	Orange Carnelian
Nortocor	Enchantment	Garnet
Ivvizix	Shape Shifting	Ruby
Jornjy	Dream Walking (Full Disciples)	Sapphire
Jornja	Dream Whispering (Full Disciples) Dream Mastering (Old Learners)	Turquoise
Nete and Chel	Portal Jumping	Citrine
Joe	Science Theory	Lapis Lazuli
Ryx	Curse and Bless	Green Idocrase
Dortle	War Spells	Aquamarine
Lolto	Crystal Enhancement	Scapolite
Ulutu	Aura Sensing	Jade
Takalore	Soul Magic	Rose Quartz

There are not many rituals or churches for the Starku religion; it is simply a belief of how magic came to be. Because of this, the religion is usually believed alongside other religions in order to complete missing information. The Animon religion is the biggest co-religion for those who believe in the Starku deities as the Animon afterlife and ways of teaching enhance the belief of the Eight Star deities.

How the Eight Star came to be

Old Learners

It is believed that before the original Starku deities ascended to godhood, they were a family. All blood children of the great Prophet Arroblas; founder of the Eight Star and first of the family to become a god. Arroblas and their children are known as the ‘Original Nine’ and are considered, by some, to be the most important members of the Eight Star.

Arroblas’ eight children are as listed: Orlou, Kitan, Tanko, Prisay, Welten, Nortocor, Jornja, Ivvizix.

Kitan and Tanko are twins, though they are nearly never described as looking the same. It isn’t clear how the Original Nine got their powers as it changes from teaching to teaching, but it is a common understanding between variations of the religious texts that they helped each other develop their skills and that they created the Eight Star as a symbol for their loyalty to each other.

Full Disciples

Arroblas was the first to ascend to godhood after foretelling the death of Welten and sacrificing themselves to save their child. They were followed soon after by half of Jornja’s memories, which were accidentally removed from their body by Ivvizix during an argument.

Ivvizix got so enraged during Arroblas’ funeral that they changed shape without meaning to and attacked Jornja, splitting their head open and removing their memories. The were-animal fled and Ivvizix, fearing that they’d murdered their sibling, sought work at a faraway farmhouse tending to cattle.

One of Kitan’s friends, named Takalore, tried to mend Jornja’s body and return her soul, but only managed to bring back half of their memories; Jornja’s childhood (known by their old nickname Jornjy) was forgotten by her adult self and sent into the afterlife. Jornjy joined Arroblas in the afterlife and Takalore was welcomed as a member of the family for their heroic attempt to save Jornja, and became the goddess of souls. Jornja and Jornjy remember two different types of Dream Mastering. Jornja remembers the more complicated Dream Whispering, while Jornjy only recalls Dream Walking.

After Jornja was mended, they went looking for Ivvizix with their life-partner, Ulutu. They spent years on the road and Jornja was becoming distraught. Ulutu picked up on Jornja’s distress and developed Aura Sensing to help find Ivvizix. After Ivvizix was found she refused to take her place on the Eight Star and instead let Jornja and Jornjy sit next to each other.

Several hundred years passed and the entire family had joined Arroblas and Jornja. It was then that a strange man known as Lolto fell in love with Nortocor. In a desperate attempt to impress Nortocor, Lolto learnt to harness the magical properties found in crystals. Nortocor was impressed but not infatuated; the two became close friends and Nortocor helped Lolto ascend to godhood as the teacher of Crystal Enhancement.

The Eight Star was peaceful for a while after Lolto’s ascension; until sixth-generation soldier Dortle decided to harness magic as a technique for battle. The warrior studied summoning and telekinesis, and eventually began throwing fire during battles.

While practising these fireballs they burnt down the home of a powerful enchanter named Ryx. Ryx was furious used their enchanting abilities on Dortle, creating the first curse. The curse was to make each spell Dortle used backfire; meaning harmful magic would not only hurt Dortle’s target, but Dortle themself. However, Dortle continued fighting through the pain and it is said they saved thousands of lives. Upon hearing about Dortle’s bravery Ryx tracked down the soldier and removed their curse. They replaced the curse with a blessing of good luck and joined the army to fight alongside Dortle.

The pair became loyal comrades in battle and, though they never saw each other as friends, their loyalty ran so deep that when Dortle was mortally wounded during battle Ryx stayed behind; knowing that it would be their death but not willing to leave their comrade to die alone. Together the two joined the Eight Star and were welcomed into the family. Dortle became the deity of War Spells and Ryx as the teacher of Curses and Blessings.

Nete and Chel were the next to find their home with the Eight Star, although it is said they didn’t die before being welcomed as goddesses. They are unable to die, say some. They are most commonly known as a lesbian couple of alk-mixes who have mismatched wings, sharp tongues, and no tattoos. The pair came seemingly out of nowhere and spoke of strange worlds and planets and customs. With them they brought cures and vaccinations for a variety of illnesses that had infected and killed millions of people. They taught the people of Demrefor about portal jumping; a way of transporting through space and time using mostly-natural rips in the universe.

Through this, the Demreforian people were able to bring a variety of new plants and animals into their world, including invaluable familiars for familiar tamers. These animals included things like cats, foxes, spiders, and snakes, which evolved to suit Demrefor’s new atmosphere and environment.

There are many clear drawings and meetings of Nete and Chel throughout recorded history. Most people say the two goddesses bare a stunning resemblance to a pair of human travelers known as Janet and Rachel, who are experienced portal jumpers found throughout a large part of Demreforian history. Many like to create theories for this but most assume it is just a coincidence. Either way, both couples are accepted as important teachers and educators of the art of portal jumping.

A human named Joe is the god of science theory. Joe was the first human child to ever bare the green spot on the back of his neck. He is thought to have been the smartest sentient to have ever lived and made thousands of discoveries connecting magic and science as one. These discoveries improved magic users’ understanding of their own powers and helped enhance everyday magic; and even though it is not considered a form of unique magic on its own, science theory is a very important part of the Eight Star and is commonly taught to all types of magic users. As thanks for his contribution, Joe was added onto the Eight Star where it is believed he is helping the older deities improve and expand their craft.

In the end, the Eight Star family had changed quite a lot from the Original Nine. The nine magics had turned into seventeen and the Eight Star symbol was modified to house all the newcomers.

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