Gala
Gala is perhaps the most mysterious of the Pantheon. She manifests infrequently, if at all, and opts to remain silent, guiding with a gentle hand. Stories of her appearances often give her the same description of a fragile, sad looking woman, like shattered crockery that has tentatively been repaired. There is a brittleness to her demeanour, the intent to aid is ever made clear, but there's a distance to her affections almost as vast as the night sky itself.
It is said that before her influence the night sky was little more than a uniform series of black expanse interrupted by orderly pinpricks of light. Function without form. Gala, fostering the realms, began to alter their patterns. Pushing together realms of similar ideologies and purposes, forming the constellations. The first was Leo, that of her prized companion. Leonaus gave some of his power to the first constellation, splitting it into the three coloured formations we know of today. And, with the spirit's blessing, the practical night sky was woven into something wonderful.
Starry Starry Night[edit]
It is a commonly known fact that the stars overhead change as the year progresses, each day constellations arriving in the east and departing in the west. However those that study them find the changes to be due to more than just the orbit of the world. The night sky is still evolving, constellations change shape over the years, new stars are birthed while old one die or fall to darkness. The patterns change to accommodate this, some constellations disappearing entirely while other completely replace which stars they are comprised of whilst retaining their shape and purpose.
What this overall purpose is is still debated. But it is surmised that Gala is weaving a specific pattern out of the night sky. Some consider it to be akin to a celestial rune, a grand spell that will activate once the requisite stars have been birthed. Others believe it to be a recording of history, much like Leo, the constellations are representatives of powerful figures in the world's history, a tapestry of time that is visible to all from the world below. Yet there are others still, that theorise the moving of the night sky is no longer Gala's doing.
The blackening of stars is not something that has been researched, at least not publicly. They are attributed to many things though the most worrying theory involves the void. It is not a realm, per say, so much as it doesn't simply inhabit a single star. A corrupting influence, like a plague, that devours what it finds converting the matter of this world and the next into its own machinations. It is this which attracts Gala's main effort. Weaving a veil to separate our world from theirs. But there is a power behind the corruption, one that often attracts the wrong sort of ambition.
Many have come to believe that a Chiron is the final remains of a star. However there is an opposing theory that Chiron are the crystallized tears of Gala, lamenting the loss of one of her adoptive children.
Mother of the Night[edit]
Many aspects have been attributed to Gala, some of which have been natural evolutions of her duties. Due to her influence on the stars and their places in the night sky, the primordial has influence over the barrier between the Physical and the Spiritual worlds. This veil is as substantial as the darkness of night itself yet holds as firm as the core of the world. When the barrier between the world needs to be adjusted or repaired, she is often invoked alongside her husband.
When the Tower of Aetius was constructed, Gala was called upon to oversee the inner workings of the floors and their connections in and out of the spirit world. What was requested was thought to be impossible by most, a web of interconnecting realms, spirits and even just ideas themselves. It is said that the Lady of the Stars wove fabric from the very veil between the worlds itself, refined down into silken cords that adorn the passageways and run between the many sections of the tower. Allowing the impossible geometry to comfortably exist as worlds are twisted and bent as easily as cloth.
Gala is not called upon lightly, her constant, tireless work in weaving the night sky has generated a taboo about interrupting her for what may be seen as frivolous reasons. For her work on the Tower it is said that she received one of the imperial wonders, an artifact capable of ascending any magi to that of a ruler. What that item is exactly, has been shrouded in as much mystery as the Primordial herself. Those that wish to summon her are often required to show sacrifice in order to ratify the necessity of it.
The only successful summonings have occurred during moments of great peril where the Physical realms and the Spiritual threaten to collapse in on one another. There is a great deal of tension between Gala and her brother Chireus, the latter's manipulation of the world's pathways to suit his travels often comes into conflict with the former's designs for the order of the realms. This has led to escalations between religious groups in the past with careless followers of Chireus wounding the world with rift magics, leading to conflicts just short of war.
Astrology[edit]
One of the core tenants of faith in Gala is that there are realms forbidden from the night sky, either for their own protection, or for ours. Those that worship her act to keep the spirit realm as harmonious as they can, seeking the lighten the burden on their patron. Practitioners often fall into spiritmancy, viewing the world around them with different eyes. Those that ascend in the ranks often abandon their sight of the physical realm, discarding the distractions it provides and instead searching for any way they can progress her patterns.
With Gala's final design for the night sky requiring stars that have yet to be birthed, followers have come to believe that her position among the realms allows her to see beyond the normal constraints of time. Upcoming major events are reflected in the changes of the constellations and these changes can be read and deciphered in order to foresee great disasters in the future.
There are not many who tend to believe in this theory, despite how accurate it may seem at times, as many confuse Gala's distancing to be that of detachment. But those that do, scribe the stars to prophesize about what Fate has in store.
