Hey Gauntleteers, I’m back crowdsourcing the miscellany for Codex – Dark 2.

Hey Gauntleteers, I’m back crowdsourcing the miscellany for Codex – Dark 2.

Hey Gauntleteers, I’m back crowdsourcing the miscellany for Codex – Dark 2. This miscellany is called “Three Dozen Constellations.” Submissions need to be a single sentence, or 2-3 short sentences. By submitting here, you’re agreeing to let us use it (you’ll get a credit on the issue). We’re looking for evocative things; the purpose of the miscellany is to inspire the reader.

Here are some examples:

“The story goes that when Semias the Insatiable found nothing left to conquer, he knotted a ladder out of every kind of grass and rush, tied it to an arrow, and aimed his bow at the moon. On clear nights you can see Semias’ Ladder marked out in the stars and Semias himself as the brightest star among them, still climbing.”

“Any child with a passing interest in astronomy can find Orion the Hunter by his bright belt of three stars. Or they could. Now only two remain, and one of them is fading.”

“The goddess Nerha’s love for Vaone was surpassed only by her grief at the knowledge of her mortal lover’s eventual death. Unwilling to let death claim her, Nerha carried Vaone with her into the stars, where the two remain entwined as a single constellation.”

P.S. If you want to be credited as something other than your G+ name, let me know!

100 thoughts on “Hey Gauntleteers, I’m back crowdsourcing the miscellany for Codex – Dark 2.”

  1. One of the constellations observed by the monks of the Order of the Silver Glow is called The Sailing Seeds. Every few years the monks update their records of the many stars, but they’ve failed to realize the Seeds keep getting bigger. They are coming.

  2. One of the constellations observed by the monks of the Order of the Silver Glow is called The Sailing Seeds. Every few years the monks update their records of the many stars, but they’ve failed to realize the Seeds keep getting bigger. They are coming.

  3. Nine constellations appear in the southern sky throughout the warmer months. Legends say they were great spirits, the first of their kind. The constellations are easiest to see in late spring-early summer just after dusk and just before dawn, for they are moving further away. They must move further away…

  4. Nine constellations appear in the southern sky throughout the warmer months. Legends say they were great spirits, the first of their kind. The constellations are easiest to see in late spring-early summer just after dusk and just before dawn, for they are moving further away. They must move further away…

  5. During the third evening hour on the third day of the third month, if you whistle to the stars, they whisper their words. Not to your ears, but to your soul.

  6. During the third evening hour on the third day of the third month, if you whistle to the stars, they whisper their words. Not to your ears, but to your soul.

  7. Every winter for many years they had found Orion in the night sky. Every year, they kissed. Every year except one, when ocean and desert would separate them – but they did not know this yet, so they still leaned in.

    (If you want to swap out a different constellation, that’s fine, Orion is just my favorite.)

  8. Every winter for many years they had found Orion in the night sky. Every year, they kissed. Every year except one, when ocean and desert would separate them – but they did not know this yet, so they still leaned in.

    (If you want to swap out a different constellation, that’s fine, Orion is just my favorite.)

  9. Every the spring, when Artax is in the House of Griovaer, the children of the village wander to moonwell and gather the holywater from it. The legend say that if one year the children doesn’t get the water the demon Hastrufaal will rise and destroy the village and enslave the people.

  10. Every the spring, when Artax is in the House of Griovaer, the children of the village wander to moonwell and gather the holywater from it. The legend say that if one year the children doesn’t get the water the demon Hastrufaal will rise and destroy the village and enslave the people.

  11. Uzanka, the Kingmaker is fully visible on the hottest night of the year, when the heir apparent of Irigabe is traditionally crowned. Uzanka’s stars can appear in two configurations: horns up and the heir is accepted, horns down and the priesthood reject the candidate. If there’s a trick to why every heir hostile to the priesthood has been rejected, no one outside the priesthood knows it.

  12. Uzanka, the Kingmaker is fully visible on the hottest night of the year, when the heir apparent of Irigabe is traditionally crowned. Uzanka’s stars can appear in two configurations: horns up and the heir is accepted, horns down and the priesthood reject the candidate. If there’s a trick to why every heir hostile to the priesthood has been rejected, no one outside the priesthood knows it.

  13. Algar, that cursed string of crimson stars that I can see even when I close my eyes and try to sleep. Algar, I can hear the screeching howls of their radio shadow reach to me across the void. I’m sorry but the only surcease I get is by carving their name in your flesh. Sorry, so sorry AlgarAlgarALGARALGARALGARALGAR…

  14. Algar, that cursed string of crimson stars that I can see even when I close my eyes and try to sleep. Algar, I can hear the screeching howls of their radio shadow reach to me across the void. I’m sorry but the only surcease I get is by carving their name in your flesh. Sorry, so sorry AlgarAlgarALGARALGARALGARALGAR…

  15. :: There are no stars, just holes where the god-vandals have scrawled their names too hard

    :: There are no stars, just holes where the god-scientists have removed their instruments; a failed experiment left untended

    :: There are no stars, just holes where tomb raiders have broken into the SkePharaohs’ rest place

    :: There are no stars, just holes where unregulated time travelling tourists have pierced space-time; one day a black spiderweb will in tension hold it all together

    :: There are no stars, just peep holes for timeless voyeurs, each masturbating, a great race to climax before Heat Death’s maximum entropy

    pardon my enthusiasm

    :O)

  16. :: There are no stars, just holes where the god-vandals have scrawled their names too hard

    :: There are no stars, just holes where the god-scientists have removed their instruments; a failed experiment left untended

    :: There are no stars, just holes where tomb raiders have broken into the SkePharaohs’ rest place

    :: There are no stars, just holes where unregulated time travelling tourists have pierced space-time; one day a black spiderweb will in tension hold it all together

    :: There are no stars, just peep holes for timeless voyeurs, each masturbating, a great race to climax before Heat Death’s maximum entropy

    pardon my enthusiasm

    :O)

  17. Every 25 years the second moon, Akulus, appears at the Sky. There it stays for 5 days. The colour of the moons tells the seers of the tribe what will Happen in the next 25 years.

  18. Every 25 years the second moon, Akulus, appears at the Sky. There it stays for 5 days. The colour of the moons tells the seers of the tribe what will Happen in the next 25 years.

  19. Every star

    is a daughter of the Sun and the Moon.

    Every night

    the Moon brings their golden children out to play in constellations across the sapphire sky.

    Each and every daybreak –

    as his husband’s golden brow crests the horizon – the Moon spirits their daughters away:

    the Sun’s light is too fierce and beautiful for their children to bask in,

    just yet.

  20. Every star

    is a daughter of the Sun and the Moon.

    Every night

    the Moon brings their golden children out to play in constellations across the sapphire sky.

    Each and every daybreak –

    as his husband’s golden brow crests the horizon – the Moon spirits their daughters away:

    the Sun’s light is too fierce and beautiful for their children to bask in,

    just yet.

  21. Larna’s Arrow

    The other gods will say that Larna has not won the archery contest has her arrow has not reached the end of it’s flight. Larna ignores their feeble protests and continues her hunt.

  22. Larna’s Arrow

    The other gods will say that Larna has not won the archery contest has her arrow has not reached the end of it’s flight. Larna ignores their feeble protests and continues her hunt.

  23. Amber and Straw, Saffron and Maize

    sparkle within our Great Grandmother’s Eyes.

    Harlequin, Jade and Celadon

    spun into thread by Great Grandmother’s Hand.

    Flame and Wine and Folly too

    remember the story of Grandmother’s Youth?

    Celeste and Blinding Indigo

    we follow her, follow her, follow her home.

  24. Amber and Straw, Saffron and Maize

    sparkle within our Great Grandmother’s Eyes.

    Harlequin, Jade and Celadon

    spun into thread by Great Grandmother’s Hand.

    Flame and Wine and Folly too

    remember the story of Grandmother’s Youth?

    Celeste and Blinding Indigo

    we follow her, follow her, follow her home.

  25. Aethere’s Shield

    9 yellow stars around a bright green nebula. Aethere set them there to hold Kery the destroyer in place for a thousand and four years. The nebula boils with fury.

  26. Aethere’s Shield

    9 yellow stars around a bright green nebula. Aethere set them there to hold Kery the destroyer in place for a thousand and four years. The nebula boils with fury.

  27. The Scorned Lover was formed from a heartbroken sigh. The chill of their heart froze the anguish breath, the heat of their anger carried it to the heavens. A bad omen for honeymooning couples.

  28. The Scorned Lover was formed from a heartbroken sigh. The chill of their heart froze the anguish breath, the heat of their anger carried it to the heavens. A bad omen for honeymooning couples.

  29. Galmoran was a great hero once but his wounds left him helpless. He spent the remainder of his days asking for food or coin under a grand sycamore.

    As a reminder to a people who would send their sons to war and then turn their backs on them, the Goddess Eluartha swept Galmoran and his tree into the stars. Ten stars spread over the southern sky to form The Beggar’s Tree.

  30. Galmoran was a great hero once but his wounds left him helpless. He spent the remainder of his days asking for food or coin under a grand sycamore.

    As a reminder to a people who would send their sons to war and then turn their backs on them, the Goddess Eluartha swept Galmoran and his tree into the stars. Ten stars spread over the southern sky to form The Beggar’s Tree.

  31. It is well known that the Cerberus constellation, as described by Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century, is no longer recognized by the International Astronomical Union, and is instead considered a part of the Hercules constellation. Less well known is the number of Herculean cultists within the IAU.

  32. It is well known that the Cerberus constellation, as described by Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century, is no longer recognized by the International Astronomical Union, and is instead considered a part of the Hercules constellation. Less well known is the number of Herculean cultists within the IAU.

  33. One by one the stars are disappearing from the sky. Swallowing an infinite amount of stars is a long process and we watch for years and decades as they disappear. Goodbye, Big Dipper, goodbye, Orion. We continue on with our lives, hiding the horror that one day, the star that disappears will be our own.

  34. One by one the stars are disappearing from the sky. Swallowing an infinite amount of stars is a long process and we watch for years and decades as they disappear. Goodbye, Big Dipper, goodbye, Orion. We continue on with our lives, hiding the horror that one day, the star that disappears will be our own.

  35. The Factory produces constellations at a rate of one per week: forged in the light of the sun, the stars are launched into the sky at the weekly Festival of Filling. The children sing of the day when the sky will be glutted with sun-smelted fragments, and there will be nothing more to fear from the night.

  36. The Factory produces constellations at a rate of one per week: forged in the light of the sun, the stars are launched into the sky at the weekly Festival of Filling. The children sing of the day when the sky will be glutted with sun-smelted fragments, and there will be nothing more to fear from the night.

  37. “Outside the abbey walls, far away from where the torches blind your vision of the heavens, Brother Thomas told me that we could see the Crown of It’Amatsu in the sky. Did I ever tell you about It’Amatsu? His spring blade? His winter blade? How he was imprisoned in the sky by the emperor for refusing to fight the wind, his lover? We should go see the crown, I can tell you the stories as we walk.”

  38. “Outside the abbey walls, far away from where the torches blind your vision of the heavens, Brother Thomas told me that we could see the Crown of It’Amatsu in the sky. Did I ever tell you about It’Amatsu? His spring blade? His winter blade? How he was imprisoned in the sky by the emperor for refusing to fight the wind, his lover? We should go see the crown, I can tell you the stories as we walk.”

  39. Frehzura, the Entangled Gryphons, entwine beak and claw in eternal struggle. Even lore has forgotten the source of their strife, and it’s told that staring into the sky’s great melee has been the impetus for many rulers to break peace.

  40. Frehzura, the Entangled Gryphons, entwine beak and claw in eternal struggle. Even lore has forgotten the source of their strife, and it’s told that staring into the sky’s great melee has been the impetus for many rulers to break peace.

  41. A recent development in the night’s orchestra, the Pale Rider is made not of stars, but a dozen Armathian warships traveling in rigid formation to usher in this planet’s final movement. Scientists calculate the “constellation” will not arrive for several hundred years, so it largely carries on its way unheeded.

  42. A recent development in the night’s orchestra, the Pale Rider is made not of stars, but a dozen Armathian warships traveling in rigid formation to usher in this planet’s final movement. Scientists calculate the “constellation” will not arrive for several hundred years, so it largely carries on its way unheeded.

  43. An ingenious sculpture of mirrors and cut crystal in the apse of the Starlight Cathedral channels the sun and moon to project the constellations on the floor. They shift with the sun and phases of the moon, always perfect. But recently the moonlight has fallen on the bodies of novices, mutilated corpses in mocking imitation of the stars above.

  44. An ingenious sculpture of mirrors and cut crystal in the apse of the Starlight Cathedral channels the sun and moon to project the constellations on the floor. They shift with the sun and phases of the moon, always perfect. But recently the moonlight has fallen on the bodies of novices, mutilated corpses in mocking imitation of the stars above.

  45. It is said that when St. Patrick came to Ireland he cast out all the snakes. What is not said is that St. Patrick made a deal with Ophiochus, the Snake-bearer in Heaven, to take all those snakes. What is not known is what will happen when the terms of the deal are up ….

    Thus the wizards crafted their own downfall: At first only a few knew how to use magic to create lights in the black of the night sky. But once the other mages saw it done, everyone had create their own sign, their own pictogramm, their own memory. Yet with every star kindled, magic faded. The last wizard used the last strands of magic to create a shining road that might lead his descendants back to its origin.

    Follow the Sign of the Frogstar, my lovelies. Follow it down the long swampy road. Come to the town of Duskfork, my pretties. Come to our town and kiss the black toad. (Southern folk song, ca. 1861)

  46. It is said that when St. Patrick came to Ireland he cast out all the snakes. What is not said is that St. Patrick made a deal with Ophiochus, the Snake-bearer in Heaven, to take all those snakes. What is not known is what will happen when the terms of the deal are up ….

    Thus the wizards crafted their own downfall: At first only a few knew how to use magic to create lights in the black of the night sky. But once the other mages saw it done, everyone had create their own sign, their own pictogramm, their own memory. Yet with every star kindled, magic faded. The last wizard used the last strands of magic to create a shining road that might lead his descendants back to its origin.

    Follow the Sign of the Frogstar, my lovelies. Follow it down the long swampy road. Come to the town of Duskfork, my pretties. Come to our town and kiss the black toad. (Southern folk song, ca. 1861)

  47. Your star-gazing child once explained to you that Ursa Minor appeared to be growing larger, a note you dismissed with an explanation of the Ursas’ perpetual legacy. But over the years, you watched as Minor’s form gradually grew wider and taller, stronger and more powerful. The night it overtook Major is the night your adult child appeared menacingly in your doorway, a long knife drawn and shimmering in starlight.

  48. Your star-gazing child once explained to you that Ursa Minor appeared to be growing larger, a note you dismissed with an explanation of the Ursas’ perpetual legacy. But over the years, you watched as Minor’s form gradually grew wider and taller, stronger and more powerful. The night it overtook Major is the night your adult child appeared menacingly in your doorway, a long knife drawn and shimmering in starlight.

  49. Between the Stars lies a the World auf Persephone goddess of death. She strive through the Sky above the world. Sometime she eat some of the Stars and Sometimes she disappear.

    In fact it is a Black hole System that wanders around in space and assimilate starsystems. Some parts of the Planet are orbiting the dark hole and dark beast live there ready to invade the next planet.

  50. Between the Stars lies a the World auf Persephone goddess of death. She strive through the Sky above the world. Sometime she eat some of the Stars and Sometimes she disappear.

    In fact it is a Black hole System that wanders around in space and assimilate starsystems. Some parts of the Planet are orbiting the dark hole and dark beast live there ready to invade the next planet.

  51. The Wandering Shepherd has only one eye, since the Sorcerer King plucked the other from the sky to present to his lover. A thousand years later, his kingdom still burns.

  52. The Wandering Shepherd has only one eye, since the Sorcerer King plucked the other from the sky to present to his lover. A thousand years later, his kingdom still burns.

  53. The people of Vordungstahl eagerly await the faint constellation rising over the eastern peaks on the winter’s solstice. On that evening, the astrologers convene to reconnect the glimmering stars into some new, creative shape, and it is believed that this discovered form will guide the city’s destiny in the coming year. Every time, the constellation is christened with a different name according to the freshly figured pattern that the astrologers have discovered in those glimmering stars.

  54. The people of Vordungstahl eagerly await the faint constellation rising over the eastern peaks on the winter’s solstice. On that evening, the astrologers convene to reconnect the glimmering stars into some new, creative shape, and it is believed that this discovered form will guide the city’s destiny in the coming year. Every time, the constellation is christened with a different name according to the freshly figured pattern that the astrologers have discovered in those glimmering stars.

  55. The prophecy clearly states a child born at the exact moment the baleful blue light of the eye of the Leviathan first breaks over the horizon after winter will become the God-King, yet after thousands of such births (engineered by a brisk trade in vitosal, an extract allowing timed induction) no such individual has yet arisen.

  56. The prophecy clearly states a child born at the exact moment the baleful blue light of the eye of the Leviathan first breaks over the horizon after winter will become the God-King, yet after thousands of such births (engineered by a brisk trade in vitosal, an extract allowing timed induction) no such individual has yet arisen.

  57. Over millennia, the people of Armun built religious shrines across the land. These sites were chosen because they provided the vistas most favorable to viewing the constellation of Vestarta, the Mother of Peace, at specific times during the year. Only recently did they realize that these shrines and the connecting lines formed by pilgrimage routes had traced across the land a frightening pattern–the constellation of Pallungong, the Father of Destruction.

  58. Over millennia, the people of Armun built religious shrines across the land. These sites were chosen because they provided the vistas most favorable to viewing the constellation of Vestarta, the Mother of Peace, at specific times during the year. Only recently did they realize that these shrines and the connecting lines formed by pilgrimage routes had traced across the land a frightening pattern–the constellation of Pallungong, the Father of Destruction.

  59. … and when the ailments threatened the peoples of Spheria’s very existence, Aetos, the leader great eagles flew up to beseech the dwellers on Mount Pantodynamos to interwene. And they did, but the Mountain is to high to survive and only an eagle can see it, but her shimmering form can be seen among the stars at night.

    This is why the protectors of the Temple to the Godess Seira,wears armour that images a Golden Eagle.

  60. … and when the ailments threatened the peoples of Spheria’s very existence, Aetos, the leader great eagles flew up to beseech the dwellers on Mount Pantodynamos to interwene. And they did, but the Mountain is to high to survive and only an eagle can see it, but her shimmering form can be seen among the stars at night.

    This is why the protectors of the Temple to the Godess Seira,wears armour that images a Golden Eagle.

  61. In the same way the ocean’s waves tide based on movement of the moons, constellation’s gravitational waves tide based on the movements of unsensible entities. The gravitational tide is coming in fast.

  62. In the same way the ocean’s waves tide based on movement of the moons, constellation’s gravitational waves tide based on the movements of unsensible entities. The gravitational tide is coming in fast.

  63. It was an odd discovery, quickly brushed under the rug by galactic bureaucrats, that all cultures across all time, gathered the same stars into constellations. One might still find the academic papers in the vaults of Hekat-9 but it’s written in a long dead language forgotten to all but the librarian who runs the vault.

  64. It was an odd discovery, quickly brushed under the rug by galactic bureaucrats, that all cultures across all time, gathered the same stars into constellations. One might still find the academic papers in the vaults of Hekat-9 but it’s written in a long dead language forgotten to all but the librarian who runs the vault.

  65. On the last new moon of the year the constellation of Secata, The Owl Mother, hangs in the sky directly above her mountain shrine. At the height of her alignment, her docents cast pellets gathered that year into the pool and read the floating bones for guidance.

  66. On the last new moon of the year the constellation of Secata, The Owl Mother, hangs in the sky directly above her mountain shrine. At the height of her alignment, her docents cast pellets gathered that year into the pool and read the floating bones for guidance.

  67. Children born beneath the sign of The Bleeding Sow are said to have a way with animals, good health and poor eyesight. Such superstitious beliefs will get you laughed at in the cities, but journey outside them and it’s hard to find a shepard tending a flock not born at the end of fall. All of them are healthy, happy, and squinting towards the horizon.

  68. Children born beneath the sign of The Bleeding Sow are said to have a way with animals, good health and poor eyesight. Such superstitious beliefs will get you laughed at in the cities, but journey outside them and it’s hard to find a shepard tending a flock not born at the end of fall. All of them are healthy, happy, and squinting towards the horizon.

  69. Stir the sea with your oars! Clash the bow into the mighty sea kings waves! Beat the drum until your arms fail you! We sail to fertile shores! Hugarth The Wayfinder points our way with his astral hand!

  70. Stir the sea with your oars! Clash the bow into the mighty sea kings waves! Beat the drum until your arms fail you! We sail to fertile shores! Hugarth The Wayfinder points our way with his astral hand!

  71. The night they realized their navigator had set course for the left hand of Gustave the Bone Mariner was a fraught one: Every sailor knows that celestial skeleton’s bleached-bone fist crushes all vessels that steer or drift its course. Yet the captain stood by the direction, “After battles wreaked our bow and bounties marked our heads, we’re doomed anyhow … Might as well find what solace the old man might hide.”

  72. The night they realized their navigator had set course for the left hand of Gustave the Bone Mariner was a fraught one: Every sailor knows that celestial skeleton’s bleached-bone fist crushes all vessels that steer or drift its course. Yet the captain stood by the direction, “After battles wreaked our bow and bounties marked our heads, we’re doomed anyhow … Might as well find what solace the old man might hide.”

  73. The balloonist was kind, generous, and beloved by his friends, but he was devoted only to the sky. He was always eager to get back in his balloon, always venturing higher and farther from home, until one day he didn’t return. No sign of his bright yellow balloon was ever found.

    See those five stars, all yellow? They appeared when he disappeared. The sky loved him back, and the sky is a jealous lover.

  74. The balloonist was kind, generous, and beloved by his friends, but he was devoted only to the sky. He was always eager to get back in his balloon, always venturing higher and farther from home, until one day he didn’t return. No sign of his bright yellow balloon was ever found.

    See those five stars, all yellow? They appeared when he disappeared. The sky loved him back, and the sky is a jealous lover.

  75. Eat sand and light the bonfires for Zekubrox, The Plauge Bearer has risen in the northern sky. Soon all will be nauseas and red boils will cover their lips. The crow roosts upside down until the scourge passes. Light lamps! Eat sand!

  76. Eat sand and light the bonfires for Zekubrox, The Plauge Bearer has risen in the northern sky. Soon all will be nauseas and red boils will cover their lips. The crow roosts upside down until the scourge passes. Light lamps! Eat sand!

  77. The 13 live in the stars. They watch us, guide our births and deaths, speak through coincidence. Every eon, one of their rank changes as we change. My grandmother saw none change in her lifetime, but I have seen three. Young one, you are witnessing your second

  78. The 13 live in the stars. They watch us, guide our births and deaths, speak through coincidence. Every eon, one of their rank changes as we change. My grandmother saw none change in her lifetime, but I have seen three. Young one, you are witnessing your second

  79. If you go far enough into the Piney Woods, and look for Jim’s Shack of Mysteries, there’s a door inside that leads into a pitch black room. Inside are all the constellations, outlined with old Christmas lights. They say you can add your own if you offer him a hand full of silver coins, and it’ll appear in the sky. For a handful of gold coins, you can take it down again.

  80. If you go far enough into the Piney Woods, and look for Jim’s Shack of Mysteries, there’s a door inside that leads into a pitch black room. Inside are all the constellations, outlined with old Christmas lights. They say you can add your own if you offer him a hand full of silver coins, and it’ll appear in the sky. For a handful of gold coins, you can take it down again.

  81. The sign of Rufus, the Beggar, foretells a blessing and a curse; while your destiny is never to achieve great things, you will constantly be witness to those who destiny calls. Many famous biographers have been born under this sign, and many more have lied about it.

  82. The sign of Rufus, the Beggar, foretells a blessing and a curse; while your destiny is never to achieve great things, you will constantly be witness to those who destiny calls. Many famous biographers have been born under this sign, and many more have lied about it.

  83. The calligraphy pen of Adella, the Map Maker, was immortalized in the heavens, and to this day new stars seem to drip from it’s end. If one could find it’s earthly counterpart, who knows what new course one could chart through the heavens?

  84. The calligraphy pen of Adella, the Map Maker, was immortalized in the heavens, and to this day new stars seem to drip from it’s end. If one could find it’s earthly counterpart, who knows what new course one could chart through the heavens?

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