Starchild

by **elephantlord** December 31st 2022, 3:13 am

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The Starchild

For Chelle <3

Bio

Name: Nashira Deneb Alshat
Hero Name: Starchild
Title: Chosen of Capricorn
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Nationality: Egyptian/British
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Reddish Brown
Height: 5'10
Weight: 154lbs

Looks

Artist Credit: https://www.deviantart.com/fdasuarez/gallery?q=capricorn

The Starchild takes the form of a tall, athletic woman with a pair of large, curved horns and a pair of cloven hooves for feet. Iridescent scales shimmer on various parts of her body as the light hits her, contrasting with her lustrous hair.

Personality

Nashira has always been a person defined by oppositions. Headstrong yet considerate, passionate but thoughtful, driven but patient. She embodies many of the classical Capricorn personality extremes.

Backstory

Nashira was originally born in Egypt, but moved to England when she was eight. Her father, Deneb, and her mother, Heather, were both scientists that moved in similar circles. She lost her mother around the time when she was eleven due to a sudden stroke, leaving only her father to take care of her.

Her father was an astronomer with a deep passion for his chosen field. At night he and Nashira would sit on the roof of their flat and stare up at the stars, naming each one. There was a strange family tradition that each member of it was named for a star prominent in the sky when they were born. It was only her great luck, he had joked, that all three of her names came from the constellation Capriornus.

As she grew, those times with her father grew a passion for astronomy. She would gaze through her telescope for long hours, naming the stars even without her father there. It was also to her mild chagrin that she also became fascinated with astrology as well. Though her classmates mocked her, she grew obsessed with how the stars influenced the lives of those around her.

After graduation, Nashira swiftly traveled down the path she had desired all her life - to follow in the footsteps of her father. Yet, only a few months after graduation, tragedy struck. Her father was killed in a robbery while he shopped for groceries.

They never caught the man responsible.

Each night, Nashira would repeat the ritual of calling the stars by their names. Even as she wept with grief, she reminded them who they were. One night, she gazed upon her constellation - Capricornus - and was so gripped by her despair and anger that she cried out.

And the stars... heard her.

Story

As the boy lay dying in the hospital, Nashira watched him for what would be his last night alive. What patches of his skin she could see were light and gently freckled. He had colored a few locks of his bangs a shocking neon pink in some ill-considered act of teenage rebellion. Fourteen, maybe fifteen. Old enough to know everything but too young to know anything.

How had it come to this?

It had started with the hospital. A hedge fund had bought the struggling institution and declared they would 'streamline' the facility in order to make it more efficient. That efficiency manifested as increased hours and reduced staff. Resources were downsized and services made more expensive. It was the only option for medical care within a hundred miles around.

Nashira had remembered vividly how she felt when she had heard of it. Her fury had stolen her breath away. It was a rage that would harbor no reason or reflection. With all her righteousness, she had stolen into the room of the man she had deemed most responsible, and placed her hand on his Fate.

'You will suffer as you have made others suffer,' she had hissed at him. 'And you will make it right.'

In her anger, Nashira had not stopped to think of the implications. He was a wicked man, after all. To punish the wicked was part of her calling. Was she not the Capricorn? Was she not tasked by the Sign of Saturn itself to bring justice to the world? Nashira had left and waited with smug self-assurance for the situation to right itself.

She had not considered that even the wicked have families.

They never saw the semi that hit them; the wife and two children. The driver of the truck had fallen asleep for an instant and missed the red light. The driver had walked away unscathed; the family had not.

The wife and youngest child were relatively unhurt; some bruises and broken bones. The oldest boy had been pinned under the car for two hours until emergency services could extract him. By some quirk of fate, the closest hospital was the very one that he had acquired.

It had been determined by the doctor on staff that the child could not be moved, yet they could not sustain the child long term. They did not have the equipment available at the local hospital. The Hedgefund Manager had opened his own bank account to correct the problem. He had spent nearly millions of his personal fortune in order that his son might live. Even with the proper equipment, it was up to fate whether the child would ever wake up.

Because she was the Capricorn, Nashira knew how it would play out.

If she did nothing, the boy would die. Just after midnight, due to a sudden power outage and a faulty backup generator, the boy would spend eight minutes off life support. He would die in the quiet dark, his corpse to be found by the nurses during the shift change.

The family would mourn. The mother and father would found a charity in their child's name that championed the cause of hospital reform. And there would be a certain justice in it.

Without hesitation, Nashira reached out and brushed a few of the pink locks from the boy's face. She whispered his fate into his ear and then left out the window.

—

'Now in local news, a boy breathes easily tonight. Jacob Rollins, son of Hedge Fund Manager Jackson Rollins, awoke a scant few seconds after his life support failed. In what officials are calling a miracle, Jacob was able to signal for help after knocking over a metal tray left next to his bed by a visitor.

'In other news, chocolate might be better for you than you thought! New research...'

Powers

The Sign of Cardinal Earth
Beyond the expression of the simple element, the Starchild embodies the principle of the Cardinal Earth. Active and forceful, it is the avalanche and the volcano, the irresistible force seeking an unmovable object to pit itself against. Yet, it is not brutish destruction. It is the dynamic impulse to bring change. Marked by the Sign, the Chosen of Capricorn cannot help but effect the world. Hers is the passion to shape destiny, and so too are her actions backed by the same inevitability.

If Nashira is pressed by the world, it is the world that moves. By her intent and drive, she shapes the her desires and sees them made manifest. Any action to which she sets this force is enhanced, sometimes beyond the realm of the possible. Capricorn is not the sign of quiet acceptance, but the will to act.

Basically... Supernal Will; Temporary 'Boosts' Fueled by Willpower
Nashira can call on her inner self to enhance her outer actions. So long as she forges forward, that which she undertakes will have far greater effect. What she wishes with all her heart to do, is done. Reality itself bends before the strength of the Capricorn's desires.

Exaltation of Saturn
The mark of the celestial creates great change in those it anoints. Manifesting more as a metaphysical change than a physical one, the reality shaping powers of the Sign cause those Chosen to take on its aspect. So marked, they become something greater than the flesh from which they sprang. More than the mortal clay, they become creatures shaped of will and destiny.

As a being of manifest spirit, Nashira cannot be harmed by things that lack it. Mundane weapons and hazards may not pierce her flesh or bruise her skin. They cannot even muss her hair.

Basically...: Specific Invulnerability: Mundane Objects/Environmental Effects; Peak Physical Attributes (Perfected Self); Half-Seagoat (Though Mostly Goat)

The Malefic Daughter
(Permission-based Power)
The interplay of the heavenly spheres has many subtle and complex effects on the lives of those it touches. As an agent of that power, the Starchild can place her hand on the skein of fate and guide those energies in the way she desires. Through a subtle working of her will, she remakes the lives around her.

Despite the far reaching implications of such an ability, fate-weaving is immensely complicated. Though her drive can cause her to set a certain theme of an event, she cannot dictate the course it travels. The river of destiny meanders where it will, and free will ever causes its own ripples.

Basically... Fate Manipulation (Subtle)

Scion of the Tenth House
Despite the forceful nature of the Capricorn, it is not a thing of Chaos. Earth, the practical and stabilizing element, fixed the world in such a way that others might stand upon it. The House embodies the desire to change, but to ultimately reaffirm the ground on which we stand. And with her ability to direct the course of reality, so too can the Capricorn bring stability to patterns in need of guidance.

Chaos is anathema to destiny, and thus, to the Starchild. Her ability to shape local reality comes to the fore when confronted with systems wildly out of alignment with local causality. Within her presence, disturbances are eased and boundaries reaffirmed. Up becomes up, down becomes down.

Basically... Anti-Magic (Aura), Dimensional Stabilization (Aura), World Repair (Aura)

Ascension
With Saturn Ascendant, Nashira swore herself to Justice. As if the planet itself heard her vow, and infused her with the power to keep it. Yet there are other planets and stars in the sky, each with their own dominions. Bound as she is to the subtle workings of the celestial order, Nashira may draw strength from those mysterious energies. If the stars are right, great things may be accomplished. With winds of fortune at her back, the Starchild may set her course more easily.

Beyond the simple enhancement of her already formidable powers, during the peek of her Ascension the Capricorn can delve more deeply into the trove of power that awaits her. More than mere guideposts, the stars are a gateway for their child.

Basically... Growth Power (Capricorn/Astrology Themes), Power-Up When Stars are Right.

Weaknesses

Descension
Fate is fickle; so too are its gifts. By binding herself tightly to the forces of destiny, Nashira has made herself subject to its whims. Under the wrong sign or casting, the currents of fate drag Nashira down. Careful attention must be paid to her horoscope, lest the Capricorn be affected by an unfavorable fate.

Basically... Power Loss (Temporary), Diminished Power, Bad Luck Depending on Horoscope

Asterism
As above, so below. It is the rule that binds Nashira's existence. Though able to place her hand on the tiller, the Starchild must abide the current. Attempting to veer too strongly against it will only cause the ruin of all she attempts to guide.

When Fate-Weaving, great care must be taken not to so drastically alter the destiny of another as to completely unravel their fate. Though the Capricorn has more leeway due to the influence of Cardinal Earth, she must take care not to utterly rewrite someone's life.

Basically... Realistic Fate Outcomes, Complicated Conditions, Large Alterations Possible but Cause Descension

No Fate
There is no fate but what we make. It is the axiom of self-determinism. Yet those guided by fortune must fear such a notion. Robbed of her ability to understand the course of destiny, only Chaos can follow Nashira's actions.

The Capricorn must pay special attention to her own horoscope. Without knowing the course, she cannot know the destination. Acting against it can only lead to Descension.

Basically... Extreme Misfortune without Knowing Own Horoscope

Saturn Returns
Though she stands on the stage, Nashira is but one actor dictating destiny. These forces do not regard her with any particular malice, yet by her very nature the spotlight shines on her.

The Starchild is subject to wild fluctuations of luck, though this can be mitigated by following her horoscope. By staying firmly in the bounds of auspicious acts, Nashira shields herself from these fluctuations. Yet, this can make her predictable. A cunning enemy might know her playbook by simply picking up a newspaper.

Basically... Adventure Finds Her; Actions can be Anticipated Based on Horoscope; Follow the Horoscope or Else

The Queen of Stars
The Lady Capricorn is a being between worlds. Bound between Heaven and Earth, Fate and Determinism, she is the nadir that gives shape to new destiny. Though she shapes the lives of thousands, failing to do so would be worse than not. It is the destiny of the world that the laws that govern it follow certain patterns.

Thus is she called to act; to don the crown of stars and shape the world to a better path. Yet even as a monarch holds power far outstripping that of a serf, so does Nashira hold such auspice. She must be ever careful with her actions, for they tend to have consequences far outstripping normal outcomes. Fate moves strongly in the wake its Queen.

Basically... Consequences Out-Sizing Causality; Every Action Matters

Fluff

Nashira holds a PhD in Physics, as well as Masters Degrees in Engineering and History.

Nashira used to have a 5-foot tall poster of Ms. Cleo (the Astrologer) on her wall. She was devastated when she was proven to be a phony.

Nashira loves cream cheese. She can't get enough of it.