The Alpha Generation

The Lady of the Stars sighed, having finally completed the translations for the documents that were found in the Moon’s basements by Dagger in his most recent exploration of it. She feared the reason they had found it now and not before, all those years ago, was because Cepheus had been the one who discovered it first. Had the information here been the reason he left them? What else did he discover that he didn’t leave here for them? What didn’t they know that he did, and how was her lost Child going to use it against the others. Her heart was heavy with everything she had learned and what she speculated. She had always felt such guilt and distress over the nature of the Tablets, the Brooches, and the lack of choice her Children had in the matter. After thinking hard on this matter, she assembled her Children and relayed the information in the tablets, as follows:




-A star system existed not far from the Sol system, which was large, prosperous, and had found the balance of advanced technology, magic, and stewardship of their worlds. There were dozens of habitable planets and moons, as well as those which had been “terraformed” to become so, and what damage that had been inflicted on their environments was mostly reversed using the technology they had achieved. Quick, reliable, space flight within their own solar system was commonplace, and conflicts were generally settled peacefully. They had one Alliance government that was a made up of two representatives from every world (planet or moon), thus making sure every world was represented equally and held responsible for the well being of the others. They also appeared much like humans of Earth, through some mechanism, whether coincidence or not... perhaps not so much of a coincidence as they also were the first to name the constellations of the sky.* A low level of energy magic was discovered and used as everyday energy needs, as well as light healing and was integrated with the technology, helping advance their civilization rapidly. Fossil fuels were no longer needed, and natural resources were used wisely and replenished.

-They had never encountered life outside their star system, but they believed it logically existed. Eager to discover if indeed there were others, they reached out to the stars with messages for generations, hoping to make contact and explore worlds beyond. Finally, a message was returned. After being decoded, it heralded the arrival of a friendly new civilization which intended to welcome them into the interstellar community. The people were mostly jubilant at the news and readied themselves optimistically to welcome their new allies.

-Their hopes were crushed when what arrived was an armada of even more advanced people intent on annexing their neighbors and the extraordinary resources and natural magic they possessed. Their own system was almost destroyed by their focus on expansion and developments without protecting their homeworlds from pollution and resource destruction. They had used atomic and chemical weapons on their own people without mercy and the consequences left their words barren and resulted in the need to claim other worlds to support them. They swiftly struck, and killed or enslaved many of the outer worlds, especially those that could be used for outposts to bring more of their people to the system they meant to claim as their own. In addition, they brought with them a dark, oppressive feeling that no one could really understand, but which affected everyone who encountered them, to make them more listless, terrified, or ill. It was determined that this Darkness was a living entity and it somehow at least partially controlled or was aligned with these invaders. It seemed the people of the system had little to no hope, which was exactly what this force thrived on.

-Desperately, the Alliance held an emergency war council, and brought forth the greatest scientists and magical practitioners of the system to formulate a plan to fight back. No weapons they currently had could stand up to the invaders and this dark presence; their domination seemed inevitable, and the Alliance lacked the means to escape. For days, they discussed everything they could think of, anything that seemed even remotely possible. Finally, the scientists and magicians brought up a weapon that had been scrapped a few centuries before due to both the unprecedented era of peace and also the potential cost in human lives to use… the Star Binding. It was a marriage of cutting edge science, the worship of the system’s host star as the source of their magic, and the many stars in the night sky as being related to it. Having no other options, the council agreed that if the device could be completed, the people of their planets would sacrifice what was needed. The device was swiftly recommissioned and finished, and the scientists calculated that they had enough power and raw materials needed to create exactly 88 Weapons and a Conduit through which the power would be stabilized, maintained, and controlled. Thus, 89 volunteers would be needed.

-With worlds swiftly falling to the the aggressive forces, the Alliance called forth the greatest citizens of the system’s worlds to volunteer to become living Weapons, though they were advised there was no guarantee that they would come out alive; they were certain to be altered in the very least. At least one person from each world stepped forward, those whom were either the bravest, strongest, most blessed with magic, the smartest, or in a few cases the simply most desperate to help. Among them was a young Priestess of the Stars named Uma, a member of the order of those devoted to the study of the energy of the stars above, focused on both science and magic and how they were intertwined. When she stepped into the hall where the few hundred candidates were gathered, something about her radiated capability, soothing, but also potential. The magically inclined around the room turned their heads to follow her as she carried more magic than any of them had ever seen in one person. She signed up for hopeful selection and mingled with the other candidates. It soon became apparent that she had an eye for those whose heart, minds, and spirits were most suitable, and she was selected both as the Conduit and assisted the program leads in finding those who would become the weapons.

- Finally, everything was ready and Uma and the other chosen 88 began their transformations into the Weapons in order to save everyone. Praying for the best, Each of the chosen were assigned a Constellation codename and had a Brooch bearing their Constellation created with precious metals, gems, and stones attached over their hearts as a place to house their magic. They were placed in a massive machine with the priestess in the center, and exposed to the excessive amounts of concentrated magical energy, the power many times over what would kill any regular person. After two full days and nights, the machine was quiet. The scientists and magicians watched and prayed that they had not just sacrificed 89 of their best and brightest for nothing, and the Alliance held their breath that they had a hope for their salvation.

-When the device was opened, the 88 were all still alive, though they were all transformed. Each had been forged into something new, something that had never existed before: weaponized magical warriors. They were dubbed the “Constellation Senshi”, and marked by a round Brooch over each of their hearts. They filed out and then looked back and watched as the woman formerly known as a Priestess of the Stars, and as Uma, strode out with two tablets which were covered back and front with places in which the Brooches would have fit. 88 star studded indents that matched the emblems over each heart. She was draped in a cloak of stars that almost seemed alive, and bore a glowing crown. Her eyes, once black, were now star-blue and intense. As powerful as she once was, she was infinitely more so now. She took both the tablets into her left arm, and raised her right hand in the air, summoning to her a staff draped in star-like beads, 88 of them. A blue mist rose from her and the warriors, as if they smoldered quietly with raw power. She opened her mouth and spoke:

-”We are the people of the Stars, I am the Lady of the Stars, and you are all my Children. Each of you bears as your heart a Star of your Constellation. We will never be as we were before this moment, but we will be forever, undying even in death, immutable from this day. Bound together in power and in souls, we are the Constellations, and we will be triumphant.” With this, they strode from the chambers, and the people watched as the first Lady of the Stars and her Warriors teleported away to fight in their name.

-Each Senshi was linked to the Lady of the Stars, their doubts and fears shielded by her mind, while their own personalities still existed and aided their fight. They each now wielded an immense power, and they knew instinctively how to use it. No reincarnation or descendant that has since existed has had wielded the sheer magic that these Alpha Generation had at their disposal, though the potential still exists. Despite the advanced weaponry, number, and the dark energy the opponents had at their disposal, the invading threat fell to the Lady and her Constellations within days. The enemy that did manage to escape warned the rest of their forces to stay far away from this system, as it was protected by the fiercest warriors they had encountered, and the word quickly spread that it was to be left in peace. They took with them the Dark presence, which has not, to our knowledge, been seen since.

-The Lady and the 88 were hailed as heroes, as saviors of the system. They all celebrated, but it seemed the joy of the Warriors themselves and their families were to be short-lived. The side-effects of the transformation began surfacing. While they had all survived, once the the Lady was no longer directly commanding them, a few of the Constellations were suffering from the shock of fighting, combined with the effects of magic on their minds. Speaking of magic, some seemed unstable, with magic coming off them in waves, affecting those around them. All seemed to become uncomfortable once they returned to their homes, feeling a deep sense of longing to return to the Lady. The Lady of the Stars herself could not return to her former life, the raw power she generated needed to be burnt off continually… she found she constantly had to use her magic or too much would build up, like a bomb. She was more than before, but she was also a prisoner to the power and her link to the others. She could feel each of her Children’s worries, anxieties, anger, fear, depression, loss… It seemed her words were more than true. They were bound together.

-She appeared to them all in a dream, and apologized that their lives now as Weapons that were no longer needed caused them torment. She disclosed that in her mind, her personal pain was worth it to save billions and billions of lives, but that she wished she could spare theirs. She advised that she would be moving on to a new life, and welcomed them if they ever wished to come to her. All they needed to do was will themselves to her, and the link of the Brooch and her Tablets would bring them together.

-She went in search of another home, and found the Sol system, not too far from her home system, and settled on the Earth’s Moon. She helped found the Moon Kingdom, as well as helped create much of the technology of the other planets and moons. As she worked, one by one, each and every one of her Children came to her in time, their lives on their original worlds no longer right for them for various reasons. She welcomed them to the Moon, and they all lived together there until the Constellation Senshi each died when their time came, in whichever way it came, the Lady often by their side.

-As each Constellation Senshi passed away, the Lady would disappear for a few days. Unknown to her Children or anyone else, she delivered each Brooch to a world orbiting one of the stars in the Constellation it corresponded to. For example, the Corvus Brooch was delivered to one of the planets/moons in that orbited a star in the Corvus Constellation. With all of the Constellations finally distributed throughout the heavens, she locked the tablets away in a lower level of the library of the Moon Kingdom, and she herself went to the Earth. After a couple hundred years of living there, raising a family, and watching them pass on, and still missing her Constellation Children, the first Lady of the Stars also grew weary of her life, and exhausted of her never ceasing magic. One night, she gave her last prayers for the peace of her Constellations, and walked out into the sea, never to be seen again.

-Thousands of years passed, and each Constellation Brooch was passed down on their new worlds, a new Senshi gaining the title. The Lady’s wish came true that NONE of them remembered their birth as a Weapon; their lives were new and fresh. In some cases, there were generations of the Senshi, but only one of each Constellation at a time; only 88 Brooches. New traditions, new ways of being, sometimes whole cultures coming up around them. The Lady’s magic held and kept them apart; never did two Constellations meet again, or travel away from their own systems, until one fateful day… the day a new Lady of the Stars was created when Queen Gaia of Earth found the Tablets on the moon and in desperation 88 Constellation Senshi were summoned back to the Moon to fight for her…

-These Senshi were known as Generation 1.

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*Yeah, I know that that long ago and even a slightly different plane of view would distort the constellations, which have changed over millennia. Just… suspension of disbelief here all around. MAGIC PEOPLE.
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Task 20: Alpha Generation
Create an Alpha Generation of your Senshi

Alpha Generation Guidelines: (Not to be confused with Gen 1)

You are not required to create an Alpha Gen character if you do not wish to. They did exist either way (or else your Gen1 and Current Gen would not exist), but it’s up to you if you wish to design one. Task 20 is this optional Task.
Alpha Gen must be approved before they are canon, like all Senshi in the group. WIPs will not be accepted into the WIP folder, but you're welcome to send stashes of them to the group if you need help.
Character and Visual Design Requirements:
All Alpha Gen are primarily human in appearance. Animal or weapon appendages and skin/ears/eyes/ect changes are fine. HOWEVER, keep in mind that the Alpha Gens will not show/have traits that come from your Gen 1’s planet (physical or cultural), as they predate that. Your Alpha Gen never set foot alive on the Gen 1’s planet so their prior planet will not influence the planet they are reborn into, rather, Gen 1 will eventually be born into that existing culture.
The standard round Brooch with the embedded constellation is required. They are the original owners of them. This Brooch was placed over their hearts.
Otherwise, their uniform is open for your interpretation.
Please include a small bio for them that tells us about their personality. Include a little about who they were before becoming a Weapon and why/when they came to join the Lady on the moon after their fight was over.
You do not need to list powers/abilities for them if you do not wish to but you can. They would be very strong though, as the original Constellation Weapons (yes you can make them pretty overpowered though don’t make them worldkillers or anything).
 Alpha Gen can came from any habitable planet or moon in the system mentioned (don’t get too wrapped up in where the planet is in relation to other planets though due to possible conflicts with others, focus more on their society if world building is something you enjoy). Multiple Alpha Gens can be from one planet.
Neither your Current Generation nor Generation 1 characters remember your Alpha Generation due both magic block created by first Lady of the Stars and the great amount of time that has passed. This may potentially change due to upcoming events, but for now, no current Senshi or Generation 1 can recall the Alpha Gens other than what they are told by the Lady. There may be a few unconscious holdovers in personality traits or relationships, but they Gen 1 and Current Gen are not aware of them.
All Alpha Gens came to the Moon eventually, where they died of various causes, including old age. Their Brooches were then distributed by the first Lady of the Stars to the planets throughout the Constellations as described above. These are the planets the Generation 1 come from eventually. The Alpha Gens could have had family before and/or after going to the Moon, but no children of theirs became Senshi or have any influence on our story past the Alpha Gen. Other citizens of their prior system could not follow them.
Note: Submit your Task 20 in the Task 20 folder and any additional finished art of Alpha Gen Constellations in the Alpha Gen folder (sketches, collaboration art, chibis, and pixels will go in the appropriate general folders).

EXAMPLES:
(Featuring Longer and Shorter form bios)
Alpha Dorado: sta.sh/0jtf97f7v48
Alpha Lupus: sta.sh/01c5aeev17ne
Alpha Lynx:  sta.sh/01v8bifq9uhh





Task 21: A Weapon with a Heart
Our Current Generation Senshi have been informed by the Lady of the Stars about the information decoded about the origin of the Constellation Senshi. She cautions everyone that this information was found in large part because of Cepheus so it’s possible it may not be 100% factual, but that she feels deep down it is. She looks over at her Children and, heartbroken, realizes her former incarnation’s attempts at protecting them all from the fate of being living weapons has failed. Her voice trembles slightly, but her eyes are determined as she advises they have no choice now but to fight. They will either use their powers to protect their home and loved ones or they will become the tools of Cepheus.
Task: Show and tell how your Senshi reacts to the information they have received. The Brooches their fates are tied to are the hearts of powerful weapons, they are weapons. Are they frightened that Cepheus is planning on using their power if he can? Are they excited by the potential enormous power inside themselves? Are they trying to remember who their first of their Constellations are, wondering what they could have been like even if they can’t yet remember them?
Note: Do remember that the Senshi cannot yet remember anything about the Alphas… yet. You do not need to complete Task 20 to do 21.


*may alter as needed if questions need answered or writing flubs.