u/Rosacea3

There is a lot of symbolism that connects the Stellarons and Shooting Stars in confusing ways (idk if they are the same thing though, that's the point of the post lol, my confusion).

>"Countless shooting stars streak across the night sky... If you can pick the right one, it will carry your wish to thousands of distant worlds." - Fables About the Stars by Adrian Spencer Smith

• Also when it says pick the right one it's talking about the star to wish upon right? It can't be referring to the Stellaron that we carry because that Stellaron was chosen for us (also what difference does it make on the star wished upon?? o.o)

Both Stellarons and Shooting Stars grant wishes. The Stellarons are a type of lifeform with a special property (Harmony) that tethers them to a certain Path or Aeon's power. They respond to the desires of the world to which it is tethered. However, the cost of fulfilling those desires often brings great disaster to the world.

The Shooting Stars also do this, in the Wish Upon a Star 2-star curio (the one that increases Adventure Domain's time limit and rewards),

>Meteorites fell across all corners of the cosmos. People once claimed they could hear these rocks communicating with humans, luring people to wish upon them. Can they truly grant any and all wishes without a cost? It's said that there's an organization that strides between stars solely to uncover the mystery behind the meteorites. No one knows whether these rocks are an Aeon's blessings, or whether everyone has been drawn into an artificial conspiracy.

• Are these Stellarons? Is the organization the Stellaron Hunters? I feel like it's a different organization though because they most likely already know the mystery behind the Stellarons and are collecting + repurposing them for a different goal of transcending Finality. This organization is trying to uncover the mystery behind the meteorites (it is interesting how these rocks also talk like a Stellaron, luring people to wish upon them (Siren/Voracity reference?)).

Stellarons = Harmonic Cancer

Shooting Stars = Fragments of Akivili's body

In The Pathless Equation (I quote this equation so many times lol),

>This is yet another tragic calamity. The vessel is torn apart, probably after encountering detestable pirates or bumping into a Swarm looking for food. Dead bodies are floating in the vacuum, like goldfish in the water. For some reason, you think of the eccentric Bretadens, who believe that souls belong to the land, and those who die in a vacuum will be forever lost.
You clean their bodies and stitch up their wounds, salvaging their last shred of dignity. The death of the unnamed is sprinkled into the sky. While their bodies begin their descent towards land, they burn in the atmosphere, transforming into shooting stars that carry wishes. For those with names, their departure starts from silence, yet the mourning is unceasing.
You are uncertain as to which category these bodies belong, but you wish you could hear the weeping.

• The distinction between those with names and the unnamed (Nameless)
• "Yet that light began to burn, piercing through the clouds as a golden death" from Myriad Celestia Fables About the Stars part 1

Also for granting wishes there is this theme of the wish being granted as well as a corresponding calamity but that seems contrary to Ena's plan involving Equilibrium. In the 2-star curio Wishing Scales,

>There is a well-known saying in Amphoreus: "Observe patterns, summarize patterns, utilize patterns." A certain missionary of Talanton was undoubtedly the finest practitioner of this philosophy. She took advantage of how Talanton's sacred scales would automatically rebalance to get people to make wishes on one side of the scales, and if the wish was fulfilled, an equivalent reward would manifest on the other side. In other words, if the wish failed, no harm was done. If it succeeded, the reward was doubled. Through this miraculous display, many came to recognize Talanton's power and willingly became devoted followers.

which also matches the "Two" Masks in the Divergent Universe

>A mask designed to bear the image of "the Equilibrium." The wearer will encounter both good fortune and misfortune in equal measures, and occasionally experience a split personality.
Double the miracles, double the fun!

• Good fortune and misfortune come in equal measures but the miracles (rewards by wishes granted) are doubled

There is a lot of other symbolism too, like the Stellaron being placed in the Trailblazer's heart (representing Akivili's heart = the will of Trailblaze, also notice how Nanook's heart is missing (symbolic not actually Akivili missing THEIR heart) and golden blood is flowing from the gash). In the Destruction Trailblazer's Eidolons it goes E1 A Falling Star E2 An Unwilling Host...

Also the first line of the Hymn of the Stellaron is

>Let the star be sundered, its heart laid bare, let every nation heed the summons,

And according to The MC naming theme, in Chinese and Japanese the Stellaron is called "star core/nucleus". It is also very suspicious that Xipe is called the Mother of all Stars (even simulated Aha calls THEM that). Also suspicious that both the Stellarons and the Shooting Stars started appearing around the same time (after Akivili's fall and Nanook's ascension) but the way the Stellaron's Data Bank entry is written it sounds as if the Family was relying on the third face of Xipe to create them (or manipulate their creation) and on Celenova to spread them.

>There are many speculations regarding the Cancer of All Worlds, most of which involve Nanook the Destruction and the Antimatter Legion. However, some propose a different theory: that the Stellaron originated from Xipe and is actually the "Harmonic Cancer." The Legion's commander, Lord Ravager Celenova, is believed to be the one who spread the Stellaron. Rumors suggest a lingering tie between her and The Family, though the truth remains unknown.

The Astral Express is literally following the trails of the shooting stars in the Myraid Celestia Fables About the Stars Part 1 (it's also symbolically a shooting star itself). In the book The Gods of Pegāna (Pegana is the world where Akivili is from),

>"When Māna-Yood-Sushāī had made the gods there were only the gods, and They sat in the middle of Time, for there was as much Time before them as behind them, while having no end had neither a beginning. And Pegāna was without heat or light or sound, save for the drumming of Skarl; moreover Pegāna was The Middle of All, for there was below Pegāna what there was above it, and there lay before it that which lay beyond. Then said the gods, making the signs of the gods and speaking with Their hands lest the silence of Pegāna should blush; then said the gods to one another, speaking with Their hands: 'Let Us make worlds to amuse Ourselves while Māna rests. Let Us make worlds and Life and Death, and colours in the sky; only let us not break the silence upon Pegāna. Then raising Their hands each god according to his sign, They made the worlds and the suns, and put a light in the houses of the sky. Then said the gods: "Let Us make one to seek, to seek and never to find out concerning the wherefore of the making of the gods." And They made by the lifting of Their hands, each god according to his sign, the Bright One with the flaring tail to seek from the end of the Worlds to the end of them again, to return again after a hundred years. Man, when thou seest the comet, know that another seeketh besides thee nor ever findeth out. Then said the gods, still speaking with Their hands: "Let there be now a Watcher to regard." And They made the Moon, with his face wrinkled with many mountains and worn with a thousand valleys, to regard with pale eyes the games of the small gods, and to watch throughout the resting time of Māna-Yood-Sushāī; to watch, to regard all things, and be silent. Then said the gods: "Let Us make one to rest. One not to move among the moving. One not to seek like the comet, nor to go round like the worlds; to rest while Māna rests." And They made the Star of the Abiding and set it in the North. Man, when thou seest the Star of the Abiding to the North, know that one resteth as doth Māna-Yood-Sushāī, and know that somewhere among the Worlds is rest. Lastly the gods said: "We have made worlds and suns, and one to seek and another to regard, let Us now make one to wonder." And They made Earth to wonder, each god by the uplifting of his hand according to his sign. And Earth Was."

The Seeker to seek (the Bright One with the flaring tail) = Trailblaze (shooting star = train?)

The Watcher to regard (the Moon) = Remembrance

The Earth to wonder = Permanence

I'm not sure of the Star of the Abiding symbolism but that one is like Māna-Yood-Sushāī (they both rest). Also, "One not to move among the moving" is different from the concept of Paths and Aeons that all have Primum Mobile so maybe it symbolizes something else or they didn't use the symbolism? Anyways, I haven't finished reading the book yet and there is soooo much symbolism :D and there is even a sequel apparently?

Regarding the Stellarons and Shooting Stars I don't know why they have such similar symbolism. Perhaps the Family sundered the Shooting Stars (devouring/assimilating them via Voracity), and the assimilated star cores became the Stellarons? "Let the star be sundered, its heart laid bare" sounds like regular pathstriders (the Family) had agency in the creation of the Stellarons (at the very least they commented on the creation process).

Anways, I wonder what you guys think about the symbolism :o