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Stardust?

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mik212

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« on: <07-30-20/1305:57> »
So Im somewhat new to the lore (started 5e) but Neo Anarchist Streetpedia mentions a character named Stardust. An elf who evidently filled in the writer of the "Fourth World" section about lots of details. Their own section implies they aren't Harlequin or Ehran. None of the other elves I could find reference to seem to fit. So who are they?

0B

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« Reply #1 on: <08-10-20/1925:02> »
The closest thing I can think of is the "Star Chamber," a branch of the Tir Tairngire government. Possibly a reference?

Elves that they are not:
* Leonardo. Goes by Brightlight.
* Aina/Alachia. One of them goes by Hecate, I am unsure which. Neither of them seem the sharing type, and Aina is dead. Maybe. (Was the Better than Bad thing canon?)
* Lady Brane. Too young.
* Jane Foster. Too young, goes by Frosty. She's the most likely to share info, but I doubt that Harlequin would tell her anything useful. In any case, it'd make more sense for her to post as Frosty if this were the case, since she already has a presence on Jackpoint.
* Jenna Ni'Fairra. Too young.

Elves they could be, but based on personality I doubt it:
* Aithne Oakforest
* Lugh Surehand
* Urdli

Elves that might be:
* Unnamed newcomer

Non-immortal elf possibilities (Mostly WMG and nonsense):
* Garlthik One-Eye. Supposedly a long-lived ork, possibly immortal. I suspect dragons, not "steals a day back from death" or w/ever every night. Highly unlikely due to SR/ED split.
* Immortal Human. There is some precedent w/ Black Lodge lore, but unlikely- the oldest "immortal humans" were only around 400-500 years old. Unlikely due to SR/ED split.
* Dragon. They aren't the sharing type, but they aren't above posing as other metatypes. Highly unlikely.

Edit: Ack! Forgot the actual Stardust entry. He's almost assuredly a "newcomer:"

Stardust fooled them all
Hiding from nÓg and Tairngire


This indicates that Stardust has not interacted with either elven nation.

And the motley-faced fool
Played dead back in ’16
Sixty-four years hence


He has a distinctive appearance (Motley-face). He faked his death shortly after the awakening (Explaining why he hasn't appeared in any books).

He played with others then,
Now he just wants to break the rules
Once he made love with Gaia,
Mr. Jones tried to heal us all
But the elders weren’t worthy
So he cursed their souls away
And now he’ll make them all pay


Assuming "Gaia" is Earth, this elf used to love nature. "Mr. Jones" might be a Johnson from Drawing Destiny who used the same name. I haven't read the book yet, so I can't say for sure what "healing" Mr. Jones might've done. Either way, Motley decided he no longer liked the "elders." This could refer to dragons, immortal elves, all of the above, or maybe just a sect of them. Because he "made love" with the Earth, presumably this means it is no longer the case. Speculation, but perhaps Stardust is a toxic shaman? That's not pretty for an immortal elf.

I don't know if "curse" means verbal curse or magical.

Motley’s really gone,

Stardust isn't the same person anymore ("motley-faced"

and the scribus is dour

The writing is set in stone (The writing's on the wall, in other words)

They wasted the time,
the days and the hours
Nothing is sacred,
No, no not any more
Settled will be the score.


Straightforward

DRJ

No idea who this is. It could be Stardust's initials, but just as likely it is not.
« Last Edit: <08-10-20/1941:02> by 0B »

markelphoenix

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« Reply #2 on: <08-10-20/1929:05> »
Couldn't it simply be the first mention of an Immortal Elf not yet mentioned from the 4th age?

0B

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« Reply #3 on: <08-10-20/1941:22> »
Yeah, I think it is, based on the Stardust entry. Sorry, was revising my post when you posted

Beta

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« Reply #4 on: <08-11-20/1142:12> »
I think you broke things at the wrong place in one case:

Stardust fooled them all
Hiding from nÓg and Tairngire
And the motley-faced fool


So he hid from the Tir's, and from 'the motley-faced fool' which is a pretty clear description of Harlequin (at least to me).  Meaning really that he hid from all the immortal elf factions.

and then when Motley comes back in:

Motley’s really gone,
and the scribus is dour
They wasted the time,
the days and the hours


I assumed it was saying that Harlequin is gone (off to fetch Aine from the metaplanes?  Trapped out there?), while Ehran the Scribe is ... Depressed?  Pissed off?  Just generally not happy with the world and staying out of things?  And that those two have wasted their time in the sixth world so far.  But wasted it in regards to what?  Stopping Stardust?  Doing something else that isn't directly addressed here?

The only other thing that jumped out to me was parallels with Feuerschwinge.  (spoilers ahead for Shadowrun Dragonfall, don't read on if you don't wan to know.  Great game by the way)
[spoiler]It is revealed in the game that Feuerschwinge did not die in 2014, and had only attacked cities because the dragon had been a defender of nature in the 4th world and couldn't stand the industrial blight that it found.  There is an option for the player to free the somewhat restored dragon to let it go to Amazonia[/spoiler].  2014 not 2016, dragon not elf.  But similar enough that it jumped out to me.

Nothing is sacred,
No, no not any more
Settled will be the score.


Suggests to me someone who is willing to settle scores without caring about the damage to what they used to hold sacred, in this case 'Gaia'.

So, a potential protagonist or antagonist in 6th edition metaplot? 

0B

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« Reply #5 on: <08-11-20/1148:46> »
Oh, good point. Your interpretations's better.

I was trying to figure out what the author meant by "scribus" since that's not a word, I think I overthinked things

Nightmare

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« Reply #6 on: <08-11-20/1438:51> »
...or it could be Harlequin's former "ally" spirit too.  Remember, he's still out there and it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for it to take a new name.....

Also fits with hiding from the motley faced one and Ehran being mad - all part of Denver's upheaval could be involved...

0B

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« Reply #7 on: <08-11-20/1647:30> »
...or it could be Harlequin's former "ally" spirit too.  Remember, he's still out there and it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for it to take a new name.....

Also fits with hiding from the motley faced one and Ehran being mad - all part of Denver's upheaval could be involved...

I thought about that, but that doesn't fit the lines about him playing dead in '16 and coming back 64 years later (in 2080).

Nightmare

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« Reply #8 on: <08-12-20/1402:28> »
Well, hmmm....

Course it might not be an elf per say....it could be an unnamed dragon or...a Horror/Terror too.  We do know that both Ehran and Harlequin have fought the Terrors/Horrors over the years...<shrugs>....going to have to just wait and see...

mik212

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« Reply #9 on: <08-13-20/0336:35> »
So as far as we can tell Stardust is some new character? Not some obscure lore thing you need to read 5 novels to learn about?

Well I guess that works. I figured my only other option was someone from Earthdawn but that's not really legal anymore.

0B

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« Reply #10 on: <08-13-20/1247:21> »
So as far as we can tell Stardust is some new character? Not some obscure lore thing you need to read 5 novels to learn about?

Well I guess that works. I figured my only other option was someone from Earthdawn but that's not really legal anymore.

I still hold out hope that the Black Lodge was involved in some Denairastas clan nonsense, but it seems like they're being folded together with the cult of Verjigorm Terrors.

AFAIK: If something from ED was brought into SR before the split, then it's legal for SR to use. SR still changes names of things to keep it above board (Horrors -> Terrors), but they're certainly not beholden to any new developments in ED.

It's weirdness similar to Fawcett City/DC's "Captain Marvel" and Marvel's "Captain Marvel." Legally speaking, DC can use "Captain Marvel AKA Billy" as a character, and even name him in the comic. However, they cannot brand their comics as "Captain Marvel" since that would interfere with Marvel's trademark. To keep things simple, in the recent reboot DC renamed "Captain Marvel" to "Shazam," to avoid all confusion.

Nightmare

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« Reply #11 on: <08-13-20/1337:16> »
Well, we do know that during Earthdawn the Denairastas clan were dragon-born - spawn of the Outcast dragon supposedly.  That definitely made the clan longer living but the last one that is mentioned in Earthdawn is Uhl Denairastas which I doubt.  It doesn't fit that DRJ signage below the whole poem which I have a feeling is telling us something but not sure what.

There was part of me that wondered about it being the former elven Queen Dallia - the Queen who was "killed" by Alamanis on their way to Shosara. There was always questions about how she died and such but who knows. 

0B

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« Reply #12 on: <08-13-20/1442:58> »
Hm, they use he/him pronouns for Stardust elsewhere but I'm not sure. The author of the section on the fourth world isn't sure either- "My only source for much of this only goes by the name Stardust, who I name only because that cannot be his (her?) real name."

This implies that they didn't meet in person. I don't know why the poster is certain that Stardust is an elf, but not clear about the gender. Presumably, if Stardust doesn't even share their gender, they wouldn't share their metatype, either. My best guess is that the conversation was in Sperethiel (Though even that doesn't "prove" someone an elf), or that Stardust's matrix persona is that of an elf and the poster took that at face value.

(30 Nights spoilers)

Frustratingly, elsewhere in this section implies that the Black Lodge descends from the Denairastas clan- but this somewhat conflicts with 30 Nights, where the Black Lodge is trying to summon a horror. Perhaps after Denairastas died (probably), they were corrupted? I can't be sure. They still have a distaste of elves left over from their distaste of Great Elves, so presumably they know their history and would know that the Scourge is a very bad thing. Even S-K pitches in to stop the terror from coming through in 30 Nights if the players play their cards right. I digress.

(End of 30 Nights spoilers)

I'd like to think that Stardust is certainly an elf, because their entry is focused on the different Tirs and Harlequin, and because the poster is certain that they are an elf. But there really isn't enough information to say for sure. The timing of their death so soon after the Awakening might point towards them being a dragon (Since the immortal elves were around during the fifth age), but the only dragon super-fixated on revenge against elves was Elfbane himself, Alamais. But he kicked the bucket fighting Lofwyr.

On the other hand, "Stardust" does sound a lot like a draconic title. The unknown gender could just be a guise, but there is precedent for dragons who are genderfluid (Aden's referred to as "she" by Harlequin and "he" by Lofwyr in one sourcebook. Neither had a reason to be disrespectful in either scenario, the pronouns were based on the human form that Aden was taking at the time) or nonbinary (Lesser Dragons entry for Pryce in the streetpedia).

If Stardust is a dragon, I'd bet on them being a lesser. Greater dragons are too prideful to run and hide from elves.

Beta

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« Reply #13 on: <08-13-20/1513:33> »
I just slapped myself on the forehead.  I'm not saying that this is it, but is seems too obvious to ignore:

- Used the name 'Stardust' at one point? check
- Died in 2016? check
- Tall and thin? check
- Charismatic? check
- Frequently enigmatic? check

Of course it would have been a lot more obvious if they'd also tossed us the name Ziggy ...
https://classicalbumsundays.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bowie1.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_and_Fall_of_Ziggy_Stardust_and_the_Spiders_from_Mars#/media/File:ZiggyStardust.jpg


0B

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« Reply #14 on: <08-13-20/1539:07> »
Aw shit! Mystery solved!

And no wonder- we already have immortal elves who were great artists- Shakespeare, Leonardo, etc.

Why not one of the greatest artists of our own generation?

Edit: Does that mean the Stardust poem is actually lyrics?

Edit2: DAVID ROBERT JONES. DRJ. Beta, you're a genius

Edit3 (I know, but I hate double-posting): Does this mean that these weren't dragons, they were spiders?

« Last Edit: <08-13-20/1609:24> by 0B »