Asteri

Asteri
Also known as	Daglan
Origins	Unknown
Notable Members	Austrus † Eosphoros † Hesperus † Octartis † Polaris † Rigelus † Sirius † Vesperus †
Series Information
Appearances	House of Earth and Blood House of Sky and Breath House of Flame and Shadow

"There are worse fates than death, you know."
	This article contains plot details and potential spoilers for the Crescent City series. If you have not begun reading or are not too far into the story, please refrain from reading or at least proceed with caution.

The Asteri are a parasitic race of near god-like conquerors who were the rulers of Midgard. They ruled the planet from the Eternal City in Pangera.

History

The Asteri are ancient, immortal beings who feed on the power of others. On Midgard, this power is called firstlight and secondlight. The Asteri claim to have forgotten the location of their original home world, which they've presumably destroyed. They have records of their conquests going back millennia.

Due to their hunger, the Asteri have spent eons traveling from world to world, conquering and farming off the life-force of other races they deemed sustainable, and destroying any that rebelled. However, during their conquests, only three worlds have been documented as successfully driving the Asteri out. These are Iphraxia, Hel, and the home world of the original Starborn Fae. Around 15.000 years ago, the Asteri arrived on Midgard and began to lure other races from different worlds as a means to feed off of them. This included the Fae, Shifters, and other Vanir.

They were the victors of the First Wars of Midgard, and thus wrote the history. They made the scholars and philosophers write down their version of events under penalty of death. This included naming Hel as the enemy and erasing Theia from the historical records. The Asteri's propaganda is that they are liberators and enlighteners. According to them, they found Midgard as a backwater planet occupied by non-magical humans and animals. The Asteri chose it as the place to begin creating a perfect empire and creatures and races from other worlds soon came to Midgard through the Northern Rift. The Great Library of Parthos is what remains of the truth of the world before the Asteri and the writings of the few brave souls who tried to voice it afterwards.

The Asteri reduced the humans to slavery and created the hierarchies of the Vanir. They also created the Malakim. The Asteri created a ritual called the Drop to harvest the power of the magical creatures of Midgard. They are required to hand over their firstlight upon reaching immortality. The process involves a Vanir seizing their full, mature power and in the process some of their power is siphoned off and given over to the firstlight stores for the Asteri. It's essentially a tax on their magic.

Biography

House of Sky and Breath

The Asteri have Danika Fendyr and the Pack of Devils assassinated and then had it framed as a demonic murder. Danika had been getting close to discovering a major truth about the Asteri and Midgard, so they killed her. Bryce Quinlan has only been able to learn that Danika had discovered what the Asteri truly are and what they do to the worlds they conquer.

House of Flame and Shadow

Midgard's six remaining Asteri are present when both Fae kings Einar Danaan and Morven Donnall are being interrogated by them in the Throne Room concerning their children's betrayal. After both Kings assure that they had nothing to do with it, the Asteri let them go, but not without a warning.

Physical Description

Though the descriptions of all the Asteri remain unknown, it is widely speculated that their true forms are an extreme form of raw power forged from stars that inhabit whatever bodies they possess, until their vessels wither away from the strain. Bryce describes the Asteri as being "made of light." An example would be Rigelus, whose current body inhabits the form of a teenage Fae boy, whom Hunt declares as "a mockery of the monstrous power within." They've also been shown to have some semblance of unity in their thinking, as they are capable of speaking in synchronization, as well as individually. The Asteri are tens of thousands of years old.

Known Asteri

• Austrus †
• Eosphoros †
• Hesperus †
• Octartis †
• Polaris †
• Rigelus †
• Sirius †
• Vesperus †

Powers & Abilities

The Asteri are described as being the most powerful beings on Midgard. Initially, it was believed they each possessed the brute power of a star which gives them the capabilities of destroying entire worlds, as well as contend with the most powerful of all demons, such as the Star-Eater, who was the only entity who had successfully killed one of the Asteri, Sirius. The Asteri claim that their powers are from holy stars inside themselves and they can physically manipulate things with its light. They can kill and destroy with it. The Asteri are unaging and undying.

Inside the archives of the Eternal City lies the truth about the Asteri - it is unknown whether they even possess a star inside themselves, since their power originates from both the firstlight and secondlight of Midgard's inhabitants. Thus, the Asteri feed off the population and use that power instead of their own. Regardless, they've been shown to be extremely powerful even if their power doesn't derive from their own. Over the eons, they've been able to conquer numerous worlds from across the universes whom they feed off for sustenance, even decimating their own homeworld in search of more entities to fuel their hunger.

Trivia

• In Greek, Asteri means "star."
• The Asteri's symbol is the letters "SPQM" and a wreath of seven stars. SPQM stands for Senatus Populusque Midgard, or the Midgard Senate and People. SPQM is magically tattooed on every slave's wrist.
• The Asteri have their own unique dating system, A.E.
• The Asteri were called the Daglan in the Fae Homeworld.
• Rentharr and Urganis are two planets conquered by the Asteri.