Those wielding the mystic power of the Stars may put it to various ends; the imposition of justice, determining the truth, sensing concealed patterns, preserving things or people from decay, supression of emotion, calming chaos, and conjuring cold and ice.
The influence of the Stars has been seen in various events down the years; legendary quests to destroy villains, outbursts of government tyranny, the proliferation of bloated bureacracies (the old Imperial bureaucracy is frequently cited), the pronouncements of some of the most celebrated judges and some of the most reviled, triumphs of engineering (some point to the success of the Grey Order, though the Order themselves deny any particular Star affinity), and particularly successful national projects. Almost by definition, the Stars are the most timeless of the powers; they pursue their ancient goals of opposing and overcoming the Fire in whatever arena, and wherever possible constrining the other Powers to act by their laws. A special case is made for the Gods; these the Stars see as criminals of the first order. It is said that a little bit of Star influence was felt in the crusades of the Empire against the Avatars, although the faith of the Intercessor certainly played a greater role.
Flaming Minister: something of a misnomer, since they don't flame - quite the opposite in fact. However, to human eyes these beings manifest as vaguely humanoid figures radiating light of painful intensity. Such a manifestation is rare, though, since the task of the Ministers is to maintain the Star - ordained order of the natural world. Usually humans are not part of their work and remain oblivious to it; Ministers frequently take the form of non - obvious objects like rock strata, hives of bees, or some trees. They have a variety of powers relating to their tasks, including the ability to shift form. These are the most common Star daemons; more seem to be 'created' on a semi-regular basis. This could be related to the fact that entanglement in the strange patterns of the Treacherous Lands occasionally sends them insane. Such insanity ends their status as Star daemons and diminishes their power, but makes them much more immediately dangerous to humans.
Cold Angel: each star has its own personal incarnation and messenger. These are the Cold Angels. Why they are called 'angels' is an open question, since the things they most closely resemble are the dragons of the Treacherous Lands; however, the Angels are covered in white feathers, instead of scales, and are bigger. Much bigger. If one of these landed in the True Lands, it could crush a medium sized city. Perhaps fortunately, they very rarely make the arduous journey through the sky; the reasons for such a journey must be spectacular, and the results are usually more spectacular still. The Angels have various powers, including being continually wrapped in Music of the Spheres. Some Legends claim that if an Angel is somehow killed, the Star from which it came goes out. Other legends claim that the slaying of an Angel causes its Star to crash down to the Land in a wave of freezing death, the turning bitter of a third part of the waters, and hideous mutation. There is no documentary evidence to support either version, oddly.
Increasing affinity:
+ prevent or legally punish a crime (or other injustice) for no other reason than that it is an injustice, when doing so is within your capabilities.
+ restore or impose order in some small scale situation; encourage a mob to proceed by course of law, build a small farm in an unsettled wilderness, organise people to put out a housefire, create a new governmental post.
Decreasing affinity:
+ committ a serious crime or injustice, or switch to a career involving more crime and injustice than your current one (one off affinity shift).
+ Do something, anything, for no reason whatsoever (harder than it sounds).
+ Committ an act of wanton destruction upon some symbol of civilization or order; kill an (honest) watchdog, for example.
6-10: at six points, you receive a small bonus to any actions involving the imposition of order, or can see better at night, or gain mild resistance to the cold. At ten points, Star-related character traits are dominating your personality; you are completely dedicated to some aspect of the celestial order. This could be Law (you are a great and wise judge), Justice (writing wrongs because it must be done), Organisation (you are a mechanical administrator who leaves his desk to sleep, or a compulsive-obsessive who cannot rest until his environment is under his complete control), or others - an obsessed logician might emerge in this way. If you have any kind of authority, the chances are that you Star-driven obsessions have caused you to make quite a name for yourself, though you may be respected, reviled, or both.
Increasing affinity:
+ prevent or legally punish a crime or injustice for its own sake, when doing so entails a serious effort or danger, or continually deal with crimes within your capabilities over a long period (one-off).
+ restore or impose order in a larger scale situation: end a riot encompassing a whole district of Horizon (not necessarily single-handed, but you must have the most responsibility), bring the rule of law to part of Vegadabarra, create a new government department or massively expand an existing one.
Decreasing affinity:
+ Incite a large group of people (eg a mob) to participate in some act of injustice, rebellion, or wanton destruction.
+ Make a change in career from some job involved in imposing order to something involved in destroying it (eg change from being an honest Watchdog to being an operative of the Emperor's Front, and stick with it).
+ Destroy or undo some significant symbol of order; murder a prominent judge, destroy a colony in a wilderness, burn a law library.
11-15: at eleven points, the physical changes noted above begin to occur. You age more slowly, or your eyes acquire a soft gleam, or anyone approaching you feels unaccountably cold, or your skin developes a silver tint. By fifteen points, they are complete; your skin and clothes have turned silver and become hard and metallic; or your body temperature has gone AWOL and there are patches of frost forming on your skin; your eyes have melted away into pools of light; you may have permanent Perfection of the Body or Spirit. At some point in this range the last of your filthy emotions are driven out, leaving you calm, collected, and quite inhuman. People are going to start noticing your supernatural 'issues' and will likely react with hostility. Most societies aspire to the rule of law and the propogation of civilization, but they don't want the earthly manifestations of the Stars watching to make sure they get it right.
Increasing Affinity:
+ go to immense lengths or expose yourself to huge danger in order to prevent or right an injustice, and do so simply because it is the right thing to do.
+ impose order on a vast scale; unite Vegdabarra as a viable single nation, create a civilized human government over a large part of the Treacherous Lands, have an entirely new codex of laws devised by yourself adopted, create a vast, overreaching bureaucracy.
+ Successfully cast 'Celestial Justice' on the avatar of a god. The trick here is 'successfully'. This will almost certainly end with the death of the Avatar, but that will only be the start of the consequences.
Decreasing Affinity:
+ Overthrow the rule of law in an entire kingdom.
+ Give someone significant help in achieving deification.
+ Cause a large number of people to entirely abandon sanity.
+ carry out an extended campaign of destruction and murder of bastions of order.
16: some sort of transformation overcomes you at this point. If you have unswervingly followed the path of justice and retribution, you may become a Silver Knight. Others burst into light and become Flaming Ministers. Most simply seem to dissolve into starlight and vanish up beyond the Sky. For a few, though, the process is much more dramatic; they ascend into the heavens in pillars of light, scourging the surrounding ground with frost. That night, the astronomers of the True Lands will discover a new star.
Increasing Affinity:
+ Dedicate your entire life to the pursuit and enforcement of justice, no matter the personal cost, and succeed multiple times.
+ Unify the True Lands under a single law system and government, or do the same for the Trecherous.
+ Cast 'Celestial Justice' directly on a god; if the Stars win the ensuing struggle, your affinity is increased.
Calm (cantrip): the caster, or a target in the immediate vicinity, feels an immediate reduction in the intensity of any and all emotions they are experiencing. Lasts about half an hour. Sorcerers need to do more than meditate for a few seconds.
Frost (variable): cast this at what level you will, subject to your abilities. The more power the spell is cast with, the greater the effect. In all cases a flash frost affects an area designated by the caster, which must be close to her. The more power is put into the spell, the deeper the frost and the larger the afflicted area. Bodies of water will freeze; solid surfaces will be covered in rime. It is possible to cast this directly into a living creature; the creature will not freeze solid, but the process does hurt. Unless the spell is cast in the most powerful form though, it's usually easier to hit whatever the creature is with sharp metal. Sorcerers must find either a sizable piece of a Daemon of the Stars or a piece of meteorite and use it to invoke the spirit of the frost; the higher the level, the larger and more pure the piece must be.
Glimpse Pattern (cantrip): the caster considers some process that appears to have no order whatsoever, and for best results holds something involved in the process. The spell enables her to determine some fact about any hidden order that underlies the process. For example, a shaman gripping a form from the Treasury might suddenly gain some insight into why seemingly random tax demands are made to his dead mother. Such glimpses of hidden patterns are not always helpful, or welcome. Sorcerers must construct a pair of spectacles with rims of silver and lenses of crystal, and use them to look at something of direct relevance to the process they are trying to glimpse a pattern in.
Rebuke (cantrip): if the caster actually witnesses a crime taking place, she may choose to cast rebuke straight away. The criminal will be stricken with a stabbing pain and an accompanying sense of impending doom. This lasts for a several seconds. Until the next time they sleep, the criminal will find themselves unwontedly questioning the course that their life has taken. Sorcerers must make a wand of silver, with which they must publicly strike the offender while loudly as admonishing them.
Word of Truth (cantrip): unless the target takes exceptional steps against the spell, the next thing that they speak must be the truth. The target is aware that they are under this compulsion. A sorcerer must force the target to drink a mixture of pure spring water and their own blood.
Preserve the System (enchantment): this is cast on some sort of ordered system (specifically excluding living beings) - a machine, a structure, alchemical equipment, etc. The system is then protected from everyday wear, tear, and decay for up to a year. It can still be smashed up, of course. A sorcerer must break no laws and live a life of solemn withdrawal for seven days, then sprinkle the system with his own blood.
Eyes of Justice (enchantment): this must be targeted at a specific person. Some item with a connection to them must be in the possession of the caster. The caster gains one clue as to the greatest crime committed by that person (note that this could be taken to include various obscure crimes against the natural order or consorting with Fire; all these are crimes as far as the Stars are concerned). The clue is usually vague and symbolic, and is not necessarily immediately useful. Also, the spell can only be cast once per target. A sorcerer must burn an item with close links to the concept of justice (the robe of a judge, for example), sprinkle himself with the ashes, then look through spectacles with lenses made of diamond.
Destiny (enchantment): something which might happen now either definitely happens or definitely doesn't happen. Randomness is replaced by certainty. The possible event must not occur on too great a scale; as a rule of thumb, anything encompassing whole city districts is too large to affect easily with this spell. To be affected, the event must contain a considerable degree of randomness, and must have at least a realistic chance of happening (or not happening) in the first place. So no "I make an elephant manifest in the centre of the Riverview Tavern, there's got to be some chance of it happening," - that's just too unlikely. Also no "My rifle shot definitely hits" - this isn't particularly dictated by chance, just your crappy aim. A good example is: a rival is taking a short cut through the slums when there's a touch of plague in the air. He might have caught it, or he might not; now he definitely will. Note that internal states of living beings (thoughts, emotions) are specifically excluded from this spell. A sorcerer must make gloves from the skin of a Daemon of the Stars, or some creature closely associated with them. He must then carefully turn through a deck of cards and remove the Ace of Diamonds.
Still the Tempest (enchantment): the title is a bit of an overstatement. An area of the natural world in the caster's immediate vicinity that is in a state of chaotic disarray (river rapids, part of a storm, a really confused tavern fight) orders itself for a short while - up to half an hour (the rapids run smooth, the winds calm down, the tavern fighters organise themselves into two proper sides). A Sorcerer must sprinkle the area with dust from either a ground up relic of the Stars, or from a ground-up chunk of meteorite.
Sublime Perfection of the Body (enchantment): the chaos induced by unfettered thought and slow decay is removed from the targeted body. It becomes still, quiet, timeless. Specifically, all mental functions shut down and the body ceases to age, and also recovers much more quickly from any damage. Also things like heart beat and breathing stop - the body appears dead, although it is not. The caster can end the spell at any time; it requires renewing once a year unless otherwise disrupted. Any intelligent creatures must give their consent for the spell to take effect. Note that this does not have to be willing. For this spell or Perfection of the Spirit, a sorcerer must anoint himself with a substance concoted of many rare oils and containing powdered meteoric iron.
Radiant Perfection of the Spirit (enchantment): the nasty glands that cause emotions and nervous system that brings pain are cast aside, along with the rest of the gross flesh. This spell must be cast on an intelligent being. The physical body temporarily disappears, leaving an immaterial (and faintly radiant) spiritual representation of the subject. This can think and talk normally, but does not 'suffer' from emotions without great effort, and does not interact with the physical world unless it cares to. Again, the caster can end the spell at any time, and must have the consent of the subject to cast it. It must be renewed daily. For this spell or Perfection of the Body, a sorcerer must anoint himself with a substance concoted of many rare oils and containing powdered meteoric iron.
Preserve the Vital System (Grand Ritual): as above, but living things can be affected. This has the effect, among others, of halting the aging process. Repeated applications of the spell in this way leave the subject seeming... well-preserved. As well as their own purified blood, sorcerers must scatter the 'system' (person) with the powdered remains of a Star relic.
Eternal Truth (Grand Ritual): another overstatement. But the target of this spell is obliged to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, for the rest of the day. This includes remembering anything they may have forgotten, and in extreme cases subjects have even been known to 'recall' parts of the truth never known to them, but only to close family or good friends. A sorcerer must himself forge a speaking trumpet and manacles from meteoric iron, have them handled by a daemaon of the Stars, then bind the target with the manacles and force them to speak through the trumpet.
Celestial Justice (Grand Ritual): the caster must address the subject in a place open to the sky, in the sight of at least twelve other intelligent beings (who are able to observe what's going on - asleep doesn't count). The caster must then recite a list of the subject's crimes, ending with an appeal to the Stars themselves to make redress for the crimes. The Stars themselves then do make redress - for those crimes the subject genuinely did commit. This comes in the form of horrible wracking pain, hallucinations of doom, physical deformity, and multiple 'destinies' to the subject's detriment. Generally the punishment inflicted is disproportionate to the crime, and no account is taken of attempts by the criminal to right their wrongs. Any false accusations made by the caster result in similar (but lesser) punishment. A sorcerer need only use an elaborate form of words (along with the open sky and witnessess routine) to unleash this spell. However, the sorcerer is then simultaneously judged for his own crimes - including any and all instances of using the power of the Stars by theft.
Music of the Spheres (Grand Ritual): in the realm of the Stars it is said that the most perfect music in existence plays eternally. This spell brings some of that down to earth. The music is the most perfect expression of harmony; no aggression or violence (or much of anything chaotic) is possible while it plays. Legends tell of whole battles ended by the Music. A sorcerer must assemble a group of the finest musicians in the world; he must then have an entirely new piece of music commissioned specifically for this group by a composer of great talent. Finally, the group must perform the music while within a specially prepared and highly elaborate diagram constructed from silver. If all goes well, the Music of the Spheres will enter into the music they play.
Call Silver Knight (Grand Ritual): the nearest Silver Knight comes to the caster's aid in investigating and punishing an injustice. Even once the (difficult) ritual is completed, the injustice must be of sufficient magnitude to warrant a Knight's attention. And once on a case, the Knight does not give up - even if the caster changes their mind.
Call Flaming Minister (Grand Ritual): as above, but their must be a sufficient disruption of natural order to justify the Minister's time.
Call Cold Angel (Grand Ritual): as above, but the sort of things that require the intervention of an Angel stretch the mind. It would be difficult for one individual to commit enough and serious enough crimes or cause enough chaos to warrant this. The loss of reason to slaughter and arson in an enitre nation would be closer to the mark, or multiple Fire daemons openly wandering the Lands with impunity. Nevertheless, if there is sufficient reason, an Angel will descend and Sort Out Business. The wide ranging consequences of this will likely haunt the caster for the rest of his life. The Angel doesn't care.
Any of the 'calling' spells may be performed by a sorcerer who knows the ritual. But they are less likely to be answered, and the Daemon is likely to make punishing the sorcerer a priority when it arrives, except in exceptional circumstances.