The Seal of the Stars is a seal of Antiterra whose only recorded bearer is Swan and whose effect is seen in the sky: “perhaps some stars shine brighter at the moment Swan brings it to life”.
| Type | Object (seal) |
| World | Antiterra |
| Bearer | Swan |
| Spanish entry | Sello de las Estrellas |
Properties
The Seal is not wielded but brought to life. When brought to life it confers authority, guidance or protection; the three are recorded together, with no order among them. Only one Seal and one bearer are known.
The stars it acts on
In Antiterra stars are “balls of energy that are beyond” the material world; there is “a sea, but a sea of stars”. Their look varies: at one place “the stars, if they came out, were black”. Time travelers declared “we traveled to the stars and came back”, and a portal “that is opening… that goes upward” leads toward the stars; nothing links the portal to that journey, or either to the Seal. One star has a number: HD 107-148, in the constellation of Virgo, with Jovian planets in orbit. For some, stars “represent gods, perforations of the cosmos or supreme forces”.
Related names
The word “star” runs through other entries the records do not join to the Seal:
- the Order of the Stars, a mystic order whose doctrine is tied to “the dictum of Krishna”;
- the Star of Bethlehem, a sacred object in the mythology of Uchronic Paris;
- “Morning Star”, the name of a railwoman in the context of a utopian faction, possibly at the head of her guild;
- “star” for someone of renown (“because I am a star, I know, I know”).
Open questions
- What the Seal is made of, and how (or whether) it is carried.
- Who gave it to Swan, and on what condition it answers.
- What its authority applies to and what its protection guards against.
- Which stars shine brighter, and whether anyone besides the bearer sees it.
- Whether the black stars cancel or pervert its effect; whether the star journey was literal and whether it used the portal.
- Whether the Seal belongs to the Order of the Stars or only shares its name.