When Sheng gained his own Star it served as a focus =
for worship across a diverse Empire. His people knew he =
was there because his Star was there.
Basically its an incredibly powerful magical ritual open to =
sky/sun worshippers. It's an expression of Imperial power which is a symobol of the Solar Culture. Orlanthi have no =
rites that can match this or would want to. =
IMO the Red Moon herself is a form of this rite. When a hero enacts the ritual then they make themselves known to the =
world saying "here I am" - the star then serves as a focus for magic points sacrifced to them and a reminder of their =
presence. This is why Shengs star disappeared when he =
was imprisioned. With the collapse of his Empire his =
"Star had fallen" so to speak. =
In addition I believe that a hero who is apotheosised will go =
to their star. I also think that such a star leads inevitably to =
apotheosis and is therefore the first step in solar cultures to Godhood. =
Sheng's Star was also his celestial camp which his demi-god warriors could ride too through the sky paths. His magics would have been readily available to more and more people after the rise of his star and this in turn would lead to more =
worship. =
Note that after his star had risen Sheng actually maanged to land on the Red Moon and give it a good kicking though even =
his suffering magic had no effect on Gerra.
All in all having a star is a pretty good thing!
Martin Laurie
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