Cosmic Guardian

The Star Horror

Cosmic Guardians, also known by some as "Star Horrors", are sentient Astral creatures composed of stardust, which are said to come to being in "stellar nurseries" within nebulae in the Astral Sea and Astral Void. Most spend the majority of their existence drifting through the Astral Sea/Void and its connected Empyrean/Navian Planes, though they much prefer to avoid contact with Fiends where absolutely possible. When they do make their way to the Lateral Planes, it is normally to find themselves a Cosmic Witch to form a Bond with; the pursuit of this particular endeavour being subconsciously programmed into them, and each Cosmic Guardian knowing innately when it is their "time" to form a Bond. As Cosmic Witches are relatively rare, many Cosmic Guardians spend centuries wandering the Astral Planes before receiving their calling.

Description

Cosmic Guardians are generally described as beings composed of sentient stardust. In their most base form, they simply resemble sparkling clouds of swirling stardust in shimmering teal, purple and white colours. However, when they manifest in their True Forms, they take on their variant or Class appearance. Each Cosmic Guardian has unique features, much like Material Sapients, and if a sufficient description is provided, they can be identified from each other fairly easily.

Variations

There are four Classes of Cosmic Guardian: Starbrace, Lightstar, Blackstar, and Starfang. Of these, the Starfang is the rarest and most powerful, being essentially a tank and powerhouse with incredibly strong offensive capabilities alongside its own ridiculously high defense. Its natural appearance resembles a massive, heavily armoured Sapient torso, often carrying heavy weapons and shields. The Blackstar, the second most powerful, is considered an assassin-type class of being, with high stealth capabilities and the ability to move through shadows. Blackstars manifest in a more "dark matter"-like form, with a tall, thin Sapient-like appearance and starlight highlighting their hands, feet and eyes. The Lightstar is the "healing type" of the Cosmic Guardians, with higher than average Zoemancy skills and the ability to purge poisons and diseases. They are generally seen as cloaked Sapients that move with a slow and otherworldly grace; they are considered the most beautiful of the Cosmic Guardians. Finally, the Starbrace is the most common Star Guardian, and is considered a defensive-type creature that has the ability to boost the defense and resistances of others. Its natural appearance resembles a facultative biped of bone, often with a canid or felid skull. Starbraces are generally the smallest of Cosmic Guardians, being of average Human height. Lightstars and Blackstars can reach up to twelve feet tall, while Starfangs can reach a whopping thirty-five to forty feet tall.

Behaviour and Abilities

Cosmic Guardians are generally quite aloof and independently minded. Their understanding of Fate and existence stems from the unique perspective of something that is outside of traditional Material matters, and is therefore quite different from that of Material beings. Thus, they rarely form bonds with Material beings and find the Material Plane in general to be a rather peculiar place. They find the majority of things to be below them, and take little interest in the day-to-day lives of Material Sapients.
The exception to this is when they become the Confidant of a Cosmic Witch. When a Cosmic Guardian bonds with a Cosmic Witch, they become ferociously protective of "their" Witch and despise it when harm comes to them. While still coming across as aloof to others, or even outright disinterested, Cosmic Guardians see themselves as a sort of parental or guiding figure in the lives of their Witch, often giving pet names to them and watching over them even while invisible. Like most Confidants, they tend not to materialise unless called or a situation forces their presence, though some are said to be more involved in their Witch's life than others.
As Confidants to Cosmic Witches, Cosmic Guardians take on a "Sealed" form, the size and ferociousness of which often hinting as to the class of the Cosmic Guardian. As examples, Starbrace Cosmic Guardians often take on the form of small wild or domestic creatures, such as stoats, cats and hedgehogs. Lightstar Cosmic Guardians tend toward animals associated with healing, such as snakes, doves and owls, while Blackstars usually manifest as panthers, wolves and eagles. Due to the relative rarity of the Starfang class within the Lateral Planes, little is known about their Sealed form, and scholars can only guess as to what they might look like. Many believe that they take on the forms of huge, terrifying beasts, though a small number of outlier sources suggest that they may take on a more Sapient form.
While they are in their Sealed and Base forms, the voice of a Cosmic Guardian sounds like the overlaid, echoing thrum of the universe mixed with multi-pitched, electric-like sounds, with their true voices only being heard by their Witch while in these forms. Some Cosmic Guardians like to mimic the noises of the creature they resemble while in their Sealed form, consciously changing their outwardly projecting sound so that it is less painful, frightening or imposing. On the occasions that they forget to consciously change their voice, or become angry enough that they simply drop the cover, the sudden sound of their natural tones can be quite a shock to the ears of Material beings. Hearing their voice in this form can cause physical pain to Material beings. In their True form, their voices can be heard by anyone, though they will continue to sound echoey and overlaid, and can still cause pain due to the complexity of their audible voices.
The full extent of the abilities of Cosmic Guardians are generally unknown, though they are confirmed to be immune to abilities that would attempt to control their mind or influence their thoughts.

Ecology

Little is known of the ecological factors of Cosmic Horrors. It is known that they can exist within multiple Planes, including the Astral and Lateral Planes, and that they are "born" within stellar nurseries in nebulae, but none have ever offered any further details.

Diet and Feeding

Cosmic Guardians are believed to feed off of ambient energies within the Astral Plane, entering a short period of recovery to replenish their energies. Otherwise, they do not need to eat, drink or sleep.

Taming, Harvesting and Taxidermy

Cosmic Guardians cannot be tamed; they are beings of Sapient intelligence and must either be befriended, contracted, or otherwise forced into service through entrapment. A trapped Cosmic Guarding will never submit to the wishes of its captor and as they are immune to mind control, cannot be forced into submission. They will generally fight against their captors until they are freed. The majority of Cosmic Guardians present in the Lateral Planes are the Confidants of Cosmic Witches, where they willingly enter into a bond with "their" Witch in order to fulfil an inbuilt biological obligation. However, Cosmic Guardians are picky beings who will not enter into a contract with a Cosmic Witch if they do not believe that Witch to be powerful enough to "handle them". Of the recorded Cosmic Witch Confidants since the Age of Dragons, only three have been Starfang-class.
Cosmic Guardians don't generally leave behind harvestable parts when encountered, but some Witches are able to collect a material akin to stardust from their Confidants. The properties of this dust are not well understood, though it is believed to assist in the viewing of Fate.

"Don't let his innocent facade fool you... This is only one of his forms; in his base form he is merely sentient stardust, and in his True form he... well... is less cute."

Senior Guardsman Neyon Vihan, Cosmic Witch, talking about his Confidant, Realta