Azata
Flitting among the stars and zipping between worlds, tritidairs resemble violet-skinned children with antennae and dark-purple butterfly wings dotted with pinpoints of glowing light. These outsiders are constantly cheerful, frequently playing pranks and making jokes, but their good humor belies a great deal of power. Tritidairs have a deep connection to the nuclear fusion that powers stars, giving them their star-related abilities. Their eyes twinkle with starlight that can fascinate some viewers, so they keep their eyes covered with stylish goggles to prevent accidental exposure. Travelers in starships occasionally spot the unmistakable purple streak of light as a tritidair flies past.
Tritidairs are devoted servants of Desna and frequently travel to Cynosure, the pole star and home of Desna’s palace. Desnan priests say that the goddess planted a seed in a new star, which shot forth light that became the first tritidair. Although this origin story might be apocryphal, what is certain is that the birth of every new star creates a tritidair. They don’t remain near their stars of origin for long, but each tritidair has a unique pattern of glowing dots on their butterfly wings corresponding to the locations of the stars where and when they were born.
These outsiders serve as messengers and pages for the Song of the Spheres, running errands for her throughout the galaxy. Although their starlight form enables interplanar travel, this method of travel has its limits. Tritidairs explain that not every star can provide passage—some are broken—but the concept is difficult to describe to others. Still, tritidairs can move quickly over vast distances to convey messages or provide aid to followers and allies of Desna who find themselves in trouble.
Tritidairs are fiercely loyal. The kindhearted and impulsive creatures don’t seek out combat, nor does Desna commonly send them on missions involving violence. If pushed into combat, particularly if required to protect innocents, they are very willing to use spells and weapons to deal deadly damage. All tritidairs carry easily identifiable starknives patterned with constellations matching those on their wings. These magical starknives charge with energy each time the tritidair travels between stars. Many Desnans carry copies of these knives. Some who have interacted with a tritidair engrave such starknives with constellation patterns matching the wings of that tritidair as a way to honor and remember the azata, much like carving a dear friend’s name on a personal treasure.
These azatas lack sexual characteristics, but some tritidairs choose a gender, and many favor the feminine, mimicking their goddess. They enjoy art, music, and theater, and it’s not uncommon for a major performance to have a tritidair or two in attendance. When tritidairs meet in larger groups, they often enjoy playing games and sports. However, tritidairs don’t have permanent residences or family units, and they don’t stay in one place for long.
Tritidairs sometimes linger on Cynosure or in Elysium, but most prefer to remain on the Material Plane. They genuinely enjoy the company of mortals, and when not on assignments from Desna, tritidairs travel, alone or in small groups, to random planets or starships, where the azatas look for new friends and adventures. Because of this tritidair spirit of exploration, many species on various worlds have myths and stories of flying star children.
Although tritidairs spread the worship of Desna, their primary motivations are to meet new creatures and have fun experiences. They aren’t the most reliable when called upon by anyone but Desna, but nevertheless, some creatures and organizations successfully form alliances with tritidairs. Solarians and tritidairs can feel a connection to one another, given their mutual association with the stars.
Tritidairs don’t age, and some have outlived the birth and death of stars. A tritidair can survive the destruction of its star of origin, and similarly the demise of a tritidair has no discernible effect on the star. Tritidairs also don’t require sleep, but they engage in long meditations to dream. Not only do they find the experience amusing, but Desna can also speak with them through their dreams, sending the tritidairs their missions.
Other creatures sleeping or engaging in similar deep rest near a meditating tritidair can find their dreams invaded by vivid visions from the azatas. Many who have such experiences report that their dreams never go back to normal, remaining rich and dramatic, but seldom troubling. Worshipers of Desna sometimes seek out tritidairs, hoping to earn this experience.
Such seekers also hope to have visions of Desna, such as those who have been blessed with tritidair-influenced dreams have claimed to receive. These assertions can be true—Desna can use the neural pathways a tritidair’s influence opens to communicate with other beings likely to aid the goddess’s aims. Good-hearted dreamers find themselves becoming more spontaneous and venturesome, looking for opportunities to explore and help others. With this increase in boldness comes an increase in apparent luck, although what seems to be luck is just as likely to be an increased awareness of good opportunities and the willingness to seize them.
Like other azatas, avigwyrs value freedom and truth. While tritidairs carry messages between stars, avigwyrs root out corruption and avarice on city streets, investigating greedy corporations and corrupt politicians. Their indigo skin, neon hair, and sparking fingertips make them easily recognizable, so they prefer operating behind the scenes. They often work together in covert cells or alongside like‑minded vigilante groups of mixed species. Avigwyrs too paranoid to trust a team work alone and likely assume any strangers who cross their path are agents sent by their enemies.
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