Zapho's Celestial Guide to the Stars (House Item)

Book Text
by Zapho the Ancient of Ak'Anon

A guide to quaintly named random clusters of stars seen in the night sky.

Of course they're in the night sky; you couldn't see them during the day! -- Zapho the Ancient

Sprocketsnik's Tinkering is the name for a grouping of several stars that represent the Tinkerer before an anvil.

A well-known tinkerer in his day, Sprocketsnik's workshop was occasionally engulfed in flames dur to the speed at which he worked.

Sparks surround his figure in the constellation, obscuring it on all but the clearest of nights.

A family of gnomes named Gizmo were dedicated to building a better sailing device.

Their efforts pleased Brell Serilis so much that he had them turned into the Glittering Gizmos constellation when the first Wind-o-Matic exploded during testing, scattering their remains.

Before measurements were standardized, folks used the Star of Ak'Anon to indicate levels of brightness.

"That's a ten Star" meant an object was ten times as bright as the Star of Ak'Anon on a clear night.

One of several star clusters named for creatures, the Minotaur's Horn resembles its namesake, with a bright star marking its tip, while lesser celestial lights outline its triangular shape.

Late in the season, the horn is seen facing toward the east with its widest area facing toward the ground. If this is seen prior to the harvest, it indicates fields of plenty. When this occurs after harvest has begun, there is a chance for famine.

Though some remember Meldrath the Malignant for his minotaurs, he was also keen on building racing ships that could pierce through any hull.

One of his ships is represented amongst the stars as Meldrath's Fury, a bright cluster of stars grouped in a circle, trailed by a plume of faint scattered stars.

The Cog of Cobbleknob represents the strongest cog in the sky, one spoke for every direction.

Some say it represents the eye of Brell, watching over the gnomes, fringed by shimmering eyelashes.

Others say that the Cobbleknob family paid dearly for the opportunity to have this constellation named for them.

The constellation Clockword MX is generally low in the night sky no matter what the season.

Look for twin lights at the center of a spiral of eight appendages, each marked by three progressively fainter stars.

Some of the MX's stars are part of other constellations, making this one truly difficult to locate.

Gribletobs greatest invention, the Magnificent Gadget, was said to be called the "Malfunctioning Gadget" as the center cog was always having trouble, but the four along the edge never wavered.

Look for a single star in a dark field, surrounded by its faithful and unwavering companions.