Introduction
Brightest Stars, Darkest Nights is a setting based on the Six Viziers system from the Fate SRD. A quick recap of that system is given below. In addition, there are six demon princes whose mark also grants some measure of magical power. These are loosely based on the Six Profanities.
The setting
The following is quoted from the Fate SRD (see link above).
The people of the Endless Steppe accept no dominion but that of the sky. Their people are scattered so far and wide that some wags say that this truth is the only thing they hold in common. And perhaps they are right—from the onion-domed towers of the River Cities to the Tent Nations of the Horselands to the walking towns of the southern jungles, the Folk of the Stars all direct their prayers and curses to those same stars.
Most often, these are directed to the Six Viziers, the constellations that dance around in the court of the Empress, whose place in the sky is always fixed. Each one holds divine responsibility, and each carries righteous petitions to the Empress.
While the constellations that make up the Viziers and their titles are generally agreed upon, there are many opinions beyond that point. They are named and represented differently from place to place. Depending where you are, the Giant might be depicted as a giant man crafted of stone, a maiden whose axe carries the fury of winter, or even an elephant. The tales of the Viziers—and even that name is contested in places—speak volumes about a people.
From time to time, someone is blessed by one of the Viziers, and carries its mark in the form of a pattern in the shape of the appropriate constellation. The nature of these blessings varies. For a family in Achinst, the firstborn daughter of a particular family is always born marked by the Giant. A western monastery is run by a chosen of the Soldier, and it is said that mantle passes to any who defeat him in combat. There are stories aplenty, and little real sense of the truth of it.
What is known is that each of the blessed gains power in accordance with the domain of the Vizier in question. The chosen usually seem to be well suited by temperament to the Vizier that chooses them, but it’s unclear whether that is a cause or effect of selection.
Persons blessed by a Vizier are known collectively as Blessed, and sometimes as Chosen or Marked.
In this setting, the Empress is physically real, an immortal rules who reigns Endless Steppe from her palace-city. Her palace can disappear in the night and reappear elsewhere, never staying in one place for too long.
The Viziers too are real. Every winter solstice at midnight, the Empress calls on the Viziers to appear in a public ceremony, and always one of them appears and dispenses wisdom. Often, there is a moment for petitioners to approach, seeking the Vizier’s blessing; but most walk away without a mark.
The Underworld
The Underworld, or Hell, is real as well. All mortals save a select few arrive there after their death. It is said that in the Underworld, a mortal cannot be truly harmed, for each sunrise they are made whole again, alive and unharmed.
The Underworld is ruled by six Demon Princes, about whom little is known. They sometimes appear in mortals’ dreams, offering dark guidance and temptation. Some even claim to have seen a Demon Prince in the flesh, although few believe these tales.
Just as the Viziers, the Demon Princes too are known to mark pawns, the better to advance their sinister agendas. Those marked by a Demon Prince are known collectively as Branded, as the mark often resembles a brand, and also as Chosen or Marked. Branded gain a specific small handful of powers, depending on the Demon Prince that branded them. The brands are detailed here.
Legends tell of entrances to the Underworld, and of great heroes—and villains—that found their way out into the world of the living to fight again. Most know these legends, but few give them any credit, and none agree on the supposed location of these entrances.