Part 1
The 108 Stars of Destiny
In tandem with the Rune Compendium, this will be a go-to source for which Star does what, who each Star is, and the connections between characters in the series if they were not immediately obvious. Many Stars have thematic purpose between the characters in the series that fall under the same one. Some are random, though.
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| 51st Dark Star (地暗星) of the 72 Eartly Fiends Yang Lin "Multicoloured Leopard" - Wandering Outlaw |
The 108 Stars of Destiny come directly from the classic Chinese tale that inspired the series (but mainly the first game), Shui Hu Zhuan. Commonly translated as The Water Margin, Outlaws of the Marsh, and All Men Are Brothers, its Japanese translation is, in fact, Suikoden. It was adapted by Takebe Akayari as Honcho Suikoden, or “Japanese Water Margin” in 1773. It has been republished multiple times over many different periods in Japanese history, including receiving ukiyo-e paintings like the one depicted above.
It was translated into English in 1933, all 70 of its chapters. At the time, it was well-received by the American public. Its most recent English translation is The Marshes of Mount Liang, which is spread out over five volumes and contains 120 chapters.
The idea of the 108 Stars stems from the Taoist belief that each person's destiny is tied to their own, personal Star of Destiny. They represent 108 demonic overlords who were banished by the Taoist sage, Shang Ti. During banishment, each of these stars repent, and are released from their banishment by accident, and are reborn as 108 heroes who band together to a common cause for justice.
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