The guys and their stuff

In the northern hemisphere, where the islanders are, there are a few distinct constellations that are able to be used to find out where you are, and also fun for stories.

their main star is called the North Star (uncreatively) and is the brightest star and almost directly above them. its often portrayed as a four pointed diamond shape on tapestries and other depictions of it. There are two other stars  to either side of it, not as bright but one of them is tinted red (this one isn’t an actual star but rather a nearby planet) the Red Star is the direction south or behind them, and the White Star is the direction north, or forward. Used to tell which way the dome is facing. 

the islanders believe that they live inside a very, very large dome,  the sky rotates around a singular fixed point (Their North Star). the sky from atop a large cliff face looks like a bowl around their horizon. They believe that the water at the edge of the dome falls down and under their world, and that the edge is surrounded by a very long sea monster who eats any sailors who try to go past it. The sea monster is also what drags the sun bird down when winter arrives, it keeps it there until the sun bird frees itself and rises again. They also believe that the North Star is the eye of the wolf that taught the first people how to live. At certain times and certain weather conditions, the North Star can look red. They also have northern lights, which are said to be the howl of the wolf. 

there are many constellations that they can see on a clear night, one of which is a long long of stairs with three above them. They call this the constellation of the ship. The row of stars is the bow of the boat and the three stars above it are the top of the sail. This constellation is the ending of one of the islander’s greatest stories, in which his final expedition was to travel to the end of the world and back. He failed, and the sea monster kills him and threw his boat into the dome. The horse constellation is one with four stars being the hooves of the horse, two making up the neck, one star for the horn, and three for the back and tail. This constellation told to be a legendary horse which saved a group of people from an ice cavern and then galloped across the water and into the sky. The last one here is the rabbit, another string of stars with a cluster at the top for the head and a cluster at the tail, this one is about the rabbit that the wolf ate, which she showed respect to and it became immortalised in the sky.

the islanders know that Monyash is round.. sort of. They’re not exactly sure how, since it contradicts with what a lot of their other evidence shows them. 

Seeing stars reflected on the sea and on the ice sheet is a sign things are going to be fine for the winter. If the clouds cover the stars, then it’s going to be a cold night. Snow is almost like the stars falling.