Nightfall
Contents
The Origins
Nightfall was created through a collaboration between Tenebrax and Venadak, borne as the result of their shared empathy for the derelict and oppressed classes through the waning days of the Unbroken Empire. Originally proliferated among slaves to provide them with a method to protect themselves against their master's wroth, the magic quickly became the source point for one of the bloodiest massacres in the Empire's history. Inquisitors marched door-to-door across the Empire, killing every last slave imbued with the Mark of Nightfall, and forcing many to initiate agents of the Empire against their will. What was created as a tool of liberation quickly became merely one method of further subjugation, as Nightfall was pointed against the very slaves it was meant to protect.
The two Creator-Gods did not take kindly to this development, seen as an act of defiance and blasphemy. It was the appropriation of Nightfall that first began the Divine Bombardment of the Unbroken Empire, as beams of light and chaotic rays of energy descended from Muid to assault the Empire's fortifications, ravaging their armies day and night. An eclipse rose in the sky above Adena for three years, and millions of Mithira's residents became blind staring at or even glancing in the direction of the great solar collision. Nightfall was named for these sequences of events, as an astral darkness reigned over the Empire's great stronghold long enough to depress the entire region. The controversy over this magic was, undeniably, the beginning of the Gods' war against the Empire, ultimately culminating in the Sundering of the Planes.
After the cataclysm, the magic largely disappeared... and re-emerged in the hands of one particular man, Ratheran of Daravin, now the Pontifex of the Omen of Ulendreaism. It has since become synonymous with the Omen faith, a fact many imagine to be a point of friction for the Goddess of Chaos, as the successors to the Empire's oppressive reign continue to carry her gift as if their own, attributing it to Ulen, the 'Returning King', as they wield it to pursue their own ends.
Concepts
Twilight: Twilight is the founding concept of Nightfall, built into the magic through collaboration between Tenebrax and Venadak. Considering all Nightfallen have some basic ability to interact with light, they are able to manipulate the photons within light to generate darkness. They do so by physically moving their body through the surrounding light, smoke-like shadow forming from within their movements before rushing towards and condensing within their palm.
Umbralplasm: Once darkness has been pulled from surrounding photons, it is quickly congealed through a mixture of ether and oxygen into a grimy, organic-like substance known as Umbralplasm. Umbralplasm is the foundational substance behind almost all of Nightfall's abilities, and it has a few unique properties of its own.
To begin with, Umbralplasm can easily spread across surfaces, as the Nightfallen mage is capable of expanding or retracting its surface area by loosening or tightening its internal density. The density of Umbralplasm can be finely tuned, with larger volumes greatly compressed into smaller ones via pressure. Because of this property, Umbralplasm can either weigh minimally or a great amount, allowing it to act as a tool for oppressing the weight of other objects or organics, often by spreading the substance along their own surface.
Umbralplasm is also highly malleable, considering it is effectively an organic goo of congealed darkness. Its form can easily shift, twist and change, and it can be expanded or retracted into Compasses (see: Abilities) with relative ease.
Initiation
Initiation into Nightfall requires that the initiating mage feed the initiate a liter's worth of Umbralplasm, which will spread throughout their body and congest their organs as a thick slime. Within this Umbralplasm is a shred of the initiating mage's Mark, shed from their soul, worming its way into the initiate's own soul and using the Umbralplasm as a vehicle to move through them. Unlike many other magics, Nightfall's initiation does not occur within a single reaction that the initiate must survive. The initiation itself tends to be rather benign, as the shed Mark easily settles within the soul and begins to form the fledgling Mark of Control. The danger of the initiation is surviving the carrier of the Mark, the harmful fluids circulating through the mage's system.
In many cases, the initiate will face organ failure as the dense Umbralplasm collects within their internal structure. As the fluid lingers within the body longer, it tends to migrate towards the core of the initiate's chest, finding a way to worm into their soul. Many who fail this initiation do not die at all, but are instead afflicted with a perpetual weight of Umbralplasm that blocks their Marks - including the Mark of Nightfall - and prevents them from ever wielding magic, unless the Umbralplasm is removed by a Stygian. Equally as many simply die as a result of organ failure, though those who succeed in surviving the initiation without either passing or losing access to magic will receive the Mark of Nightfall, unimpeded.
The Mark itself tends not to be visible to others, only appearing on the surface of the Nightfallen's skin in the light of a full moon, or during a solar or lunar eclipse. While it is visible, it appears as a series of black rods converging together into one shape.
Overstepping
The drawbacks listed below do not always come in pairs, and certainly not simultaneously. Some may come and others may not.
Lesser: Nausea, fatigue, headaches, muscle spasms, dehydration
Moderate: Bleeding through the nose, eyes and ears, intense cramps, seizure-like shocks and spasms, internal bleeding, vomiting and weakness
Severe
Umbralysis: Nightfallen who venture too far beyond their capabilities may be stricken with Umbralysis for their folly. This horrid magical ailment subjects the mage to their own manifested Umbralplasm, felling them beneath the combined and compressed weight of every last nearby drop as it lurches for them and piles on. Should they survive the initial collapse, the condition will persist for months, converting any nearby darkness into Umbralplasm that grasps and tugs, quickly growing out of hand to slowly bury them alive until they are crushed beneath the growing weight. To survive, they most avoid even their own shadow until the condition passes, surrounding themselves in warm light from all angles. Moonlight will not suffice as a light source.
Mutations
Common mutations of Nightfall tend to include perceiving light or moonlight as one would darkness, interacting with moonlight as one would sunlight (such as being able to receive 'moonburns' from the moon), being able to see in deeper darkness, being more difficult to grab or subdue, and other themes and concepts central to the magic. Psychologically, Nightfallen tend to be strong-willed and independent, unwilling to bow or accept the commandments of others, and may develop mutations that infer an aversion to power structures, hierarchies or slavers. Mutations that alter the shape, appearance, structure or applications of their wings (from the ability 'Shepherd') are also very common.
Abilities
Devise: Novice. The Nightfallen, through this ability, learns to perform the initial process that allows for the production of Umbralplasm. First, they learn to generate darkness from within light photons, a process that requires the visualization and adaptation of the ambient mass of photons around them. After performing this initial task, they learn to accumulate the unique features of Umbralplasm around the generated darkness, giving it the strange, organic texture and capability it is known for. This tends to occupy the brunt of a Nightfallen's Novice progression, and must be mastered before moving onto other abilities.
Generating darkness, and then Umbralplasm, both consume ether, though a trivial amount. The majority of 'cost' associated with Nightfall lies within its abilities, or more precisely, directing the Umbralplasm to perform these abilities.
Compass: Novice. Compass is the natural successor to Devise, as it is the ability within which the Nightfallen learns to compress and decompress Umbralplasm. Once it has formed within the palm of the mage, they will begin to lift it above their hand into a sphere, typically beginning by pressurizing the mass into a smaller volume. This allows the Nightfallen to produce orbs of darkness - or Compasses - with highly dense masses of Umbralplasm that occupy a very small space. Compasses are the conduits from which the brunt of Nightfall's abilities are cast, as Umbralplasm will emerge from the spherical structure and perform the given ability. Umbralplasm that has been released can also be returned to the Compass, allowing the substance to be recycled if it has not been destroyed.
Confide: Apprentice. Confide allows for the Nightfallen to leave a projection of their features, typically their face (though this may extend to their entire body) within a shadow, configuring this projection to prime and communicate with specific individuals who encounter it. As an example, a Nightfallen may imbue a hallway's shadow with a projection of themselves that is designated to communicate with a specific friend or ally, which will immediately begin to speak to them as they enter the shadow, or step within a certain threshold of it. These projections can last months or even years as a Master, though once they are triggered they tend to be expended.
Obscura: Apprentice. By congealing a swell of Umbralplasm beneath the feet of the Nightfallen, it rises and wraps about them and their attire or weaponry, forming a cloak of impenetrable darkness. Unlike true darkness, the Umbralplasm selectively allows photons to shimmer across the surface, creating a limited range of camouflage that mimics the surrounding low light. They will appear as a pale blue blur slinking between the grasses under the light of the moon, or the darkest shimmer of black. Under direct warmer hues of light, they will appear smoky as the guise strains, evaporating at the seams. This camouflaging darkness cannot be manifested in a brightly lit room save for lunar light, nor will it hold for more than a few moments before even a torch. Those who are in some way in favor of oppressing others shall lose the camouflaging aspect. The cost of manifesting Obscura becomes insignificant as the Nightfallen progresses towards Mastery.
Volley: Journeyman. Volley is the first offensive application of Nightfall, and the first ability which harnesses the Compass as a conduit. The Nightfallen expels some of the contents of a Compass, releasing a volley of congealed globs of darkness that will fire en masse across the area, moving at a high velocity. Once they land on designated enemies, they will begin to slither across their forms to get to their eyes, ears, lips and nostrils, blinding, deafening and sometimes even totally preventing them from breathing. Further, as one progresses through Nightfallen and begins to generate more compressed Umbralplasm, Volley equally has a notable ability to weigh down or oppress the movement of targets landed upon. While this ability relies on these globs hitting foes, often from long distances, it can have a dramatic and even lethal effect.
Stratum: Journeyman. Stratum is a wall of darkness, crafted by releasing some of the contents of a Compass. While the base of Stratum is typically constructed by Umbralplasm, the exterior tends to appear smoky in color and texture. This ability is highly malleable, and can often greatly expand in radius by reducing the density of the formed wall. Equally, it can become smaller and more compact, serving as a near impenetrable (but small) shield. Stratum is also known for its secondary effect; it can fire black tendrils of Umbralplasm at a high velocity to whip, slash at and impale enemies from its surface, often unexpectedly.
Shepherd: Journeyman. Shepherd was initially designed by Tenebrax to allow for Marked slaves to escape their chains, fleeing from their masters for good. It is the ability to create wings of Umbralplasm, fully functional and capable of flight. Notably, the wings constructed by Shepherd are capable of truly dynamic mobility, able to direct their movement freely within a multi-directional axis, similar to a hummingbird. As a downside to Shepherd, while it is relatively cheap to construct, more precise movements require a relatively small increase in ether expenditure, which can accumulate to a large excess and can often lead to Overstepping this hummingbird-like precision is maintained for long durations.
Lance: Expert. Lance manipulates the edges of Shepherd's wings, shaping their outer surface into a great volley of spear-like tendrils that descend from above to below. These elongated spears are known to hit the ground from dozens of meters in the air almost instantaneously once primed, though they are very visible when forming. The spears tend to number around twenty to thirty, and each can impale thick plate, becoming only more piercing if fired from greater range.
Obscurafane: Expert. By rapidly expelling Umbralplasm, the Nightfallen creates an irregular void of shifting Umbralplasm twenty feet tall and as many feet across, crashing down in a slurry of varying densities. These densities shift and roil like the tide, the darker blobs feeling as crushing stones while the lighter areas feel as an abrupt wind. This shifting tide still allows some light through the smoky in-between. However, the dark, floating nodules slathering over the face can obscure vision or batter with their sheer density, knocking victims around or else suspending them in a bedding of jostling and sticky, shifting ooze making it truly difficult to escape or give chase conventionally. This ability has a tendency to roll and spin those subjected to it, disorienting them and suspending their sense of gravity. Receding rapidly, the densities thin towards a tarry, hazardous field of still yet slowly degrading Umbralplasm.
Shadowrend: Expert. Shadowrend is the manifestation of a triad of scythe-like, crescent blades of shadow, which will typically meld along the Umbralplasm-coated arms of the Nightfallen. These three scythe-like blades will pursue the movements of enemies, their malleable shapes shifting to wrap and bend in order to strike or slash at enemies who attempt to escape their range. An enemy may dodge, duck or strafe around one of Shadowrend's crescent scythes, only for the scythe to immediately twist its shape and impale them through. Considering the flexibility and (typically) the durability of these weapons, they are often the signature of a Nightfallen, and are known to be nearly impossible for mundane warriors to contend with.
Shadowform: Master. Shadowform allows for the mage to dissipate through Umbralplasm, the fragments of their form falling to the surface of a shadow beneath them as slops of congealed darkness. Once this occurs, they may reform within a nearby shadow, up to fifty feet away. Shadowform is a potent ability, but with a few requirements for its use. Firstly, it must be performed by a Nightfallen who is currently cloaked by Obscura. Secondly, it can only be used to jump from shadow to shadow, and with its limited range this can often prove impossible or detrimental to its usefulness. Despite these drawbacks, it is a staple of Nightfall, as it is a relatively inexpensive ability to use, and can provide a less draining alternative - albeit a highly limited one - to Sonic Blink.
Collision: Master. Collision is the first and final pure manifestation of Venadak's gravitational imprint on the magic, allowing for the Nightfallen to generate a destructive gravitational wave. By colliding two dense, highly compressed Umbralplasmic structures, the mage can generate an impact force so intense that it can decimate nearby objects and organic matter, pulling objects at the edge of the radius within before erupting with devastating energy. The larger and denser the Umbralplasm, the wider the radius of this intense force, and the more destructive. This comes with the drawback of making the collision slower, as the heavier, denser Umbralplasmic structures are more difficult for the Nightfallen to control. Equally, these larger collisions require more ether, but can unleash a truly devastating blast of force that can extend hundreds of feet outward.
Conjunction: Master. Conjunction is, like Collision, an ability meant to inflict raw devastation on an area. The Nightfallen fully expands a Compass, releasing the entirety of its contents to inflict a vast wave of destructive Umbralplasm across a given field, somewhat blindly. This often manifests as a flurry of massive, root-like tendrils lashing and flailing over the field and eroding what they touch, or blasts of darkness similar to Volley, but with greater piercing power or force. Each sphere unleashed by Conjunction tends to release a catastrophic amount of Umbralplasm, enough to devastate the area before a Nightfallen, typically in a cone. Conjunction expends a large amount of ether, and utilizing it more than a few times in a battle often leads to Overstepping.
Stygian Abilities
Penumbra: Penumbra is, in conventional application, a Stygian's most powerful ability. By forming vast swathes of Umbralplasm above them, suspended by large stalks of darkness, they create a curdling roof of filamented darkness that will often drip onto the floor beneath it, shifting and slithering across its growing, weave-like shape. Completely obscuring the sun and moon and culling all external light, this roof can expand hundreds, even thousands of meters, and while it can decay or lose its integrity through time it typically remains for weeks or even months before requiring maintenance. Despite its long-lasting nature, Penumbra can be built in a single battle and will often serve as a lair for the Stygian to confront their foe on unequal footing.
Within Penumbra, the Stygian can wield their natural ability to meld within darkness freely, becoming invulnerable as they move beneath the structure. Each time they attack or harness an ability, they will materialize for a moment, only to disappear again into the shadow cast from above. They may also cast Shadowform from any point of Penumbra to any point, allowing advanced mobility while within. Finally, they may use the roof itself as a conduit for their abilities, including Conjunction. The Penumbra can also be shifted to cover its sides, preventing foes from easily escaping through them, or even knowing their relative location compared to Penumbra's exterior. This makes the ability very difficult to escape once caught within, spelling certain death for most.
Condemnation: When a target is fully subdued, a Stygian is capable of injecting a highly dense mass of Umbralplasm into their physiology, which they may manipulate by maintaining a constant pressure against their skin, typically through their palm, closely mirroring Nightfall's initiation. As the Umbralplasm weaves deeper, the Stygian can even thread it within their soul, targeting and isolating individual Marks of Control to wrap around and 'Condemn'. Condemnation infers the ability for this Umbralplasm to remain within the soul of the suppressed foe for the rest of their lives, constricting their Mark with a weight so dense that it no longer connects to the rest of their soul, or their stream of ether. This totally rebukes all mutations, as well as removing the mage's ability to access that magic entirely. A less dense variant of this ability can stop at only suppressing mutations, though either way the application is permanent unless undone by another Stygian, imbuing an indescribable and unpleasant weight within the soul of the afflicted. Condemnation cannot suppress a magic that the other mage has Ascended in, as that magic exists all throughout their soul.
Novice
At Novice, the new initiate is introduced to the foundational abilities of Nightfall, Devise and Compass. Through Devise, the Nightfallen learns to extract darkness from light photons, and then to congeal them into the mass known as Umbralplasm. Compass then teaches the Novice Nightfallen to compress this mass into tightly compact spheres, known as Compasses, though this ability to compress the substance is one that is translated to all other abilities involving Umbralplasm in the future. Novice is spent learning these basic concepts around generating and manipulating Umbralplasm, with no other utility imbued within these early stages.
Apprentice
The Apprentice Nightfallen may now utilize Confide and Obscura, both of which involve harnessing shadows as a platform for various abilities. This stage focuses on expanding the non-combat utility of the magic, building the foundations of later skills that allow for stealth, diversion and communication across the art.
Journeyman
A Journeyman Nightfall mage gains access to Volley, Stratum and Shepherd. This is, by far, considered to be the most significant step in the magic, as the Nightfallen expands their repertoire of abilities greatly, gaining offensive, defensive and mobility-focused abilities. Volley allows for the Nightfallen to blind, disable, weigh down or even smother foes, while Stratum allows for a variable defense-offense that can be manipulated both in density and structure. Shepherd allows for advanced flight, significantly beyond even the natural limits of the vast majority of species, allowing for perfect turning and movement across any of the spheres along the axis of movement. The Nightfallen improves in their ability to generate and compress Umbralplasm, allowing for the offensive application of the magic to expand.
Expert
Following after the leap of progression of Journeyman, the Expert Nightfallen gains access to three new abilities: Lance, Obscurafane and Shadowrend. Lance is a simple ability, launching a rapid volley of spear-like tendrils from the wings of Shepherd, which can crash against and impale through objects on the ground with extreme speed and precision. Obscurafane acts - typically - as a defensive measure, unleashing a rolling tide of Umbralplasm to push, knock down and disorient foes around the mage before receding. Shadowrend constructs three scythe-like, crescent blades of Umbralplasm to duel foes, and acts as the signature weapon of the Nightfallen.
Master
The Master of Nightfall may learn Collision and Conjunction, the two most devastating abilities of the magic in terms of their raw destruction. Collision allows the impact of two highly dense structures of Umbralplasm to generate a gravitational blast, pulling in and crushing all material around them. Conjunction allows the Nightfallen to expend all of the quantity within an Umbralplasmic 'Compass' at once, unleashing a destructive flurry of various forms that can annihilate large portions of a battlefield. Nightfall culminates at this stage with a mastery in offensive applications, with the basic principles of compression and Umbralplasmic control fully realized.
Ascension: The Stygian
Amidst the throes of an eclipse, a true master of Nightfall may choose to surrender the person they were to a being of converging darkness and light, otherwise known as a Stygian. A Stygian is a unique being, one that is known to have 'two faces', their Umbral and Prosaic forms. The Stygian's Prosaic form is their regular self, albeit with changed eyes. Their sclera will change to a black shade, with their irises mimicking an eclipse. A dark core will sit surrounded by the outer edges of light, which show a fiery shade of amber. The Umbral form is far more intense, a total shift to every detail of who they were. Their hair will be colored black, their bodies matching in shade as a blindfold grows around their eyes. Golden embellishments grow along various features, varying from Stygian to Stygian. Most notably, black wings extend from their backs, which may be used with all the freedom of Shepherd with none of the cost.
Behind their heads appears a plate-like halo, colored like an eclipse, with deep brass outer edges and a dark core. At any moment, this 'halo' may be shaped into a weapon of the Stygian's choosing, and wielded as an impenetrable arm. The Umbral Stygian may freely merge with shadow, disappearing into darkness before re-emerging to strike.
All Stygians, regardless of being in their Umbral or Prosaic forms, may ignore many of the laws of physics, or at least twist them to suit their own needs. If they fall, they can simply choose to dispel the effects of gravity upon their form, choosing to stop their descent at any moment. Indeed, even without their wings, they would still be able to levitate considering they are no longer tethered by Atharen's mass. Density has little impact on them, and therefore blunt strikes become far less effective, as the thick weight of a hammer infers no additional trauma to their form. Considering this greatly reduces harm from many different sources, Stygians tend to be very difficult to kill. Alongside this, like with any other Ascension, they gain increased reserves of ether which allows them to more freely wield Nightfall, as well as other magics.
Stygians gain access to the ability Penumbra, allowing them to forge a lair within which they become nearly invulnerable, weaving through the shadow around them to evade and strike from darkness. They are also the only Ascended who can annul the Mark of another mage, through the ability 'Condemnation'.
