Nightfall
Contents
The Origins
Nightfall was created through a collaboration between Izonata 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 Izonata 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
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
x
Mutations
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 not a large amount. The majority of 'cost' associated with Nightfall lies within its abilities, or directing the Umbralplasm. Still, it is important for a Nightfallen mage to balance the amount of Umbralplasm they have generated with the abilities they are using, as many practitioners tend to over-generate the substance, leading themselves to Magithermal Entropy.
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. Mold darkness around yourself, becoming capable of camouflaging within darkness. wip
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. Wall of darkness; defense. Tendrils may be released from surface for offense. wip
Reign: Journeyman. Wings of darkness for flight. wip
Overreign: Expert. Dark tendrils plummet downwards from wings, impaling foes. wip
Obscurafane: Expert. Shadow-blending, advanced. wip
Grasp: Expert. Condense and manipulate the mass of an object or thing, creating a gravitational field around it. wip.
Shadowrend: Expert. Scythe-like serrated blades of shadow, follows movements. wip
Shadowform: Master. Dissipate through Umbralplasm, reform within a nearby shadow. Spammable/cheap. wip
Collision: Master. Force two dense objects to collide, creating a gravitational wave so intense it can crush things around it. wip
Conjunction: Master. Fully expand a Compass, releasing its contents to inflict great destruction. wip
Stygian Abilities
Penumbra: Create a roof of darkness, blocking out the sun. Umbralplasm spreads from beneath it, generating a lair of darkness for the Stygian, who can meld within darkness to become invulnerable, capable of materializing from it at any point. Can cast abilities using the surface of the roof. wip
True Singularity: Create an infinitely dense gravitational region, and an event horizon so compelling that even light cannot escape. Black hole; appears as an eclipse-like astral body. wip
Novice
Apprentice
Journeyman
Expert
Master
Ascension: The Stygian
Eclipse-like eyes, dark sclera, ignores laws of physics, often wears blindfolds due to blinding gaze, can freely merge with shadow; being of true and total darkness. x
