01-28-2024, 06:28 PM
2103 AC
The turn of a century ushers changes befitting of its scale. Historic developments of world-shaking proportions unravel as the most sterling figures cast from the crucible of the latter 21st century close chapters to author new beginnings. Rivalries classic and novel are brought to the fore as the once unifying forces of evil wax and wane in the corner, or recur to smoldering as they did in antiquity. Amid the stage of world powers stands Aphros and its Gloomlight exclave--now considered a pariah state by many.
Its estranged status among contemporaries boasts an inordinate prosperity and popularity, attracting the faithful and iconoclastic alike. The stalwart state perseveres under a paradigm that defies the character of established mores and customs, redefining the boundaries of what its predecessors once proscribed or deemed impossible, and embracing the very roots that gave it origin. Through its unhindered exploration of the Question, the Twilight City leads in trajectories both welcome, unforeseen, and dubious, despite its wealth of detractors and the conflict they embroil.
Only time will tell what the future holds in store for the Twilight State. Like the anointed of Athelios, it wears many faces. Ever changing, ever adapting, ever growing.
"Watching my garden grow has been one of my greatest pains, and joys, in life. It is my distinguished, only pride to have served this family as its Oracle."
◑ After a long, prosperous, and tumultuous regime of fifty-three years, Lirael Equisol hands down the mantle of Oracle to her successor: Ysayl dul Vique, shortly following the ritual of mass purification and its successful execution. Long may she reign.
◑ After the ritual conducted in Martyr's Vigil, thousands of demonic and bestial sophonts scattered to the wild or made their home in the Grove. A demonic likeness though many may bear, they do not seem to exhibit the same aggression commonly attributed to the race, and accord seamlessly with the human locals as beings capable of Civilization. Concomitant to these new arrivals, though perhaps unrelated, is a ubiquitous pacifying effect on all occultists residing in the Grove and Aphros proper, as if a subtle control encourages them to better behavior and compliance with society.
◑ Various members of the Bastion, independently of their Commander and Oracle, confronted the Time Lord in the most recent bid to revive the Imperfect of Change, Sak'noth. Although many knocked on death's door, they incurred no major casualties.
◑ As the polemic surrounding the Servant and her host Arlyss rages on, many have called into question the judgment of Aphros in its duty to uphold the Cosmic Balance and Cycle for harboring a known master necromancer. Some posit that she has attained the elusive myth of white necromancy, while others insist she has sworn off the art, or that her variety does not violate the cycle. Whatever the case may be, she does not seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
◑ While the practice of necromancy remains strictly verboten in the Warden's domain, the art of spirimancy continues to thrive under such figures as Tecuani, Lyco Corbin, and Fauste who lead the vanguard, pushing it to new and exciting frontiers.
◑ A new spate of Bastion trials commences under Umbra Captain Mnemosyne, Astra Captain Ezra, and Commander Lyco for those wishing to enroll or rise the ranks.
◑ A revival of the faith, presided over by the newly instated Oracle and the direction of Proteus Equisol, is underway. It purports to venerate the Hallowed Trinity, a trifecta of Primordials with Athelios at the head, and Enarr and Gala as the right and left hands.
◑ Phaedra Equisol makes manifest her ambitions to transform Unreality into an auxiliary branch of Aphros under a new sect dubbed the Scholars of Nought which, out of other practices, maintains Talguth as a patron spirit of Athelios.
RELATIONS
Martyr's Vigil: An Oath, Upheld
Prospera: Open for Business
Fortune: Neutral
Kingdom of Serenity: Neutral
Viridian Grove: Neutral
Xuefeng: Neutral
Frontier: Neutral
Londo: Ceasefire
Ten's Citadel: Terrible
Delphina: Worse
Eden/RISE: Heretics
Gardens: Until Dawn Falls
Gardens: Until Dawn Falls