"Void-Dusk" is the name given to the last, 9 unmarked days of Magicae's Calendar.
The sun sets for a starless night that lasts said 9 days, the only way to know the difference being when the Moon causes a different, maddening effect on all creatures at the struck of midnight. Sometimes, storm-like clouds form around the moon, engulfing it and making the whole world go dark, as the only celestial body and source of light in the sky is temporarily hidden. Each day, a different effect is spread all through-out Magicae, some minor, some completely disastrous. These effects take over those who are touched by the moonlight at random, so effectively,
anybody who dares step outside is at risk. The clouds provide temporary safety, but to avoid widespread harm, most settlements go on complete lockdown until the Void-Dusk passes. Many also bless and protect their homes with holy prayers and charms.
The Void-Dusk affects not only the Material Plane, but all other Planes of Existence as well. Even The Nine Hells and The Abyss, with no skies to speak off, see the moon in this black night. The Void-Dusk also makes any magical or planar travel extremely dangerous, as now instead of arriving to your destination, you instead reach a different Plane, completely at random. This also affects teleportation spells like Misty Step or Dimension Door, their casters now unable to control wherever the spell takes them, reaching a random location, in a random direction, but always using the maximum distance the spell can offer.
The effects of The Void-Dusk are many, and even though they repeat, one Void-Dusk is never exactly the same as the next.
The Scarlet Night is an independent phenomena from The Void-Dusk, and neither have ever happened at the same time.
Origin
The Void-Dusk's origin is Laedere, God of Suffering, Throne of Curses. Back in
The Old World , when
The Harbingers turned on one another, Laedere unleashed the Void-Dusk as a weapon of war, among the many other curses he had besiege the land. Even though it is believed that when
Anima, God of Life, sealed Laedere away, he did the same with his curses, any leftovers being removed by
Malaquías, God of Life & Death, it is unknown why this one wasn't.
Or if it even can be.
Some people believe that unlike his other curses, Laedere made this one with the aid of his siblings,
Bellica, Goddess of War & Innocence, and
Mortalis, God of Death, and
that is the reason this curse remains. After all, a curse created by the maddened grief of
three gods would likely bring any of them to their knees. Under this interepretation...
Even though the three Harbingers are no longer a threat, their legacy of world-ending destruction, pain, and death lives on through The Void-Dusk days.
The Berseker's Moon
By far the most famous effect of one the Void-Dusk moons, and the most easily identifyable, is what is popularly referred to as the "Berserker's Moon". During this day, creatures become mad with senseless agression, attacking each other on sight. The targets of these berserkers are indiscriminate, and they forget what pain or exhaustion feels like, stopped only when they are beaten or freed in some other manner.
During this night
The Orphan of Strife, the only mortal
Bellica, Goddess of War & Innocence ever called a friend, makes his appearance. The slaughtered soldier walks through the lands in a ghostly, golden, divine haunt, an anathema to the chaos happening around him. He does not speak, he does not weep, he barely stares at those around him, ambivolent to the fighting; but those standing near him slowly start to calm, notice their wounds begin to close, and any healing effects cast or used in his proximity heal their maximum potential.
Ultimately however, he is but a singular spirit, in a slow walk. In a world as big as Magicae, and across multiple Planes, to come across him is truly a miracle.
At the struck of midnight, this day's end is announced by the Orphan of Strife's screaming, as he is struck down by an invisible blade, mimicking his death at Bellica's hands.
See: Bellica's Strife
