Defying The Darkness
Those Who Defy the Darkness
Though the Forsakening shattered the cosmos, not all have surrendered to its slow and inevitable unraveling. Across the war-torn celestial realms, the broken leylines of magic, and the dying roots of Yggdrasil, there are those who still seek hope—those who refuse to let the light fade completely.
Some believe the First Light can be rekindled, that there is still a way to restore balance to the cosmos. Others believe that the Weave, the Ley, and the very fabric of reality must be reforged into something new. And then there are those who embrace the final darkness, seeking to accelerate the unraveling in the belief that true creation can only be born from total destruction.
These are the Seekers of the First Light—warriors, scholars, prophets, and wanderers who walk the shattered ruins of the multiverse, searching for answers, salvation, or oblivion.
Lucifer’s Chosen: The Heralds of the Last Hope
The Fading Voice of the First Bearer
Lucifer, the First Bearer of Light, once stood at the right hand of creation itself. Now, he lingers in Limbo, his power fading, his presence reduced to whispers carried on the dying winds of the cosmic void.
Yet, even in his weakened state, he has not abandoned his purpose.
Lucifer believes that all is not yet lost—that there is a path to salvation, hidden within the fragments of the Weave and the Twigs of Fate. He has chosen a handful of mortals and fallen celestials to act in his name, guiding them through dreams, visions, and cryptic revelations.
These are Lucifer’s Chosen, the Heralds of the Last Hope.
The Mission of the Heralds
Lucifer’s Chosen have been given a mission of cosmic importance:
- Find Lilith. The Matron of the Weave still lives, hidden somewhere in the shattered cosmos. She alone may have the knowledge to reconstruct the Weave and restore balance to magic.
- Protect the Twigs of Fate. These fragments of the original Weave are the last remnants of stable magic—they cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of the Forsworn Prophets, the Nether, or Oblivion itself.
- Reignite the First Light. Whether by restoring the divine order, reforging the Weave, or uncovering the hidden truths behind the Forsakening, the Heralds must find a way to return the lost radiance to the cosmos.
The Burden of the Last Hope
But Lucifer’s Chosen are not universally welcomed.
- Many divine beings still see Lucifer as a traitor and believe his chosen are deluded or dangerous.
- The Aether Loyalists seek to destroy them, believing that Lucifer’s knowledge is forbidden and his plan is a deception.
- The Forsworn Prophets actively hunt them, fearing that they will prevent the final unraveling.
Despite the opposition, the Heralds continue their search for Lilith and the lost relics of the First Light, knowing that if they fail, there may be no second chance.
The Guardians of the Celestial Stair
The Last Keepers of the Broken Pathways
The Celestial Stair, once the pathway between the heavens and the mortal realms, now lies in ruin. The Forsakening severed the stair’s connection to the divine, leaving it cracked, fragmented, and untethered from reality.
Most believe the stairway can never be restored—that the pathways between realms are lost forever.
But the Guardians of the Celestial Stair refuse to accept this fate.
This ancient order of scholars, monks, and planar navigators believes that the Celestial Stair can be rebuilt, and with it, the lost roads between worlds.
The Guardians’ Quest
- They travel the remains of the 32 Great Cosmic Pathways, searching for stable fragments of reality that can be woven back into the Stair.
- They hunt for lost records of divine architecture, believing that the knowledge of the First Light’s roads still exists, buried in forgotten ruins and celestial libraries.
- They seek the Leystone Codex, an ancient text said to contain the secrets of the First Light’s construction—a map to the very fabric of reality itself.
The Threats They Face
The Guardians are beset by enemies on all sides:
- Aether Loyalists believe that mortals were never meant to walk the Celestial Stair, and seek to eradicate the Guardians before they can restore what was lost.
- The Nether seeks to corrupt the Stairway, turning it into a gateway to Hell instead of a bridge to the divine.
- Oblivion seeks to erase it entirely, for if the Celestial Stair is rebuilt, then the unraveling can be halted.
The Guardians fight a war not just against enemies, but against time itself.
If they fail, the Cosmic Pathways may be lost forever.
The Forsworn Prophets: Harbingers of the End
The Believers in Finality
Not all seek to restore the lost light—some embrace the Forsakening, believing it to be inevitable, necessary, and even holy.
The Forsworn Prophets are a doomsday cult, spreading the belief that the Forsakening was not a tragedy, but a divine judgment.
They claim that:
- The First Light was never meant to last forever, and that its vanishing is part of a greater cycle of death and rebirth.
- The Forsakening was preordained, and all attempts to restore the Weave, the Aether, or the Celestial Stair are futile.
- Oblivion is not to be feared, but welcomed—a return to the purity of uncreation.
The Cult’s Goals
- They actively work to accelerate the unraveling, seeking out Weave Scars, corrupted leylines, and sites of entropy to spread Oblivion’s reach.
- They assassinate Seekers of the First Light, believing that restoration efforts are blasphemy.
- They seek to awaken the Leviathans of Tartarus, believing that these ancient horrors hold the key to true destruction.
They are fanatics, willing to burn reality to the ground so that something new can rise from its ashes.
Lost Relics and Forbidden Archives
The Twigs of Fate: The Last Fragments of the Weave
Among the shattered remnants of magic, the Twigs of Fate remain the only stable pieces of the original Weave.
- They pulse with raw arcane energy, untouched by the Forsakening.
- They can stabilize magic in their presence, restoring order to chaos.
- They are believed to be the key to reforging the Weave, but their full power remains unknown.
Many factions seek to claim them—some for restoration, others for power, and some for destruction.
The Leystone Codex: The Lost Prophecy of the First Light
An ancient stone tablet, broken into pieces and scattered across the cosmos.
- Said to contain the true origins of the First Light, and perhaps the secret to rekindling it.
- Some believe it holds the final prophecy of creation itself, while others think it is a warning of an even greater catastrophe to come.
- The Guardians of the Celestial Stair search tirelessly for its missing fragments, while the Forsworn Prophets seek to destroy it.
If the Codex is ever fully restored, it may answer the final mystery of the Forsakening—but will the multiverse be ready for the truth?
The Final Struggle
The Seekers of the First Light stand at the edge of oblivion, fighting against forces greater than themselves in the hopes of rekindling a light that may never return.
But even in the darkest night, there are those who carry torches.
And as long as even one ember remains, the First Light has not truly died.
