As Lleian drew to a close, the sky yawned open once again, and the Shadow Plane was breached. Ati, the Shadow, empowered by Its Mother Ohlsana, was joined by the Shadow Lord Murgraxis, and shadows flooded downward upon the continent of Sapience. Seeking to free the Shadow Mother, the two leaders of the invasion threatened the slow, painful demise of the continent unless Damariel, the Unbound - whose predecessor Lanos forged the Shadow Mother's prison to begin with - was revealed and slain, permitting the trapped Goddess Her freedom.

While shadows swarmed the cities of the land, the Gods met the shadows in combat above the continent - Auresae, Chakrasul, Damariel, and Slyphe brought Their combined forces to bear against Murgraxis and Ati. However, Ohlsana's blessing upon the shadows, combined with their sheer, unassailable volume, soon won out against the Gods of Sapience.

The battle culminated in a horrific explosion as Auresae sacrificed Herself to forestall Ati - this attempt was unsuccessful, though She perished in the process, Her order and Her shrines dissolved. The other Gods have been scattered and wounded, and have not since shown Themselves. In the wake of Auresae's demise, the sun has gone dark, giving way to eternal night.

There was but one glimmer of light amid the growing darkness - the Exarch Aban, Hand of the Il'ahji, arrived upon the continent from the Plane of Spirit, along with a legion of Duamvi. Though disgusted by the Corruption and Shadow he perceives in the land of Aetolia, he has opted to remain and discover what may be done to advance the cause of Light in the darkest days of Midnight.

The raids continue unabated as shadows swoop down from the still-open rift - the village of Sterion has been claimed by the Shadow armies, and though Murgraxis and Ati have been silent since the fateful encounter with the Gods, their beasts of shadow scourge the land. Of these, the most fearsome are the armies of Shadowbound, shapeshifting, mutable monstrosities that take on the visages of their victims.

Penned by my hand on the 2nd of Lanosian, in the year 451 MA.