IV. The Duskfall Arc
A mortal's fear, an oracle's manipulation, and the murder that ended the Golden Age.
"I only wanted to live. To grow old beside him. To not wither while he remained eternal. Was that so wrong? Was that worth... this?"
Nimue's Last Words
The Eve of the Wedding
Erion and Nimue were to be wed. For the first time in history, a god would marry a mortal in a ceremony witnessed by both realms. It was to be the ultimate symbol of divine-mortal unity.
But Nimue was afraid.
Nimue's Fear
She was aging. Every day she looked in the mirror and saw time's passage, while Erion remained eternal. She would grow old. She would die. And he would live forever, eventually forgetting the mortal woman he once loved.
Mildor's Poison
Mildor was an oracle-a mortal gifted with fragments of divine sight. He had sought recognition from the gods and been rejected. His gift was imperfect, his visions unreliable. The gods had no use for a half-blind prophet.
His rejection festered into hatred.
When he saw Nimue's fear, he saw opportunity.
| Attribute | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| The Lie | Immortality Through Murder | Kill a goddess with a sacred weapon, inherit her immortality |
| The Weapon | Arcblade | A divine artifact capable of harming gods |
| The Target | Anias | The Eternal Light, source of all creation |
Mildor whispered to Nimue night after night:
- "The gods keep immortality for themselves."
- "Anias hoards the secret of eternal life."
- "One strike, and you can live forever beside Erion."
He never told her the truth: that no such ritual existed. That killing a goddess would not grant immortality. That he simply wanted to watch the divine realm burn.
The Murder of Light
On the eve of her wedding, Nimue crept into Anias's chambers.
The goddess was resting-not truly asleep, for gods do not sleep, but in a state of peaceful contemplation. She sensed Nimue's approach and opened her eyes with a warm smile, expecting perhaps pre-wedding nerves, a request for blessing.
Instead, she saw Arcblade-the divine weapon Mildor had stolen-in Nimue's trembling hands.
The Moment of Murder
Nimue plunged the blade into Anias's heart.
The Eternal Light flickered. The goddess who had dreamed worlds into existence, who had loved all creation, who had argued for giving mortals a chance-she looked at Nimue with no anger. Only sadness.
And forgiveness.
The Spark of Light
As Anias dissolved into light, she gave one final gift.
Erion burst into the chamber, too late to save his mother. He found her essence dispersing, her form fading. With her last conscious thought, Anias pressed something into his hands-the Spark of Light.
"This light belongs to you now, my son. Protect this land. Protect my dream."
The Spark was Anias's first creation-the very first light she ever made, containing the purest essence of her being. She could have used it to strike back, to destroy her murderer, to rage against the dying of her light.
Instead, she gave it away. Her final act was one of love.
| Attribute | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Anias's First Creation | The very first light she consciously made |
| Power | Divine Essence | Contains the purest fragment of the Eternal Light |
| Purpose | Protection | Can be shared with worthy mortals-the foundation of Paladin power |
The Aftermath
Anias dissolved into light, witnessed by mortals and gods alike. The sky darkened. The Golden Age ended in a single moment.
Nimue realized instantly that Mildor had lied. She gained nothing-no immortality, no eternal life. She had murdered the kindest being in existence for nothing. Her mind shattered.
Erion held the Spark, his mother's final gift, and wept. He did not pursue Nimue. He did not seek vengeance. He only knelt in the fading light and mourned.
Marael felt his wife die from across the cosmos. Something in the god of order... broke.
The Transformation of Marael
Grief does terrible things to even divine minds. Marael had loved Anias completely. Her death did not merely sadden him-it unmade everything he believed in.
Mortals had been given everything. Knowledge. Magic. Divine guidance. And they repaid it with murder.
In his grief, Marael made a terrible decision.
The Beginning of the End
The Duskfall was not just the murder of a goddess. It was the murder of trust between divine and mortal realms.
Marael withdrew from Arcania. He sealed himself in Eterna Citadel with Alassa-his remaining child, the one who had always warned him about mortal treachery.
And in the silence of his grief, he began to plan.
Tip
Continue to The Abyssal Arc to learn how Marael's grief became the war that threatens all existence.