The 12th Mistress of the Eclipse, by the name of Jeanne, was slain on the Day of True Brightness when the Light-bound Guilds would perform countless exorcisms to purge dark elements from the world. She was never married, so the protagonists of Light thought her childless, celebrating what they thought was the end of the dark times brought by the rule of the powerful Eclipse bloodline.
10 years after the Mistress’ death, an unpredicted solar eclipse shrouded the world in darkness. The ominous event lasted for slightly over five hours, turning the world nervous. Afterward, word began to spread of numerous gruesome murders on the outskirts of Deville, all the victims being members of Light Guilds. A rumor followed the news of the killing, saying that a teenage female had used the dark energies of the eclipse to slay the victims and mutilate their bodies in open defiance of the Gods of Light. The world panicked as their worst fears have been realised – the Eclipse bloodline had survived, sustained by an illegitimate child who would succeed the dark lineage. She is the 13th Mistress of the Eclipse, and her name is Seyril.
-Advocates of Darkness, Entry 448
[Origins of the Eclipse]
Millennia before the second generation of Gods appeared, there were thousands of first-generation Gods working together to influence the mortal humans to build a culture of God worship which supplied them with godpower, which was stored in a well of godpower essence called the Fountain of Power. However, some of the Gods differed in their use of godpower. Some used it to destroy and invoke darkness and cruelty in the hearts of men, while others used their godpower for creation and protection of life. A distinction between the Gods quickly began to form as they were separated into ‘Dark Gods’ and ‘Light Gods’.
The Light Gods disagreed with the Dark Gods’ ways, resulting in rising tensions between the two sides. Eventually, the growing distrust reached its peak, and conflict broke out. The war, often referred to as ‘The Fall of the Old Gods’ or simply The Fall, saw the Dark Gods pitting their darkness against the light of the Light Gods. Hundreds of Gods were slain in battle, and the wretched few that managed to drag themselves away from the bloodshed decided to go into hiding to recover from their terrible wounds. Over time, a new generation of Gods sprang up from the life essences of Heaven to exert their own influence on the mortal humans. The Gods that fought and survived The Fall were forgotten, remembered only as the ‘Old Gods’.
Splex is one of the Old Gods. Ancient and powerful, he returned from refuge only thirty years after The Fall to find another human to champion him. He finally decided on the daughter of the King of an ancient city called Sezear, a young woman called Lynn. Splex filled her with his darkness and ordered her to take full control of the royal family so he could begin his return to the mortal world through her. After Lynn murdered her father and two brothers in secret, she assumed command of the royal family. Satisfied at what she had become, he bestowed the title of ‘Mistress of the Eclipse’ upon her. Lynn spread the teachings of Splex to the rest of the royals and nobles, turning them evil as well. Using the powers of true darkness granted by the Old God, she blackened the hearts of the people of Sezear, until everyone in the city worshipped Splex as their Dark God. Since before The Fall, Splex held the title of Grand Duke within the family of Gods, thus his worshippers call him the ‘Grand Duke of the Fallen’.
Splex cursed his champions to only bear female children, thus the title of ‘Mistress of the Eclipse’ would be conferred to every successive child.
The royal family of Sezear, now known as the Eclipse royalty, would go on to dominate much of the continent with the power of an Old God backing them.