Title: Last Light - The Spell of Final Judgment Classification: Mythic Spell (12th Level Equivalent) Created By: [[Queen Cyrill]] Lightheart of Brensistria School: Evocation (Radiant, Fire, Force) Casting Time: 1 minute Range: 3-mile radius Components: V, S, M (A divine spark drawn forth and infused by the caster; this spark does not permanently leave them, but must be channeled anew each time the spell is cast. The spark cannot be transferred or shared, and is tied uniquely to the caster’s soul.) Duration: Instantaneous --- **Spell Description (D&D Beyond Format):** When [[Queen Cyrill]] casts _Last Light_, a massive column of divine fire and radiance erupts from the heavens, vaporizing all within its central impact. The spell strikes with such overwhelming might that even gods pause when sensing its echo. - **Primary Zone (2-mile radius):** All creatures must succeed on a DC 25 Constitution saving throw or take 300 radiant, 300 fire, and 200 force damage. On a successful save, creatures take half damage. Creatures reduced to 0 hit points are disintegrated; only _Wish_ or divine intervention can restore them. - **Secondary Zone (additional 1 mile beyond primary):** Creatures take 150 radiant and 150 fire damage (DC 25 Constitution save for half). On a failure, they are blinded and deafened for 1 hour. Magical structures may become unstable. Creatures in this zone feel the aftershock of divine judgment—causing some to flee in terror or lose the ability to cast spells temporarily. - **Aftermath:** The terrain becomes permanently scarred. Plant life dies, magic becomes unstable for decades, and leylines fracture in the area. No resurrections can be performed within the blast zone unless a god reverses the damage. - **Cost:** The caster permanently loses 50 maximum HP unless restored by divine intervention. Due to the immense strain on the weave, the spell may only be cast once every 30 days, and only by [[Queen Cyrill]] (or someone equally blessed by [[Perserphina]]). --- **Lore and Origin:** _Last Light_ was not born from ambition but desperation. In the waning days of the Spell Engine’s collapse and after the liberation of Polaria from the Devil King, [[Queen Cyrill]] received visions through [[Perserphina]]: the Necrotic Behemoth, long thought dormant, was stirring again. Knowing the world’s armies and conventional magic would be powerless, Cyrill retreated to the Moonforge Sanctuary and called upon the remnants of mythic spellcraft last used in the First Age. Guided by divine presence and the raw weave newly restored to full potency, she combined radiant leyline cores, fire-infused elunite, and her own soul’s light. _Last Light_ was the result—a divine firestorm that could unmake apocalyptic threats at the cost of balance itself. --- **The Political Firestorm** **Collapse of the Magic Initiative** The Magic Initiative, spearheaded by [[the Wizards Conclave]], was designed to: - Regulate high-level spellcasting across Solare. - Prevent mortals from wielding world-altering spells without Conclave oversight. - Ensure all arcane development passed through "licensed" channels. - Protect the weave of Solare from collapse due to overuse or abuse of reality-shaping magic. Cyrill has now: - Bypassed all Conclave protocols. - Invented a spell that reaches 12th-level mythic power, something even the Conclave believed was theory or divine-only. - Kept it secret until fully formed and near deployment. This is not innovation to them—it is defiance. And it undermines their credibility across every kingdom that trusted their regulatory control. **[[Zerquistiss - Master of the Wizards Conclave|Zerquistiss]]’s Reaction – Master of the Conclave > "We were promised fire. She gave them a sun." [[Zerquistiss - Master of the Wizards Conclave|Zerquistiss]], the cold, brilliant, is furious and terrified. Her goals have always included: - Dominating arcane advancement from within the Conclave. - Establishing a magical caste system where no one casts without license. - Preventing exactly what Cyrill has now done—free and divine-level creation beyond their reach. She will now: - Denounce Cyrill publicly, claiming she’s endangering the weave and setting a reckless precedent. - Try to brand her spell "unstable" or "heretical," perhaps even proposing it is a danger to planar stability. - Push to declare Brensistria rogue territory, at least in arcane matters. - Secretly accelerate her own Mythic Spell Division—hoping to counter Cyrill’s power or create an artificial god (or arcanomaton) capable of matching her. **Political Fallout within the Conclave** - **Major Split:** Half the Conclave sees Cyrill as a messiah against [[Anam]]. The other half sees her as the death of regulation and order. - **Collapse of Trust:** Many mages and guilds under the Initiative will question why the Conclave can’t do what Cyrill can—and if they ever could. - **Dark Alliances:** [[Zerquistiss - Master of the Wizards Conclave|Zerquistiss]] may even begin courting forbidden powers ([[Lysara, Lady of Shadows|Lysara]], infernal patrons, even fragments of [[Anam]]) to maintain her dominance. **Other Consequences** - **Arcane Cold War:** Now the Conclave and Brensistria will begin spying, sabotaging, and politically fencing behind closed doors. Magical espionage and counter-intelligence boom. - **Weaponization of the Arcane Divide:** Other cities might abandon the Magic Initiative and side with Cyrill, trusting her divine status more than the Conclave’s bureaucracy. - **Cyrill’s Dangerous Position:** Though powerful, Cyrill is now a target. The Conclave might attempt to assassinate her, sabotage her rituals, or steal the spell itself to reassert control. **Conclave Statement** > "Power without order is chaos. [[Queen Cyrill]], for all her wisdom, has acted outside the Laws of the Arcane Accord. Let it be known that [[the Wizards Conclave]] did not sanction the spell known as Last Light, nor do we endorse its use, replication, or preservation. Should this spell be cast, it may not only unmake armies—but reality itself." —[[Zerquistiss - Master of the Wizards Conclave|Zerquistiss]] **Polaria’s Perspective on Cyrill’s Last Light** 1. **National Shock and Strategic Alarm** - **Loss of Control:** Brensistria may be officially part of the Human Union, but Last Light proves that Cyrill is not bound by Polaria’s will. Polaria views this as an existential threat to its political supremacy. - **Unregulated Mythic Power:** King Talbain and his advisors fear that one woman, even one as revered as Cyrill, now holds the power to erase entire armies or cities. This sets a dangerous precedent for ungoverned arcane supremacy. - **Emergency Councils Convened:** Within days, Polaria’s High Council of Nobles, Wizards, and Generals meet in secret to discuss: - Contingency plans in case Cyrill goes rogue (however unlikely). - Creation of their own divine-tier magical weapon. - Diplomatic containment measures: subtly reassert control over Brensistria. 2. **King Leon Talbain’s Personal Reaction** - **Respect Tainted by Fear:** King Talbain deeply respects Cyrill as a hero, possibly even as a friend, but now fears she may be more than a monarch—perhaps a demigoddess beyond accountability. - **Internal Conflict:** He is torn between admiration, caution, and duty to the Union. Secretly, he may envy Cyrill’s immortality and divine favor from [[Perserphina]]. - **Public Neutrality, Private Concern:** He likely issues a calm public statement supporting Cyrill’s judgment in creating the spell “only for defense,” while privately ordering the Polarian Guard and Wizards’ College to prepare alternatives. 3. **Government Response of the Human Union** - **Diplomatic Pressure on Brensistria:** - Demand for a council review or magical oversight committee to supervise any future use of Last Light. - Push for Cyrill to share or document the spell under secure Union protocols—likely refused. - **Military Investment Escalates:** - More funds are poured into the Arcane Artillery Division, possibly developing a competing 11th- or 12th-level spell project. - Recruit divine war priests and artificers to seek countermeasures, or even a god’s assistance. 4. **The Public and Nobility** - **Noble Houses in Polaria:** - Split factions arise. Some nobles argue Cyrill is the only hope against [[Anam]] and support her. Others want her reined in, fearing she could break from the Union. - **Human Pride Wounded:** Many citizens of Polaria feel uneasy knowing that their greatest spellcasters couldn’t match what Cyrill just did. She overshadows even their Archmages. **Political Fallout and Future Tensions** - **Cold War Begins Between Polaria and Brensistria:** - Outwardly allied. Inwardly tense. - Brensistria may demand more independence and leadership in Union decisions, leveraging Last Light. - **Potential Break in the Union:** - If pushed too far, Cyrill may threaten secession or even declare that Brensistria no longer answers to a mortal king—especially if they try to imprison or restrict her. - **Allies Take Sides:** - Nations like South Angoria and the Elves of Lialandra may begin to ally more openly with Cyrill over Polaria, shifting the Human Union’s central influence northward. **Summary:** Polaria’s rulers fear they have birthed a god they cannot command. While Cyrill is still technically under the Human Union, the balance of power has shifted—perhaps permanently. A civil cold war may quietly form between King Leon Talbain’s mortal throne and Cyrill’s divine light, and only diplomacy, mutual trust—or a common enemy like [[Anam]]—can hold the alliance together. - **[[The Wizards Conclave|Wizards Conclave]]:** Led by [[Zerquistiss - Master of the Wizards Conclave|Zerquistiss]], the Conclave viewed _Last Light_ as a catastrophic overreach, undermining the Magic Initiative and bypassing centuries of arcane regulation. [[Zerquistiss - Master of the Wizards Conclave|Zerquistiss]] demanded its study or containment, fearing a repeat of the Spell Engine catastrophe. She gave Cyrill two weeks to comply before invoking Conclave authority. - **King Leon Talbain (Human Union):** Though respectful of Cyrill, he feared the implications of a weapon that powerful resting in one person’s hands—especially outside the Union’s oversight. He called for compromise, not confrontation, and urged a middle path of transparency. - **[[Krynvia]], Queen of the Abyssal Court:** Defended Cyrill’s right to wield such power, having once fought against [[Anam]]’s legions herself. She warned the council that taking the spell from Cyrill would mean invoking her wrath as well. - **Storm Giants:** Voiced cautious reverence. Their envoy stated that the spell was not evil but sacred—something to be wielded only with divine clarity. They feared the hands it could pass to, not the spell itself. --- **Current Status:** **Mythic-Class Casters and National Designation** With the rise of the Age of Godfire, it has become evident that only a rare few individuals are capable of wielding mythic-class spells like _Last Light_. These spells require not just arcane mastery, but a soul or divine spark strong enough to channel reality-shaping forces without immediate collapse. **The Designated Mythic-Class Caster** - While most candidates are adults trained through national academies, some rare prodigies emerge at a young age. If a child displays extraordinary magical affinity or divine resonance, they may be taken from their homes—either through state-sponsored programs or military conscription—and enrolled in secretive arcane sanctums for accelerated training. - These young casters are both revered and feared. Though emotionally volatile, they often have the raw instinct to bond with Godfire-tier energies better than hardened minds. - It is not uncommon for governments to begin testing children en masse after the age of five, seeking the next Mythic-Class Caster before rival nations do.- Each nation seeking to develop its own Godfire-class weapon must now identify, train, and empower a single individual—referred to informally as a **Mythic-Class Caster**. - These individuals undergo decades of training in arcane theory, divine symbiosis, and psychological conditioning to withstand the spiritual toll of mythic casting. - They are viewed as national assets, often referred to as "living weapons" or "soulbound wards." **Status of Caster Ownership** - Though not always stated, most Mythic-Class Casters are under strict government control or surveillance. Their lives are regulated, their relationships vetted, and their thoughts sometimes monitored via arcane binding oaths. - Nations fiercely guard their chosen casters. Political assassinations, kidnapping attempts, or defections are feared as preludes to Godfire escalation. **Cyrill’s Unique Exemption** - Thus far, [[Queen Cyrill]] remains the only individual in Solare known to have created a true Godfire-class spell. Her creation of _Last Light_ was not derived from stolen secrets, collaboration, or reverse-engineering—it was an original divine synthesis born from her bond with [[Perserphina]] and her knowledge of First Age arcana. - This makes her power not only unique but unreplicable in the current age. No other caster—mage, priest, or archon—has successfully crafted a spell of equal scale or consequence. All other efforts remain theoretical or in early stages of experimentation. - As such, Cyrill is viewed as both the **origin** and **gatekeeper** of mythic magic in the modern age. Her existence poses a challenge to every other arcane or national authority seeking to close the gap. - [[Queen Cyrill]] is unique. She did not go through this process. She is the origin—the first to forge such a spell, and its divine mechanics are tied directly to her soul. - No other nation has the freedom she did; _Last Light_ cannot be cast by another without replicating her divine architecture, something even the Conclave does not fully understand. **Implications** - **[[Queen Cyrill]]’s Viewpoint:** Cyrill does not deny the consequences of _Last Light_, but she refuses to apologize for it. She sees herself as a necessary catalyst—someone who did what had to be done when no one else would act. To her, the training of Mythic-Class Casters is a tragic byproduct of the world waking up to the real threats it faces, not a vision she endorses. - Cyrill **opposes the conscription of children**, believing the spell she created was meant to shield the world—not to become a blueprint for magical arms races. However, she also knows that stopping this spiral may be impossible now that the path has been forged. - When asked about the Conclave’s claims that she’s responsible for corrupting the future, she responded: > “I created _Last Light_ to end a nightmare, not start one. But I won’t let guilt be placed at my feet for what other nations choose to do in their hunger for control. If the world chooses to build its towers on the bones of children, do not call me the architect.” - Despite her divine status and immense power, Cyrill finds herself increasingly isolated—caught between gods, governments, and the consequences of a flame she can no longer fully contain. - The rise of Mythic-Class Casters, especially child prodigies taken for national training, has sparked fierce ethical and political backlash from [[the Wizards Conclave]]. - **[[Zerquistiss - Master of the Wizards Conclave|Zerquistiss]]** and her allies view this conscription of children as a gross perversion of arcane responsibility. She has publicly condemned the growing militarization of gifted minors and compared the current state of magical policy to "binding the stars to a leash." - Tensions now escalate as rumors swirl of **Conclave agents intercepting transport convoys** of young casters bound for government academies. Clashes in neutral cities have already begun. - **The Conclave is mobilizing**. They have declared their intent to resist the creation of any further Godfire spells and announced they will protect any identified child caster from being turned into a "living warhead." - War looms on the horizon—a conflict between those who believe power must be wielded to protect Solare, and those who believe it must be restrained to preserve it. - [[Zerquistiss - Master of the Wizards Conclave|Zerquistiss]] openly blames Cyrill for starting this dangerous path, claiming her act of divine spellcraft has set into motion a future of magical tyranny and shattered innocence.- Cyrill’s independence has made her an anomaly—and a threat. While other nations must treat their casters as property or strategic assets, Cyrill remains a sovereign wielder of mythic destruction. - This creates growing tension, as other world leaders see her as both the model and the exception. **The Arcane Arms Race and the Rise of Godfire** In the wake of _Last Light_, nations across Solare have entered what historians now call the **Age of Godfire**—a global struggle for mythic supremacy. The unprecedented display of destructive divine-arcane synthesis has shattered long-held boundaries, prompting a rush among world powers to craft equivalent spells, containment rituals, or magical deterrents. **Terminology** - **Godfire** – The term coined for arcane power on a mythic scale capable of reshaping reality, annihilating cities, or threatening divine realms. - **The Divine Arms Race** – A term used by scholars and tacticians to describe the growing global effort to acquire, counter, or replicate spells like _Last Light_. **Characteristics of the Age of Godfire** - **Secrecy and Espionage:** Magical academies and black operations have turned inward, desperate to uncover secrets from Cyrill’s Moonforge Sanctuary, divine fonts, or forbidden mythic texts. - **Race for Equivalence:** Cities like Polaria, the Conclave Citadel, and even factions in Askaria have begun constructing arcane labs and divine interfaces to unlock their own weapons of mythic power. - **Relic Recovery Expeditions:** Ancient First Age ruins and long-lost god-temples are being raided for scrolls, fragments, or components once considered too dangerous to study. - **Diplomatic Polarization:** Nations must now declare where they stand—either in favor of divine freedom of magic (Cyrill's camp) or global magical regulation ([[Zerquistiss - Master of the Wizards Conclave|Zerquistiss]]’s vision). **Warnings from the Wise:** Some divine beings and archmages have begun whispering of a term even more ominous: **Starfall Threshold** — a theoretical point where too many mythic spells released on the Material Plane could cause a collapse of the entire weave, merging realms or triggering apocalyptic consequences. - _Last Light_ is under divine binding and cannot be replicated. - Cyrill has refused to reveal its full workings but agreed to meet with the Conclave after two weeks. - The political alliance of Solare stands at a crossroads—one defined not by war, but by the threat of one final spell. --- **Summary:** _Last Light_ is the ultimate deterrent—an arcane and divine spell of mythic consequence. It is feared, revered, and controversial. Whether it will be Solare’s salvation or its undoing remains to be seen. --- "You want to study the fire while the darkness rises. I will stand in that fire and burn, if I must, to hold the line. But I will not let your fear silence what must be done." — [[Queen Cyrill]]