Story
I met them in Dawnspire, a pair of elves who walked hand in hand through the marketplace. By day they were inseparable, laughing, teasing, finishing one another’s words. They bought me bread and fruit, shared their wine, and spoke of their plans to build a home together. If ever I saw true love, it was in them.
That night I returned to the same market, now lit by lanterns instead of sun. I found the couple again, but they were no longer hand in hand. They circled one another like wolves, voices low and venomous. She called him a coward. He spat that she was faithless. When I tried to remind them of their joy that morning, they turned their scorn on me.
“Do not speak of her,” he hissed. “She is nothing to me.”
“And he is nothing to me,” she replied coldly.
The next morning, I saw them once more. They were lovers again, smiling as though the night’s venom had never been. They waved to me as if I were an old friend.
I still remember the ache in my chest. To love and to hate in endless cycle... it is more curse than blessing, and yet they endure it as though it were the air they breathe.

Description

The elves of Eclipse live under a curse older than memory, a punishment woven into their very souls.

The Curse

When the elves of Eclipse sought to conquer Solanthar, they underestimated the cold brilliance of Solanthari magi. In retaliation, the Solanthar archmage Irythiel the Whiteflame unleashed the Sundering of Selves, a spell that struck not only the army but every elf of Eclipse, from newborn to ancient elder.

Since that day, each elf has lived two lives. By day they are one person, by night another. Some change only slightly, others completely. A healer of the morning may be a murderer in the moonlight. Brothers may embrace at dawn and duel at dusk. Lovers may fall asleep entwined only to despise one another by the morning.

There is no logic between which personality is good or bad, and some are more even across both personalities.

Theologians whisper that the curse split each soul in two, leaving behind extremes of nature with no balance between.

Society

Eclipse has no rulers, no lasting laws. By necessity, they live in a state of shifting consensus, where every pact, council, or alliance must be renewed twice daily. At sunrise and sunset, agreements dissolve, and the fragile structure of their society reshapes itself. Outsiders call it anarchy, but within Eclipse it is known as The Rhythm of Two Faces.

Some districts of their cities are run by night factions, others by day councils, and in rare places, the two cooperate. But never for long.

Despite this, life continues. Markets bustle each morning, only to be looted or abandoned come nightfall. Temples raise hymns to dawn and dusk, but no priest can ever claim to serve both halves of their flock.

Religion

The Faith of the Twin Veil

The elves of Eclipse believe their curse is not just punishment but divine revelation, that the Sundering of Selves uncovered a hidden truth of existence: every being is two, never one. From this has grown a religion as fractured and contradictory as their lives.

Core Beliefs

• Every elf has two souls, the Day-Self and the Night-Self, each complete but bound together. Neither is false, neither is whole without the other.
• Harmony comes not from suppressing one side but from learning to live within the cycle of division. This endless struggle is called The Veil Dance.
• Outsiders who lack this duality are seen as pitiable half-creatures, blind to their hidden other self.

Deities

They worship two sibling gods, said to be faces of the same being:

• Auryel, the Dawnbringer: Radiant, merciful, giver of reason and growth. Worshiped at sunrise.
• Nytheris, the Moonshade: Veiled, cunning, keeper of secrets and passion. Worshiped at dusk.

Legends say that before the curse, the elves followed only Auryel. When Solanthar sundered them, Nytheris was released from her prison, demanding her share of devotion.

Rites and Practices

The Mirror Vigil: Each elf keeps two mirrors, one for day, one for night. At each transition, they greet their other self, whispering secrets and warnings as if to a sibling.

Clergy

Priests of Eclipse are unique: no priest ever serves both gods.

• Sunwardens serve Auryel, teaching order, light, and renewal.
• Shadowbinders serve Nytheris, guiding secrecy, passion, and vengeance.

Some rare individuals, called Twainseers, claim to remember both selves at once. They are seen as prophets or madmen, often destroyed by the weight of their visions.

Temples

The great temple in Nyxthar is known as the Hall of Two Flames. Its central chamber holds two braziers, one blazing golden, the other silver. At dawn and dusk, both are lit together, symbolizing the impossible union of halves.

The Eclipse Phenomenon

When the sun and moon align in the sky, the elves of Eclipse experience something no outsider can truly understand. For the brief time of shadow, their two selves collide.

Effects on the People

• Fusion of Selves: For the length of the eclipse, day-self and night-self merge into one. The elf becomes whole, feeling both sides of their nature at once. Many describe it as unbearable clarity, as if every contradiction of their being is laid bare in a single moment.
• Madness and Ecstasy: Some fall screaming, unable to bear the unity. Others weep with joy, calling it the only time they have ever truly existed. Lovers who hate each other embrace, enemies clasp hands, and rivals see themselves mirrored in one another.
• Lasting Echoes: When the shadow passes, most elves return to their split state. Yet some retain fragments of memory from both halves. These are called Eclipsed Ones, often revered as prophets, feared as unstable, or hunted as dangerous.

Effects on Society

• Suspension of Chaos: During an eclipse, the endless cycle of dawn and dusk pauses. Cities fall silent. Trade stops. Wars halt. Even feuds are set aside, for all know that their souls are being weighed in that dark hour.
• Ritual Observances:
  • The Joining Rite is held in Nyxthar, where priests of Auryel and Nytheris stand side by side, chanting in unison until their voices break.
  • Ordinary folk gather in great crowds, holding both mirrors at once, gazing into them as the sky darkens.
• Fear of Prophecy: It is believed that every eclipse carries omens. A sudden storm, a cry from the earth, or a flame extinguishing can all be read as signs of the gods’ will.

Visitors

Foreigners who come to Eclipse find themselves constantly wrong-footed. A smiling host who offers food at noon may try to strangle them at midnight. Promises mean little unless repeated daily. Some visitors say the only way to survive in Eclipse is to make allies with both sides of the same person, never trusting one without the other.

Possible Secrets

The Curse Was Not Meant for All

Some old texts hint that Irythiel the Whiteflame intended to sunder only the Eclipse nobility, not the common folk. The magic spiraled out of control, binding the entire nation. If this is true, the nobles may still hide ancient guilt.

A Hidden Cure Exists

Buried in Solanthar’s sealed archives lies a ritual to end the curse. The knowledge is deliberately kept hidden, as Solanthar fears a united Eclipse would rise again.

The Twainseers Lie

Those who claim to remember both selves may actually be frauds, manipulating others’ fractured identities for power. Or worse, they may be possessed by something beyond the elves themselves.

Auryel and Nytheris Are One

In forbidden doctrine, the two deities are not siblings but one being, split by the curse. Worship itself might be perpetuating the division.

Adventure Hooks

The Broken Pact

A band of day-personality merchants hires the adventurers to guard a caravan across Eclipse. But at nightfall, their night-selves turn bandit and try to rob their own wagons. Can the adventurers protect the goods without killing their employers?

The Murder That Cannot Be Solved

A body is found in Nyxthar. By day, all witnesses claim one suspect is innocent, but by night, the same witnesses swear the suspect is guilty. Which self speaks the truth?

The Tournament of Two Faces

Once a decade, Eclipse holds a grand contest where warriors compete both by day and by night. Adventurers may enter, but their opponents are entirely different people when the sun sets, forcing them to adapt to wildly shifting rivals.

The Guest’s Dilemma

A foreign ambassador disappears, and their country blames Eclipse. The adventurers are asked to find the truth before war begins. The catch: the ambassador’s host swears innocence by day and guilt by night.

The Lovers’ Plea

Two elves, deeply in love by night, loathe each other by day. They beg the adventurers to escort them to a holy site where they hope to find balance, but assassins (one side’s allies) try to stop them.

The Twin Bandits

A notorious outlaw is terrorizing the countryside. By day, he is a generous benefactor who feeds the hungry. By night, he is a merciless raider. Do the adventurers kill the raider and doom the benefactor, or find another way?

The City That Changes Twice

The adventurers arrive in Moonfen, where the entire ruling faction changes at sunrise and sunset. To complete their mission, they must negotiate with both governments before their task is undone.

The Festival of Veils

During a midsummer festival, masks are worn at all times so day- and night-selves mingle without judgment. A priceless relic vanishes during the revels, and the adventurers must find the thief in a city where everyone has two faces and nobody is who they seem.

The Shifting Alliance

The adventurers are hired by an Eclipse noble’s day-self to secure an artifact. That night, the same noble’s night-self offers them twice the payment to sabotage the mission. Refusing either side could be dangerous.

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