The Halved

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## The Halved

The sun is black. It squirms. Art from Sunless Skies.

### Aliases

The Binary
Once-Judgement of Measures and Distance
The King Who Wars
The Aberrant Twin

### Related

The House of Rods and Chains (former servant)
The King who Speaks (deceased brother)
Mr Barleycorn

> *"The attention of the Halved falls briefly on your vessel. Your crew wail as its eye fills your windows!*
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> *"The Halved! The sun turned to night!"*
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**The Halved** is a Judgement that presides over the region of Eleutheria, in the High Wilderness.

## WE ARE BEHELD

The Halved governs distance and measures, and it has an array of servants, just like the other Judgements. In fact, the Halved murdered its own space-crab messenger, the House of Rods and Chains, for defying its command. The Halved is directly responsible for Eleutheria's lawlessness, as it radiates darkness instead of light. The Halved is also the leader of the many organizations in its realm, such as Piranesi and Pan, and it is the arch-enemy of The Sapphir'd King. The Halved claims to have changed, but perhaps not as much as it thinks.

## The Sun Turned Black

> *"You see a blazing, golden sun, so close it fills the sky. It shudders. It dims. You watch as it draws its fires into itself, becoming sullen, crimson coals. Its surface cools, scabbing over with a black crust. Shadows flood this region of the sky."*
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The Halved is a former binary star; its other half, the King who Speaks**,** was betrayed and murdered during a revolution. The revolution was incited by the current resident of the Well of Wonders, a Parabolan storyteller (possibly a Fingerking) who tried to persuade the Binary to abandon their light. The death of the King who Speaks also caused the remaining half, formerly called **the King who Wars**, to go on a rampage and destroy most of Eleutheria's majestic structures.  The storyteller was turned into a living story as a punishment for the murder.

Against all odds, another storyteller was somehow able to persuade the King who Wars to change its viewpoint. The King abandoned its law, and started to actively radiate darkness instead of light. This is the reason for Eleutheria's bizarre and Revolutionary-friendly nature. Either as a form of gratitude or punishment, the now Halved sun turned this storyteller into the plant now known as **the Heart-Catcher**. Speaking the Halved's former name is a one-way ticket to Piranesi, as is the crime of storytelling in its presence.

It is heavily implied that the colossal Eye that lies beneath the Unterzee is the Halved; this curious entity sprouts extra eyes on the bodies of zee-captains as a form of "message" to the Neath. And one zailor foolish enough to dive *into* the Eye claimed that it serves as a doorway to the House of Rods and Chains...

The Halved has strong ties to the Liberation of Night, possibly to seek revenge upon other Judgements. One star, the Regent of the Reach, has already fallen victim to its machinations.

## References

2. ↑ Talk with Mr Barleycorn, *Sunless Skies* *"There were seven of us, once. Outcasts, bound to this Messenger's service. But the Messenger defied the Halved's command, and the Halved slew it."*
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ambition: Be Cast into the Depths of Piranesi, *Sunless Skies*
4. ↑ The Venerable Flautist, *Sunless Skies* *"But I remember the Halved before the death of its twin. It hasn't changed half so much as it pretends. So I won't either."*
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Second Storyteller, *Sunless Skies*
6. ↑ The Ballad of the Solonacean Conjunction: Act V. A Night Of Transfiguration, *Sunless Skies*
7. ↑ The Ballad of the Solonacean Conjunction: Act VI. The King In Mourning, *Sunless Skies*
8. ↑ The Ballad of the Solonacean Conjunction: Act VII. Fall of a Prophet, *Sunless Skies*
9. ↑ Under Sunless Skies, *Sunless Sea* *"Welcome, Trespasser, to the House of Rods and Chains. Your daring is notable, and rare."*
10. ↑ Adrift On A Sunless Sea, *Sunless Skies* *"In the darkness— In the darkness, an eye! It opens and the world is upside down. You fall to the floor of Mr Barleycorn's study, coughing up water."*
11. ↑ Strive to hear the death-cry of a fallen sun, *Sunless Skies* *"You hear distant, thundering words, accompanied by blazing visions. They rage against the sun's death at the hands of a half-sun, a midnight murderer."*