The Night

"*For the left hand is strife and the right hand is ruin, and only one may be clasped. The worthy take, the worthy rise; all else is dust.*"
―Extract from the Tenets of Night
The Night is the "power" generated by belief and sacrifice to the twin goddesses Sve Noc. This power is mostly used and harnessed by the Drow of the Everdark as well as Catherine Foundling, who was granted the title of First Under the Night by Sve Noc after striking a deal with them following the taking of Winter by Sve Noc.

Night Is contained within its user. The drow take Night from others both living and dead. When taking from the dead it leaves bloody holes as it leaves them.

If a Drow's corpse is left unharvested the Night will fade

By killing people, even those without Night, the Drow can grow the Night. Since killing allows drow to take their victim's power and skills, a statement that "no Firstborn will ever take your life" is a scathing insult, implying that the person has nothing to take.

Secrets are skills and knowledge a person has that can be harvested along with Night. Secrets can be mundane skills or ways of using Night.

The foundational virtue of Night is to prove yourself worthy to rise. This was originally taken to mean simply the capacity to kill powerful foes with much Night to take. However, Catherine Foundling taught that worthiness meant pursuit of excellence in all things, including having a character that others would deem worthy of raising above themselves.

The Night is also synonymous for the religion of the Drow.

The use of Night enables the unusually long life-span of the Drow as well as their powers.

With the return of Andronike and Komena's godhead, and the achievement of becoming gods, Night is no longer held within the user, nor restricted to only the Drow. Night is now manifested like a dark mirror to Light, and the capacity to use it (along with the other benefits of becoming Mighty) is granted based on what the wielder has added to the Night.

The first non-Drow practitioners capable of wielding Night are two humans, two orcs, and two goblins. One of the goblins was capable of using of blackflame (granted when he ran out of matches and desperately prayed to the Crows for aid) while one of the orcs had enhanced nightvision. Catherine also judged that the Night provided an extended lifespan to their wielders.

The first Named to be offered the new Night was Ishaq. He promptly used it to cause the nearly-indestructible Wolfhound to blow up from the inside. Given his position as the new villainous representative, this was an extremely bold claim on Sve Noc's part, essentially advertising that the Crows could now grant villains the kind of miraculous power that was previously the sole domain of Angels.

## Secrets

Secrets are specific skills and abilities a user of the Night possesses. They can be harvested from non night users.

**The Secret of Tolling Wrath**: A mimicry of the ritual engines used by the sorcerers of the empire ever dark of yore. The secret is a ranged effect of destruction. Users include Rumena.

**The Secret of Consumption**: A regenerative secret that is fueled by devouring dead flesh. Users include Mighty Lasmir.

**The Secret of Impalement**: A secret that can impale lines of foes. Users include Mighty Draha.

**The Secret of Stone**: A secret that shapes stone. Users include Rumena

**The Secrets of Ruin**: A suite of secrets based on the principle of entropy. They use means unconventional to sorcery, making them effective against most magical protections.

**The Secret of Marching Ruin**: A secret related to the progression of time. Catherine Foundling derived a miracle from this secret to kill Laurence De Montfort. Users include Mighty Prosij.
**The Secret of Ruinous Downfall**: A curse that targets the weakest part of whatever it unmakes. The secret is difficult to maintain without stabilizers. Users include Mighty Prosij.
**The Secret of Great Gales**: A secret for controlling wind. It is typically used for shredding warbands in tunnels. Users include Mighty Krakovich.

**The Secret of Many Lives**: A secret that allows its user to survive death at the cost of much night. When the user dies they leave behind a body drained of blood and create a new one. Users include Mighty Kodrog. Kodrog is stated to have known only whispers of this Secret, suggesting that the full version may be much more efficient.

**The Secret of Long Strides**: A secret that allows the user to travel very quickly, and possibly through obstacles. Users include members of the Longstride Cabal, Mighty Kuresnik, and all members of Kuresnik Sigil with sufficient Night to power it.

**The Secret of the Shadow Road**: Created from an attempt to make the Secret of Long Strides easier to learn, this secret creates a mirror of darkness leading to a tunnel of darkness that allows those who pass through it to travel a distance quickly. Once created, Shadow Roads may be used by those who do not possess the Secret itself. Users include Kuresnik Sigil.

**The Secret of the Lesser Gloom**: A secret that creates a barrier of darkness around an area, excluding enemies by leading them back to where they came from when they try to enter. Users include Mighty Randebog.

**The Three Glorious Arts of Killing**: The skills of wielding spears, blades, and bows. Ivah knew these secrets when it was Dimas, but lost them along with the rest of its night.

**The Secret of Recurrent Echoes**: A secret used to survive death long enough to kill another drow and take their body. Mighty Kavian changed this secret to last longer at the cost of mental stability and created the Relic Grove.

**Secrets only known by name**:

- Shells

- Shaping

- Sight

- Farsight

- Nine Pridnis Foretelling

## References

1. ↑ Book 5 - Chapter 38: Pinnacle
2. ↑ Book 6 - Chapter 52: Finesse
3. ↑ Book 5 - Chapter 61: Reformation
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Book 6 - Chapter 53: Gloom
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Book 7 Chapter 53: Motion
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Book 6 - Interlude: Sigil
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Book 6 - Chapter 56: Repertoires
8. ↑ Book 4 - Chapter 55: Outskirts
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Book 6 - Chapter 57: Battery
10. ↑ Book 7 - Chapter 45: Kernel (Redux)
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Book 5 - Chapter 83: A Mould Unbroken