Darkfall

Flag of Darkfall Cult

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> "*Is it so wrong to want to be on the winning side? Day by day the Marauders grow bolder and the Darkness stronger. Day by day there are more cultists, and worse, within the borders of the Empire. Keranos is fighting a losing battle. I am a pragmatist first and foremost; the State has made me rich, but the Void will help me survive when Fungolia is in flames and its people are sacrifices to the Dread Father. Survive and even prosper. The Great Other is good to those who revere him.*"
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> -Puskara "The Good", a Spy for Fungolia against Darkfall convincing Darkfall to Trust Him
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Home of Void worship in Keranos, **Darkfall**, also known as the **Empire of Darkfall**, was a great power primarily situated in Serina. It had land in nearly every region within Keranos save for Helegnin and Vaireon. After the Cult, from which it gained its name, overthrew the Nardan monarchy and established a theocratic state, they led a Dark Crusade against the rest of the world before being destroyed at the Duel in Khorinis.

## Geography and Demographics

> *Voidism is a surprisingly flexible and diverse faith. Scholars, politicians, priests, craftsmen, farmers, soldiers, and members of almost every other profession across the planet have come under the fold of Voidism.*
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The primary territory of Darkfall is the Nardan Archipeligo, consisting of the islands Khanae, Ardougne and Kraznir, the former being home to the capital Khorinis. All 3 of the islands are mostly jungle biomes, with the rest being desert.

The majority of Darkfall citizens, in core territory, are Nardans, though many Darkfallers hold significant positions in society after the Empire's formation, such as Void Cultist Varas

## Governance

> *The goal of Voidism is grand; regardless of minutely different forms of worship, culture and indulgence, all proper Voidists will pledge themselves to the destruction of the realms of creation and support the grand incursions that further this goal.*
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The politics of Darkfall takes place in the context of a theocratic oligarchy, known as the *Void Council* in which the head of the Voidist Cult, the *Void Archbishop*, holds ultimate sovereignty.

Though there have been several Void Archbishops of the cult, prior to the assassination of Osmeus II, the only Void Archbishop of the Empire was Pingu Raavan.

## History

> *In the beginning, there was Null. A vast canvas of nothingness, to which existence was an unknown concept, even to itself. And yet, when existence came to be, the darkness screamed itself into the birth of the universe, desperate to return to sleep. While most of the parasite Gods and the first beings clung to the inconsequential life they found themselves in, The Void only sought one goal - to end.*
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> *Of course, the Dread-Father cannot manifest himself into existence, it is antithetical to his perfection. Thus, our humble selves must dedicate our lives to bringing this realm closer to instability so it will crumble.*
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> *What is temporary chaos in exchange for eternal peace?*
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### Pre Coup

The Darkfall cult can be traced back to Flogos several hundred years ago. While never particularly accepted, Void cults could be found all across the Realm. During the age after the Fallpourian Republic's demise, the cult managed to gain widespread support in the Kingdom of Dropplia, creating Darkfort. While the outcome of Darkfort can only be speculated, there was most likely a schism at some point that led to the more orthodox Voidists fleeing to Keranos.

During this period, the Darkfallers would assist the newly formed Nardan Empire in defeating the Krazniri Empire during the Conquest. In exchange, Darkfallers would be given governance in Ardougne and Kraznir, as well as many finding themselves powerful, minor nobles within Khanae. During Narda's early years, the Darkfall cult would continue to rise in power, becoming an extremely influential secret society within Nardan politics. However, during the reign of Osmeus II, he cracked down heavily on the cult, purging many powerful members, including Dark Lord Pingu Raavan, Despite this, Osmeus never realised that Varas I, his own Hand of the Emperor, was in fact the Void Archbishop.

Despite this, the cult was far too weak to respond, and spent many years with little activity. However, as Narda's power grew, so did Osmeus's, and by extension his "loyal" hand, who saw to gradually increase Darkfall's power. Unexpectedly, Varas would eventually trap himself within The Void, though Osmeus assumed he had been assassinated. Realising the extent of Darkfall's grasp upon the country, Osmeus regressed into paranoia and mental instability.

On 05/04/2023, Osmeus would publicly announce his departure to the colonies, and, upon finishing his speech, would be attacked by Voidist assassins. While the initial attempt would be held off by the Imperial Guard, an undead Pingu, who served as Osmeus's thrall and confidant, would assassinate the Emperor and proclaim Darkfall's control over Narda.

### Post Coup

While Darkfall would consolidate their control around the Dark Sea, the remaining Nardan loyalists would take a large portion of the navy and retreat to Azler and Avalon, the de-facto bases of operation for the Exile Army of Narda and the Anti-Darkfall Coalition. Though Darkfall would be aware of Avalon's vile treachery, they were unaware of Azler being a holdout for Anti-Darkfall sentiment, and the unexpected reason as to why; Osmeus II had a bastard child in Azler, who the new Coalition quickly rallied their cause behind this Aelius Osmeus III.

As many still recognised Narda and the Osmeus Dynasty as the legitimate government, the Void Archbishop would make an agreement with the Sharafi Sultun, Chris Mapper, to uphold the line of demarcation in the Dhahabi desert in exchange for international recognition of the Cult's rightful rule.

Darkfall proclaimed a dark crusade to spread Voidism across the reaches of Keranos. Many in the upper theocracy advocated for a war with the Necro Arcturus Empire, however nothing came of it.

#### Dark Crusade

In the region of Fiucros, The Lady of Everhall, in contrast to PenguinoffPVP - the Lord of Avalon, expressed allegiance to the Theocracy and quickly rose to become a prominent member in the cult .However, the neighbouring Lordom of Noxus grew concerned, and relations broke down between the two states after it became apparent that Darkfall would not reaffirm the Fiucros line of demarcation, previously made with Narda, unless Noxus converted to Voidism.

Elsewhere, Darkfall would put mounting pressure on the Monarchy of Ohelia to convert to Voidism, eventually culminating in a duel between Varas II and Ohelian champion Arion. The terms of the duel was that, if Varas were to win, Ohelia would renounce the faith of the Holy Torch and embrace The Null as their one true God. On the other hand, if Arion were to win, Darkfall was to forever leave Ohelia. On the day of the battle, the two warriors met up on a field in Azler, surrounded by many spectators, including the Void Archbishop himself. Varas would prevail, and The Archbishop would grant him the honourable title of Void Knight. With a new member in the crusade, Darkfall would begin assisting Ohelia in plans to conquer the Kingdom of Ionia.

Emboldened by the conversion of Ohelia, Darkfall marauders began a series of raids and skirmishes across Keranos. A notable battle between Darkfall and the Anti-Darkfall Coalition took place on 10/4/2023 resulting in a Darkfaller defeat despite minimal casualties.

##### Noxian War

On the 14/04/2023, the Lady of Everhall attempted to reassert Darkfaller dominance in Fiucros by claiming: the territory bordering the south and west coasts of the Copium bay, a peninsula along the Lonruilian Sea, and the island of Mandalia. This enraged Lord Frost of Noxus, who considered the land along the Copium bay de jure territory of Noxus. Undeterred, the Lady Everhall would begin to settle citizens along the frontier, challenging Noxus to respond.

In the coming days, Noxus had meetings with the Exile Army, eventually deciding to invade the port of Everhall on 26/04/2023. On the day, the Void Knight and the Lady Everhall would prepare a small force to defend the major province. However, as the attack never came, they eventually led a daring assault against the unprepared Noxian camp, destroying them and the Exile Army in battle and conquering Noxus.

##### Ohelia-Ionia Proxy War

In Ohelia, Voidist control was not as definitive as it may seem. Many still practiced the worship of the Holy Torch, with the King doing little to enforce the agreement made after the Duel between Light and Dark. Confronting King Lukaerys, the Void Council renounced its assistance in the war against Ionia unless they converted back to Voidism. Secretly, Darkfall would begin to make plans with Ionia to assist them against Ohelia.

Noticing this, the Anti-Darkfall Coalition made alliance with Ohelia for the war to come. With the sides established in the proxy war, the Void Council realised the impact this war could have to the civil war raging on and sought to crush the Exile Army wherever they were found. On 29/04/2023, The Lady of Everhall led an assault at Itzapam, where a Royal exploration team were stationed. It was a devastating victory for Darkfall, with half the loyalist company KIA and the other half retreating.

After interrogating the survivors (who were put to death shortly after)it was discovered that the capital of the Coalition was in Azler, and its true loyalites were laid bare. Enraged, the Void Knight took his army and led a direct assault on Azler. However, they were ambushed and the Void Knight was (allegedly) slain~~.~~ Upon hearing of Varas's death, the Lady of Everhall retreated into her domain and went radio silent.

The sudden loss of two major members of the Void Council and the primary commanders of the Voidist Army destroyed its cohesion. As such, when the Invasion of Ionia took place, Darkfall mustered up less forces than needed and the joint Ionian-Darkfaller armies were crushed; It was a major turning point in the crusade.

##### The End

On the 6/05/2023, PenguinOffPVP led a lone attack on Khanae, despite being ordered not to do so by Aelius Carras. There, he fought Pingu in Khorinis - ultimately being defeated. Before Pingu could land the final blow, however, a ship led by Aelius bombarded the coast and killed the Void Archbishop. With the Nardan army occupying the capital, and all major members of Darkfall dead or disappeared, the Empire came to an end and the last of the Cult was either slain or fled into hiding.

### Legacy

Despite the Darkfall Cult effectively dissolved, there are still pockets of Voidism across Keranos.

Several groups have attempted to continue the mandate of Darkfall, foremost among them being the United Voidist Front, led by Varas the Second and the Lady of Everhall - the former commanders of Darkfall

In the Nardan archipelago however, the executions of most of the known nobility to Voidist Purges led to an inevitable need for change within Narda. As such, Aelius Carras forfeited most of his power to an elected head of government, now knowing the threat of an unopposed tyranny.