Eclipsed Lands

The **Eclipsed Lands** is an underground network of metropolises that the Undead built over the centuries to thrive away from Sunwalkers. The Eclipsed Lands are a large neutral faction that stay away from human affairs; only the undead who live in human society take part in the Undead Courts.

## History

Baba Yaga never meant for her children to mingle with humans nor to rule over them. Undead were supposed to live in the Eclipsed Lands, safe from the threat of the sun and far away from the prejudice of the living, leaving Baba Yaga and her Three Horsemen to find a way to fix the undead's flaws. Only once they were done with their task would the undead join the other three races as equals. Until then, they would always be dependent on the living for any major breakthrough.

When Thrud Griffon kidnaps newborn undead from the undead cities, the Neutral faction asks both the Awakened Council and the Undead Courts for help, but they either ignore its pleas or attempt to blackmail the Firstborns. The Council offers them a deaf ear, suspecting the Eclipsed Lands to be providing support and comfort to the enemies they are at war with. The Undead Courts, instead, demand to the Awakened undead to join the war effort along with their armies and to provide them with food and artifacts. This results in a rift between the Eclipsed Lands and the Courts, further weakening her enemy factions.

## Customs

### Herd

The undead consider killing for feeding a barbaric act, something that only beasts and dumb children do. Killing not only makes their presence known in human cities, but also hinders the use of magic. Whenever one of them casts a powerful light magic spell, an array, or crafts a powerful artifact, they need to replenish their strength. To do that, they have a **herd**. A group of individuals from their race of origin that they take care of, feed, protect, and even teach magic to. In exchange they willingly provide the undead with their life essence, relieving them from the need of hunting. Herd members can sleep with whoever they want as long as they preserve their life force and blood solely for their herd leader.

## Regions & Cities

As undead cannot use dimensional magic easily, they completely seal it within the premises of their cities, allowing them to exploit their superior physical prowess and rob their enemies of a priceless advantage. This also means that there's no Gate leading to the Eclipsed Lands, and people can only Warp close the nearest access and then walk to their destination. Entry is through conjuring a sphere of earth around oneself, moving through the ground like a bathysphere plunging underwater. The conjured sphere is comprised of so much mana that it blinds mystical senses.

The greenery in the undead cities come from Vladion Dragonborn's creation **Sunstones**, which are small mana crystals that shine with a yellow light and spread warmth to its surroundings, allowing plants to thrive as if under a regular sun but without harming undead. The plants and art allow the undead to retain their humanity and not forget about their past life, to not become too detached from their feelings and care about no one but themselves. During the day, the sunstones are turned off, simulating a day cycle reverse to that of the surface.

In the exact middle of the Eclipsed Lands is a powerful mana geyser left in no-man's land, so close to the Eclipsed Lands that someone capable of using Warp Arrays can reach them all in one step from there. The place has no settlements either above or below the ground and is located on the borders between three Awakened Lords so each one of them assumes that the others will guard it and does nothing. This is where Thrud Griffon sets up Arthan's Madness to develop her Ambrosia.

* **Lightkeep**: the city lies under the Gorgon Empire and is one of the major cities of the Eclipsed Lands. It is ruled and managed by the Vampire Firstborn, Vladion Dragonborn. The city sits on a mana geyser.
	+ Lightkeep looks nothing like a cave despite being underground - it is a metropolis that rivals the Lost City of Kolga in beauty, as bright as day and smelling like flowers. The ceiling is several hundreds of meters high, allowing the inhabitants of Lightkeep to decide whether to build their homes on the ground or on the ceiling. All the undead are capable of flight and walking on walls like a spider, making it possible for them to expand the city from both above and below. Unlike Kolga, Lightkeep looks less like a modern city and more like an open-air museum. Every building has its own garden with perennial plants pruned with such mastery that the topiary creatures look more like statues than plants. Every building has its windowless sides painted so that by looking at them from afar, one can see a landscape rather than the dull grey typical of stone cities. The buildings on the ceiling, instead, are painted to resemble a blue sky with a few fluffy clouds. Numerous stone fountains and statues decorate the city blocks.
	+ **Vladion's home**: a magnificent three-story manor built with a style that resembles a European abbey from the 1600s. The place is spotless with no bats hanging from the ceilings nor cobwebs as big as bedsheets laying around. Vladion's home is richly decorated with frescoes and paintings, and its furniture would look good even in the Ernas household. People of different ages coming from all countries walk through the hallways or practice magic in lounges where thick layers of arrays both protect and guide them. A hologram stands near the trainees, showing them the correct hand signs and speaking the magic words with the right accentuation.
		- The living room has golden-painted decorations covering its white walls. In the middle of the room is a long oval table surrounded by padded cherrywood chairs. A single chandelier enchanted with light magic illuminates the place due to the walls spreading the light evenly.
	+ **Second Life Academy**: where recently turned undead learn how to feed on their victims without killing them.
* **Nightingale**: the city is close to Lightkeep and also lies under the Tremen Region of the Gorgon Empire. It is ruled and managed by the Banshee Firstborn, Ilthin Demere.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 1370
2. ↑ Chapter 1369
3. ↑ Chapter 1417
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Chapter 1374
5. ↑ Chapter 1372
6. ↑ Chapter 1400
7. ↑ Chapter 1407
8. ↑ Chapter 1371
9. ↑ Chapter 1373
10. ↑ Chapter 1376
11. ↑ Chapter 1375
12. ↑ Chapter 1377
13. ↑ Chapter 1382