Nightfall

The sigil of the house of Wildlight.

"Nightfall has given us warning, Your Majesty... They do not want us to interfere. Alistair Wildlight says that he will destroy the Black King himself." - Elden Killian, The Plight of Steel, Chapter 2

Nightfall is the Easternmost kingdom-continent in the country of Deyeron, ruled by the Wildlight family. The Sigil of the kingdom is a ram with a battle-axe clutched between its hooves.

Geography

The kingdom of Nightfall is beaten by wind and drastic changes in temperature. Most of it is a barren desert of grey sand, with protrusions of black, obsidian-like rock. Northern sections, especially around Blackrock Keep, however, are covered in grass, though it is sparse and dry. At the Northernmost tip of the continent is the Forest of Reor, which is comprised is dark trees interspersed with long, tangled vines.

To the South are the Bygone Wastes, in which lies The Gateway. The drastic temperature fluctuations are caused by the Gateway, as magma and volcanic heat rise up from it during the summers, while in the winters, it almost entirely goes dormant. Farther South is the Forest of Rock - a massive maze of stone walls constructed by the elves around Shyrrik Vaenoria's fortress at the center.

The Ruling Family

The Wildlight family lives in the confined halls of Blackrock Keep, either smoldering during the summer, or freezing during the winter. Alistair Wildlight, the king, is an unstable man with a terrifying temper and weak mind. During the events of The Plight of Steel novel, he grows afraid of the stories about the Specter King, knowing that the fabled villain's fortress is within his kingdom. He barricades his keep and restricts all travel to and from the continent, aside from the exchange of doves and his ravens to pass information. This incites anarchy amongst the various townships and villages in Nightfall, which leads soon after to widespread starvation, as the common-folk consume all of their food in a fit of paranoia. Gradually, the people start to die out, and by the end of the first book, most of the villages in Nightfall are empty, filled with corpses.

Alistair is also susceptible to outside manipulation, allowing his first Viscount, Fromir Trevel, to steal from his gold cashes right under his nose. After imprisoning him, his second Viscount, Alluin Lathlirel, an elf in the service of Aerynir Vaenoria, slowly poisons his mind, turning him against his own family and council.

Significant Locations

• Blackrock Keep
• The Gateway
• The Forest of Rock
• The Bygone Wastes
• Castle Avolyre
• The Forests of Reor
• Eltaor
• Sin-Valen

History

When Pridulus Wildlight came to Nightfall with his wife Cassandrina Highmore, he found a large fortress made of black stone, occupied by the lowly lord who had built it. This fortress, he stole, killing the lord, then he renamed it Blackrock Keep after the color of its walls. He had three children, Vaelor being the only one out of them to continue the line onward. Vraxis and Naecilia had no children, though both were notoriously brutal. Naecilia was the one that forced the Men of Reor into hiding, and after her husband, a thespian known only as Veir, was discovered to be unfaithful, she killed him during a performance.

Alistair came to Vaelor wrapped in silks in a basket. He never knew whether he was a child of a forgotten mistress, or of a passing stranger who could not care for him. Either way, he took Alistair in as his son, raising him to be king of Nightfall. When Vaelor died, Alistair was immediately coronated, and he married a common girl named Lyndis Tetrarch. She bore two children - Camus and Chromian.

Alistair soon developed a hatred for Virion Vendyros after a diplomatic journey to Riverfall turned sour. Virion had one of his men push Chromian Wildlight over the wall, where he fell to his death on the rocky shoreline. After hearing of this, Alistair stormed the keep from the inside, as seen in a flashback in the Plight of Steel novel. He killed Virion's wife, and would have killed his daughter Cassara, but was driven out by Virion's Dragon Knights. In a confrontation at the gates, Virion allowed Alistair to leave, but not before threatening to kill him soon.

Name Origin

Pridulus Wildlight named his kingdom during the winter, when the sun would set early in the day. Night fell soon after his arrival, and so he dubbed his newfound territory after the event.