Thank You!

Lord Eclipse is defeated, the multiverse is safe, and the heroes are having a most deserved rest. Thank you all for both a wonderful campaign and a great Marscon 2014. I'll be making announcements shortly about our future, what comes next after this meta-campaign, a synopsis of 'Eclipsed', and some photos. - The CC

Eclipsed Prelude #7 - A shadow over Calan

336 hours until Penumbra

Calan, homeworld of the Trillinian Imperium

Now.

Panic had seized the capital as its defenders had fallen. The High Guard lay broken amid the ruins of the gleaming spires of the capital city. Smoke issued from dozens of craters where galleries of art and science had once been. Devastation was complete.

Above amid the zenith of battle, the enemy swarmed across the shipyards. Great ships of the Imperium's stellar navy drifted free of moorings, ruinous wrecks that told the all-too familiar story of what had happened. Paling the debris and destruction was the great sun of the Imperium's core system...a pale yellow giant that provided life-giving warmth to the worlds that made up the ruling worlds. The once welcoming sight had turned a sickly blue - A light that existed only in the vague sense of the notion. Where once the sun had been the source of life, it had been transformed into a parody of itself...and always the great shadow of *something* moved in dark silhouette across the surface.

The evacuation had long-since ended, as there were no ships that could escape the utter and complete capture of the world. The crystalline palace where the Starchild Empress ruled her Imperium sat untouched to bear witness, the towers untouched...a still-gleaming example of a mighty empire...a last example in which the enemy had yet to advance. Within the core of the tower remaining generals, admirals, and nobility sought some strategy despite the growing hopelessness that had begun to overwhelm them. The armored form of the Starchild Empress paced, directing as she could, serving for a moment as an example of resistance, but with little left to resist with, her frenetic fear had begun to grow, as did the shadow of instability.

Silently the advance began. The converted soldiers, now husks of themselves moved forward with the efficient manner in which they had been created to do. The elite personal guard of the Empress, including the children of Starion, fought valiantly to stop the waves of enemies, each falling to the swarms of former comrades until the path to the inner sanctum was cleared. The powerful feral General of the enemy appeared, the twin blades cutting threw large swaths of defenders, the pack of 'hounds' following closely. The final advancement took no less than three minutes.

When the massive doors were opened, the enemy paused waiting. The Empress and her council stood silently, preparing for the worst. Some of the council had opted to fight, their crumpled forms still smoking from the response, as the 'Generals' of the enemy entered without fanfare or the usual frivolous actions of conquerors...in fact, it was almost solemn, as if the enemy was being proceeded by a mass of some sort.

The Empress thought for a moment she could see something just outside the range of lights in the long corridor leading to the command room...a darkness that wasn't simply shadow - it was an absence of light. The darkness with wraith-like quickness down the hallway, entering the room and absorbing the light from it. The council attempted a last-ditch defense, but silently as it had entered, the shadow simply passed over the council. The council disappeared into the inky darkness, growing quiet as finally the shadow hovered just in front of the Empress. In that moment, the Starchild Empress felt real fear as wispy tendrils of darkness moved over her in an almost caressing way. The Empress struggled, pulling herself away and falling back against the rear wall. The shadow hovered, then spread out in all directions, and as the Empress watched, she could make out the figure in the center of the shadow, moving towards her. The madness which had claimed her in her youth and young adult life washed over her again, along with the pain, despair, sadness, rage, and other darker, damaging emotions.

The Imperium had fallen.The Starchild Empress was eclipsed.

GAME EFFECT:

Any character with connections to the Trillinian Imperium or related contacts in *ANY* campaign will have a result at the beginning of Eclipsed.