The Dark
over 7 years ago – Mon, Sep 19, 2016 at 01:15:55 PM

Known just as often as the Deeps or the Void, the Dark is existence without a sun. Lightless and cold, it is not just unknown, it is incapable of being known. It is the concept of nonbeing, the absence of everything found amid the Path of Suns.

Demons and devils dwell in the darkness, seething with hate and contempt. Unlike the demons of the Red, the demons of the dark are more sinister and vile. It is sometimes difficult to fully comprehend these beings, but they are always dangerous in the extreme. In the Deeps, there are many varied hierarchies of demonkind. For example, some are mastered by demonic lords that claim a title referring to something they hate or war against, such as the Enemy of Sleep or the Enemy of Reason. Being defined by what they are against, rather than what they are for, is very appropriate for demonkind. Each such genderless lord has a number of servants, and each looks precisely like their lord. So, to all appearances, there is not one Enemy of Sleep, but a multitude—the Enemies of Sleep. However, in practice, one lord—the original claimant of the title—rules over the rest and wields power far beyond the others. 

Like most of the various suns, the Dark has a warden. His name is Nem, but unlike the other wardens, he truly is just a gatekeeper, for it is difficult to oversee that which cannot be known. Nem’s role as a guardian, however, is vital. Although his presence could be described as demonic, Nem is what keeps the Dark from swarming into the realms of the suns in great multitudes.

But that does not mean it does not seep in anyway. In dreams, through mirrors, and through the miscast conjurations of foolish mortals who don’t truly understand the Great Pacts, demons of the dark and diabolical devils find their way to wherever mortals dwell. Always to the mortals’ eventual peril.

Racing Headlong Toward the Threshold
over 7 years ago – Mon, Sep 19, 2016 at 01:15:53 PM

Using secrets, spells, and surprising speed, you have reached The Threshold, vislae. Well done! The secrets this book holds may be the most fundamental in all the Actuality. And they will be in the repertoire of all who cast Control the Black Cube (with or without a key) and higher level spells. It is also available as an Add-On for $45.

The next goal is a logical one, now that these four books have been all unlocked. The beautiful and imposing Black Cube needs a companion—something to hold these new tomes. We will create a gorgeous black slipcase if we reach the goal of $580,112. And we’re going to do something a bit different with this one. It’s not an Add-On. Everyone getting all four books—either as Add-Ons or because they have a backer level that gives them all unlocked Stretch Goals—will get the slipcase for free.

But now we’ve added The Threshold to the list of Add-Ons, and what a list it is. Have you taken a look at all these treasures, vislae?

As a reminder, add-ons are rewards that you add to your existing reward level. Simply increase your pledge by the appropriate amount. Check out our pledge calculator; it’ll help you figure out exactly how much to pledge based on the backer level and add-ons you desire. 

The end is near. The campaign ends on Friday. But there's still time to help us spread the word and recruit more vislae, rescuing them from the shackles of shadow.

A Goal is in Sight, But a Nightside Challenge Arises
over 7 years ago – Mon, Sep 19, 2016 at 01:15:50 PM

We near the goal for unlocking the slipcase for those who get all four books: Book M, Secrets of Silent Streets, Teratology, and The Threshold. With luck, effort, and a bit of magic, we might even reach it today.

But there's one day left in the campaign. Are we done? Well, what if I told you there is one more book, lurking in the darkness? A book that isn't like the others. A book unafraid to touch the untouchable and speak the unspeakable. A book for those willing to deal with devils, truck with demons, and learn the ways of unclean spirits. A book containing secrets, spells, pacts, secret names, words of power, and more for those who aren't necessarily servants of the darkness, but are not afraid to look it in the eye (and have a drink with it at Zero's).

I speak, of course, of The Nightside.

If we reach the goal of $630,710, The Nightside will come into being. Everyone casting Control the Black Cube (with or without a key) and higher level spells will receive this book, and it will be available as an Add-On for $49 as well. Unlike the other four books unlocked, this will be a book of smaller dimensions (but not smaller secrets!) and won't fit into the slipcase (but you wouldn't want it there anyway, potentially contaminating your other tomes). So every copy of The Nightside will come in a black satin bag, embroidered with a protective glyph to keep the book's power contained.

It's an ambitious goal, but vislae are ambitious folk.

Nightside of the Silver Sun and Advanced Modules
over 7 years ago – Mon, Sep 19, 2016 at 01:15:49 PM

Nightside of the Silver Sun

The Nightside of Silver is the very end of the path. This does not equate to death, but to true endings—utter finality. For most, this means forgetting, fading, and loss. As the last step of the Nightside Path, its number is 17, a numerological signifier of completion and extremities. 17 represents the ultimate.

The Nightside master of Silver is Ravenol, a vast and insatiable beast of a thousand limbs, always grasping, attempting to ensure that nothing escapes its hold. Ravenol tries to halt those who would pass through its domain. Those who see it as a monster think this is because it devours whatever it catches. Others, however, see Ravenol as a dark savior who prevents utter dissolution. Ravenol and Nem, guardian of the Dark, are siblings—motherless entities who nonetheless share a spark of creation. Both of them are guardians of gateways that might lead to annihilation.

Advanced Modules

There’s a lot to Invisible Sun. More even than has been revealed. Just as each player character has an arc, however, so too does the game. That is to say, the various aspects of the rules are designed to be layered into a campaign slowly rather than all at once. Many of the concepts discussed here could be introduced into a campaign later, and other, so-called “Advanced Modules” are designed to be brought into play later in the game—basically, they involve secrets not discovered at the beginning of the campaign.

As such, we won’t go into the Advanced Modules too much, but suffice to say that they involve such weird topics as the flow of magic through the various suns, differing levels of reality (and different aspects of each PC, called modalities, that can become viable alternate characters), threading special words or components into spells to dramatically change their effects, gaining inhuman patronage from the spirit worlds, the magical information and communication network called the noosphere, and much, much more.

Tut, tut. It looks like rain.

Every Vislae's Bookshelf Needs to Be Elegant
over 7 years ago – Mon, Sep 19, 2016 at 01:15:47 PM

One of the points of pride in any vislae's house is their library. What books you keep is almost as important as, well, actually it's probably more important than just about anything. So like all good vislae, you recognized the importance of the gorgeous slipcase, and you unlocked it. 

This is a slipcase to hold the four books unlocked by prior goals: Book M, Secrets of Silent Streets, Teratology, and The Threshold. If you are a vislae getting all four books, either as Add-Ons, or because you cast the Control the Black Cube (with or without a key) or a higher level spell, you get the slipcase for free. Our next goal, The Nightside--a book containing such terrible secrets that wise vislae keep it in a warded satin bag (included with the book)--has already been announced. 

The end approaches. Have you rescued as many other vislae trapped in Shadow as you can? The clock counts down. The truespiders whisper. The elderbrin nod, knowingly. The Path clears.