Usurpers of Night

"Astra let me tell you about your bloodline" spoke Odin, his voice infused with power and magic

Astra sat in silence as Odin's words seemed to weigh heavily in the air around them, thick with the scent of ancient power and forgotten history. The flames in the forge crackled, their light flickering as if unnerved by the gravity of the tale unfolding. The room grew darker, the shadows stretching like tendrils, as if they too listened intently, drawn to the secrets being whispered in hushed tones.

"Odin, what... what does this have to do with me?" Astra's voice was barely a whisper, but it carried with it the weight of a thousand questions that threatened to crush his chest. His violet eyes, once just a simple mark of his lineage, now felt like burning beacons of something far greater, something darker.

Odin leaned back, his weathered fingers tracing the rim of his goblet as if carefully measuring his next words. "Your bloodline, Astra, is more than just a name. It is a curse. And a gift. You are not merely a descendant of those who ruled Duskfall—you are the last of the House of Night, the heir to the powers that once shaped the very cosmos. The shadow that haunts your every step is the same shadow that once danced with the stars."

The dwarf's words hung in the air like a thick fog, wrapping around Astra's thoughts, pulling them deeper into a truth he had never before understood. He had felt the strange power coursing through him, but hearing the full weight of it now made him shiver. The shadows felt... alive. As if they knew him, had always known him.

"The night itself is your birthright," Odin continued, his voice now dark, tinged with something ancient and unyielding. "Your ancestors bent the heavens to their will. The stars themselves were at their command. They wove the fabric of the world with their magic, and you... you carry that blood. But that power comes with a price."

Astra's heart skipped a beat. His hand instinctively went to the familiar weight of the coin at his side. The Regal Coin—he had assumed it was just a symbol of nobility, of power within the mortal realms. But now, with Odin's words sinking in, he realized it was far more. It was a key, a gateway to something far older and far more dangerous than he could ever comprehend.

"The House of Night fell, not by the hands of a single enemy," Odin's voice dropped to a low murmur, thick with the weight of eons of sorrow. "It was torn apart by those who envied its power. The house that once held the balance of the cosmos, the dominion over both light and shadow, was undone by treachery. Betrayal. It was not a violent war, but a quiet, insidious poison that seeped into the very soul of the house."

Astra's mind spun, his breath catching in his throat. "House Dusk," he murmured, the name slipping from his lips like a curse. "House Hunt. House Dawn."

"Yes," Odin said, his eyes flashing with an ancient fury. "Three houses, three powers, each vying for control of the balance. House Dusk, the quiet schemers who understood the strength of shadows and the power of subtlety. House Hunt, the hunters, masters of pursuit and silent destruction. And House Dawn, the diplomats, the ones who played the long game. Together, they orchestrated the fall of your ancestors, Astra. They tore down Duskfall not with armies, but with whispers. Their ambition knew no bounds. They craved what the House of Night held. The control of the stars. The mastery over gravity itself."

Odin paused, the air heavy with the weight of what he was about to reveal. "House Dusk's envy was insatiable. They watched as the House of Night bathed in the light of a thousand stars, wielding gravity as though it were nothing more than a toy. And House Hunt—well, they saw the weakness in that power. The House of Night was alone, isolated, powerful, but isolated. And isolation is the true enemy of even the mightiest beast."

Astra's mind reeled with the implications of Odin's words. He could feel the pulse of his bloodline calling to him, thrumming beneath his skin like the distant echo of an ancient storm. "So, they betrayed them... and I'm the last?"

Odin's lips curled into something between a smirk and a grimace. "Yes. The last of the House of Night. The last of the stars." His voice lowered even further, becoming a whisper lost in the crackling of the fire. "And you, Astra, are the key to the night's rebirth—or its final destruction."

The room dimmed once more, the shadows growing longer, colder. The warmth of the forge seemed to wither beneath the weight of history's truths. Astra's chest tightened as he struggled to process it all. His thoughts felt like they were being torn between the past and the future, as though the very essence of his bloodline was pulling him in a thousand directions.

"And now," Odin said, leaning forward, his gaze piercing into Astra's very soul, "the world watches you. House Dusk may have thought they succeeded in destroying your house, but they are wrong. You are the storm that comes after the fall of the night. You are the last spark of a forgotten age, Astra."

The air around them seemed to tremble with unseen power, the stars themselves watching as Astra, the last scion of the House of Night, stood on the precipice of his legacy. The firelight flickered, casting long, twisting shadows that seemed to beckon to him, to call him home to a place of power he had never known.

But what was power without control? What was power without a cost?

Odin's eyes burned with a mix of anticipation and warning. "Remember this, Astra: The stars may have fallen, but they have not forgotten you. And neither have those who would seek to use you as a pawn in their eternal game. You may carry the blood of the gods, but you are not untouchable. They will come for you—whether you are ready or not."

The room grew still, save for the distant crackle of the flames, as Astra stood at the crossroads of his fate, the shadows of his bloodline stretching out before him. The darkness of the past whispered in his ears, and the stars above seemed to tremble with the weight of what was to come.

In that moment, Astra understood. The night was calling him back, and the path ahead was one that would either crown him as the ruler of the stars—or cast him into the void forever.

They began by feeding the growing discontent within Duskfall itself. For years, rumors had circulated that the rulers of the House of Night, intoxicated by their power, had begun to ignore the very people they ruled.

Their star magic, so long a symbol of strength and grace, had begun to take a darker turn, growing erratic and unstable. The gravity magic, once precise and controlled, was said to warp the very land beneath them.

Unrest brewed—though none dared speak it openly. House Dusk capitalized on these murmurs, cultivating rebellion in the shadowed corners of Duskfall, stoking flames of dissent among the lower classes and secretive factions within the city. They whispered of the corruption of the night, of the madness of the rulers.

And then came the assassinations—quiet, subtle, staged as accidents or acts of fate. First, the minor nobility rank threes who had served the House of Night were struck down by strange forces: a merchant crushed by the sudden collapse of an enchanted pillar; a famed rank-four general falling from a great height, as if gravity itself had betrayed him. These were not ordinary deaths. They were signs. House Dusk was sending a message: the House of Night was vulnerable.

But it was House Hunt, with their unparalleled mastery of the pursuit, who took the next step. Under cover of twilight, they infiltrated the very heart of Duskfall, their agents slipping into the city like shadows, their beasts prowling in silence.

The hounds of House Hunt, ancient creatures with the ability to sniff out not just flesh, but magic itself, began to circle the heart of the city. Their goal was not just to break the walls of the Castle of the Stars—but to strike at its core: Nightfall, the legendary blade of the gods.

With careful precision, House Hunt's agents stalked the halls of the House of Night, evading its warded defenses and enchanted traps. The Castle of the Stars, an ancient fortress filled with magic older than most could fathom, was on the brink of destruction.

The battle within its walls was fierce, brutal, and unrelenting. Great warriors of rank-six—the pinnacle of power—engaged in mortal combat. Lady Diana the Sixteenth, a rank-six angel and heiress of House Hunt, stood at the forefront, her blade glowing with the brilliance of a thousand stars. Commander Altus of House Dusk, another rank-six, was no less formidable, his control over shadow magic was second only to lady Layla. Sir Solaris, the Angel of Dawn, wielding the power of the sun itself. The House of Night, once at its peak with seven rank-sixes, was now down to two. they had no rank seven existence at this time, as the last one died fifty years prior, lady Layla, was close to ascending...

House dawn even used their most powerful artifact

"Shard of the Morning to keep Duskfall in a perpetual dawn, the stars were weakened, and the shadows were lighter"

Lady Layla, the ruler of the night, and Sir Starflower, the shining star of the night, were the last of their kind, each wielding power that bordered on divine. Layla, with her mastery of shadows, commanded the darkness itself, her ultimate ability [Shadows Descent] warping reality around her. Starflower, wielding the power of the very stars, was a force of nature. His [Aster Shower] summoned the might of distant constellations, unleashing waves of starlight that could break mountains. they found themselves surrounded by many angels, the saints all battled, some demons were even made that night...

For three days and three nights, Layla and Starflower fought with all their might, holding the Castle against the onslaught. The heavens themselves seemed to tremble with their power. Lady Diana, tireless and relentless, clashed with Layla. Their battle was an eternal dance between light and shadow as angles from dawn and dusk joined in, she faced off against five rank six angels, lady Diana, two from house dawn and two from house dusk, the darkness clashing with the brilliance of celestial fire. Despite Layla's strength, the tide of the battle shifted. Diana, with her blade Veilbreaker landed a blow that shattered the night, and Layla fell, her body collapsing into a pool of shadow, the night itself mourning her passing. yet, only Lady Diana of Hunt remained standing,and heavily wounded.

Meanwhile, Sir Starflower faced two Angels of Hunt and Sir Solaris, the angel of dawn, in an epic struggle.

Sir Starflower lost in a clash of their ultimate skills, his ultimate versus the three ultimates of the other angles,

Ill tell you the name of his ultimate skill,[Eater of Stars] if wasn't for Solaris's ultimate skill [Sunfall] the whole region of this realm might have been wiped off the map. The clash of their ultimate abilities shattered the ground beneath them, and in the end, Starflower was overwhelmed. His starlight dimmed, his light snuffed out by the overwhelming force of their combined assault.And so, the leaders of House Night fell. The stars dimmed, and the shadows wept.

Nightfall, however, was nowhere to be found.

The blade Nightfall, long an emblem of power, disappeared as if it had never existed. No one knows its fate, and so the great houses continue to search for it to this day, for to possess Nightfall is to wield the power of the night itself. Lady Layla, whom I greatly admired, sought me out hours before the raid. She spoke of a means by which one could recover the blade, a task so perilous that only the bravest—or the most foolish—might attempt it.

"I remember how powerless I felt, me, a rank-six angel, unable to help the woman I loved. Angels were forbidden from intervening in such conflicts unless there was an official alliance, and to break this law would make one an enemy of the realms. The punishment was certain: death, or worse."

"The final blow was swift and devastating. As House Dusk's agents caused chaos throughout the city—disrupting star-fueled wards and unraveling spells with darkened magic—House Hunt's hunters struck, exterminating all who stood in their path. In the end, the Castle of the Stars fell, its walls crumbling beneath the weight of its ancient magic. The House of Night, once rulers of the city, was no more. Duskfall was now the domain of House Dusk."

But victory came at a cost. House Hunt, having aided in the destruction of House Night, withdrew to the wilds, their thirst for conquest not yet quenched. House Dusk, while stronger than ever, was two angels short, its power tainted by the dark forces it had unleashed. The void left by the fall of House Night could never truly be filled. Duskfall was theirs, but the shadows of the past would forever haunt them.

"And then, from the shadows, came House Dawn. truly ironic"

They, the unseen hand, had played a subtle role in the downfall of House Night, though their influence was never fully known to the world. With House Dusk on the throne, House Dawn's emissaries moved through the city, ensuring that no single power would dominate. They spoke in whispers, weaving their influence through diplomacy and subtlety, and by doing so, House Dawn ensured that peace would be maintained in the aftermath of the war.

The final agreement between House Dusk and House Dawn was sealed in silence, a pact made in the shadows. House Dusk would reign, but House Dawn would guide the future. Their power did not lie in conquest, but in their ability to see the long game, to manipulate the balance of power. In this new order, no one house would ever hold absolute control. And so, House Dawn's influence continued, though it remained unseen, its power quietly holding the reins of the realm.

Though the House of Night had fallen, their legacy lingered. The stars above Duskfall still flickered with the faintest light, a reminder of what had been. The night had been claimed, but the dawn was always just beyond the horizon.

And so, as the world moved forward, House Dawn watched, ever vigilant, ensuring that the balance between light and dark would never tip too far toward one side. They held the strings of fate, pulling and guiding, waiting for the moment when the world might need them once more.

"Yet, even in their fall, the House of Night left a mark upon the world, a shadow cast long upon the earth. The stars above still shimmer with the faintest pulse of their magic. Some say, on nights when the sky is dark and the stars shine too brightly, that one can still feel their power, a flicker of something older than the heavens themselves. I sense It within you, that profound power."

"You are greatly blessed young one, for you are of both Umbra and Nyx"

"The blade, Nightfall, still slumbers in the ruins of the great castle, where only those with the courage—or madness—to seek it, might find it once more. Some speak of strange omens that come on the wind, of lightning that flickers in the distance and shadows that seem to move of their own accord. Perhaps the blade stirs, even now, as it waits for a new hand to claim it, be warned however, the ruin of the castle are mysterious and dangerous beyond repair, After all angles fought and died there, the concepts at play and the level of magic that is remaining is no joke, The Castle is sealed off at the top of the twilight plateau above the city, it has been veiled by Dusk,"

"Umbra and Nyx that divine yet profane couples' bloodline still lives on through you..."

Astra felt the magic in the mana in the air almost gasp as Odin narrowed his eyes.Unimaginable power flooded the forge room.

"Kneel" spoke Odin his words again infused with power and the weight of the world itself

Astra instantly hit the hard cold floor barley managing breathing, the Great Forge behind the old ruler of House Steel ignited with an intense and bright brilliance it as it continued to shine even brighter as the fire inside Odin seemed to grow, the air grew heavy, and the fire grew hotter

Suddenly the floor was not so cold anymore and astra felt as if was transported to the heart of a Super Volcano!

This was the true aura of an angel. A rank six Grandmaster of the forge, this was the very presence of Odinson Steel!

Odin's deep blue eyes locked into Astra violet eyes, Odin's eyes grew even more intense Astra felt scared, yet strangely excited

"Astra, I made a promise to your ancestor, Layla"

"The promise was to entrust the Night onto the remaining members of the house, those bastards of hunt were very thorough…..but someone managed to escape the hunters pursuit"

"Astra, brace yourself,!"

"Accept your destiny!"

"As an Angel of Steel and the old patriarch of House Steel, I hereby declare you Astra, as the Last Hier of the Night, Ruler of the Stars and Lord of Shadows, Let the dead gods Umbra and Nyx shoulder the burden and Mana be the witness"

Suddenly there was a change in reality, the words of power from a pinnacle tier angel influenced the very world

The shadows grew deeper and danced Odin felt numerous gazes from indescribable and infinite heights land upon him, his aura flaring in response to an such an extent it caused the air to shake and the world to brace itself, the stars above Duskfall shone with such a brilliance they seemed to Pierce the veil of twilight that covers the city. 

Odin ignored the pressure from these gazes as his own aura fought off the pressure "heh"

"Rise Now young prince, for you are now Astra Noctis the last heir of the Night, The Heir of the Shadows and the Stars!"