The Second Moon Incident
The Second Moon Event was an event lasting from the early summer of 388 AS until the late Fall. During the first stages of the event, Practitioners of the Prosperity Archipelago, as well as people monitoring the radio signals around the islands. In the Spring of 388, people would begin detecting signals that seemed to originate from outside of Earth's Atmosphere. The signal was speaking in a language that no one could translate, requiring the use of frequent use of the Comprehend Language spell.
The Practitioners exposed to the Signal found themselves growing more sympathetic towards it, and determined that it was probably influencing their minds. They would report their findings to David Alidson, who would request aid from the Dominion of Blades. The Dominion of Blades would send a Spear to their aid, the Dreamcatchers. The Spear Captain Daniel Westlake would begin preparing for a wide brainwashing event, and instead of setting up deprogramming facilities, would begin establishing a blockade around the islands. He would be given a further two Spears under his command, and a squad of Agents from the Pyramid Research Group
In the Late Spring, David Alidson would go public about the issue. He would make a long speech one night, decrying the response of the Dominion of Blades. He said that they had the resources to handle the issue, and simply refused. That the blockades were not for the safety of the people, but rather so the Dominion could keep the victims of whatever was to come on the islands. He would be found dead in his room the next day, having been stabbed in the back of the neck. His death was declared a suicide.
On the night of the third day of Summer, the Second Moon would arrive. It would take its place in the sky, appearing at first as though it was a natural moon. As it got closer, however, it could be seen that the surface was marred with craters that dug deep into the moon, from which further tunnels could be seen stretching into the moon. Practitioners began to batten down the hatches, aware of the Signal intensifying and muddying the Arcane Practice. Those who could leave the islands did so, save for a scant few practitioners who wanted to either aid their fellows or profit from the situation. Researchers watched the moon through telescopes with bated breath. Nonpractitioners who focused primarily on the holes were the first to be taken by the signal, their bodies wracked by mutation and their faces changing to glee. They would begin to turn on their unchanged comrades, seeking to either give them the enlightenment of the Signal or kill them. Practitioners who gazed upon the Second Moon were shocked and frightened to report that there were teeming masses of living creatures on the moon, crawling in and out of the holes.
On that night, reports would go out through the emergency PA system and on all radio channels to avoid looking at the moon, and to stay inside and lock doors. All individuals afflicted with lycanthropy would shift into their bestial form, and they would be brought under the Signal's control. This was the last transmission made during the incident that wasn't hijacked by the Second Moon.
There was a total of two Spears spread throughout the islands, and martial law was soon imposed as more of the mundane folk began to become corrupted by the Signal. The Spears were fighting a hard battle, but they were, for a time, winning. It was soon after martial law was imposed that the creatures from the moon began invading. First to arrive were the Repeaters, creatures that seemed somehow disconnected from the natural laws of the world. They would reinforce the effects of the Signal wherever they went, driving all but Practitioners and those with the strongest of wills to madness. The situation was rapidly escalating, and the use of celestial silver armaments was approved by the Spear Captain on the islands, Walton Summers.
As the situation deteriorated, Summers would beg Alidson to begin a general evacuation of the islands, or at least allow Summers to do so. Alidson would request additional aid from the mainland, and maintain a blockade around the island. When the Signal began to muddy transmissions from the island, Alidson would impose a radio blackout on the island, using the missile batteries of the battle cruisers to destroy their radio infrastructure. Alidson would give the warships under his command the orders to destroy any ship that tried to leave the Lion's Coast. During this time, two more warships would join the blockade.
The presence of the Second Moon would put a strain on the Reality Anchors throughout the Dominion, and would lead to minor fluctuations in the Veil. Through these fluctuations, the Choir of Celestial Bodies would become aware of the situation, but before they could inform anyone or react, the veil would seal again. Mercury would seek the aid of the other Choirs of Heaven in preparing to eradicate the Second Moon.
Back on the Lion's Coast, by midsummer, most people had fallen under the influence of the Signal. There was a small resistance made up largely of practitioners working alongside what few military assets remained in operation on the island. The main holdouts were the island of Lion's Rock and the Burning Mountain Research Facility, where some progress had been made in reversing the psychological changes brought about by exposure to the Signal. Lion's Rock would fall when the Harbingers arrived. The resilience of these beings was nearly impossible to contend with, and the sheer force of the Signal would drive even the stoutest minded of individuals to madness. Only Practitioners stood any chance of directly defeating Harbingers, with the only other option being indiscriminate artillery bombardment.
The survivors of the event would fight an incredibly desperate retreat from Lion's Rock, harried every step of the way by the forces of the Second Moon. The Practitioner Fraza Durk would be essential in maintaining these defensive lines, and became the de facto leader of the resistance when Walton Summers was killed in a last stand on Lion's Rock. Fraza would notice the fluctuations in the veil around the Second Moon, and would work with the researchers at the Burning Mountain Facility in an effort to pin the veil open so that she could draw arcane power from it. The Choirs, seeing this opening, tried to commune with her. Finding that she was, obviously, guarding her mind, they sent the Angel with the smallest impact that they could, a Dove named Na'Staala to earth. She would manifest in the research facility, sending it into a blackout. A frantic firefight with the forces of the Second Moon would ensue, supported by their new Angelic comrade. Na'Stalla would teach Fraza the ritual required to summon The Tempest, which she warned would likely kill Fraza from the Arcane Energy required. Fraza would unite with Na'Stalla and two of the researchers to call the attention of the Tempest. This attention would manifest as a single spear of searing light so bright that those who saw it were rendered blind. The moon would be splintered and shattered, its pieces falling to the earth. Fraza would perish with the effort of calling the Tempest forth, and Na'Stalla would retreat to her choir in the ensuing fluctuation of the Veil. Shortly afterwards, the Spears that had surrounded the Lion's Coast would move in with orders to execute any survivors they found. There was a small amount of resistance, but with the Moon shattered and the Signal seemingly gone, the forces of the Second Moon were easy to kill. Harder to deal with were the survivors of the incident, who had banded together to resist the Dominion. All who didn't flee were killed, leaving very few who remembered the Second Moon Event.
Impact: The Second Moon Event had a crucial impact on the Dominion of Blades. With the sudden understanding that there could be threats lurking in the Stars, Algun Fleece authorized the Mooncatcher Project to act as a starting point for future exploration of space, and to operate as a bastion against the possibility of extraterrestrial threats. The survivors of the Second Moon Event would go on to the Prosperity Archipelago, where they would report their experiences to the local governors, who would spread word of the Second Moon Event to resistance groups and governments that were considering joining the Dominion. This would lead to a large spike in conflict within the Dominion. The Second Moon Event would also aid the Dominion in their experiments in mind control, as they would turn the Burning Mountain Facility into a facility to research the Second Moon and its effects. The antimagical properties of the Signal would be used in the Nexus of Flesh project. The Dreamcatchers would be distinguished for their actions during the Event, gaining the commendation of Algul Fleece, and Daniel Westlake would be promoted to a Brace Commander, being given control of the Spears that he worked with throughout the event. His Brace would be known as the Devil's Bane for their actions in the War for Thassos.