The Eclipse Spiral

Every 73 years, when Solara, the Guiding Star, and Luminis, the Moon of Grace, align perfectly over the inner desert of Kingdom of Al Qurdaha during a total solar eclipse. This rare event triggers the Eclipse Spiral, an ancient event that alters the desert's reality for exactly seven days and seven nights.

During this time, the desert undergoes ethereal transmutation:

• Sand turns to black glass, reflecting stars even at high noon.
• Time flows unevenly: aging halts, and wounds do not heal.
• Sound carries in strange ways, often repeating from hours earlier.
• Dreams become shared and manifest briefly in the waking world.
• Creatures, both native and long-extinct, are reborn in starlight and roam the dunes, only to vanish again with the Spiral's end.

Those caught within the desert during the Eclipse Spiral may find themselves physically or spiritually transformed, marked by shifting sigils in their skin and unexplained knowledge or abilities, often at a cost.

It's said only those born during the Spiral can perceive its full effect. To most others, it's like walking through a world submerged in whispering fog and mirrorlight.

This event takes full effect only in the Qurdahan's interior desert, particularly within the Starblight Expanse, a cursed and uncharted central zone of dunes.

The alignment of Solara and Luminis with the sun creates an astral lens over the desert, said to activate ancient cosmic ley lines long since buried and forgotten. This area is rich in fossilized mana (once used in the "golden age") and untouched starlight.

With this being the only region where the Spiral fully manifests, the following has been implemented:

• Travel is banned during Spiral years.
• Oracles and star-readers are appointed by royal decree to predict its arrival with precision.
• The Al Qurdahan High Temple stores scrolls and artifacts found only during Spiral events, some of which defy categorization.