Welcome back, Soul Hunters! All of us here on the development team of Ars Notoria hope you are reading this blog post in your favorite sweater while sipping hot coco! In the spirit of the season, this blog post will cover some of the powers and events that happen during the Dim season in Pax Unita, the kingdom within the world of Tellus where our game takes place.
First, let’s talk about the Dim season itself, with its origins and meanings. The Dim season marks a period of reflection for the time when a mortal soul enters its twilight phase. The season was formed from the melding of many diverse memorial customs during the unification of the old tribes of Pax. The days in this season grow cold and quiet, the inhabitants of Tellus taking time to reflect on the year's events, spend time with loved ones who are still with them, and remember those who are not. Much like the other seasons in the game, the last week of the season is marked with a special festival that draws people from all over the kingdom. This festival is known as the Gathering of Repose.
As with seasons in the real world, the first thing the player will notice is the holiday-inspired visuals. Make no mistake, while the season calls for quiet remembrance and reflection, there is still much joy in celebrating the living. Streets and buildings will be decorated with colorful, red, green, and gold decor that pops against the snowy white environment. Some more festive Ars users are known to give magical assistance to some decorations, Ars-powered streaks of light dashing around the trees. And of course, it wouldn’t be Ars Notoria without giving the player an opportunity to craft and decorate their own in-game abodes with festive Dim season decor.
Speaking of the Ars, we would be remiss not to mention the Ars du jour, Ars Theurgia. This Ars is a school of magic that flows from cold and tranquility, represented with a blue Soul Aura. Typically dealing in frost spells, defensive buffs, and the ability to calm disturbed souls, this school gets a power bump during the cold season.
While those spells will quickly put a halt to any fire-based Enthralled creatures, the player will also have to contend with many powerful Theurgia-based Enthralled that will show up more frequently during the season. These creatures will give even the most experienced Soul Hunter a hard time.
That’s all for now! From all of us working on Ars Notoria, we wish you a very happy holiday season and a fantastic new year. We’ll see you on the flip side!