Falling is the result of a Lumen Vigil's soul becoming corrupted, stolen, or destroyed. The most common form of falling is death, but a Vigil can fall due to direct corruption from a Caliginous Star, powerful Umbral Vigil, or by other powerful dark magic as well. When a vigil dies, their soul is ejected from their pendant by the First Star until it can be recovered instead of the Vigll suffering mortal death, ending up in the possession of a Brilliant Star or a senior Lumen Vigil to guard while the Umbral Vigil is claimed by darkness. The soul can be restored or recovered in a variety of ways, each unique to the method of falling and not an exact science. Most commonly, after death, the soul can be restored by reclaiming it through the Brilliant Star or senior Vigil who guards it, who will likely be on alert for any Umbral Vigils they encounter. Other methods have been recorded, such as regenerating the lost soul in some manner, but vary wildly between situation. A Lumen Vigil is taught to be prepared for the worst if they fall, and to obey the darkness when it calls. This leaves the highest chance for another Vigil or a Brilliant Star to rescue them if they are found on the field of battle.
When a Vigil falls, they become bound to the forces of darkness and twist into an Umbral Vigil. The darkness that now holds control over the vigil can be any number of entities; it could be a Caliginous Star, another Umbral Vigil, or an unknown force of darkness that has attached themselves to the Vigil's new Dark Pendant. Whatever it is, it holds influence over the Vigil for as long as they are without their soul. Like a Warlock Patron, the entity with control over the Vigil can strip them of their class features and abilities if they do not do as the darkness commands, leaving them vulnerable to more coercive magic or long-term imprisonment if they are unruly.
Umbral Vigils are variably corrupted by the darkness. At it's least noticeable, the new Umbral Vigil will have their personality and appearance slightly altered, most often to reflect whatever dark force took control of their will. At its worst, they can lose themselves completely and become monstrous Umbral Terror, described later in this page. The changes to an Umbral Vigil can fall anywhere between these two extremes as well: they can take on partially monstrous features, lose sanity at varying degrees, partially or completely lose their familiar, lose memories, and or change their magic / fighting style completely.
If an Umbral Vigil is brought to the end of their strength, or their pendant is destroyed, they are brought to a complete, mortal end. This is death, proper. It is possible to bring someone back from this point, but incredibly difficult and not well understood. This is the greatest weakness of falling; returning to a more mortal, vulnerable state means that you may be pushed to a point where you are beyond saving.
Umbral Terror
A horrific amalgamation of Vigil and Familiar, bonded now by flesh as much as by soul. This monster is often animalistic and bloodthirsty, confused by its state of being and easilly manipulated by the forces of darkness. Depending on the original vigil, these beasts can be as easy to take on as a rabid dog or as terrifying as an ancient dragon. Similarly, depending on the vigil, the beasts can look, behave, and think completely differently. There have even been cases of an Umbral Terror acting of its own will, unbound by both light and darkness to wreak havok in its own way. Even freed from cosmic shackles, it is almost unheard of to see an Umbral Terror that doesn't crave violence and destruction due to the nature of the Vigil's oath.
In Game Terms
Reclaiming your soul will be a quest unique to the situation. Its not going to be an impossible task, but it will likely be a detour from the main objective as you juggle whatever the forces of darkness command of you and search for ways to restore your soul. Regenerating the soul can mean anything, and this is mainly to give me wiggle room when or if the situation arises. That way, I can make the detour meaningful to the current state of the game without it being a shoe-horned in fetch quest. Falling is not specific, either, and for that I will not offer exact stat changes. If you fall in game, we will coordinate on stat changes that feel appropriate for your character, including anything roleplay that might be affected as well.
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