The Darkening

Aside from the consistently sporadic weather of Nalan, the yearly event know to the locals as 'The Darkening' is the most physical reminder of the enormous web of lies which holds this planet together. For one month, every year, the sun vanishes.
Now, I'm sure you're thinking that this must be a cataclysmic event - that somehow the people of this world must have come up with a genius solution for surviving this tragedy which occurs every month. Yet what you must remember reader is the the sun itself is not real. Both it and the heat it gives off are, undeniably, illusion. Incredibly powerful and near permanent - so much so that they can be used in replacement for the real thing - yet they are illusions none the less. And so while the loss of their illusory sun plunges the world into darkness for a month, this is in truth the only physical effect. The drop in temperature which accompanies the Darkening is actually cleverly engineered and purposeful - it makes the lie just believable enough that people don't question their survival too intently.
Why does this happen, you ask? Well, though I fear I may sound like a broken record, I have no answer. Perhaps the illusion needs to 'recharge', similarly to how one might charge a battery, though from all my, if I may say extensive, study of the arcane, this does not seem to be the case with any kind of permanent illusion. This is not the only theory that has crossed my mind, yet it is the only one I dare write down here, lest the Arch Scholars use my lunacy as yet another excuse not to publish my works.
Supposedly, in the time before their impressive Essence was discovered, the Darkening was a far more serious affair, and was the cause of death for a great number. However, with recent developments I speak from experience when I tell you it is perfectly possible to spend the entirety of the Darkening in a well lit city enjoying the worlds finest cuisine, the loss of the sun barely even causing an impact.

Another, more dangerous, part of the Darkening is the significant increase in activity from hostile local wildlife. From what I have been able to gather from both personal investigation and the words of the locals, during this month of the year creatures of evil are drawn to the surface like worms after a storm, and spend their time wreaking havoc on isolated townships.

Type

Metaphysical, Astral

The exact types of creatures present on the planet can be found in their own chapter later in the text, however while some are comparable to beings present in other worlds I have visited, others, such as the Nerve Specters and Sand Crawlers are entirely unique to Nalan.