The Forge of Days

ASPECTS
GENERAL INFORMATION
ARCANA	Judgement
ORIGIN	Light
PRONOUNS	She/It
"The Mansus was different before the first god came from Light" 'The Origins of Hours'
OTHER TITLES
- The Unburnt God - The Burning Queen - St. Spark - The Leashed Flame
WF Catalogue Entry

'We call upon the Forge of Days,
who remakes with fire;
who ends what will not change;
who ends all nights'

One of the original gods-from-Light who descended from the Glory, the Forge of Days is the Hour of destructive change, from which the aspect of Forge takes its name, and the primary Hour governing said aspect. She was worshipped once as a pre-Zoroastrian deity, but throughout history has been involved in many significant events that have changed the Mansus and the balance of power within it. She is perhaps best known for causing the Intercalate, in which she divided the Sun-in-Splendour, whom she loved, to prevent them from having children and risk becoming Alukite. Her hour is 8 p.m.

Events

• Lithomachy: The Forge of Days was responsible for eclipsing and shattering the Flint, one of the gods-from-stone who ruled before humanity. The Forge is also credited with reshaping the House of the Sun and opening the ways into the Mansus.

• Forbidden Acts of the Forge: The Forge of Days was the one who created the “sparks of delight” which took root and planted the seeds of the Flowermaker, another god-from-Light.

• Battle of Issus: When the Golden General of the Shadowless Empire learned the “great secret of betrayal” from King Darius, he forswore his oaths both to the Empire and the Colonel, his former mentor. In shattering his sword, he knew he was enacting a teaching of the Forge of Days, which allowed him to ascend as the Lionsmith into the Mansus.

• War of the Roads (1450-1580): In one History, a group of Long called the Children of the Leashed Flame used the power of the Forge of Days to lead England to an early conquest of Europe. The Church of the Unconquered Sun and the Sisterhood of the Knot fought back against them, and the Grail is noted in particular for her conflict with the Forge during this time. The war finally ended with tremendous losses on both sides.

• Intercalate: The Forge of Days loved the Sun-in-Splendour, and their union was long prophesied. But to prevent the Sun-in-Splendour from having children, the Forge of Days divided the Sun, killing it and creating the Solar Hours from its former Names, as well as the Wolf Divided.

Servants

• King Crucible: A Name-emanation of the Forge of Days, who in the Wake takes a form similar to that of a living flame. The Ordo Limiae, who were required to hide themselves from the world, would summon King Crucible as a last resort to punish those who broke this oath, though they did so with caution since it could draw the Forge’s attention.

• Eskhara-Meligounis: The Lady of Veils, a strange Name who might have once served the Twins, as it's unclear if they are two or one. Eskhara is associated with burns, and Meligounis with healing, and one or both are patrons and guardians to the Invisible Serapeum and Alexandria as a whole. She can be summoned in The Lady Afterwards.

• Caligines: Smoky children of the Forge which gather in the Bounds. A Caligine is a creature of cunning vapor formed when the Glory’s fire meets baser elements.

• Matthias and the Amethyst Imago: A Long of the House of Lethe and a Name of the Moth who fell in love. After abandoning their former allegiances they ended up transforming and ascending anew under the Forge of Days.

• Ghirbi (?): A wounded golden head that rests beside the Stag Door, whose riddle must be answered in order to pass through and be counted among the Know. Ghirbi is a Name, but is not permitted to pass through into the House of the Sun himself. He was among the mortals who shattered the Stag Door during the Lithomachy and became the first Know, and his current circumstances are implied to be punishment for his actions, as he is prone to weeping and wishes he had died in the Wake. As a cracker of a Door involved in the Lithomachy with tears of molten metal, a theory is that Ghirbi is in fact a Name of the Forge of Days conscripted into her services unwillingly, though this is unconfirmed. He is also speculated to be a Name of the Horned-Axe due to his role as the door-guardian and his implied beheading.

• Children of the Leashed Flame: A score or more of English Long who in one History brokered peace with the Forge of Days and gave their nation an incredible amount of power. The royals of England became known as the Sovereigns of the Leashed Flame, and the group’s conquest of Europe was opposed by the Sisterhood of the Knot and the Church of the Unconquered Sun during the War of the Roads. Eventually their relationship with the Forge deteriorated, and the greatest among them were consumed.

• Society of the Noble Endeavour: An organization which drew inspiration from the Leashed Flame and sought to “refine” themselves into higher beings through arcane conflagration. Most became ash, but those who succeeded in their ascension were all among the Know, spoke a great secret of the Forge, and were very rich.

• Captain Welland: A Forge-Long with allegiance to the Lionsmith and the Forge of Days, a veteran of numerous wars and a member of the Society of the Noble Endeavour. He can be encountered in the Apostle Aestuant Legacy as an enemy Long and as a character in the Lady Afterwards.

• Audrey Leigh Howard: A British Forge-Long and key character in The Lady Afterwards. She fell in love with fellow Long Everett Lapidoth and became pregnant with twins that they believed died in childbirth. Upon discovering that one of the children survived, the two of them prepare to commit the Crime of the Sky.

Relationships

• The Flint: The god-from-stone which the Forge supplanted during the Lithomachy.

• The Sun-in-Splendour: Another of the original gods-from-Light, who the Forge loved and ended up killing during the Intercalate.

• The Lionsmith: Originally a mortal from the Shadowless Empire, who trained under the Colonel and later forswore their oaths to both and ascended by shattering their sword and enacting a teaching of the Forge of Days.

• The Red Grail: An Hour whose priestesses prophesied the union of the Forge and the Sun, which the Grail greatly desired. The Red Grail and the Forge of Days quarreled with one another during the War of the Roads, which occurred primarily between their respective followers.

• The Flowermaker: Another god-from-Light whose birth was the result of the Forge committing it’s first “Forbidden Acts”.

Real-World References

• The Forge of Days takes the place of Judgement in the Tarot of the Hours. The Judgement card represents rebirth, causality,  and of course judgement. It can imply an awakening of self-awareness and composure, as well as karmic retribution or rewards depending on past actions and lessons.
• The title “Forge of Days” draws comparison to a similar title for God in the Book of Daniel, the “Ancient of Days”. A painting by William Blake with the same name shows a deity setting a compass to the Earth, similar to how the Forge of Days shapes the Mansus.
• The Forge of Days may be tied to the fire temples of Zoroastrianism and that religion as a whole, as suggested by “The Burning of the Unburnt God”. Part of the practices and beliefs of the religion involve “Atar”, a kind of holy fire that represents the presence of Ahura Mazda, the creator deity, and fire is one of the primary symbols of Zoroastrianism.
• Another stated inspiration for the Forge of Days was the Irish goddess Brigid, associated with spring, fertility, and smithcraft. She shares many similarities with Saint Brigid, who may be a Christianization of the pagan deity. Part of her worship involves women tending to a perpetual flame, a tradition that continued in the Christian era.

Other Notes

• The Forge of Days is the Hour which the player ascends under in the standard Forge ascension, a path continued in the Apostle Aestuant Legacy.
• The Invisible Serapeum, one of the Nine Libraries which will be featured in Book of Hours, is under the protection of the Forge of Days. it also appears as a vault in the Exile Legacy of Cultist Simulator and a key point of interest in The Lady Afterwards.

Theories and Questions

• The Forge of Days is likely one of the most powerful extant Hours, if not the most powerful. Not only was she responsible for the deaths of two Hours, the Flint and the Sun-in-Splendour (who ruled the House of the Sun before his Division), but it is also implied that she and her followers in the War of the Roads were by themselves able to challenge the combined power of the Red Grail, the Sisterhood of the Knot, and the Church of the Unconquered Sun, though it is unknown to what extent other Hours and groups may have participated in this conflict.
• 'A Catalogue of Uncharted Pleasures' supposes that some of the same “sparks of delight”, which were planted in the Glory and eventually became the Flowermaker, also may have landed in Nowhere. The Flowermaker shares similar themes to the god-from-Nowhere the Applebright: eg. "he cannot harm you, he cannot find you, he always has what you desire", vs. "she causes harm only when so invited". This implies that the Applebright is also an offspring of the Forge via the same incident.