| Eternal Night | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Realm |
 Death | |
| Spell Rarity | Very Rare | |
| Spell Type | Global Enchantment | |
| Casting Cost |
 1,000 | |
| Upkeep Cost |
15 | |
| Research Cost |
 4,000 | |
| ||
|
Every battle is automatically affected by an equivalent of the  Heavenly Light are exempt from this effect. | ||
Eternal Night is a Very Rare Global Enchantment that belongs to the Death Magic Realm. It may be cast on the overland map for the base Casting Cost of 1,000. While Eternal Night is in play, every battle that does not take place in a Town protected by Heavenly Light comes under an effect virtually identical to that of the Darkness spell. As a result, all Death creatures gain a large number of small-but-significant increases to their combat attributes. At the same time, all Life creatures are inflicted with a similar set of penalties.
Eternal Night has its own Upkeep Cost of 15, to be paid every turn to keep it in play. However the Darkness effect is put into play in each battle at no additional cost, preserving Mana that would otherwise be spent on casting it. Furthermore, while Eternal Night can be Disjuncted, nothing can be done to remove the Darkness effect once a battle is already underway.
Effects[]
Eternal Night covers the entire world in dark energy, automatically shrouding every battle in Darkness. This gives great benefits to creatures of Death, who thrive in the dark; while simultaneously weakening creatures of Life.
Darkness[]
- Main article: Darkness
While Eternal Night is in effect, each and every battle anywhere in the world is considered as being under the effect of the Darkness spell, unless it is taking place in a Town protected by Heavenly Light.
Darkness gives the following bonuses to each and every unit associated with the Death Realm, including any 
Undead units:
+1 bonus to Melee Strength (provided that the unit has a Melee Attack).- +1 (or +1 or +1, as appropriate) bonus to Ranged Attack Strength (if the unit possesses a Ranged Attack at all).
- +1 bonus to any short-range Special Attacks the unit may have ( Fire Breath, Thrown Attacks, and any Physical Damage component of Gaze Attacks, hidden or otherwise).
- +1 bonus to the unit's Defense score.
- +1 bonus to the unit's Resistance score.
Simultaneously, Darkness also gives the following penalties to each and every Fantastic Unit that belongs to the Life Realm:
- -1 penalty to Melee Strength (while this effect would also decrease other Attack Strengths, the affected units will never have any in the official game);
- -1 penalty to Defense;
- -1 penalty to Resistance.
All of these adjustments apply on a per-
Figure basis, making them significantly stronger when they affect 
Multi-Figure units. While nearly all Life creatures are unfortunately 
Single Figures, making the negative effect even less potent than it otherwise could be; both natural Death units and Undead often have multiple Figures, and can make excellent use of the positive enhancements.
Every unit on the battlefield associated with the Realms of Death or Life is affected by Eternal Night, regardless of their allegiance. However, a True Light spell cast by the opponent can cancel out all of these, resulting in a net zero benefit to either party.
Automatic Area Effect[]
Eternal Night does not actually cast Darkness each time the battle begins. Instead, it has an area effect that does not require any casting (nor any expenditure of Mana), and cannot be dispelled during the battle. Subsequently, 
Darkness will not appear in the Combat Enchantments panel of the battle screen, and 
Eternal Night is instead displayed on the list of external effects, which can be viewed by clicking on the "Info" button in combat.
Note that it is nonetheless impossible to cast Darkness during a battle to gain cumulative bonuses with Eternal Night. The game will object to this, claiming that the spell is already in effect. This remains true even if the above benefits are cancelled out by the opponent casting True Light.
Usage[]
Eternal Night may only be cast on the overland map, for a high Casting Cost of 1,000. To keep the spell in effect, the casting Wizard must pay an Upkeep Cost of exactly 15 per turn. Failure to pay this cost due to lack of Mana will cause Eternal Night to dissipate.
After casting it, the spell's name will appear on the "Overland Enchantments" list of the Magic Screen. The color in which the name is printed indicates which Wizard controls the enchantment. The player can cancel their own Eternal Night spell from here manually at any time by clicking on its name. The primary reason to do this would be in order to remove its Upkeep Cost, thus conserving Mana for other spells.
Acquisition[]
As a Very Rare Death spell, Eternal Night may become available to any Wizard who possesses at least 3 Spellbooks. However, its availability during the game is not guaranteed unless the Wizard starts with, or otherwise obtains, at least 10 Spellbooks. It may not be acquired at the start of the campaign.
Wizards with 3 to 9 Spellbooks have a random chance of being able to Research Eternal Night during the game. The chances of this spell appearing for research increases with the number of Death Spellbooks the Wizard possesses or gains during gameplay. With 10 or 11 books, the spell is guaranteed to show up for research at some point, unless obtained by other means.
Eternal Night has a Research Cost of 4,000, although its research may be sped up by the Sage Master Retort, or a bookshelf containing 8 or more.
With at least 3 Spellbooks, Eternal Night may also be acquired as Treasure for defeating Encounter Zones, or found when conquering the Fortress of a rival Wizard who has already researched this spell.
Strategy[]
Eternal Night is essentially a combat time-saver, and can also conserve some Mana after it's cast. Its entire point is that the caster will no longer need to cast Darkness each time a battle erupts in order to augment his/her units. Because Eternal Night already puts this effect in place automatically at the start of each and every battle, the player is free to cast other useful spells, and more of them. It also applies in magical Nodes, where casting Darkness otherwise may prove to be problematic.
As far as Mana expenditure concerns go, Eternal Night is fairly cost-efficient. Unless playing with the Channeler Retort, or relying heavily on 
Spellcaster Heroes, fighting at least one battle each turn where Darkness would be cast will generally make this spell worthwhile. The time-saving quality explained above can further justify its costs. Getting other spells out early in a battle may lead to much more decisive victories.
Naturally, this spell is only effective if the player uses plenty of Death-aligned creatures and Undead units. Otherwise, there are no real benefits to casting it - except perhaps when fighting a war against a Life Wizard. Then again Death-wielding players can rarely afford not to lead on plenty of Death creatures, so this point is rarely an issue. However, while battling other Death Wizards, Eternal Night may become a double-edged sword.
Finally, note that once Eternal Night is cast, it should be prudent to cancel all existing Cloud of Shadow Town Enchantments. Both of these spells provide the same benefits and are not cumulative, meaning that Eternal Night turns Cloud of Shadow obsolete, which would then only serve to burn up an Upkeep Cost each turn.