The Intercalate

'Even the Sunne can be divided, though it require the Forge of Dayes for its division.'

- 'The Six Letter on Necessity'

The Intercalate, sometimes referred to as the Division of the Sun, is an event in 1582 that marked the death of the Sun-in-Splendour, the greatest of the Hours. The Forge of Days, who loved the Sun, was long prophesied to unite with him, but ended up killing him, likely to prevent them from committing the Crime of the Sky.

Background

'Long ago, the Sisterhood of the Knot recounted, the Forge loved the Hour called the Sun-in-Splendour. The Red Grail long anticipated their union, and the Grail-priestesses prophesied it...'

- 'The Vinzant Inscriptions'

Since the Lithomachy, the Sun-in-Splendour was acknowledged as the ruler of the Mansus, also known as the House of the Sun, and his worship was widespread in several of the histories. The Forge of Days, another god-from-Light, was said to love him, and the priestesses of the Red Grail among the Sisterhood of the Knot prophesied their union, and “the Shaping that will come.” But other members of the Sisterhood expressed their reservation about this event, and indeed other prophecies warned not of the Sun’s union, but of his division.[1]

Responses to these divinations varied. Ennis Lazali of the Shadowless Empire was executed for prophesying the Division of the Sun, though among the Rending Mountains lies the Mausoleum of Wolves, a monument built awaiting fragments of the Sun for its funeral procession.[2][3]. And, despite their warning and lamentations, the Sisterhood still urged the Forge onwards in whatever fate they saw for it and the Sun.

The Division

'If the Forge could regret, it would regret the Intercalate...'

- 'The Forge of Days'

The exact reasons for the Forge dividing the Sun are not clear. Most sources agree that the Forge loved the Sun, and that the Crime of the Sky, the urge of immortals who have children together to consume their offspring and become Alukite, was a concern regarding their “union”. Lazali however points to love, envy, thirst, and curiosity all being causes for the Sun’s death, which may be a hint at other Hours such as the Red Grail having a role in causing the Intercalate.[4]. Whatever the motive, the Sun-in-Splendour was divided by the Forge of Days in her Malleary.

Aftermath

'The Sun will be divided such that it might not sire Children. Still its children shall be Four in number and its children shall be Seven in number and its children shall also be Numberless…”'

- 'The Time of Divison'

The Sun-in-Splendour's death had various consequences:

It caused the creation of the Solar Hours: the Madrugad, the Meniscate, and the Sun-in-Rags from the fragmented Names of the Sun, as well as the Wolf Divided, the wound of the Sun personified as an Hour of agony and hatred.[5][6][7]
Additionally, the corpse of the Sun in Nowhere became the breeding grounds for Worms. The three Worm Wars that followed ravaged both the Manus and the Wake, as the second saw Vienna and Europe be overrun in one History, while the impact of the third has yet to pass into the Histories at the time of Cultist Simulator.[8]
Finally, the loss of the Sun-in-Splendour is implied to have diminished the Mansus and the Wake in some way, leaving behind a power vacuum with no clear replacement. The Solar Hours that remain retain some elements of his power, but seem displaced and damaged, as is the case with the Sun-in-Rags, once the departing sunset now thrust into the role of noon.

The Second Dawn

'Sunrise is blood, and I foretell now that the Sun shall rise from blood, yet not the colour of the blood, nor the hour of Night.'

- 'The Time of Divison'

Though the Sun-in-Splendour is now dead in Nowhere, many anticipate his eventual return. Amira Zahra prophesies that the Sun shall rise again after four great wars. It is implied that the Second Dawn will be heralded by the Pilgrimage of Seven who will follow the Watchman into the Glory, and that the four children of the Sun will be consumed in the process. [9][10]

Other Notes

The Intercalate of the Secret Histories universe is dated to 1582 in correspondence to the real world Intercalate, the transition from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian calendar. That year coincidentally also included a total solar eclipse on June 20th.[11]
The War of the Roads are theorized to have been one of the causes for the Intercalate, as it concluded in 1580, just two years before the Sun’s death. As the Sovereigns of the Leashed Flame fought against the Sisterhood and the Church of the Unconquered Sun, it’s possible that the war strained the relationship between the Forge of Days and the Sun-in-Splendour as their servants battled.[12]
It is unclear what the four wars that precede the Second Dawn will be. They could have something to do with the World Wars, or perhaps the Worms Wars, or some other conflict currently unknown.

In-Game Sources

1. Read 'The Vinzant Inscriptions 2. Read 'The Book of the Extinguished Heart 3. The Mausoleum of Wolves 4. Read 'The Book of the Extinguished Heart' 5. Read 'The High Mysteries of the Innermost Chamber of our Church Solar' 6. Read 'The Sunset Passages' 7. The Wolf Divided 8. The Worm Museum 9. Read 'The Time of Division' 10. THE INCURSUS 11. Gregorian Calendar 12. Read 'How the End will Begin'

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