Maiden of the Dusk

Maiden of the Dusk is the first novel in the Order of Darkness series.

Prologue
Reika awakens in a strange land after her death. A man named Raven has treated her wounds, and has provided her with shelter. Later, he leaves into town to meet with his ally, Ken, to discuss her identity. Reika goes to find Raven, but runs into him, where he proceeds to lead her to an unknown destination. The two are stopped by two men, whom Raven says are Rieves, members of the Black Knights. He assassinates them after they attack the two, and Raven leads Reika to their destination, where Ken seemingly tells Reika "everything."

Part I: Misjudged Benevolence
Lilith is one of the ten commanders of the Order of Darkness, which is currently at war with a rebellion force. Her forces are at an impasse in the northern lands where the rebel leader, Amnell, is commanding his forces. Lilith asks for reinforcements. The Order sends Kenshin, another commander, to aid in her battle. The next morning, Lilith and Kenshin ride out with their troops to meet Amnell's forces head-on in order to end the rebellion, but are quickly defeated by Amnell's elaborate plan to force an avalanche to take place. Lilith retreats (but is later revealed to instead lure a part of Amnell's forces away from the battle), and Kenshin faces off against Amnell. Kenshin later returns to inform the Order of the battle's outcome. Ken, the leader of the Order, claims that the defeat was inconsequential; he orders the Ten to begin the process of ending the war, but he states that the rebels are not yet "ready to see the truth."

Lilith arrives in the port city of Minuet to hide out from the hunting party after her. Eventually, she is found out and after a lengthy chase, she escapes before Kenshin arrives to take her back to Excelia, under Ken's orders. Lilith and another member of the Order, Hecate (who is revealed to be her older twin sister) begin to doubt the war's purpose as to who is at fault: the rebels for rebelling, or the Order for playing "god."

Their conversation reveals that the Order of Darkness was established a thousand years ago, and since it's inception a new era known as the Domination began. The rebel forces claim to be saving the people from the "dark rule" of the Order, but Lilith begins to wonder what Amnell truly wants, as the Order brought stability to the world after a period of endless war. Yet another revelation is made: The entire Order of Darkness is comprised by a race of beings known as the Enlightened, an ancient and technologically superior civilization that uplifted the humans, or the "[Humans|Unenlightened]]." However, the Enlightened population is beginning to slowly diminish due the expanding growth of human population in the world and the disappearance of magical presence in the world below; it is revealed that Excelia, a city in the sky, is the last Enlightened city, and any other Enlightened live in secrecy for fear of being oppressed.

Later, Ken sends Lilith and Raven to Veyriel—the capital city of the humans—to ascertain details on Amnell's elite forces, the Black Knights. As the two leave, Shana comments that if Amnell is in the city, he will recognize Lilith, to which Ken tells her that is a part of his plan.

As Raven and Lilith arrive, Lilith is quickly discovered by Luca, Amnell's second in command. Raven tells Lilith to run, and reminds her to not "aphene" in human presence. Lilith runs, but is eventually cornered, and Amnell appears to take her prisoner. Before he can, Lilith ignores Raven and Ken's orders and enters Affinity, and subsequently dispatches the Black Knights. Amnell asks her what she is, but Lilith tells him that it doesn't matter, as she's about to end the rebellion now. Before she can kill him, Raven appears, also in his Affinity form, and incapacitates Lilith. As Raven carries her away, he tells Amnell that the world isn't ready to find out what they are, and to continue the war as it has been going.

Trivia

 * In this novel, Lilith is the protagonist.
 * The entire novel takes place during the end of the Black Rebellion, fifty years ago from the present time.