In the spring of 1216, an event occurred all across the world that has come to be called The Long Day. By many, it was heralded as a miracle, and a sign from God of his power and divine majesty. To others, it was a sign that the End Times are upon us, and that Redemption was not far away.

The exact time that this occurred is not known, since though everyone seems to agree that it happened at the same time everywhere, not everyone agrees on exactly when it was, or how long it lasted. This is sometimes seen as proof that it was a Divine event, since only God could cause such a paradox to occur.

At some point in the afternoon, the Sun stopped. There are some claims that it actually began to move backwards, but no reliable witness has attested to this. Accounts of how long it stopped for range from a few hours to a few days. It was not just the Sun that was effected, for afterwards its place in the Heavens was still correct relative to the stars and the Moon.

Amongst mundane society, it took a while for the affect to be noticed. Beyond the lengthening of the day, no other strangeness was noticed at the time except for a few unverified accounts of visions or temporary insanity. Amongst those of the Order of Hermes however the affect was far more serious, because the Realms of Power were made unstable, and in some places Magic itself failed for the duration of the event.

Some covenants which were located entirely in a Faerie or Magical Regio were lost completely and their magi have never been seen since. For others, they died when their longevity potions failed them. Parma Magica failed, as did artefacts of all types. For the Order, it was the most important event since the Schism War.

There have been two other fallouts from the events of this day which were not noticed by the Order until some time later. The souls of those that died during this time seem not to have left this realm. Some became ghosts, others stayed in their bodies as undead until their bodies rotted and they were burned by their neighbours some days later. For those that were conceived during this time, it is said that they are strange - not quite having human thought. The exact nature of them is not yet understood, and there are too few that magi have been able to study properly.