The Twilight Cradle: Eclipse

You're a whisper between worlds. One light, one dark.

To one another, unseen,

but through you, their fates are one.

Use your ghostly powers to twist the destinies of two beautifully hand-illustrated storybook villages, whispering thoughts and emotions across the veil to guide these separated worlds toward harmony.

Or, you know, make a big racket of the whole thing. Whichever.

• Turn the page! Flip the world upside-down to navigate between two parallel stories.

• Meddle! Trade thoughts, vibes, and emotional states between polar-opposite characters. See what happens.

• Or... don't. Sit back and let the stories unfold. Not everything requires your touch.

Every whisper gently warps the immortal tapestry of fate. It's immortal, so you can't break anything. Probably.

The Twilight Cradle: Eclipse is a short standalone preview of The Twilight Cradle, currently in development. Designed to be played in one sitting (5–10 minutes), it introduces the main cast, the twin settings of Brill and Ash Peak, and the whimsical, emotional, foolish tone of the story.

Eclipse is being created with show floors, conventions, and festivals in mind — something brief, atmospheric, and self-contained, meant to leave a lasting impression.

This page is a preorder for The Twilight Cradle: Eclipse — not for the full game, but for this early, playable glimpse into the world of The Twilight Cradle. Your support helps fund the continued development of the full game and makes you part of its foundation.

A downloadable copy of The Twilight Cradle: Eclipse upon release

Your name in the credits of Eclipse — and the full release of The Twilight Cradle

A warm, weird thank-you from a world between worlds

Aurica is the youngest initiate of the Yarrow Circle, an ancient and reclusive order of priestesses who live in deep harmony with nature in the shade of the mystical Evertree.

As part of a sacred rite of passage, Aurica has been sent on her first pilgrimage and finds herself hanging her boots in the village of Brill—her first time away from the Evertree. She takes her duties as an initiate very seriously, even if she’s a bit impetuous, stubborn, and sentimental about moss.

She means well, but she is rather excitable. Please be nice to her.

Ravenna doesn’t talk much about where she came from. One day, she just walked out of the pines and into Ash Peak with a dragon lich named Anixamander, a shadow-wrapped cloak, and a piercing glare that says “no, I’m not here to make friends” (she's lying).

She’s an extremely powerful wizard, but a little spiky. Still, when her community needs her, she shows up. She cares. She absolutely hates it.

(Annie is technically undead, yes, but also a very good boy. Oh, yes he is!)

Petunia is a menace. She owns a suspiciously large tract of land in Brill, runs a profitable tea shop, and somehow holds the deeds to most of the village that no one seems to quite remember signing. Despite her puzzling influence, Petunia has a need to be liked and seen as helpful. Consider your tea leaves read.

Proprietress of the Just Bits Fixit Emporium in Ash Peak. Despite her proclaimed social reticence, she is always close to the beating heart of her community. Spanner will fix your toaster, put on a show, and give you an awkward shoulder to cry on, all in the same visit. She is nervous, brilliant, and completely beloved.

You... You're a strange one, aren't you? You can't speak, and no one quite seems to know you're there. But whatever it is you are, you've got a strange ability to bridge the space between Brill and Ash Peak, and to carry thoughts between them. It's a subtle influence, just a whisper between the pages of the story. But maybe it's enough to turn the whole world upside-down.

Verdant and idyllic, Brill has it all. Blessed by salty and soothing sea breeze across a scenic ocean headland, cornucopias of abundant fruit practically dripping from the trees, and rapturous celebration for literally everything, why would you not live here? Well, okay, the town governance is a little chaotic, and the concept of personal property and privacy is a more a gentle (and unenforced) suggestion at best. But hey, at least there's no interpersonal drama to contend with. Nope. None at all.

The village of Brill is also renowned for its abundant orchards harbouring a most peculiar sort of fruit. Tangy and tart, sweet but subtle, and from the flesh of which can be drawn a dye of the pinkest possible pink. The locals have named it Brillfruit.

The locals are not very creative at naming fruit.

A bleak and misty mining town nestled at the edge of the imposing Ironglade Mountains. Despite the severity of the environment, Ash Peak's cast of characters is diverse—if motley. Hermits, demi-humans, misfits, and the not-quite-accepted-anywhere-else have all come together to form a surprisingly welcoming and close-knit society at the unwelcoming frontier of the known world. It has been 1️⃣5️⃣ days without a strange glowing meteor incident.

Depicted on the right is Ash Peak's famous lava river which, by an esoteric process involving fragments from the strange glowing meteor, cools the lava to an invigorating hot spring temperature. We request that you do not ask too many questions about the meteor.

The mystical space that connects Brill and Ash Peak through some unknown wrinkle of fate. This is where you awakened, gaining awareness of both worlds, and of their connection through the invitation of a warm, guiding presence known as the All-Mother. Transient and liminal, it defies depiction. Perhaps only the All-Mother knows its purpose. (Alternately, the developer hasn't figured it out yet either, and we're all going to be very disappointed later.)

"Making this game and bringing this world and these characters to life has been the greatest privilege of my creative life. I'll be eternally grateful for having had the time I've had with them, wherever the journey may end.

But I am still very far from telling the story I want to tell, and every bit of support is a link in the very long chain pulling that story to fruition. It will take years of fervent dedication and very hard work.

Opening my hands and asking for financial support from friends and family for the first time—to allow myself to fall, and to be caught—is my most tender act in this process.

If you believe in me, if you believe in this world, please help me finish The Twilight Cradle. Thank you."

Krystal Lynn Hillier — Creative & Technical Director 🛠️🎨🧙‍♀️

Shaye Murray – grant writing & systems design 📝

Delilah Ball – environment concept art & assets 🌳

Willa Kay, Collin Glavac – worldbuilding & story 🖋️

Omafume Uvwie, Brianna Macdonald, Aidan Karcha – programming 💻

Lydia OC, Gwyn Rumbolt – character concepts 💅

Marc-André Caron, Colin Towle – indie dev business guidance 🎮

Mike Winter – business advice, in-kind support, literally everything 🙏

Too many others to reasonably name.

And I hope, soon...
you. 💜

...Please? 😊