Divine Cycle

This article is about the Divine Cycle seasons. For the setting, see Divine Universe.

The Divine Cycle is a sci-fi series comprised of several seasons (COUNTER/Weight, Twilight Mirage, PARTIZAN, and PALISADE) and mini-seasons (Road to PARTIZAN and Road to PALISADE) of Friends at the Table.

It is set in the Divine Universe over the course of tens to hundreds of thousands of years; in many cases, the span of time between seasons is left intentionally vauge. In this setting, after the expansion of humanity across the Milky Way, giant mechs called Divines and their pilots have had enormous influence on the course of history.

The Divine Cycle investigates the effects and interplay of capitalism, empire, pop culture, ideology, religion, technology, and war. Seasons vary in subgenre, ranging from cyberpunk/tech-noir to science fantasy to military science fiction.

COUNTER/Weight

COUNTER/Weight is the first season of the Divine Cycle, and the second season of Friends at the Table. It began airing in 2015 and ran for 43 episodes. COUNTER/Weight is set in the Golden Branch almost ten years after a war between galactic powers. It is split between two sections: a faction-focused game of Stars Without Number, and a game centred on the Chime that was played first in Mechnoir and later in The Sprawl. It also features the first instance of The Tower, a game of Kingdom in its mid-season finale, and a modified version of Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands for the finale. The soundtrack is The Long Way Around, which can be found on Bandcamp.

Twilight Mirage

Twilight Mirage is the second season of the Divine Cycle and the fourth season of Friends at the Table. It started airing in 2017 and ran for 68 episodes, making it the longest season to date. It picks up many thousands of years after the events of COUNTER/Weight and is set in, and named for, the Twilight Mirage. It tells the story of the last days of the Divine Fleet and what became of it. It was played primarily in The Veil and Scum and Villainy, with three mid-season games of Follow, and a finale played in a highly modified combination of The Quiet Year and Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands called Futura Free. The soundtrack, The Twilight Mirage, can be found on Bandcamp.

PARTIZAN

PARTIZAN is the third season of the Divine Cycle and the sixth season of Friends at the Table. It is preceded by a mini-season, the Road to PARTIZAN, that spans the years between the end of Twilight Mirage and the start of PARTIZAN. The Road to PARTIZAN spans 11 episodes, which began airing as a series of live games in 2018. It was played as a series of one-shot (or two-shot) games in different systems and covered the founding of the Divine Principality.

PARTIZAN began airing late in 2019 and spanned 48 episodes. PARTIZAN begins inside of the Divine Principality and is focused on the Society of Banners and Bright Returns and the Rapid Evening, and later on the formation of Millennium Break. It was played primarily in Beam Saber with interludes in Kingdom and The Tower. The finale is played in a hack of War in the Year 3000 entitled War in the Year 1424 of the Perfect Millennium. The soundtrack for this season is PARTIZAN, and it can be found on Bandcamp.

PALISADE

PALISADE is the fourth season of the Divine Cycle, the eighth season of Friends at the Table, and a direct sequel to PARTIZAN. It was preceded by the mini-season the Road to PALISADE, which covers the five years between the end of PARTIZAN and the start of PALISADE. The Road to PALISADE, which began airing in 2022 and concluded in early 2023, focuses on the planet Palisade and the attempts of the Curtain of Divinity and the Pact of Necessary Venture to re-enter the Twilight Mirage.

PALISADE itself began airing in 2023. It is focused on the Blue Channel and the rest of the Cause resisting the invasion of the Divine Principality on the planet of Palisade. It is played in Armour Astir: Advent. The soundtrack, PALISADE, can be found on Bandcamp.