Sceadusawol

Amongst the villagers of Brantor, there is a folk tale of the unfortunate huntsman.

Many years ago, before even the great grandsire of the eldest of Brantor’s council had been conceived there lived, near the forest edge, a man. He was noted as the finest woodsman in all the land and frequently the farmers would call on him to track lost sheep that had wandered across the border into that tangled sea of trees.

Such was his skill at reading the subtle language of the wild places that he was summoned to the court of the king to help in a most important quest.

In those days, there were still remnants from the fabled gods’ war. The king wanted the hunter to seek out a precious artefact and retrieve it for the king. It was believed that, when they went to war with one another aeons ago, the energies the gods unleashed caused the very elements to solidify and form jewels that mankind could use for mystical purposes, as the race of man has no magic of its own.

Not all the elements formed these gems in the same quantities. The most abundant were the Fire Diamonds, which are still sometimes discovered today (if only very small, weak ones). Next came the Earth Opals which, whilst no longer being discovered, still sometimes appear for trade in markets. Water Emeralds and Air Sapphires are equally uncommon, with the only remaining stones being well guarded against theft. Of exceeding rarity were the Aether Crystals. Perhaps only a dozen of these jewels had ever been discovered, and all of them are held in the vaults of the very powerful. However the rarest of all elemental jewels is the one that proved the existence of the element of Shadow.
There has only ever been report of a single Shadowstone across the known world. And it is for that very stone that the huntsman was sent.

The king’s agents brought news to their liege that, not only did the mythical stone exist, but that it was obtainable, by the correct individual. When the gods waged war across the sky, they told their king, a single Shadowstone fell from the heavens and landed at the top of Brantor Mountain, where it has sat ever since.
People knew it sat there, for they watched it fall, like a shooting star in negative from the sky to that most unreachable of peaks.

The king pondered on how to reach the Shadowstone, when everyone knew that the peak of Brantor could not be conquered. Then word reached him of a huntsman who was so wise in the ways of the wilderness that, if anyone could reach the summit, it would be him.

The huntsman loyally undertook the quest, to help defend the kingdom from invasion from without, and the insidious creeping of the unnatural Fae creatures from within.
Or, perhaps, he simply favoured keeping his head and his neck attached one to the other.

It took the hunter many weeks of travel to get from the throne room of the king to the foot of Brantor Mountain. Surveying the huge pinnacle, the woodsman could see how the mountain had earned its name. The lower slopes were (and still are) festooned with huge fir trees that made the perfect roosting sites for thousands of ravens, all calling harshly to each other. The peak itself was so windswept that no snow could settle on it and the stone had been worn away by the very winds that kept the snow off.

Nodding in resignation, the hunter strode up the lower slopes of Brantor Mountain without any sign of hesitation or fear, though the villagers of Brantor Village begged him not to undertake such a venture. Sure suicide, they called it; told him that it would be better to return with nothing than to lose his life on the slopes of that dreaded edifice.

Unperturbed, the hunter remained set on his quarry, like a hawk on a roosting pigeon. For days he climbed, the land getting colder as he gained height, the air getting thinner.
Eventually, after so much climbing that his smooth lower jaw had become fuzzed with hair, the king’s hunter found himself at the bottom of a sheer pinnacle of rock that reached over one hundred spans into the sky. The summit seemed to be concealed, as if in the shadow of a cloud, though there was none. This confirmed to the hunter that the Shadowstone was, indeed, at the peak.
Pausing only to put down the small pack that contained all he needed to survive the journey, the man began to climb the unclimbable.
Who knows how many hours he spent climbing that rock but, eventually, he mastered it and crouched at the topmost point of Brantor, hugging the rock to avoid being blown off by the howling wind; snow in his long hair and frost in his beard.
The summit of Brantor Mountain was rugged, shaped by wind and ice over countless millennia yet there was a smooth depression that was nearly invisible in the gloom.
In the centre of the depression, no larger than a goose egg, there sat what looked like the solidified form of a shadow. Certainly, the hunter had found the prize and he moved forward to claim it for the king.

Not all things are as they appear and shadows exemplify this. As the huntsman picked up the Shadowstone, it melted. His fingers became covered in the strangely warm shadow-stuff and it clung to his skin with a tenacity that made it impossible to remove. Moreover, it appeared to actually be creeping up his fingers, covering his hands and forearms, until there was no more of the liquefied shade in the rocky depression and came fully up to both elbows.
Panic flared and the huntsman staggered upright, flailing his arms in an attempt to remove the substance that was setting his nerves tingling with an indescribable sensation. As he stood, a gust of wind caught him and blew him off the peak.
After the exertion of the climb, the panic and shock of the Shadowstone was too much for him and blackness engulfed him before he could impact the ground below.

The calling of ravens woke the man from his dreamless sleep. He was not hurting in any way, but he was not near the top of the mountain. In fact, he was in the midst of the pine forest clinging to Brantor Mountain’s sides.
He rose groggily; his memories returning in a rush that made him briefly unsteady. Reaching out with one hand, seeking something to support himself with, he grabbed a smooth stave and leaned gratefully on in. Once he regained his balance, he paid more attention to his surroundings. His first priority was to find water, as his adventures had left him with something of a dry throat.
It occurred to him that he should not have been able to find a smooth stave in these woods and he looked at what he was leaning on. It was a stave, roughly six feet in length, made entirely out of Shadow. It almost seemed to be a part of his hand, which had taken on an ashen hue; the nails a polished black. His other hand was likewise coloured and a quick investigation showed that the colour gradually faded as it went up his arms, until his normal skin tone was regained just below the elbow. He dropped the staff and it disappeared the moment it would have left his hand. Without knowing how, he knew that he had made the staff return to the shadows from which it was formed. A few tries showed him how easy it was to summon again; the summoning and dismissing seeming to work on an almost entirely instinctual level.

He gave up being concerned about such things for the moment. His priority was water. Quickly finding the tell tale signs he needed, the woodsman walked rapidly down hill, towards where he knew he could find water.
Sure enough, he shortly came across a bubbling stream, its cool, clean water coming from a glacier high above near the peak of Brantor. Kneeling to drink, the woodsman jumped up in alarm when he caught sight of his reflection. Rather than looking into his own mild brown eyes, as he expected, his eyes were twin pits of blackness so dark that no light could escape them. They looked like miniature Shadowstones, embedded in his face. He slowly moved back towards the water, and looked at himself once more. His face had not changed, apart from the eyes.

After a swift drink, the woodsman stripped himself of all his clothes, to see if there were any other strange features about his body. He found nothing, beyond what he had already discovered, apart from that his toe nails had turned the same ebon hue as his finger nails.

Quickly redressing, before the chill air did anything to his anatomy the Shadow had missed, the huntsman considered his pack, still sat at the base of the rocky pinnacle. Whilst it was several days to his pack, it would be a lot more difficult for him to make the return journey to the king’s court without it.
Responding to subconscious need, the Shadows poured off him and he found he had sprouted a pair of tenebrous wings. Sure enough, they responded to his every command, as if they were another set of limbs. A few powerful flaps saw him flying above the tree tops. Looking down, he got another shock: he cast no shadow upon the land below him. This disturbed him so he gained height and flew faster, as though trying to outrun this strangeness.
So it was that, in the space of one hour, the hunter had flown as far as it would have taken him three days to walk.
Retrieving his pack, he flew back down the mountain and towards the village named after the nearby peak.
He landed out of sight of the village, for fear of scaring the villagers. Unsure of what to do to conceal the stigmata of his newfound abilities, the hunter found the shadow once again responding to his needs, wrapping him in a concealing cloak with great-hood; the shadowy folds hiding his features from view.

Sure enough, his tenebrous disguise worked well and no one was alarmed at his appearance, at least, not until a small child asked his mother why the ‘dark man’ had no shadow.
The superstitious villagers immediately blamed Fae magicks and cast the man out of their village before their water or livestock could be cursed.

The woodsman made his way back to the king, on foot, desperate not to arouse any comment, yet everyone he met noted his lost shadow and shunned him.
Eventually he gave up on the highways altogether and strode across country in the straightest route back to the palace.
He made good time through the wild lands but, as he neared the king’s city, he had to regain the road. Although the routes were always busy, he walked in his own pocket of solitude, no one wanting to get too close to the unnatural one.
When he reached the heavily guarded city walls, the guard stopped him, demanding to know his business. Before he had a chance to reply, they noticed his distinct lack of shadow and immediately fell into a defensive stance. An archer rattled of a shot and, before the huntsman could react, the arrow shot straight into his chest. The guards stared with open mouth as he looked down at the lack of pain. The arrow had passed straight through him as if he were a shadow. It lay on the road some distance behind him as though simply discarded. The huntsman looked back up just in time to see the hapless guardsmen charge him, panic removing their reason to do anything else. As the first soldier closed, he swung at the hunter. The hunter barely stepped back in time, dodging out of an unwillingness to test the limits of the gift. Instincts flared and suddenly he was wielding a pair of shadow rapiers. They parried and cut just as efficiently as if they were steel and he soon bested the demoralised band of city guards.

Not willing to stay around to see what else was going to happen, the huntsman fled. As he entered a shadow, he felt the potential for travel. Sure enough, he found he could move in a way impossible to explain; essentially using the shadow as a portal to get to any other shadow. In less time than it would take to blink an eye, the huntsman managed to travel the entire length of the land.

The hunter kept roaming, as he was still shunned everywhere. Slowly attitudes changed, as humans got to know the Fae races better, and he was shunned less, if still not trusted.
One thing he did notice was just how much time passed. No matter what length of time passed, he never seemed to age.

That was over a thousand years ago, now. And still he wanders, never settling anywhere too long and, besides, getting attached to those who will die so quickly is folly.

There has been a lot of dispute between the Humans and the Fae over the centuries (and millennia). This has been for various reasons, such as land and resources, but most often for a conflict of beliefs; notably, the human insistence on the existence of deities versus the Fae insistence that the human legends are simply ignorant superstition.

As with all such things, the truth is somewhere in between.
Most humans follow the religious teachings that the gods came together are formed the world and the heavens out of pure will. The Fae, on the other hand maintain that there was no such deliberation in the formation of the world.
In this, the Fae are absolutely correct (and I say this as a (former) human.)
However, because of this, the Fae also tend to go further and make the claim that there are no gods. This is not exactly true, unless your definition of ‘god’ is one that formed creation.

It gets a little more complicated here. I suppose I should try and start from the beginning, really.

In the beginning (as the human prophets love to say), there was something. I am unsure what, because I wasn’t there. All I can say is that whatever it was, it possessed a lot of energy. There is some debate as to what happened next but, suffice to say, this energy started to congeal. It was not just one sort of energy- there were energy forms of varying attributes. The easiest way to describe these energy forms is to use the human concepts of magical elements.

There are six elements, formed in opposing pairs. Aeros and Terra; Aqua and Pryos; Aether and Umbra. (Air and Earth; Water and Fire; Spirit and Shadow.)
Beyond this pairing, there is a further balancing where Earth defeats Fire defeats Air defeats Water with Spirit and Shadow binding all things.

As these energies began to coalesce, the world came to be. Much as the Fae tell it, the world formed through a long process of natural balance, without any ‘help’ or ‘divine guidance’.
It is also from these coalescing energies that life came to be.

The first forms of life were the elementals. Living nodes of energy, the elementals were each made up of but one form of energy- the Ignans of Pyros, the Sylphs of Aeros, etcetera. The elementals had no physical form- they were ephemeral souls living within the energy that spawned them. It is when they began to interbreed that interesting things began to arise.

Their offspring were not pure, but a combination of energy forms. These hybrids could not survive in the pure energy environments of their parents and so retreated to reality, where they dwelt in the fabric of the world.
As energy begat matter, so too did living energy beget living matter. Simply by living in the world, the outcast offspring of the elementals allowed life to form. This was not through deliberate design, but simply consequence of events.

The first creatures were at least as much energy as matter- they were the Fae. They understood the circumstances of their genesis and accepted this basic cause and effect of nature.
Then came the creatures that were more matter than energy- the birds, reptiles, fish, insects, mammals. Without so strong a tie to their energy, these creatures were not so understanding of the nature of the world.
Mankind is a recent addition to the world, comparatively. The same process of natural causation that resulted in life forming on Sanda Ndor also saw that life change and adapt to its needs.
Contrary to popular (human) belief, Man is not a ‘spiritual’ animal. It is simply one that thinks out loud.
Humankind’s natural curiosity allowed them to discover the outcast elementals living in the world around them. However, their materialistic nature did not allow them to understand what they had discovered. Rather than accepting the elementals for what they were, mankind started to venerate them and worship them as gods. Proving to the Fae how simplistic a species humankind is.

The human worshippers of the elementals factionalised and started proclaiming the superiority of their chosen ‘deity’. Compared to the humans, these beings did have strange and powerful abilities. But they were also vain and prone to self deception. They started to believe the ravings of their misguided followers and war was inevitable.

What the humans call the gods war was simply the infighting of a primitive race of elemental beings.

The Fae were the winners of the war. At first, they ignored the fighting in the same way a man ignores the squabbling between troupes of apes. But then they saw how their war was slowly harming Sanda Ndor. So the Fae involved themselves and enforced a peace- not least by vanquishing any that opposed them. This was not any bid for power; the Fae simply understood what they must to in order to survive. Whilst an individual elemental would be more than a match for any Fae, the Fae had the advantage of numbers (and intelligence) that allowed them to gain victory.
When the war was over, the surviving elementals retreated from this world. Life, having established itself, no longer needed that first spark.

Mankind was outraged at the Fae for what they saw as the selfish destruction of their gods. They labelled the Fae as ‘god killers’ or ‘the godless’. And so began the human crusades against the Fae. As the Fae held the numerical advantage over the elementals, so, too, did humankind have hugely superior numbers over the Fae.
Slowly the Fae retreated in the face of a relentless onslaught but mankind is short lived, and its memory even shorter. The crusade soon died off as man lost interest in killing for no profit. They went back to worshipping absent gods and ignored the Fae as ignorant and ‘primitive’.

So, mankind lived in its own way, and the Fae lived in theirs. Years passed and mankind forgot about history, preferring the stories told in chapels. Slowly they started to reach out to Fae again, but this time it was for trade, as they saw the Fae could craft things beyond the ability of the rude artisans of Man.
So it is that, finally, man and Fae can walk the same path without drawn weapons.
Perhaps, one day, we will even see trust between the two races.

Somehow, I doubt it.

I figure that, to avoid out of character conflict on the main story, I should post a bit more detail about what Dathyn can actually do.

This is a work in progress that outlines the basic premise, I will write it up in a more story based manner at some later date.

Quick bit to fill in, until I write a full line on the subject:

The human soul is composed of all six elements (Earth Air Fire Water Aether and Shadow). When Dathyn and the Shadowstone bonded, the Shadowstone purged all energy bar Shadow from him (like a territorial animal chases off competition). Without all the elements within him, his body died. He sloughed it as a butterfly does its chrysalis and became the Shadowsoul. He no longer considers himself human, or even mortal. Should someone find some way to disperse his energy (Highly unlikely, outside of literal and actual divine intervention), he will simply re-coalesce in the Elemental plane of Shadow and resume whatever it is he was doing.

He is not big on offensive capabilities but he is, for all intents and purposes, the sole avatar of Shadow in existence. There are Shadow elementals around this plane, but none on par with him.

Part of the abilities granted to him via Shadow is that he is, at all times 'one with Shadow' Not that he is omnipresent, as such, but that he can be anywhere there are shadows. Not so much true teleportation as it is simply manifesting in different locations. The other things he has is control of shadows (and Shadow Elementals of lesser power than him) and is a master of illusion (illusion being the domain of smoke and shadows).
Beyond this, Dathyn leaves no tracks, has no scent and makes no sound unless he chooses to. As such, Dathyn is completely undetectable by any means, unless he chooses to reveal himself.

He is not a god. Not even close. There are far more powerful entities in the Plane of Shadows. He is just the most powerful Shadow to walk this plane.


(Coming next- a full treatise on elemental energy)

As previously discussed, all energy can be found to be of six different types- the four Fundamental Elements, and the two Binding Elements.

The Fundamental Elements are the elements of Matter; they are Earth, Air, Fire and Water (called Terra, Pryos Aeros, and Aqua by the Alchemists), the building blocks of reality. The Binding Elements of Spirit and Shadow (Aether and Umbra, in the tongue of the Alchemists) could, by the same analogy, be seen as the mortar that holds the blocks together.

Terra
The Earth Element, Terra, is the elemental energy behind stasis, strength and healing. It represents that which endures.
Those skilled in Terran magic find a multitude of outlets, and demands, on their talents. They are equally valuable on the field of battle, and in the wards of hospices. They can bring down mighty citadels, and heal sick people, animals and even crops.

Pyros
Fire, Pyros, is the energy of life and death. It is found in passion, creation and destruction. It represents the duality of existence.
Those skilled in Pyrric magic are often misunderstood, as people more often remember the fire that burns than the hearth that warms. They are most frequently artisans- smiths of great skill. But are also the Elementalist most likely to be found in the arena of war, for that is where the greatest fees can be commanded.

Aeros
The element of air, Aeros, is the energy found in caprice, quickness and freedom. It represents that which cannot be pinned down.
Those skilled in Aeran magic tend to be in less demand than most others, as their skills are usually more specialised. They often find their skill, and temperaments, are suited to a nomadic life, especially aboard ships whose captains will always be happy to have a wind-singer on their crew.

Aqua
Water, Aqua, is the energy of flux. It is found in chance, flexibility and mystery. It represents that which is ever changing.
Those skilled in Aquan magic are highly valued by farming communities, where their skills can all but ensure a bumper harvest. They are prone to bursts of great anger, but are not known for bearing a grudge. It is said that of all the Elements, Aqua give the most oracles.

Aether
Spirit, Aether, is the energy of connection. It is found in oaths and bonds, pragmatism and unity. It represents the need for cohesion.
Those skilled in Aetheric magic tend towards positions of influence. In fact, they are less known for the use of magic and more for their other, more mundane skills of diplomacy and adjudication. This often suits the Aetheric Elementalist well, as it allows them to have an 'ace-in-the-hole'.

Umbra
Shadow, Umbra, is the energy of dissolution. It is found in lies, stories and illusion. It represents the unknowable.
Those skilled in Umbral magic are few and far between, and almost universally misunderstood. For years beyond counting, people have linked Umbra with Evil and Death, out of some primal fear of the dark. This fear has caused the Umbral Elementalist to hide from others and operate in secrecy. Fortunately, their skills are actually favourable in such an outcast lifestyle.


The relationships between the Elements is an intricate one, but easily enough explained (if only on a superficial level).

The Fundamental Elements have two different forms of interconnection. Before we can investigate these, we must first understand the basic nature of the Elements.

The Fundamental Elements are either Warm/Cool and Wet/Dry.
Terra: Cool and Dry.
Pyros: Warm and Dry.
Aeros: Warm and Wet.
Aqua: Cool and Wet.

These properties quickly allow the basic observation that there are two pairs of Polar Elements- Elements that completely mirror the others properties:
Terra (Cool & Dry) & Aeros (Warm & Wet); Pyros (Warm & Dry) & Aqua (Cool & Wet). This polarity works as a kind of negation. When two Polar Elements of equal strength come into opposition they cancel each other out, causing a kind of nullification effect where both energies dissipate harmlessly (relatively). Of course, where one has a greater strength, it will have the upper hand, as not all the energy will be nullified.

The second form of interconnection is the concept of cyclical strength. Think of it as an energic
equivalent of 'rock-paper-scissors':
Terra is strong against Pyros.
Pyros is strong against Aeros.
Aeros is strong against Aqua.
Aqua is strong against Terra.

This constant flux of conflicting energy would rapidly tear itself apart, were it not for the Binding Elements.

Aether is the cohesive energy that contains and constrains the Fundamental Elements. It is, quite literally, the energy that holds reality together.

By contrast, the energy that keeps the energies distinct from one another, Umbra is responsible for holding Aether at bay, preventing containment from becoming constriction.

As such, Aether and Umbra represent the third pair of Polar Elements, their properties mirroring the other.

So all the Elements exist in a fine balance, each essential for the whole.

In the spirit of cooperation and not crapping all over the game, I figure I should post a more explicit list of Character traits/skills/abilities/etc.

I will do this in two parts.

First, racial traits, common to all beings of my characters kind. The kind of thing that most educated being on Sanda would know.
Secondly will be traits peculiar to my character which are unknown unless individually discovered or otherwise stated.

I give you the Shadowsoul:

Race: Elemental (Subtype- Umbral)
Elementals are not, strictly speaking, 'living creatures' as they are simply coalescences of Elemental energy that have become self aware.
Because of this, most, if not all, forms of detection/scrying that would be used to trace living things do not work with Elementals.

Elementals are (naturally) attuned to the Elemental energies that they are formed from. As such, they have the ability to manipulate these energies. Even a lesser Elemental is far more skilled at manipulating the Elemental energies than the most powerful Arcanist (the human term for magic users in Sanda.)

Further to this, all Umbrals (Shadow Elementals) have the ability to create complex and extremely convincing illusions (Illusion being the domain of smoke and shadow). The strength and complexity determined on the power of the Elemental.

All Elemental energies have a connection to their respective Elemental Plane. As such all Elemental energy emanations (such as a pool of water, a patch of shade or a flame) are connected to one another. An Elemental can use any energy emanation (of the same Element as themselves) to 'teleport' to any other emanation. This is less 'true teleportation' and more a matter of simple dispersing their Elemental energy centre, and manifesting in another place. Since there is no actual transition, the Elemental can shift between locations faster even than the near-instantaneous teleportation of other beings. It also cannot be interfered with as other forms of translocation can be.

Being without a fixed form, Umbrals are all able to change their shapes at will. In fact, they are only ever as corporeal as they choose to be at any given time, which gives Umbrals the ability to be trackless. This means that, as well as being undetectable by magical means, an Umbral is also impossible to trace by mundane means, unless they choose to reveal themself.

Of all the Elements, Umbra (Shadow) is the most swift for, not matter how fast light travels, it will always find Shadow waiting for it.


The Shadowsoul:

Of all Umbrals that walk the material Plane, the Shadowsoul is the most powerful. This Elemental has assumed numerous names and shapes over the thousand years and more of its existence, but has almost always taken the appearance of a male. Because of this, most agree to refer to the technically genderless Umbral in the masculine.

Whilst all Elementals have control over their native Element, the Shadowsoul has shown an unrivalled mastery of Umbra. He has demonstrated extreme finesse with his control over shadows, yet has also demonstrated devastating power. It is unsure the exact extent of his control, but it is supposed that, if sufficiently motivated, the Shadowsoul could raze entire cities to the ground with judicious use of Shadow manipulation.
Examples of this skill are varied, from summoning and controlling near-microscopic tendrils of Shadow, to drawing enough Umbral energy from an area to cause violent implosions strong enough to destroy city defences.

Unlike most Umbrals, the Shadowsoul has been known to turn shadows into portals, in order to move physical objects (or beings) from one place to another, in a singular form of teleportation.

The Shadowsoul has demonstrated a more than human (or Elven) level of strength, capable of matching a Grug (a large, wingless dragon of the Wurm species) in a physical contest.

A lot of the time, though, he employs tools formed from Umbral energy (such as knives, swords, staves, etcetera), summoning and dismissing them on a whim.

Something peculiar that has been noted, over time, is the Shadowsoul's resistance to mental probing. There has been no method found, thus far, that has been able to penetrate his shields and wards, other than with his permission.

Given his large amount of time wandering Sanda, it is unsurprising that the Shadowsoul has become known to academics as the foremost authority on magical energies, especially the Elemental forms.


So, to recap:

-Can't be detected/scryed.
-Has unrivalled control/power over the Element of Shadow (and Umbrals).
-Master illusionist.
-Elemental Translocation.
-Shapechanger.
-Incorporeal at will.
-Fastest being on Sanda.
-Shadow Portal creation.
-Strong, by mortal standards.
-Immune to mind/emotion reading/control.
-Supremely knowledgeable regarding the magical Elements.