beginners guide to Razia’s shadow.
i remember i was rly confused going into Razia’s shadow. i couldn’t tell if it was a musical or just an album and when i did listen to the song i had to use wikpedia n stuff to figure out the plot. so here’s a little guide for anyone curious about Razia’s shadow!
to begin there is two versions of razia’s shadow. the album is the original. on of the people who worked on the album went on to make a play version that has a pretty different plot. i honestly don’t know much about the play version so i’ll only talk about the album today
the album’s story is split into two halves. the first half is about the creation of the world and a rebellious angel. it sets up a lot of the exposition for the second half.
the second half takes place 100 years after the first half. it’s about star crossed lovers in a very Romeo and Juliet esque story.
so the songs themselves can be a little hard to understand without extra knowledge. i’ve heard the cd version has a little booklet which probably goes over what you miss but as i listened to it on spotify and i’m sure others will too here’s little summary of the plot of each song so you can understand what’s happening.
Genesis: this one is about O the scientist and his head Angel Ahrima creating the world. O is basically god, he made all the angels and had Ahrima help with world building. Ahrima views O as a father figure.
. the world’s name is never mentioned in the song but it’s Razia, hence the album title. the song ends with Ahrima bitter about how his talents were used. his temper cools though when he’s with Nidria. another angel he’s deeply in love with.
Missing Piece: this song is basically Ahrima confessing his love to Nidria and them getting together. like the previous song Ahrima complains about how he was meant for better greater things. Nidria agrees but encourages him to be patient.
life is looking up: Ahrima has a great idea that he’s sure will impress O the Scientist and get him the recognition he feels he deserves. he has blueprints for “the lamps”
now the lamps are never fully explained but i believe they’re implied to be the stars, moon, and sun.
Ahrima shows them to O. O is proud but not in the way Ahrima wants. the lamps are still built but they still don’t give Ahrima the recognition he desired. Ahrima feeling jealous and bitter storms of to the dark to cool down and think.
while there a little brown spider named Barayas perches on his shoulder.
spider and the lamps: in this song Barayas says he’s heard of Ahrima and is impressed with his skills.
he tells Ahrima that the angel is special but they still treat him like a kid. he encourages Ahrima to be more bitter and angry. he convinces Ahrima to tear the lamps to the grown in revenge for how he was treated.
the song ends with Ahrima doing just that. Toba the Tura is called to place judgment on him. i’ll go into more detail on Toba in the next song
Barayas is only mentioned in this song. i’m not sure why he wanted to mess stuff up. seeing as there’s a lot of like biblical themes in the first half i assume it’s a reference to the snake in adam and eve
Toba the Tura: Toba is one of many one off characters. he acts as a sort of judge/enforcer and has come to pass his judgment on Ahrima.
he starts of gentle. almost siding with Ahrima a little. he then goes into detail on how Ahrima tore down the lamps, scorching the earth, and destroying the angel’s homes.
Toba has a bit where he sings about Ahrima’s betrayal while Ahrima sings of being guilty and pleading to O.
Toba says Ahrima must stay in the dark while the other angels leave to the light. a massive mountain is put up to block them
the Oracle: this one introduces us to our 3rd one off character, Gargul the Oracle.
he, and the other angels, come to the dark to Tell Ahrima of a prophecy. the prophecy states that someone from the light and dark will fall in love with each other and reunite the world.
this song also has a little bit of Nidria and Adakaias singing together again so that’s cute.
intermission: this one just shows 100 years have past.
The Exit: there’s two brother princes in the dark. the youngest is named Adakias and the oldest Pallis. they both grew up listening to stories of the prophecy and such.
there’s another one off character here called Sangara. they’re only point in the song is to say Adakaias should be more like his brother. i believe they’re a servant of some kind.
anyways Pallis is very down to earth and responsible while Adakais has a big romantic streak. he believes he’s the chosen one in the prophecy and longs to go to the light
Pallis say’s that’s stupid, the prophecy isn’t real, and if he leaves he’ll hunt him down.
Adakias still leaves anyway. he goes to the light and falls for a princess there named Anhura.
True Love: this songs is basically just Adakais and Anhura confessing love to eachother
they sing about being in love, Adakias sings about not being able to reveal his past, then they decide to get married. the only problem is they have to face Anhura’s father.
The King: the newest one off character, King Malka, Anhura’s father.
Adakais and Anhura sing about wanting permission to be married and that Adakais isn’t after the crown. king Malka still says no.
they decide to Elope but before they can Anhura falls seriously ill.
he believes it’s caused by him being from the dark and decides to take her to a special doctor he knows of back in the dark. he convinces her to go without revealing his past.
Holy the Sea: at this point it’s important to note that there is some sort of body of water between the light and dark. i think someone said it was a river that eroded the top of the mountain?
anyways they have to cross it to get to the doctor. they meet two longshoremen brothers (you guessed it, one off)
Anhura is like passed out on the boat ride as the brothers talk to Adakias about the prophecy and that he’s a decedent of Ahrima. Adakias only becomes more convinced of his destiny
the song ends with the couple arriving at the doctors shack.
The Doctor: the doctor is here and he’s feral. he says he can cure Anhura but in return he demands the stay with him in his hut to fulfill his fantasies. Anhura argues and first but Adakias says to trust him and just do it.
the doctor cures her but they can do anything Pallis busts in.
The End and the Beginning: Pallis shows up and he’s pissed. he talks about following the couple and that Anhura could never love poor boys like them. (no i don’t know why he says their poor when they’re princes back home. maybe the dark is just rly poor or maybe he was lying)
Anhura and Adakias sing about how money doesn’t matter and she loves him.
Pallis switches gears and reveals Adakias is from the dark. Adakias quickly patches things up with Anhura saying he meant to tell her sooner but that they’re still in love.
Pallis only get more annoyed and reveals Adakias is the reason Anhura gets sick and goes to stab her.
Adakias leaps in the way and gets stabbed instead.
Adakias forgives his brother as he dies and basically tells Anhura and Pallis to take care of the world for him.
his act of sacrifice reunites the two halves of the world.
after that the ending is purposely open ended leaving room for the listener to decide how it goes from there.
and there you have it! the last thing i’d like to talk about is the cannon art. it exists but for the most part people don’t use it so feel free to get creative with how you see the character!
anyways, that’s all i’ve got for now! feel free to add on if you have any more helpful information!
