Okay so I’ve been wanting to talk about the Shade for A While now and have decided to finally do so and how it pertains to my lore(sort of?)
I headcanon that, during the 1st age when the deities defeated the initial Shade attack, portions of it survived. Little wisps and beings, seeping into the earth and running away for preservation. They couldn’t rejoin their mass of siblings in the void of space, so on Sornieth they remained.
The ancient peoples still there, some of the Shade were drawn to their magic and life force and began infecting those of the population. This didn’t last long of course as the ancient ones were wiped out with the coming of the Arcanist, and once more the Shade slipped back into hiding.
As more magic poured into the land and more Life began to flourish, the Shade came about again. Some remained sealed away and hidden, while others factions of it tried to infect the population again. Animals, plants, objects and beastclan were all vessels they sought to use and observe.
Over time, the Shade became parasitic, and some of it even grew sentient. Where before the Mass Shade had sought to destroy and tear apart what the deities had created, the Grounded Shade sought merely to claim part of the world as their own and integrate into it. Though alien in nature and not of Sornieth, the Grounded Shade still wished to be part of it. Some as a malevolent factor, some as a true neutral presence and others still with some form of mischevious and chaotic benevolence. Even still, all the Grounded Shade did that seemed “good” was for their own preservation.
When the Mass Shade attacked once more after the birth of the Arcanist, the Grounded Shade went to meet their long lost half but the Grounded Shade had changed. They were different now, and instead of the instinctive animalistic urges to consume, defile and destroy as the Mass Shade had, they merely wished to survive and integrate.
The Mass Shade revoked the Grounded Shade, causing a permanent fracture between the two factions.
The Mass Shade attempted to destroy the Grounded Shade but the latter escaped.
Ages go by. The Grounded Shade remains as it was, but it has grown in numbers and even power. They cause minor infections and cause Dragons and Beastclan alike to become Shade-touched, but their “gifts” aren’t inherently destructive. Grounded Shade grants power that is more easily controlled, but also addictive. It draws beings in with these promises and taints them.
The Mass Shade still remains around Sornieth, though in smaller numbers than it had before. It causes powerful infections, often turning dragons into power-crazed beasts that eventually become Abominations. Abominations have the power and means to exercise control over pure Grounded Shade as well as Mass Shade and use it to their advantage.
Most don’t know the difference between the two, except those that are truly scholarly and look into the first happenings of the Shade kind.
Some can wield powers of the Mass Shade via extremely concentrated Grounded Shade abilities. Those that do often seek out and destroy Abominations.
Thanos is one such dragon, having inherited the ability through his mother, and now he hones it. While he destroys Abominations, he welcomes Grounded and Mass Shade beings alike into his fold, slowly building a kingdom.
He wishes nothing more than to show the potential of the Shade, and to show that not all the Shade-touched out there are grouped as monsters. Depending on which faction your infection falls under, you may still have a chance in this world.
romaincrisis
gamechangershow
discoholicmusic
gummygunk
prguitarman
turnnoffyourmind
