Even when they get transformed into something different.
It's to be noted, though, that when a dark warlock whistles, and a pack of these silver creatures appear, they look way more vicious than your average puppy.
Finally decided to color an old ballpoint pen drawing of these cool creatures, since finally the Spiritdex was updated by adding them! Shadowhounds! They're dogs, but make them ghosts. Pretty cool good boys.
Ever since I started working on this witchy theory, I’ve been hounded by thoughts of Elain and her fanged shadow beasts. I tried to write what I pictured, but please note that I am not a creative writer and this is not canon.
Elain lingered just beyond the throne room, gazing at the massive beasts coiled around ebony columns. They were creatures of terrible, wild beauty; nightmares made flesh and preserved in stone. And if she were honest, they were the only creatures she truly cared for in this cavernous court of vipers. “You won’t be caged much longer, beauties,” she breathed.
With a deep sigh, Elain straightened her shoulders and faced the entrance to the throne room. Her family had already swept in before her, with Nyx—the darling Night Court heir—capturing the attention of the vipers in the room despite their valiant efforts to remain unmoved. Her nephew’s bright eyes and smiles had a way of melting even the fiercest warriors and coldest schemers of their court. She would do whatever was needed to keep him safe. And that was why she was here tonight. It was her turn to demonstrate their might and issue a final warning: dare to harm any member of our family and we will end you. It will not be quick, it will not be clean, and it will not be painless.
Conversation died as Elain stepped into the room. In her gown of golden vines and blooms, she looked like a burst of sunlight amid the endless dark. She caught several fae smirking at her hopeful display of light. She knew what those smiles meant, what they thought of the softest Archeron sister. She was beautiful and oblivious and kind: a perfect target for the malice of scheming courtiers. Fools. From her doe eyes to her trembling fingers, it was all a well-designed trap. She too was a viper poised to strike underneath a soft, fawn coat. And to her secret delight, Elain found that she thrived on the thrill of surprise, of the moment when another’s eyes widened in shock and they understood the depth of their mistake too late.
Her fingers drifted over the weathered claw at her breast, sighing at the power that radiated from the ancient bone. She felt, more than saw, the crowd’s eyes light upon her breast just as the floor and columns began to tremble with the enraged howls of beasts disturbed in their eternal rest. Massive bodies of shadow and wind slithered down each column, stone crumbling in the wake of their descent. The fae shrank back into the walls, whimpering at the sight they beheld. Wisps of shadow and terror streamed from the beasts as they surrounded Elain. They were creatures of terrible, wild beauty. And they belonged to her.
Elain cooed and caressed her shadow hounds as they sleepily nudged her hands. Her sweet, fanged beasts. After a moment, Elain peered up at the crowd to find them gaping in horror and awe, and her eyes swept beyond them to the male whose body rippled with tension, his shadows smoldering like flames of ice. Her breath caught as their gazes and powers collided, golden sunlight warming the bitter, icy breath of winter. Elain reluctantly broke the connection to glance around the room once more and smiled sweetly at the wary expressions. “Happy Solstice,” she murmured, moving forward to join her family on the throne as the beasts shadowed her movements, a dark train of terrors prowling behind her.
Shadowhounds (that can be spelled also as shadow hounds) are the earliest harnessed ghosts in the history of dark magic: they consist of the spirit of a dog that is promptly pulled out of the body shortly before or shortly after its actual death and fixed in such a way that it maintains a physical form, although they cannot exist for too long outside the spiritual world, and therefore are evoked sporadically and for no more than a few hours, otherwise risking disintegration.
Maid For Your Master - Author's Notes: Shadowhounds
First Mention: Prologue - Page 2
Answering only to the Dark One, these monstrous beasts, crafted from the shadows and magma deep in the belly of the world, are notoriously vicious. Their saliva is said to have incredible healing properties, allowing them to devour their victims multiple times without the relief of death.
