Shade

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Please note: The following information is scarcely known. As such, you cannot assume to be aware of this information unless taught about it in-character.

One of the oldest magics to grace the land, Shade is ultimately the manipulation of an internal darkness known as Amber, which is a corrupted version of Mana, for the creation of free-form extensions and the casting of powerful spells. The origin of Shade lies with Iblees, as many of the Dark magic origins do, though the power that fuels the Parasites of Rancour is no longer the Archdaemon himself, but rather is the Mother, Arun'Asna. She is a powerful and sentient being who exists beyond the confines of the Shade Gems, but too is bound to them in the sense that they are a means of connection with her, a way to bring a Shade's development to fruition.

Artwork by Chriscold The Mother; Arun'Asna

Background

Birthed from darkness in the realm of Aegis, Aknu’gul, the chained mother, was birthed of the churning chaotic energies of the first gem, gifted to the realm by Iblees, the Archdaemon. The first Shade, Rilath Ilwindor, served faithfully as one of Iblees’ lieutenants throughout yore, falling from his post after the destruction of Aegis and the fall of the Archdaemon’s forces. However, prior to his fall, and in the time thereafter, Rilath formed the first coven, a cabal of Shades who followed in the steady march of evil, plaguing the land with strange manipulation and mentally crippling dread.

Though it did not last eternally, the Shades adherence to the orders of the Archdaemon, for his fall separated them from their master, leaving the Shades to their own devices. It was there that the chained mother, Aknu’gul, seized an opportunity, and grew vastly in her power with the greedy meddling of two eldritch elves. It was one damp day, deep within a hidden cave, that Aknu’gul achieved her first ascendance, and moved beyond the original confines of the gem, and spread her influence across the coven.

Over the course of the proceeding centuries, the covens thereafter received some semblance of guidance, and were given a broad direction, a chaotic mission with no discernable detail, to perpetuate across the ages. It wasn’t until the realm of Atlas that the Shades saw another significant shift in their constitution, with a great theft of power from the Foretakers. The Daeva were stolen, those who occupied such an exalted echelon were shunted down, and stripped of their power in the name of transcendence, a further rising of Aknu’gul, who was finally able to free herself from the confines to the gem, to become one with the freedom of the world. Aknu’gul was no more, shifting into an incorporeal entity known as Arun’Asna, Mother of Shade.

Power Source and Tenets

Arun'Asna, Mother of Shades

The Harbinger of Tenebrous, the disembodied source of power and desolation of the Shade parasite. All Shade Gems link to Arun’Asna who purloined such responsibility and power into herself from what was previously uncontrolled churning chaos birthed by Iblees. The Shade Gems act as the conduit through which Arun’Asna beckons and acts. However, if a Shade Gem were to be destroyed, it would not mean the end of those connected to Arun’Asna, nor would it mean a debilitation of a Shade’s ability to utilize the boon. Any created Shade Gem allows for the full fledged connection of a new Shade to Arun’Asna regardless of through which gem this connection was formed, as well as the removal of a Shade parasite from the soul. The Shade Gems are not ultimately vital to the existence of the Shade curse as they serve but to allow Shades to ascend to the post of Shade Father and to broadcast to those afflicted with the Shade curse, an ability reserved for the Shade Fathers that effectively lets a message resonate within the minds of the Shades.

Mechanics
*Any formed Shade Gem acts as a conduit through which Shades ascend to the post of Shade Father, requiring a Shade to be connected to the Gem and through the Gem to Arun’Asna to ascend beyond tier three at which they are locked if they are not connected.

Redlines

*Arun’Asna is a sentient entity who communicates through her gems to all connected on extraordinarily rare cases. Her existence is something that must be explained ICly to new Shades as it does not come innately. While Shades may feel her presence they do not immediately understand it. Even Shade Fathers do not completely know who she is. If a player is removed or temporarily stripped of Shade magic OOCly, such as due to a blacklist, ban, or inactivity, Arun’Asna acts as the lore reason for their temporary or permanent disconnection or Amber connection removal. Arun’Asna is not housed within the current, nor within any Shade Gem that exists. Instead they are like air. You can’t see it, but it’s there.

The Shade Gems

The lifeblood of a functioning coven, a shard of Arun’Asna’s very essence created by only the most learned of the fathers. A Shade Gem itself appears as a large, fist-sized jagged chunk of black stone with a soft red illumination. While it is not ultimately damning to be left without a gem, the lack thereof will stunt the growth of a coven, and may prove fatal should the membership of that particular cabal take a significant hit, respective to the size of the gathering. A Shade Gem possesses numerous functions, while itself only having a few subtle effects on the world around it, otherwise sitting idly and in peace. Foremost, the Shade Gem is the source of a Shade’s power, the place from which all new parasites are birthed by the hand of a father. Secondly, the Shade Gem is a point of connection, the place all Shades must be present about for a furtherance of their linking to Arun’Asna. The parasite itself is only capable of growing so much of its own accord, reaching its maximum at Tier 3. Without an established link to Arun’Asna, a Shade will never be able to ascend beyond this point, thus the Shade Gem serving as the place at which to establish such a furtherance. Thirdly, the Shade Gem is itself a lexicon, a means by which to transmit information to a Shade, with the helping hand of a Shade Father, to teach Parasite Creation and Disconnection, the means by which new Shades are created, and destroyed.

Mechanics
*A Shade Gem is a funnel through which to connect a parasite that has grown to its potential (Tier 3) alone, to Arun’Asna. The exact use of the Shade Gem in this process is elaborated on under ‘Parasite Connection’.
*A Shade Gem is, in a very limited way, a sort of lexicon, a source of specific information that can be transmitted upon a Shade with the aid of a Shade Father. The exact use of the Shade Gem in this process is elaborated on under ‘Parasite Creation’ and ‘Disconnection’.
*A Shade Gem, as a shard of Arun’Asna’s own power, can be utilized as a limited, one way messaging system to contact other Shades. Any Shade Father can approach the Shade Gem and plant their hands upon its surface. Once having done so, the Shade Father must seal their eyes and focus their attention inward, on the churching deific power within the shard, and must seek out the identity of the Shade with whom they desire to speak. Once having done so, the Shade Father can dispatch a message to that Shade, which will be spoken into the Shade’s head by an ethereal, feminine voice.
*A Shade Gem can’t be transported by just anyone, and cannot be transported inside of combat. Any Shade Father can move a Shade gem outside of combat, however they will be unable to transport the object for longer than one IRl hour due to unexplainable physical strains experienced while moving the object. If a Shade attempts to move the Shade Gem, they will find themselves physically blighted upon touching the shard, a shockwave of debilitating pain erupting through their form the moment they lay a hand on the object, as if smited by Arun’Asna themselves.
*A Shade Gem’s passive effects are both positive, and negative, respective to the circumstances. The aura of the Shade Gem’s effect is eight blocks from its origin. Any Shade who enters this radius will find themselves lifted from the intense mental plight of shadedom, the harassing voices and mental strains relieved for the duration of their stay. Any non-Shade who enters this radius will find themselves bombarded with harassing voices and mental strains, as a parasite-like effect dawns on them. As well, the Shade Gem will begin to leech off of their mana pool, increasing the difficulty in casting all spells that draw from a user’s mana pool, requiring one additional emote for all abilities.
*A Shade Gem is created through the use of a special ritual with Amber Imbuement. See ‘Amber Imbuement’ for an elaboration on this process. Once someone has hold of the Shade Gem and are a Shade Father, they are given knowledge such as Arun’asna’ name and nothing further, only that she is the Mother of Shades.

Redlines
*A Shade Gem is only a “lexicon” insofar as that it retains information that can be shared. This is not to be confused with Lexicons in Dragonkin lore, which are very different. A Shade Gem cannot possess any new information beyond that which it contains (how to create new parasites, and how to disconnect).
*A Shade Father must emote at least three times prior to sending a message. Messages may only be sent to Shades that the Shade Father is aware of, knowing both who they are and that they’re a Shade. This cannot be used like a raid bell, meaning that it cannot be used to call Shades for combat, or defensive purposes.
*Only a Shade Father is capable of moving a Shade Gem, however any Shade Father can do it so long as they are doing so outside of combat. A Shade cannot move a Shade Gem, as Arun’Asna does not permit them to do so. The moment a Shade lays their hand upon a Shade Gem, they will experience a great debilitating pain, a shockwave of agony erupting through their body from the point of origin that touched the shard. This pain is only experienced if the Shade is attempting to move a Shade Gem. This smitting will not occur if a Shade is attempting to destroy a Shade Gem.
*A Shade Gem’s effects begin immediately upon breaching the threshold of the aura, and cease immediately upon leaving it. Mental damage accrued across time from possessing Shade is not undone by the tranquil aura, but merely is paused for the duration of a Shade’s stay. Non-Shades under the effects of the aura will experience intense dread (impending doom, paranoia, nihilism) in addition to experiencing a series of harassing voices similar to the effects of schizophrenia. This is not debilitating, and can be fought through with effort and strain. All magical abilities that draw from the caster’s own mana pool require one additional emote to function properly while under the effects of this aura. A Shade Gem must be stationary, not being transported, for the aura to function.
*The Gem is not indestructible, and is as hard as diamond. It is approximately the size of a regular adult Human’s hand, and emits a faint red glow. It appears as a jagged black rock of a vaguely diamond shape with a flat base.
*The Gem cannot be kept in an Enderchest, nor can it be stored in an unreachable location (such as within a room with no means of entry), nor can it be stored underwater. However, the Shade Gem can be kept in a locked chest, behind a locked door, or behind a hidden door with mechanical (redstone) activation.
*Only three (3) total Shade Gems are capable of existing at one time. Others can be created, but will lie dormant, and therefore useless, until one of the existing three are destroyed. If there are multiple dormant Shade Gems, the oldest one will be activated first.
*All Gems are required to be signed by a member of the LT. As they are an aspect of this lore piece, they do not need an MArt. The LT tracks magic items already, and therefore that serves as adequate notation of which Gems exist.

The Parasite of Rancour

The Parasite of Rancour is a being of raw Amber essence which comes to life within the soul and body of one afflicted with the Shade curse when one is bound to Arun’asna. In almost all respects the same as the affliction upon the soul, the key difference lies in an innate physical presence within the host, not one that can be quantified, but one that can be qualified. Blood courses through a man’s veins, yet the drops cannot be counted; such is the existence of the Parasite of Rancour. Comparing where this existence of Amber within a host begins and ends is akin to marking where the oceans meet the shores. It has end, yet to determine such is foolishness. Rather it is understood and agreed upon that while marking this spot is nigh impossible, it exists all the same. Such is the Parasite of Rancour, the physical embodiment of a Shade within the form of its host. It is this being that allows for Amber to be materialized from a mere concept of mana into a physical tenebrific substance, and it is this substance that gives birth to almost all of the abilities that one afflicted with a Shade may come to bear, but all things have its beginnings, and all things must first be raised…

Due to the parasite being attached to the host, the creature was able to feast upon the man or woman’s mana pool, letting its Amber convert the natural substance into more of the black potent ichor-like material. This allowed the host to use the Amber to their benefit and for the Shade to remain healthy. Yet, at the same time the Parasite latches its being to the soul of the host, corrupting the inherent nature of the man or woman and uses the host’s soul to influence the being in different ways.

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Hatchling
Throughout a Shade’s life, it grows through multiple stages of power. In the beginning of its life, the Shade is referred to as a hatchling. The hatchling is but a small parasite which has begun to grow on the soul itself of the Host, and the body begins to physically manifest small quantities of mana into Amber latent within the body, but none of this can be manipulated or used yet. The hatchling stage is considered the most painful stage of the process of shadedom. Due to the discomfort and pain the hatchling causes to the host, the person affected by the hatchling could experience multiple different issues with their body. Seizures, vomiting, mood swings, fainting, and minor hallucinations are not uncommon when a hatchling begins its growth process within a user. The hatchling has begun to grow and harness the users mana to create more amber, yet this amber is unuseable, only able to be drawn forth but not shaped into objects or used for the abilities of a common Shade.

Shade Child
The Shade has begun to vastly expand and grow within the host, yet it’s still a novice at learning how to cooperate with the body it resides within. The host will become more tolerant of the parasite within, yet every so often the side effects of a growing parasite will occur. However, the continual growth will expand until the child has reached its full growth. The user is able to manipulate Amber with the proper training and practice until they’ve mastered the usage of Amber and all of its uses. It is also at this stage that the host becomes mentally unstable and all the negative effects come into full force once the Shade has grown to its maximum size upon the soul.

Shade Father
The Shade Fathers are the ones whom have studied and learned about their parasite to the fullest extent. They’re able to instruct and transfuse new, growing Hosts and Shades. Their influence over those Shades beneath them holds great power. While the presence upon the soul is no stronger than a fully grown Shade, the ability for the host to utilize the parasite itself is greatly improved for those that have achieved this stage. As a result, this is not a stage naturally achieved over time, but also one achieved with great practice. Finally, one that has reached this stage can make a bastardized version of a Shade parasite on another’s soul.

Arun'Asna's Will

1. There are days in which even those basking in stygian masses born of the darkest depths of the abyss find themselves with the desire to betray their own chthonic brethren. These are days in which we atrocious beings realize the hell we have come to call home has its own dreary days. Selfishness and personal desires are emotions commonplace of chaotic evil, a brand of evil making a home in those of rancour. And yet with the interest of survival in mind we shirk their innately chaotic desires for a sense of order amongst ourselves and our goals. When those few of this great clique turn their backs to such agreed upon doctrines they must repent, or face a just end to their destructive ways. Revealing the secrets of their flesh and blood is a kind of betrayal that brings the heart to bleed black, to share to the uninitiated the nuances of one's makeup is a crime far darker for it betrays not only one's kin but one's self in a significant instance of pure ignorance. These are malfeasances unforgivable, demanding but the utter casting out of the transgressor.
   • Do not expose or talk about any Shades, revealing any secret Coven business applies too.
2. To murder one who afforded you trust and to whom you once trusted is a kinslayer regardless of blood relation. The finely tuned laws binding together what was once roaming goalless chaos has its supports shattered with such actions. Murder, enraged violence, the kind of actions demanding direction for alone they threaten to bring into the light the truth of the great secrets kept hidden within our majestic estate. These are malfeasances unforgivable, demanding but the utter casting out of the transgressor.
   • Do not needlessly harm other Shades, killing is also forbidden unless both agreed to some sort of duel, therefore exempt from this tenet.
3. Our symbols of literal power, the items with which the old, grey and knowledgeable grow our knowing order are symbols most holy in the general sense of the word. While not truly holy, such items are best regarded with the zealous protection the ignorant afford their gilded crosses and gemstones, for such items are in reality the domiciles of power beyond your comprehension. They leak an ichor incorporeal, used to guide the sheep ever nearer the path of enlightenment by those who manage cast off their wool to metamorphose into learned wolves. Revealing where such relics are kept, or seeking to destroy such precious items are crimes most abominable. These are malfeasances unforgivable, demanding but the utter casting out of the transgressor.
   • Do not break the Shade Gems or disclose the locations of them to any non-shade.
4. It is not the intention of the lawful collection of chaos to but keep their chaos beaten back and neglected. The learned guide the unknowing on the means by which one pampers their chaos so that it does not take to overwhelming, acting of its own accord to seek out its own form of pampering. To allow one's chaos such an opportunity is to violate the safety of one's flesh and blood. It is to risk the revealing of all that has been built, to risk the destruction of our echelon that resides above the masses. Go out with secrecy in mind, to commit an act of chaos, to sow discord among the sheep of the world, to steal, lie, cheat and murder where it is justifiable in the eyes of your kin, in the eyes of the watching mother who knows but keeping secrecy. To fail in this act is to fail all. It is a malfeasance unforgivable, demanding but the utter casting out of the transgressor.
   • Some sort of chaotic act must be done every one OOC month, some things that can be done include but are not limited to: raiding, sacrificing, stealing, lying, and even attacking someone.
5. Considering all that has been said, all that you have learned and all that you will learn, it must go without saying that cohesion is the ultimate resource. Like masterfully-crafted clockwork, it is infallible. Without such a mindset success is a distant city unreachable through the winding jungle paths, and to keep such a mindset knowing this is to risk everything. It is a malfeasance unforgivable, demanding but the utter casting out of the transgressor.
   • Act in the best interest of the Coven at all times.

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Spells, Powers, and Abilities

Mana Corruption

Mana Corruption is the dually passive, and active, process of turning Mana into Amber to utilize as a fuel source for the spells and abilities of Shade. Internally, Mana Corruption is an ever ongoing process perpetuated by The Parasite attached to the Shade’s soul. This process is corrupting the Shade’s own Mana into Amber, which allows the Shade to, by default, utilize this pool of fuel for their castings.

Externally, Mana can be corrupted by the will of the Shade, extending their own Amber onto Mana, causing it to, by extension of The Parasite’s power, turn into Amber. This can be used in a number of ways, whether to bring about the creation of a foreign pool of Amber for the Shade’s use, or to corrupt, or destroy, a Mana Gem or Obelisk. Foreign entities who have part, or all, of their Mana pools corrupted will suffer a strange physical aesthetical change, appearing like a large webbed scarr of black across their body. Despite its sickly appearance, this scar is temporary, and yields no negative effects itself.

When a foreign creature has its Mana pool corrupted, it will experience some of the negative mental downsides of shadedom, despite not possessing a Shade themselves. This is due to the presence of the corrupted subsistence, Amber, within their system, which brings about such oddities. Where there is more Mana corrupted, there will be more pains experienced by the affected individual. However, given that there is a lack of a Parasite attached to the soul of such an individual, their body will begin to naturally expel the Amber, replacing it with pure Mana over time, thus lowering the intensity of the mental pains until they are all but snuffed out.

Mechanics
*Passively, The Parasite will corrupt the Shade’s Mana into Amber, allowing the Shade to pull from their own corrupted pool for spellcasting. Outside of combat, a Shade will regain 1 Point of Amber per 5 IRL minutes until they can produce no more (as limited by their tier).
*Actively, a Shade can corrupt the pool of a willing victim, turning their Mana into Amber at a steady rate. This requires the Shade to be touching the victim for the duration of the process. By spending 1 Point of Amber, a Shade can begin the process of corrupting the willing victim’s Mana, turning it into a utilizable battery of Amber at a rate of 2 Points of Amber per emote, for a maximum of three emotes (6 total Points of Amber created). Throughout this process the Shade is not actually using up any great portion of their own Amber, rather they are channeling The Parasite’s corruptive powers into the pool of the willing victim. The Amber within the willing victim will slowly tick away over time at a rate of 1 Point of Amber per 1 IRL day. For the duration of time as that there is Amber within the willing victim’s system, they will suffer under dread (impending doom, paranoia, nihilism) effects from the presence of the foreign substance. These effects cease the moment that the last bit of Amber is used up, or naturally expelled. Organic creatures who have their mana pools corrupted will experience large black blemishes that appear in a similar fashion to lightning scars. These blemishes are temporary, and will disappear once all of the Amber is used, or expelled from, their system.
*Actively, a Shade can corrupt the pool of a Mana Gem or Mana Obelisk. This requires the Shade to be touching the item for the duration of the process. By spending 1 Point of Amber, a Shade can begin the process of corrupting the item’s Mana, turning it into a utilizable battery of Amber at a rate of 2 Points of Amber per emote. For Mana Gems, the Shade can emote at max three times (6 total Points of Amber created). For Mana Obelisks, the Shade can emote at max nine times (18 total Points of Amber created). This Amber does not flake away over time, and will remain until used or expelled by destroying the object in which it is contained.
*Passively, The Parasite will corrupt the Shade’s Mana into Amber, allowing the Shade to pull from their own corrupted pool for spellcasting. Inside of combat, a Shade will regain 1 Point of Amber per 5 emotes until they can produce no more (as limited by their tier).
*Actively, a Shade can corrupt the pool of an unwilling victim, turning their Mana into Amber at a steady rate. This requires the Shade to be touching the victim for the duration of the process. By spending 1 Point of Amber, a Shade can begin the process of corrupting the unwilling victim’s Mana, turning it into a utilizable battery of Amber at a rate of 2 Points of Amber per emote, for a maximum of three emotes (6 total Points of Amber created). Throughout this process the Shade is not actually using up any great portion of their own Amber, rather they are channeling The Parasite’s corruptive powers into the pool of the unwilling victim. The Amber within the unwilling victim will slowly tick away over time at a rate of 1 Point of Amber per 1 IRL day. For the duration of time as that there is Amber within the unwilling victim’s system, they will suffer under dread (impending doom, paranoia, nihilism) effects from the presence of the foreign substance. These effects cease the moment that the last bit of Amber is used up, or naturally expelled. Organic creatures who have their mana pools corrupted will experience large black blemishes that appear in a similar fashion to lightning scars. These blemishes are temporary, and will disappear once all of the Amber is used, or expelled from, their system.
*Actively, a Shade can corrupt the pool of a Mana Gem or Mana Obelisk. This requires the Shade to be touching the item for the duration of the process. By spending 1 Point of Amber, a Shade can begin the process of corrupting the item’s Mana, turning it into a utilizable battery of Amber at a rate of 2 Points of Amber per emote. For Mana Gems, the Shade can emote at max three times (6 total Points of Amber created). For Mana Obelisks, the Shade can emote at max nine times (18 total Points of Amber created). This Amber does not flake away over time, and will remain until used or expelled by destroying the object in which it is contained.

Redlines
* The passive corruption of Mana within the Shade’s own pool cannot be sped up, slowed down, or stopped by any means. The process will halt itself once The Parasite can corrupt no more Mana, as determined by the Shade’s tier.
*The moment touch (the placing of one hand on the victim) is broken, Mana Corruption will cease immediately.
*The Amber within the victim’s system cannot be purged by any magic or other alchemical means. It will flake away over time, or can be used up by any Shade utilizing it as a battery.
*The dread (impending doom, paranoia, nihilism) induced by the presence of the Amber is not debilitating, but does have noticeable impacts on the mood, behaviour, and overall personality of the person affected by it.
*The Amber contained within a Mana Gem or Mana Obelisk cannot be purged by any magic or other alchemical means. It will not flake away over time, and therefore will only disappear as it is used up, or if the object is destroyed.
*The visual blemishes are only aesthetic, and will cause the victim no further harm.

Amber Manipulation

In order to aptly control the converted Amber within their pools, the Shades possess the ability to manipulate the corrupted mana within them. Manipulation of Amber may come in many forms, though in it’s more rudimentary and basic form allows the Host to create shapes, objects, and limb-like extensions which serve as a tool, or a weapon for the malignant creature. Through practice, the nature of Amber Manipulation can become almost like second nature, as though the corrupted Mana is part of their very body and are simply controlling it through muscle memory. Akin to the Voidal Art of Arcane Evocation, the Manipulation of Amber can very much be maintained in much the same way, albeit it holds a specific caveat; The controlled Amber must be connected to the Host in some physical fashion. Manipulated Amber can take on three physical states: Solid, Liquid, and Gas, and can be controlled in many imaginative ways. Left freeform to the user, the blackened substance’s density and temperature may also be manipulated.

While the Amber may be manipulated with second nature, this does not inherently make it easy or quick to do so. Manipulating corrupted Mana takes time and focus. Controlling Amber from a distance will prove physically strenuous to the Host, and should their focus be lost or physical connection to the Amber be severed, the corrupted essence will simply flake away into black flakes unless it is quickly reclaimed through physical contact. - While its density may be altered, manifestations of Amber are not indestructible and are weak and susceptible to any material which affects spectral beings and normal tools.

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Ambercrafting

For those more well versed in corrupting mana and imbuing objects with Amber, a skill known as Ambercrafting becomes available to prospecting Shades. Put simply, Ambercrafting is materializing Amber and forming structures with it, whether it is something small like a stool, or something of more considerable size like a table or wall. In order to make abnormally large structures though, the additional effort of more Shades or corrupted mana from an obelisk for instance is required. Furthermore, these structures will provide no other benefit to a Shade, as they will no longer be moldable or reclaimable into their Amber pool after they are formed, making these structures slightly anomalous in their existence and creation. In short, Amber Crafting allows Shades to produce structures, furniture, and other similar things with a very literal dark and dreary aesthetic with not much other practical use, unless the intention is to scare.

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Caliginous Healing - Passive

When one is afflicted with the parasite, the Shade does its best to ensure the physical well being of the Host. The Amber within the Host wards off disease and other biological miasmas, rendering the Host difficult to strike ill. Furthermore, the Shade and Amber will do its best to ensure the Host’s life is not jeopardized, be it either from another or the Host themselves seeking death. If the Host is harmed, the Shade will offer a very minor healing factor, albeit this is not done through ordinary healing and regrowth where needed, but rather done by Amber attempting to clot off and seal any wounds. For example, if the Host were to be stabbed in the leg, they would bleed regularly and heal regularly, nothing extraordinary occurring to stop such. However, Amber will flow to the wounded area and do its best to fill in any gaps in the flesh and body, not healing it but rather preventing further blood loss and damage. Furthermore, this healing factor is not going to save somebody that is going to die unless the Host immediately seeks further medical assistance, such as a trained surgeon or skilled alchemist that has some sort of healing salve. So if a Host is stabbed in the neck, the Shade will not be able to save them alone, but instead only ward off the inevitable for some time. In turn, one afflicted with a Shade is unable to be healed efficiently by various holy mages due to the unholy, dark nature of the Shade parasite. If a wounded person afflicted with the parasite sought out a cleric to heal a stab wound to their leg, not only would the process be much more slow and inefficient, taking at least three times as long to heal, but it’d also be horribly painful to the Host, to the point they might as well just let the wound heal on their own, assuming it is a non-lethal injury. Finally, the Host will automatically heal unless willed otherwise as to avoid exposing their curse. However if a Host chooses to negate their ability and dies as a result, such as a stab wound to the neck that could be saved if the ability is allowed, death in this case would constitute a willing one, and either the Shade will take over and force the ability to enable, or the Host would technically die of suicide.

In addition to this ability, the Host will also be automatically taken over by the Shade parasite if they were to fall unconscious, although this wouldn’t be a takeover in the usual use of the word. Rather this is done as a security measure, in which the Shade parasite can speed up the process of regaining consciousness and will act to ensure the Host’s safety following this scenario. Upon ending whatever dangerous scenario they were in, the Host can easily resume control over the body, often with little resistance from the Shade in these cases. This is one of the few times a Host and Shade will ever truly cooperate, as it is a matter of best interests for the parasite and host.

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Caliginous Healing - Active

When a Shade further acclimates to its host, and the host begins to learn how to further manipulate Amber, the Shade can then begin to do a form of healing upon others, although not in the traditional sense. Instead of holy lights closing wounds or needles sewing flesh shut, an experienced Shade can force their Amber into another’s flesh to clot wounds, seal up holes in the flesh, or do other rudimentary surgical procedures without the need of tools, potions, or other medical devices. This is done by corrupting a small portion of the victim’s mana, but leaving the Amber the Shade formed severed off onto the victim’s wound or wounds, effectively sealing off the wounds and giving it a small pool of Amber to draw from as the wound heals. While it can not be used to prevent death, such as from a decapitated head, it can be used to shut wounds, hold broken bones in place, and other similar aspects. However this is offset mostly by two things: One, the Shade must know how to manipulate one’s own Amber to a fine extent to achieve this, including knowledge of controlling Remedial Healing, and two, the victim will have a dark, twisted discoloration around where the applied Amber is, as well as suffering from the maladies of a Shade curse to a much lesser degree. So while it is definitely by no means a replacement for a holy mage’s healing or a skilled surgeon, those of dark afflictions can go to those with a Shade for rudimentary medical care.

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Resistance to Mental Intrusion

As the parasite ravages at the mind and soul of its Host, there rests a light amongst the darkness -- of course in a purely metaphorical sense. If a Mental mage were to attempt to enter the mind of one afflicted with a Shade parasite, the intruding mage would near instantly be overwhelmed by the torment occurring in the mind of the Shade, if not worse for the fact the individual can not acclimate to the parasite’s horrors over time as the Host has. While this will not hold back every single last mentalist, many can rely safely on just the Shade’s counterattack on the mental mage to ward off intruders of the mind. However, if this safeguard were to fail then the job of protecting one’s mind would fall entirely upon the shoulders of the Host, having to rely on other techniques to fend off the mentalist.

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Ambered Weaponry

Ambered weaponry is the art of manifesting a weapon into reality through the process of manipulating one’s Amber into an object of his/her choosing. Amber itself is at its pinnacle of strength when connected directly to the Shade manipulating it, and this is the extreme of controlling shape and density of Amber. As a result, the ability to shape Ambered weaponry is only available when the weapon is in direct contact with the Shade that is using the skill. Amber weaponry is a more structured form of Amber manipulation and is more taxing on the user due to the concentration and amount of amber being brought forth from the individual manifesting the weapon. In order for a Shade to shape and control their Amber in such a fine way, two things must first be achieved. First, the Shade parasite must be fairly matured, as the level of manipulation would be too strenuous on the parasite and host. Second, the Shade must also sacrifice the ability to learn and utilize a few other various arts in place of this ability. As a result of both the dedication to mastering one’s gifts granted by the Shade in tandem with the limitations of distance from the caster, weapons and other objects formed from Amber are able to surpass the regular limitation of Amber being as dense as Ferrum. Instead, Amber formed from this ability can in this exception be as dense as steel. However, making Amber this dense makes changing the physical structure of the Amber more difficult, resulting in longer times needed to alter the structure from that of a sword to that of an axe for instance.

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Blanket of Darkness

Among the many abilities of a fully developed Shade, there is one ability which is a coveted skill learned for protection or utility that Shades use to their advantage in situations where light and visibility would be better off gone for the Shade. While it may not be effective in all cases, this ability may be used well if done with careful consideration and deliberation. The Shade would draw forth from a large portion of their Amber and expel it from their own form with force, making a radius of up to four meters around the Shade completely enveloped in an ersatz darkness akin to a night with neither a full nor a new moon in the sky. In exchange for relinquishing a large portion of their own Amber that can no longer be controlled or reclaimed for use, the Shade creates a dyad of benefits. The first and most obvious is that within the sudden darkness, the Shade can obscure their actions and presence from those around them, including those within the unnatural folds of darkness. The second benefit of this is that this darkness can not be blotted out by fire or sunshine, instead requiring either holy arts or the degradation of Amber over time to remove this crepuscule.

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Caliginous Flame

Shade Fathers have the ability to form a flamelike substance not quite unlike true fire, yet not quite the same either, the Caliginous Flame is a gift possessed by only those of the utmost skill with utilizing the boons of the Parasite of Rancour. Composed of Amber and an ever so slight segmented portion of the Shade parasite itself within the caster, this fire formed holds no colorful hues and produces no light. Those that touched this ‘fire’ would not begin to have their body smoulder and burn, but rather the mana within their being would slowly begin to burn away, depleting it until just the faintest presence of mana remained in the person’s reserves. Regardless of whether the person afflicted by this spell is a mage or not, their mana would steadily flake away into nothingness as the combination of the parasite failing to burrow itself within the soul of the victim mixed with its own supply of Amber effectively converts the mana within into Amber, which just as quickly flakes away. While this will not expressly cause physical pain, a fair level of discomfort may occur as this process is an unnatural one. However, this ability alone will never kill as it will never fully deplete a being of mana, nor will it cause any level of physical harm that can even come close to killing. Instead, this ought to be used to severely hinder the target.

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Strength of Night

With the combination of Amber coursing through a Shade’s blood and body comes the added benefit of limited durations of increased strength. Just as Shades can manipulate their Amber to certain degrees to an extent, or as they can have their Amber heal wounds, so does this benefit the skilled Shades’ muscles and physical prowess. This is done passively, or subconsciously on an on demand basis. However just as wielding Amber comes with downsides so too does this boon. After its use it will weaken the Shade depending on the amount of increased strength and duration thus leaving the host more vulnerable to the horrid parasite. In some cases it can even damage the host’s physical body, as Amber forces its way en masse into the muscle, around bone, and beneath flesh. As a result, this increased physical prowess comes at the cost of physical pain and possible bodily harm.

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Marking

An ability unlike most others in a Shade’s arsenal. This simple ability allows for a Shade Father to implant an amber marking, very similar to a tattoo, onto anyone be them shade or otherwise.. The marking has whatever appearance the Shade Father desires, however it must look the same across all people who have it. Non-shades would feel slightly at ease when around the one who gave them the marking, the feeling of dread lessened around them ever so slightly. Those who are shades would feel no different save for if a Shade Father came across them, in which case the Shade Father would be presented with an otherworldly feeling of understanding of from whom that Shade has come, who their creator is or was.

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Amber Imbuement

The first case of Imbuement deals with the injection of Amber into objects and items, such as a sword, a glass sphere, or a stone pillar. When this is done, the object in question may take on more ominous appearances, such as tiny ebon fingers grasping back at a hand holding a sword’s hilt, dimming lights, growing longer odd shaped shadows, or ghastly pitch-black faces reflecting out towards onlookers from a glass sphere. However, all of these effects are purely aesthetic and provide no actual benefits or downsides to the object, except in the cases outlined below. The Amber would have to be replenished every now and then as well, or it'd slowly flake away over time.

The second case of Imbuement is the injection of Amber into magical spells, be them voidal or not. Imbuement is not forced whatsoever upon the Host, and the Host can cast perfectly normal, untainted spells if they so desire. However this is rendered null if the only remaining mana left in the mage’s mana pool is corrupted by Amber, be it one afflicted with a Shade or not. For example, a Host may willingly convert all of their regular mana to Amber, which will result in all of their spells cast to be imbued as well and bear the effects of imbuement. These effects are outlined below.

The final case in which Imbuement occurs is when a Host utilizes their gift to corrupt another’s mana pool into Amber, just as the Shade passively does to their own. In order to do this, physical contact between either the Host and the victim, or the Host’s physically manifested Amber and the victim must be maintained, larger amounts of mana converted taking a longer time to convert. As the Host converts the victim’s mana pool, the Host can either draw forth and utilize this Amber in physical manifestation as their own tendrils, or can let this tainted mana settle and lay latent within the victim. When this corrupted mana is left within though, the victim would feel a sense of dread, growing more or less depending on the amount of mana converted. Additionally, the victim would automatically have the next few spells he or she casts be imbued with Amber, regardless of if they are infected with a Shade parasite or not. This effect will last as long as Amber remains in the mana pool of the victim, naturally replenishing with fresh mana over time. A fully corrupted mana pool would take a week OOCly to replenish with no additional casting performed. As a result, the only way to remove this corrupted Amber would be to either expel it by draining one’s mana pool willingly, or to wait for the corrupted mana to cycle out and be replaced by fresh, untainted mana, much akin to the digestive system passing on food.

The following effects are caused when Amber is imbued into a spell of the respective magic type.

• Arcane Alteration

-Transfiguration: Objects altered with the magic will hold a stygian, black hue to them for a while, such as staining a stone black or a stick emitting a faint dark aura. Wards and abjurations would visibly hold a dark grey or black shimmer, akin to powder floating in the air. Enchantments imbued with Amber are unchanged, but rather any mana gems that have their mana corrupted will hold Amber-imbued effects on the spells.

- Translocation: Objects that have been imbued with Amber become easier to store, can be stored for longer and can be withdrawn more easily. Additionally for half-translocation spells the visible distortion formed would be altered to be a black smog. In turn, these objects would cause a sense of dread due to the Amber imbued in the objects, varying depending on how much of the mana is corrupted. So while casting may be marginally more effective, the caster must cope with any adverse effects from the Amber.

- Voidal Shifting: Shades are able to carry their manifested Amber with them as they shift, due to it being counted as ‘part’ of them. Additionally, shifting causes a black aura to permeate where the Shade has left.

- Telekinesis: Controlled objects gain a darkened shimmer around them, with black hues trailing the object.

• Arcane Illusion

- Sensory Illusion: Capable of pressing darker and more dreadful illusions, the Shade can draw upon their reams of realistic Nightmares to create horrendous tricks of the senses. Additionally, as in the case of mental magic, the Shade parasite has a resistance to the magic due to the parasite’s constant presence in the host’s mind, and the parasite will attempt to ward off any effort beyond its own to affect the host’s mind.

- Mental Magic:

• Arcane Evocation

- Fire: Evoked fire imbued with Amber will appear ebon and viscous, the flames flickering less quickly than usual. Additionally any evoked fire will no longer give off light, rather emitting a dense black smoke above where it forms. Alongside this, the hiss and crackle of a flame would be gone, in its place an austere silence formed as if sound was dampened near the flame. However this will not affect the fire in any other adverse or positive ways.

- Water: Ice, water and vapour are all darker in colour, appearing ink-like. Oddly enough, this evoked water is unable to conduct electricity, nor do things dissolve particularly well in it.

- Air: Evoked air will hold a dark hue about it, akin to coal dust floating in the wind.

- Earth: The created earth is dark and dry, and black crystals similar to the Shade Gem in appearance can be formed.

- Electrical: Evoked electricity is jet black, the cracks and hisses of heat emitting from the electricity removed in place of an eerie, unnatural silence in its place.

- Conjuration: Conjured creatures are stygian black even if they never were when studied. They bleed a dark ichor, and their bites send waves of dread through their victims with every mouthful. A terrible aura of black follows their movements, and they seem to hold a bizarre disobedience in them. An order to safely pick a infant up off of the ground may be ignored, the conjured beast opting instead to maim or maul the infant instead.

- Arcanism: Arcanism is made darker and more opaque, looking more like stone than it would glass.

- Celestialism: Incompatible.

• Deific

- Shamanism: Spirits can see the darkness in the Shade’s spirit, and thus normal spirits will avoid them like the plague. The older and larger the corruption on the soul, the greater the blemish on the Shaman's spirit.

- Paladinism: Incompatible.

- Druidism: Incompatible to be made Shades. However if a Druid’s mana pool is corrupted for any purpose, then when they try to cast any druidic spell the various forces of nature would actively try to defend itself, ranging from vines lashing out at the druid to nearby animals attacking the druid. However this will quickly subside as a Druid’s mana pool would rapidly refresh the corrupted mana back into untainted mana.

- Runesmithing: Elements created may have the same effects applied to them as Evocation elements.

• Dark

- Frost Witches: Manipulated ice may grow dark and ominous in appearance.

- Mysticism: Ectoplasm imbued with Amber becomes darker than usual, and all things that deal with this darkened Amber release the same, dread-causing effect.

- Blood Magic: Magics enhanced by blood magic are also affected by the Shade effects (if Amber is imbued).

- Naztherak: Malflame imbued with Amber would add an additional dread-inducing effect on top of any abilities already caused by Malflame, as well as bearing a black, flickering outline around the neon colored flame.

- Dark Shamanism: Same as Voidal Evocations in terms of elementalism.

• Voidal Feats and Artificery

- Voidal Displacement: Portals created with Amber-imbued mana would produce an overwhelming sense of horror and dread when created, once it is set up the portals would take you to more dangerous places then without amber imbued in it normally.

- Atronach Forging: Atronachs created with Amber-imbued mana will take on the effects of their evocation’s alteration due to Amber. Additionally, any orders given may be slightly modified such as a Conjuration’s may be.

- Cognatism: The host suffers from a horrid trinity of minds: their own, the voidal horror within, and the cruel demonic parasite. When utilizing the magic, the voidal horror may have its gifts blocked out by the parasite at times in an effort to further weaken the host’s mental ability.

Parasite Creation

The Birthing of a Parasite - Intent known and made clear, it is the inward focusing of one’s desires upon the writhing worm within their soul. As a cell splits, so too can the parasite, yet rather than being a copy it is an altogether new creature whose consciousness is granted from the Shade Gem itself. This squirming and screaming cretin is then pulled from within oneself to be abruptly and forcefully inserted into the soul of one willing, or unwilling, victim.

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*A Shade must be Tier 5 and have an accepted TA to create new shades.
*A Shade must be taught how to create a new parasite before doing so.

Tier Progression

Tier Zero

The development stage of a Shade parasite. At this stage there are no abilities, only the growing presence of the being on the host’s soul. During this stage the Host’s mana begins to convert to Amber in trace amounts, and the presence of the parasite will cause maladies such as seizures, fatigue, vomiting, or nausea as the body acclimates to the Parasite of Rancour. This stage lasts one week from the birth of the Shade parasite.

Tier One

The first time the Parasite will be able to do anything of considerable consequence. At this stage the Host will begin to be able to actually manipulate Amber to a poor extent. Alongside this, the Shade can corrupt mana into Amber, although this process is very inefficient even on themselves, let alone other objects and beings. Additionally, the Shade will receive the most basic of passive boons from the Shade parasite, including the resistance to disease, the difficulty of invading their mind, and the so-called “early awakening” from unconsciousness and the passive ability of Masking. The parasite will force the use of Amber for Caliginous Healing and staving off illness. Finally, the Shade parasite is no longer considered a “Hatchling” anymore. This stage lasts one week until hitting Tier Two.

Tier Two

The Shade at this point is now more matured, and the victim can now manipulate and corrupt Amber to a finer extent, albeit still with a fair level of inefficiency. A Shade can also imbue objects and spells with Amber at this stage. This stage lasts two weeks until hitting Tier Three.

Tier Three

The Shade can begin to learn stronger abilities, namely being able to toggle the passive version of Caliginous Healing. Strength of Night can be learned now as well. Furthermore, Ambercrafting becomes possible, and forms of Ambered Weaponry are available as well, along with Marking. Entering the mind of the Shade at this point for a mentalist becomes significantly more difficult at this stage, This stage lasts five weeks until hitting Tier Four. Furthermore, this is the stage where a “Half-Formed” Shade is capped time-wise and skill-wise.

Tier Four

The Shade is practically fully grown at this stage, and the host experiences a constant tug at their very soul from the parasite, be it positive or negative in nature. The Shade can begin to learn abilities such as Active Caliginous Healing and Caliginous Flame. This stage lasts five weeks before the Shade is able to ascend to Tier Five.

Tier Five

A true agent of darkness and tenebrific horror. A Shade at this stage is practically irrevocably attached to the soul of the host. Fully grown, the Shade can learn all of its abilities and can thereafter become a Shade Father, assuming they have garnered an ample collection of knowledge concerning the curse and it’s finer workings. Such enables the T5 Shade to, assuming they have been taught how to birth a new parasite with Parasite Creation, apply for and receive a TA. Once a TA is achieved the T5 Shade is considered to be a Shade Father.

Magic Slots

Unlike most magics, Shade magic can hold different abilities available to those that practice the boons granted by the Shade depending on how many other magics they practice. Akin to how Druidism has subtypes within itself, Shade magic has sub-skills that can be learned only at the cost of other beneficial arts, be them voidal or dark. While an independent application is not needed for these skills, they must be learned all the same and some can not be learned depending on how many magic slots are left “free” to use. For instance, a Shade that practices only Shade magic will be able to use all of the abilities below, assuming they meet the time requirements as well. However, a Shade that is also a Fire Evocationist, Water Evocationist, and Transfigurationist may only be able to learn some of the abilities below.

One Slot

Mana Corruption. Resistances (Mental/illness), Passive Healing, Amber Manipulation, Imbuement.

Two Slots

Mana Corruption. Resistances (Mental/illness), Passive Healing, Active Healing, Amber Manipulation, Imbuement, Ambercrafting, Amber Weapons, Marking.

Three Slots

Mana Corruption. Resistances (Mental/illness), Passive Healing, Amber Manipulation, Imbuement, Ambercrafting, Amber Weapons, Active Healing, Marking, Strength of Night, Blanket of Darkness, Caliginous Flame, Parasite Creation.

Effects on Users

Creatures and Shade

• Wights

- See Amber Imbuement in Spells.

• Strigae

- Can be a Shade with no benefits or magic.

• Zar'akal

- Able to use Shade normally.

• Machine Spirits

- Able to use Shade normally.

• Afflicted

- Incompatible.

• Izkuthii

- Incompatible.

• Azdrazi

- Incompatible.

• Soulless Creatures

- Incompatible.

• Soul Tree Druii

- Incompatible.

• Frost Witches

- Able to use Shade normally.

Mental Detriments

When the Shade parasite burrows into the soul of the host, it also burrows into the consciousness by extension. As a result, every living moment, be it waking or resting, the Shade parasite will be nagging and pestering at the host’s mind. At first, this pestilence is minor and can be compared to spending a day with someone you greatly dislike, but over time the irritation grows and becomes more intense and unignorable. What at first may start as faint whispers every now and then of words that may upset the host will turn more cruel and relentless, becoming a constant stream of negative thoughts. Minor frights when sleeping, be it dreaming of being chased or another thing feared, will eventually turn into night long terror. The faint sight of a shadowy being in the corner of one’s eyes will turn into full on hallucinations as the mind fails to distinguish the false from the real, slowly whittling at the mental integrity of the host. While some precautions can be taken to hamper these ailments, true cessation can never be done, leaving always at least the slightest whispers in the mind of those affected by the Shade.

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Physical Detriments

The physical changes in a Shade tend to be less encompassing, but are still noticeable and considered with those afflicted by the veritable demon. The most obvious is that those cursed will exhibit more gaunt, tired features such as bags beneath the eyes or sunken expressions, in addition to having growing jerky, erratic movements due to a mixture of the parasite’s harassment of the mind, and usual lack of sleep. While those are the most obvious, there are at times physical effects due to the Amber within a Shade affecting the body. Despite how much a Shade acclimates to Amber, Amber is an unnatural, twisted substance, and its presence within the host causes negative side effects at times. Some of these effects include nausea due to a mixture of the Shade parasite’s attack on the mind and Amber within, vomiting, seizures, or other maladies akin to the incredibly sick. While these consequences can never be fully avoided, the ever so often manipulation of a Shade’s Amber pool and expulsion of the sickly black substance can ease these symptoms off for a while if done in careful consideration. A Shade that does this must take care not to relinquish too much of their Amber too often, nor too little, as the body acclimates and adjusts to having Amber within it to the point where having too much will result in the ill effects listed before due to mass amounts, and too little resting within too often will result in the body and parasite’s intrinsic instincts gained from the presence of Amber, such as Caliginous Healing, to react poorly on the host, causing issues such as fatigue, weakness, and poor healing. So, one afflicted with the curse will experience a mixture of adverse consequences from both the toll the parasite itself takes on the mind and body indirectly, and a direct effect from the presence, or overdone lack of, Amber within the body.

Furthermore, due to the inherently corrupt nature of Amber, if a Shade frequents around one or more persons for extended periods of time with little relapses of time in between being near them, then the Amber within a Shade can give a minor, nearly negligible effect of dread and irritability to those nearby. However, this would take extensive amounts of time with a Shade to begin to even be noticed.

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Effects on the use of Other Magics

Aside from the effects of imbuement listed above, those afflicted with a Shade parasite will always experience some level of difficulty in controlling their magical arts, be it voidal or not. This is due to the mental strain caused by the parasite, and the effect on the mage’s magic can be ranging from minor loss of control of their casting to greater issues, such as full out voidal disconnection, spell failure, or unintended results from the magic, such as forming a larger blob of ice intended for a water evocationist, or causing worse effects to a soul puppetry victim than desired. While these effects will never cause direct harm to the host, they can be devastating if they occur at the wrong time.

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Takeovers

The most important thing that a Shade will do to is not only the above, but also the result of doing this constantly to the host. When the host’s mind is numb from sleepless nights, and their heart shattered from the overwhelming negative emotions, the parasite can strike at the mind with the intent to wrench control away from the host in favor of their own control. If successful, which can occur much easier when the host is emotionally or mentally vulnerable, the Shade will do two things: the first being whatever it so pleases depending on the personality of the Shade itself, and the second being whatever may further undermine the host’s core integrity, also dependant on the personality of the Shade and host. Additionally, one of these takeovers of the malicious nature will not happen in a public setting, and are more likely to be in private

Furthermore, while most takeovers are malicious and harmful in intent and nature, there are times where a takeover can be beneficial, not in the sense that the Shade will go around handing out roses and hugs, but in the sense that it will be done for the preservation and wellbeing of the host and parasite alike. For example, if one afflicted with a Shade is rendered unconscious in combat, the parasite will perform a takeover to force the host to come to consciousness slightly quicker than if it didn’t interfere, or if the host is in mortal condition the Shade will take over to get the host out of danger and deal with any possible threats. The reason for this is double, one being that the parasite when not in control does not need to worry about things such as sleep and the downsides that it causes upon the host, and two that the parasite’s natural instinct gives it a slight edge in these situations as it tries to keep itself alive. However following one of these situations, the parasite can take over with malicious intent much easier, as it often will try to keep control past the situation.

When a takeover occurs, the “tell” of a Shade will not occur unless the magic itself is actively being used. So, one that is taken over will not always have blackened eyes or veins, unless they are using or manipulating Amber. Furthermore, unlike in the past a Shade parasite will not have innate knowledge of all of the abilities available to the Shade, but only access to manipulating and converting mana into Amber without prior knowledge or tutelage on the matter. So, a Shade that never received a lesson can never cast, say, Blanket of Darkness, but is able to make tendrils and corrupt another’s mana into Amber. Furthermore, the ability of a Shade during a takeover is limited to the same restrictions that the host is, aside from being slightly more efficient in casting the known abilities due to the innate connection between Shades and Amber.

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Amber Weaknesses

While any living being that is stabbed by a golden knife is in for a bad time, Shades also face the maladies of gold affecting their Amber along with normal weapons. While gold is not an instant destroyer of Amber, it is a material that is able to cut through Amber with much more ease than any other object, such as iron or steel. While more dense Amber structures and formations will cut with more difficulty, instead of it being akin to cutting through iron, it’d be more akin to cutting through flesh and bone, given that gold has a natural advantage over corrupted mana.

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Interaction with Souls

Inferior Souls

Due to the intricate nature of the mind and spirit, the Shade curse does not affect all creatures equally or similarly. When the question of inferior souls - the souls of wolves, cats, parrots, or even snails - comes into play, the Shade curse affects such creatures and their souls differently.

First, creatures with inferior souls are able to be afflicted with the Shade curse. Despite this, this does not make the animal a hyper intelligent killing machine, but rather causes various behavioral and mental issues for the animal. Due to the chaotic nature of the Shade parasite most if not all animals will begin to suffer from the most horrendous effects of the curse, experiencing seizures, hallucinations, and other maladies. After the gestation period however, the parasite would be able to easily purloin command from the beast, effectively replacing the beast’s animalistic instincts with its own. This will make once loyal pet dogs quick to disobey their masters or tamed horses to buck and kick at their riders. However one ought to not misinterpret this significantly more violent nature to be newfound intelligence or understanding, as the Shade infected animal would still be limited to its significantly instinctual mental capacity. Because of the relatively weak willed spirit of the animal, it is very unlikely that once the Shade parasite domineers the being’s mind that the original soul will ever muster the strength to rise against and reclaim control of its form, not that the animal would know any better of what has transpired anyhow. The effects would be similar for animals that have their mana pools corrupted into Amber but not their souls. Unlike fully cursed animals though, the animal will not remain in such a state as the impure corrupted mana flakes away and is replenished quickly over time. As a result, a dog for instance may suffer a seizure and whimper in fear for an hour but then just as quickly return to normal.

As simple as it sounds, the challenge itself arrives when infesting an animal with a Shade parasite. While small animals are incredibly easy to contaminate with the curse, it gets significantly harder with larger animals. Horses and deer may struggle and try to flee, their instincts kicking in and sensing something is wrong with the corruption entering them. Even larger beasts, such as drakes and whales, would most likely flee or fight back resiliently against either being infected with a Shade parasite or even having their mana pools corrupted. This makes any effort to wreak havoc with larger animals hardly worth the effort, especially given that the animal would soon act sporadically and may just as easily seek to kill the one that cursed them even more than before they were tainted. So this renders it pointless to purposely curse larger animals for the sake of havoc and destruction - unless the source of this in question quickly flees - as it’d be a challenging task with little reward.

In terms of abilities, an animal bearing the Shade curse does not exhibit anything remarkable as one with a superior soul may exhibit, such as forming tendrils with edged tips. However the animal does benefit minorly, as they will gain a minor form of remedial healing from any sickness or wounds they suffer. An example would be if a cat were to cut itself while fighting with another cat, the one burdened with the venerable demon would have faint traces of Amber close its wounds and begin to heal to a greater effect than if it were to heal naturally. However this ability is only so limited, as it is automatic and intrinsic to the creature when it is injured and can not be shut off for any purpose, giving away its true nature if the beast were to be injured. Furthermore, it will not stave off death, for most lethal wounds will be far too much for the parasite to remedy on its own.

For simplicity’s sake, plants are unable to bear a Shade parasite. Furthermore, corrupting the latent mana in a plant will not produce any ill effects for the plant aside from any Druii attempting to commune with it. If a Druid attempted to commune with an animal with a corrupted mana pool, they’d be able to notice the animal was in a great deal of distress and suffering, the effect only increasing depending on how much of the beast’s mana is corrupted. If it were the case where the animal was infected with the Shade parasite entirely, then the Druid would be unable to commune effectively with the beast given the disruptive nature of the parasite upon the soul. Instead, akin to a mind mage entering the mind of a Shade, the Druid would almost if not always be met with horrid visions and screams the animal was enduring. Deeper levels of communion would cause nightmarish inflections upon the Druid, the chance for reprieve slim if at all possible for the animal and attuned Druid during the Communion.

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Souls Housed Outside of the Body

For Wights, there are some minor differentiations for how a Shade parasite affects the creature. Given that the parasite is a blemish upon the soul, and the soul is not encased within the actual form of the being, but rather externally in phylacteries. As a result, any attempts to purge the Shade parasite from the soul can not be done on the moving form, but rather only on the phylactery. Additionally due to the already corrupt nature of these objects and the souls they hold, holy magics would first destroy and damage them rather than purge the Shade parasite. Thus, purging the parasite of a Wight is nigh impossible, as the creature would first be killed, then be “saved” from the curse. When the phylactery of one of these creatures is destroyed or otherwise ceases to exist, so does the Shade parasite appended to the soul of the victim due to the severely limited state of the Soul following the destruction of its home.

Wights will not gain any benefit from remedial healing due to the non-mortal nature of a wight’s physical form. When husked however, they can choose to replicate this ability if they actively will it, but it is more exerting as it is less innate in the Shade parasite’s nature since it will not default to this behavior. Finally, as for the residual physical Amber in these beings bodies it is ingrained within their form, be it draughted, husked, or their regular selves.

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Curing Shade

While it is incredibly difficult to cure a Shade parasite, it is possible. To keep things simple, the requirements for the number of holy mages will be listed below if the parasite is not being removed by a Shade Father following the violation of a tenant or willingly removed by a Shade Father.

• Tier “Zero”

- 1 T4+.

• Tier One

- 1 T5 OR 2 T4.

• Tier Two

- 2 T5.

• Tier Three

- 2 T5 & 1 T4.

• Tier Four

- Incurable by Deific Mages.

• Tier Five

- Incurable by Deific Mages.

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Last Updated
19/5/2019 at 20:54

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