Shadows (las Sombras) are, in Antiterra, an antagonistic force that takes cities by consent, and, in Vala, the dark remnants of people who died by violence or magic, bound to the place where they fell.
This name refers to different figures in 2 worlds; the versions are not merged.
| Type | Force (Antiterra); creature (Vala) |
| Worlds | Antiterra · Vala |
| Spanish entry | Sombra |
In Antiterra
The Shadows capture invisible cities not by assault but by consent: they make people choose them as their path. Their law, recorded with only moderate confidence: destroying their manifestations without changing human choices is ineffective. A captured city is redeemed only when its inhabitants freely reject the shadow.
Their origin, number, and any proper name they bear are not recorded.
In Vala
Origin and nature
A shadow separates from the body “in death by violence or by magic” and stays bound to the place where the person fell, repeating what happened. On a corrupted battlefield of the Valley of the Tempest a whole swarm was seen doing so: “Again and again, they re-enact the tragedy of Jax.” Fifteen were counted on that single field. They are said to come from dead warriors whose companions stayed to sleep at the foot of the valley.
They are “not very intelligent”, only a merma (depletion) of their former functions.
Description
A shadow is darkness with a shape; left alone, it grows darker and more dangerous. Shadows have no body. Ordinary weapons pass through them; only magical harm reaches them. Their touch drains rather than wounds: “all the strength goes out of your limbs.”
They gather in swarms. They also emerge from sarcophagi and from water.
Defenses
- Water: shadows “do not cross water.”
- Sunglasses: shadows “ignore you completely” when one wears them.
The Plane of Shadows and shadow-stuff
Shadows emanate from the Plane of Shadows, a plane reachable from Vala. At least at one point the connection is sealed by magical barriers and a dimensional lock. Inside the plane, one who keeps moving is incorporeal.
At least one Scimitar of Shadows, a weapon forged of shadow, was found by the Wordbreakers in the treasure of the Tower Ob Caligni.
Hierarchy
Shadows obey vampires, who use them as troops.
Conflicting accounts
- One account holds that shadows do not cross water; another saw a shadow emerge from water.
Open questions
- Whether the water accounts reflect two kinds of shadow, two kinds of water, or emerging versus crossing.
- What shadows are at bottom, and whether every violent or magical death makes one.
- Whether a warrior killed by a shadow becomes one in turn.
- Why sunglasses work.
- Who sealed the Plane of Shadows, and where; how vampires command shadows; the Scimitar’s form and effect.