Micheru

Shadow

• A Brief Note

  The Shadowlyng started with Trench, I've taken it upon myself to update and modernize my concept of what the Shadowlyng should be, in a modern setting. Those who go by Trench's writings strictly are perfectly welcome to do so, and can consider my work a different 'bloodline', if they like.
  
  Secondly, to play a Shadowlyng, your character must be created as one, or turned by an existing Shadowlyng. If you wish to play one, please either request it from an existing Shadowlyng player, or contact myself or Trench OOCly.
  
  Additionally, to know this information ICly, your character will have to learn it in roleplay.

• The Shadowlyng

  At their core, Shadowlyngs are born of shadow, like an elemental is born of their element. They're formed out of the soul forges of the Dark Realm, within the Demiplane of Darkness.
  Mykael, the God of Darkness, is their father figure, having forged the race out of the realm and out of himself, and the more powerful Shadowlyngs are directly descended from him, father to son.
  
  Body
  
  Physically, a Shadowlyng is (typically) a humanoid form with two legs, two arms, and so on-- like a regular furre or human or something, but their form is more malleable than that of a standard humanoid. Within, the Shadowlyng's physical form is a field of darkness that serves as their true self. This darkness is extremely malleable and can basically be placed in any vessel, animate or not. The outer skin and mortal shell of the Shadowlyng serves many purposes however. It serves as a shield from daylight that would damage their essense (conversely, artificial light or light by flame doesn't hurt them), and it allows them to live amongst the other races of man and furre. Without their vessel, the Shadowlyng can't live in the mortal world for long.
  
  If a Shadowlyng's mortal vessel is destroyed beyond repair, their essence can be collected in physical vessels (ceramic jars/urns/etc) until a new one can be created, or they will be destroyed, and return to the Demiplane of Darkness. Upon a 'death', the Shadowlyng experiences a harrowing journey through the Darkness, until they reach the Dark Realm, as the lesser, hungry shadows with no mind to themselves claw at the weakened Shadowlyng. Shadowlyngs with strong wills, strong personalities, or strong powers, can make the journey intact, but younger and weaker Shadowlyngs, or Shadowlyngs who are hindered severely, may be swallowed back up by the Darkness, and never re-emerge, so death is always potentially permanent, unless the Shadowlyng is powerful enough to master the Demiplane of Darkness, as Mykael, Trench and Micheru have. After surviving a 'death', it can take a Shadowlyng days or weeks to fully recover, before they're able to re-enter material space.
  
  The Shadowlyng is powerful by their very nature. They can feel through the shadows like they're extensions of self, so it can be nearly impossible to spy on them, and they can materialize the Darkness from within themselves into physical manifestations or energy forms, creating weapons, armor, or even clothes. Many Shadowlyngs simply forgoe clothing and make their vessels simply appear to be clothed. The body of a Shadowlyng is malleable from an appearance standpoint, but full form shapeshifting is a gift that not all Shadowlyngs have. Micheru has been known to straighten himself out after a fight by grabbing one of his ears, and yanking, stretching his body out like a rubber band, and then releasing to snap himself back in place-- with his clothes and fur straightened like he hadn't just been in a brawl.
  
  However, damage is still damage. A Shadowlyng who lost a limb in a fight can re-form the limb easily over several hours, but that limb worth of energy will still be missing, and it will be apparent, and may manifest itself in mortal-sympathetic behavior such as limping. Damage to the physical vessel may take longer to heal if the Shadowlyng is weakened; after a horrible series of battles, Micheru once went without an arm for a week, leading to his vessel's stump to begin rotting. He had to cut away at the rotted tissue before he could re-form his arm as good as new. Many Shadowlyngs have scars or physical bents to their body from defining moments over the course of their life-- a broken nose may stay broken if the blow that broke it was life defining. Micheru's middle fingers were severed to make up for dishonors he committed, and they stay gone -- often this isn't the choice of the Shadowlyng for it to stay that way, it's just how their vessel's true form remains.
  
  Flaws
  
  The greater weaknesses of a Shadowlyng is light. The light of the sun will burn away the essense of the Shadowlyng, and younger and weaker Shadowlyngs will be weakened by the sun. Concentrated light can do physical damage to the Shadowlyng's vessel, and a cage of magical light will immobilize a Shadowlyng. Holy light-- holy magic-- will do the same sort of damage to a Shadowlyng and their vessel that acid or fire will to most anything.
  Those descended from Micheru's line are also weakened by an over-abundance of Good Cheer, and happiness, but are strengthened by darker emotions-- rage, sorrow, and passion.
  
  Shadowlyngs are, by nature, hollower than 'real' men and furres. All Shadowlyngs have a hole in their heart, a lacuna, something missing. A Shadowlyng can never be content, and will always be seeking something to fill the vortex within themselves. Micheru fills himself with greed-- always taking, never giving. He collects things, places and people. Trench fills himself with conquest and domination, and was never satasfied with the expanse of his empire or the size of his crown. Other Shadowlyngs, such as Liliasha, can never find anything to fill their gaping hole and simply turn off from pleasures. A Shadowlyng can never be completely satasfied, and any contentment is passing and temporary, so they're always looking for the next thing to try and plug themselves with.
  
  The emotions of a Shadowlyng are shallower than those of men and furres, save for the big three-- rage, sorrow and passion. A Shadowlyng may be happy to see someone, but they'll never be ecstatic. A Shadowlyng may experience joy in the arms of a loved one, but it will be passing. A Shadowlyng may be polite, sociable and generally positive in society, but they'll never be excessively outgoing, and being overly so will exhaust them like runnning at a sprint exhausts a mortal.
  
  Powers
  
  These are not all of the possible powers of the Shadowlyngs, because the Shadowlyng is by nature malleable, and each is differently blessed by Mykael. Sometimes a Shadowlyng will develop a power no other Shadowlyng has seen before. Not all Shadowlyngs have all of these powers, and only elder Shadowlyngs will have most.
  
  Shadow Sense / Transference: As stated before, Shadowlyngs can feel through the shadows. This extends ten to fifteen feet, and allows them to detect people watching them. Strong Shadowlyngs can transfer a portion of their essence into the shadow to interact with the person in it-- picking their pocket, whispering to them, or shoving them out.
  
  Shadow Forging: The ability to create physical objects or energy forms out of their essence or any other dark source. Most Shadowlyngs can do this to an extent-- creating their own clothes or dolling themselves up, but not all can make arms, armor, and the like.
  
  Shadowshifting: The ability to manipulate ones' form. Most Shadowlyngs can do this to an extent, but not all can do full transformations. Micheru has used this to change his gender, give himself wings, or transform his fur into scales, in the past, but he's never been able to fully change himself into another creature-- such as a dragon. Full form shifting is rare, but not unheard of.
  
  Shadowstepping: The ability to enter a shadow in one place and exit at another, traveling across the Quasiplane of Shadow (A minor plane connected with the Demiplane of Darkness). The Shadowlyng must know where they're going to reach it. It takes approximately 1/50th the time to reach it would by foot. So, a hundred day journey on foot could be done in two days in the Shadow. This can take a lot out of the Shadowlyng, especially younger ones. Short distance Shadowstepping (within the same city) is negligable, but the further you go, the more exhausting it is.
  
  Corrosive Fog: This ability is especially prevalent amongst those of Micheru's bloodline. The Essence of the Shadowlyng gives off a thick white fog that when released, burns anything touching it. This is useful when taking damage-- as it will bubble away at any weapon plunged into the Shadowlyng. The fog doesn't hurt the Shadowlyng, but another Shadowlyng's fog will hurt another Shadowlyng.
  
  
  History
  
  Mykael was born within the Darkness. Before him, all that was, was a morass of mindless shadow, clawing at itself and separating from itself. When he awoke within it, he saw into the other realms, and from what he saw, he built a bastion of himself. The Dark Realm came to be, a massive and near endless fortress-castle floating within the Dark. From the stronger shadows that mindlessly scraped at its outer walls, he created sons. The Shadowlyng were born, and Mykael gave them from as he had given himself.
  
  As Shadow is hungry, the sons of Mykael were sent across the realms, to conquer and build empires. The strongest of these sons was Trench Wolfhound, who forged his Dark Alliance, bringing tribes, clans and nations of monsters together to forge the Dark Realm into what it is today.

• Variations

  Similar to how Shadowlyngs differ in power from Lyng to Lyng, each Shadowlyng is also born with various genetic traits. These only apply to newly created Shadowlyngs, not people who become Shadowlyngs. Certain traits hold true to certain genetic lines, and certain traits are considered to be good or bad omens.
  
  Royal:
  These traits are considered to be inherent in the Shadowlyng royal lines, and imply that the Shadowlyng who bears them is destined to be a leader.
  
  Burning Eyes: This Shadowlyng has cracks in her iris that emulate the facets of a precious gem, but within is a slowly glowing ember, the orange color of fire. This is seen as a sign of immense willpower.
  
  Broken Halo: Similar to the above, but the color of the Shadowlyng's iris extends out into the sclera wavily, like a halo outwards. More powerful Broken Halo'd Shadowlyngs have a faint glow behind their eyes, from within the eyesocket. This is considered a sign of great magical potential.
  
  Bladed Grin: The Shadowlyng, regardless of race, has several rows of teeth, except that their teeth don't match the teeth of their race, but instead appear to be sharklike, and incredibly sharp. If teeth are lost, more grow. This is believed to be a sign of great hunger for power.
  
  Good Omens:
  
  Batlike Wings: A great pair of batlike wings rise up out of the back of the Shadowlyng, with bladed talons extending from the ribs of the bone structure of them. The leathery flesh of the wings is incredibly dense, and hard to puncture. These are taken as a sign of immense independence.
  
  Amethyst Eyes: The irises of the Shadowlyng are amethyst-like, with a faint reflective sheen to them. This is a sign of Micheru's bloodline, but also of great potential in the political arena.
  
  Crimson Eyes: Eyes that glow faintly crimson, or are fully dark red. These are seen as a gift from Mykael and imply great physical resiliance.
  
  Bad Omens:
  ((Bad omens can be used to create character flaws or allow for an additional power))
  
  White Eyes: A Shadowlyng with white irises is seen as weakly bred, and will have to fight to gain anything in Shadowlyng culture. Most white eyed Shadowlyngs end up leaving the Shadowlyngs, but the few who stick it out and rise to power are seen as having overcome a curse.
  
  Split Tongue: A Shadowlyng born with a split tongue is seen as touched by Demons, rather than blessed by Mykael. They'll be treated with pity, but will be mistrusted in positions of power. If they become a trusted figure in the Shadowlyng community, they'll always be watched by others for potential betrayal.
  
  Blunt Teeth: Most Shadowlyngs, even ones who are Trys'tet or Humanoid in shape, have very sharp teeth. Those born with blunted teeth are considered unfit for the web of hostilities that Shadowlyng culture is built on, and may be treated like a redheaded step child at best, or a burden at worst.

• Pregnancy, Birth, & Childhood

  Pregnancy
  
  During the early stages of pregnancy, a Shadowlyng will immediately feel the seed of their child building within their core essence. At this time, the child is still a part of them. If they die and are sent back to The Dark, the seed has the same chance of survival as them, it still has no mind of its own, as it is just a growing orb of energy, the same as any of the mindless shadows in The Demiplane of Darkness, but pacified.
  
  Two Weeks in, the energy ball will connect with the Dark Realm's well of souls, and it will call a soul into it, whichever is the strongest and able to bite, claw and climb above its siblings to reach out across the realms. This soul will assume the seed, and grow into it. Three weeks in, the seed will split, causing the Shadowlyng to vomit out a gob of congealed shadowmatter.
  
  By the end of the fourth week, the child will have formed a rudimentary vessel, this will be representative of what a fetus of the parents vessels apparent race looks like-- a feline appareled Shadowlyng will create a Feline fetus, a Rat Shadowlyng and a Horse Shadowlyng will be a weird hybrid of the two. The parent's essence will be able to protect the child's vessel and essence, and interact with it.
  
  Over the next two months, the Shadowlyng child will grow in mind activity and in physical activity, growing hair, eyes, teeth and talons. By the end of the third month, the child will be born. While Shadowlyng pregnancies are only 1/3rd the length of most human/furre pregnancies, they can only be done once per twelve months, as the birth takes a great deal of essence from the parent, leaving them drained for weeks.
  
  Birth
  
  Birth requires the parent to enter a lightless room. A small chamber like a coffin or a locked closet will do, so long as no light enters. Even artificial light will hurt the newborn for the first twenty four hours of its life. The mother will open their essence to the air, by rending their vessel open, and drawing out the child. With no uterus to call from, the child will exit through the stomach. If the mother is unable to rip herself open, the child will begin clawing and biting until they burst free like a parasite in a horror movie.
  
  The child is still excessively weak to light, and the smallest beam of it on their vessel's flesh for a whole day will result in a permanent scar, full on light exposure leads to death. The mother faces similar risks during the first day, while the child feeds from her essence, leaving her susceptible to light as well.
  
  For the first day, the child will feed, consuming the parents essence, while strengthening their own vessel and essence, enough to enter the world. Any resistance to this feeding will cause an animal response with claws and teeth. After 24 hours, the child will be coherent and officially born.
  
  Childhood
  
  Newborn Shadowlyngs will be fully reliant on their parents, as their motor skills aren't strong at that point, and they won't be able to speak, but they will have a measure of intelligence. Within a month or so, the child will be able to toddle about, like a two year old, and will be able to speak in simple words.
  
  Roughly six months translates to five years of age for a Shadowlyng, and the child will be able to do all of the things most children of that age can, but may be a little more eloquent, may be a little wilier and smarter, and will be able to use one or two Shadowlyng abilities, as those things come online.
  
  From there, things will begin to slow down until the child begins to age the same as most other children.

• Shades & Minor Shadows

  Within the Dark Realm and other outlying islands in the mire of the Demiplane of Darkness, there are more sentient creatures that don't have the mastery of Shadowlyngs. They aren't powerful demi-elementals that live in the Shadow, they're just citizens who live in the realms owned by the Shadowlyngs.
  
  When the Dark Realm and affiliated realms came to exist, so did these minor denizens, the Shades and other creatures made of Shadow, who came to worship the masters of their realms as Gods. Entire tribes of Shades have been born out of the various duties they fulfill. While a Shadowlyng is never going to do menial work, menial work must still be done, so it falls to the mortals of the Demiplanes.
  
  Shades aren't sired, they aren't born, they just come into existence when they're needed - when a task isn't completed that should be. Most Shades are content to live this way, and so they rarely gather a Shadowlyng's attention, unless the Shadowlyng needs them for something, or they need the Shadowlyng to make an executive decision.
  
  However, once in a while, a Shade with a strong mind is born, and claws its way into recognition or even respect by its Shadowlyng masters. These Shades often become squires, servants or loyal companions to shadowlyngs, with the potential to become a Shadowlyng after a lifetime of service and loyalty.
  
  Shades and other minor shadows appear as black fleshed faceless entities within the Dark Realm, but those chosen by Shadowlyngs may be given their own appearances, distinguishing them from their own race, and a vessel to protect them and allow them to exist on other realms. The only downside is that if their vessel is destroyed, the Shade is very unlikely to return from the trip through The Dark.
  
  Minor other shadows exist as well, taking the forms of wispy figures that may or may not be sentient, but are unable to communicate with other Shades or Shadowlyngs, being unfinished concepts. These are often forged out of the half-remembered dreams or unfulfilled thoughts of the Shadowlyngs and their God.
  
  Other entities that aren't as sentient, and simply exist for no visible reason, and may serve as 'cogs' in the clockwork of the Demiplane of Darkness.