NOTE: If the made up mythlores bore you, skip down to the bottom of this post
Lore of Shadows
"Die on your feet or live on your knees, it matters not to me, the
only reason you live is because I allow it, but you will all die when I demand it."
-Zenith, the Empty Lord, God of the Void and Scourge of Existence
Legends tell of a time before man or the plain of existence we call earth, a time ruled by the Elder God of the Void. The Empty Lord Ruled over all the immortal plains, while his three siblings took their own essences to create a mortal plain, something that they viewed as more precious that any of the immortal plains. And while the core of their power went on to create the Realm of Earth, what was left of the three elder gods went on to form into the Realm of Asgarn. A realm of such pure and raw power, that anyone who came to live there transcended to near godhood and continued to become more powerful the longer they stayed. Zenith made his home here, watching as many beings began to flock to the new mortal plain.
The once immortals of the other plains soon found themselves aging, thin angered them and they began campaigns to burn the realm to an unusable nothingness. This enraged Zenith, as they were destroying the conjoined embodiment of his siblings, he waged a great and terrible war against all beings upon the realms, he did however spare the only race that prayed to the Empty Lord as their patron god. The Shadow Hunters, or Shtahl.
Several of the Immortal realms would fell into the nothingness of the void before twelve great warrior kings from the Deathless Race came to do glorious combat against the Elder God. They would eventually destroy him and take up residence on the Realm of Asgarn, or Asgard in their tongue. Eventually, the same would happen to them, but not for many millennia. But they did not realize just how hard it is to destroy an Elder God, none the less, the majority of his power became available for the claiming through the use of Elder Magicks.
Or this is the legend that was passed to mankind by the Shtahl. The Shtahl subsequently seemed to disappear overnight about 1000 years ago, the abandoned ruins of their cities dot the lands near mountain ranges as well as the only known temple to Zenith, which rests on the cliffs overlooking the ocean at an Peninsula northwest of Niahi woods.
The Temple, unbeknownst to almost all living beings, is just the mere tip of something much greater, below the temple is the great Shtahl Master Piece, The Clockwork City. The Expansive and still functional city is home to the Vigilant Shadows, a group of shadow warriors that serve in the name of Zenith, and acts as a gate to Zenith's Grasp a Labyrinth that only the strongest of beings make it out of.
The Vigilant Shadows
"The Vigilant? Worry not about them, Lord Aiden has seen to it that their presence will not be felt on the planet for many decades to come."
-Sinead Volkov, Bearer Saint of Cleara Verdad
The Vigilant is an evil that is tolerated by the world, mainly due to the fact that the Vigilant hunt criminals and rouges, as well as deal the organized crime lords that couldn't be touched by legal means, most of the hatred for the Vigilant comes from the collateral damage of many operations and the fact every so often, when a Vigilant appears in an area, a teenage girl may go missing, only to return nine months to a year later, if at all. The fact that many of the powers that the Vigilant possess make most guards and prisons unable to contain the members of the guild.
The Vigilant may also chose to indoctrinate people into the guild. The indoctrination process is relatively voluntary, but once the process has started to turn your back on it is to sign your own death warrant, but once they have succeeded as a Fledgling, They Become a Shadow Ranger. A few years back, The Vigilant suffered two major losses almost back to back. The first was the Battle of Blood Moon. A three day all out war between the Vigilant and Cleara Verdad, which hunted them down, it ended in a cease fire. Bother sides were left crippled, but only CV was able to quickly recover, the Vigilant have slowly been reforming, but the death of their leader, the Shadow King, also put a dampen to that. A new leader was chosen and a new king was crowned.
Dogma of the Vigilant
"When you commit to something, you do so with your entirety, and you see it done to it's entirety, or you simply cease to be."
-Alucard Leohalt, Shtahl, Master Shadow.
The mere act of failing to do a task that you have agreed to do, is the same as forfeiting your life. Whether you live or die will then be decided by the Shadow King and his Master Shadow, in many cases, those who fail are banished to Zenith's Grasp, the only way to be redeemed is to make it all the way through alive.
There are also a few Edicts that act as the laws of the Vigilant, to break them is to be case into Zenith's Grasp.
I. The Shadows can never overtake the Light.
Meaning the outright murder of innocent people.
II. The Shadows can never spread fear of the night
Meaning fear tactics used En mass
III. The Shadows should be thankful of the Light.
Meaning that innocent people should be aided whenever possible
IV. The Shadows must offer warning of the impending night
Meaning that if the Ranger plans to kill someone, they have to give them a chance to give up and surrender.
V. The Shadows must always Protect Dark Mothers
Meaning the young women that "go missing", who are actually in the Clockwork City by choice, many of whom will go on to mother a Pure Vigilant (Direct child of a Shadow)
The Shadow King
The Shadow King has one task, to ensure the prosperity of the Vigilant Shadows, meaning he must be deeply invested in the affairs of the world and the skills of his followers. The Shadow King almost never leaves the Clockwork City, and even then only making public appearances during special occasions such as the coronation of a new Shadow Ranger.
The king must also decide the punishments for those that break the Edicts, aided by the Master Shadow, he must seek out the truth in the accusations that deliver a punishment accordingly, be that an execution, or a banishment into the Labyrinth below the city.
The king can also give specialized tasks for the Master Shadow to carry out.
The Master Shadow
The Master Shadow acts as an intermediary to the Shadow King. He assigns tasks to Shadow Rangers and insures the happiness of the Dark Mothers. His word is law and to disobey his orders is to risk banishment into the Labyrinth should he so desire. He is also in charge of rationing supplies in emergencies and making sure that the Dark Mothers are happy and well cared for.
His other task is to administer the Rite of Shadows to any Fledgeling that feels that they are ready to become Full members of the Vigilant.
Shadow Rangers
The Rangers make up the vast majority of the force of the Vigilant, they can do a wide variety of jobs, anything from tasks assigned by the Master Shadow, to regular maintenance of the Clockwork City, to keeping company with the Dark mothers, if they see a need then they fill a need.
They also have regular patrol duties in the City, around the temple, and at the only exit of the Labyrinth
The Fledgelings
Where Rangers have patrol duty, the Fledgelings meals. Fledgling are in charge are preparing meals for the entirety of the Vigilant. Aided by the tools of the kitchens in the Clockwork City, a group of ten can easily prepare the meals for the the entire city all day. Every Fledgeling must serve kitchen duty once a week, they also can be made to clean. Mainly clean the kitchen and the many facilities used by the Occupants of the city, as well as the laundry for Dark Mothers and Rangers.
The other great task is to spend their free time preparing for the Rite or Shadows, whatever it may be. Those that have taken it are not allowed to talk about it in the presence of a Fledgeling. Whenever they feel that they are ready, they can request an audience with the Master Shadow, and if he accepts, they head into the Labyrinth to complete the Rites.
The Dark Mothers
The Dark Mothers are young women that have asked a passing ranger if they do anything to help the Vigilant. The Ranger will never respond, but when she goes to sleep, she will wake up in the Clockwork City. From there she is expected to either help with the Upbringing of the Children of Shadows, or bare one themselves. After a year's time, or after giving birth, they are offered once and only once if they would like to return to their home. If they agree, then they wake up the next morning in the home of the family they left behind, with no recollection of their time in the land of shadows.
Those that stay, are official members of the Vigilant Shadows, with the same amount of pull as two Rangers. They however are not allowed to leave the city and they cannot train in the ways of Rangers. If a Female Ranger become pregnant, she become a Dark Mother. After giving birth, she is given the choice of returning to Ranger Work or staying as a Dark Mother.
The Children of shadows are raised in the Clockwork City, many of whom will develop the powers often associated with Rangers at an early age. When they come of age, the Shadow Children become Fledgelings, they are referred to as a Pure Vigilant.
The Power of Shadows
Any full member of the shadows is able to do quite a bit. Here is a complete list.
- Short Range Teleportation 6-75 feet
- Blending into Shadows
- Shadow Spirits (animals that act as companions and guardians to the Vigilant)
- Greatly Extended lifetime
- Heightened Senses
- The Shadow Barracks (The ability to bring forth weapons out of mid air)
- Heightened REflexes
The Vigilant Shadows Wants You!
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Shadow King:
Koraq Nauticus Played by Zozee9
Master Shadow:
Alucard Leohalt Played by Sir Zane
Shadow Rangers: [ALWAYS OPEN]
Jacob Vari Played by Wicked Basket
Kenneth Kent Played by GoblinFae
Tershal Nallvir Played by Zero
Tesha Nallvir Played by Zero
Atlas Played by Sir Zane
Keltros Played by SanguineBlade
Zander Warshaw Played by Zero
Dark Mothers: [ALWAYS OPEN]
Rowan Alvar Played by GoblinFae
Xiana Clova Played by Zozee9
Kaliko Played by GoblinFae
Fledglings: [ALWAYS OPEN]
Dagrun Baarda Played by GoblinFae
Shula Ashia Played by Sir Zane
NOTE: Shtahl characters are off limits, Alucard is the only Shtahl for plot reasons