Shadow magic

Shadow magic, also called Talfirian magic, was a type of Weave-based arcane magic that channeled power from the Plane of Shadow.

Nature of shadow magic
Shadow magic was but one of many ways of accessing and controlling the natural energies of the Weave, and was strongly tied to it. Most users of shadow magic used the Weave to connect to the Plane of Shadow and channeled their magic directly from there, in a manner similar to typical conjuration spells.

Although Shadow Weave magic was heavily redolent of shadow magic, they were in fact unrelated, with some fundamental differences in practice and philosophy. Whereas shadow magic users drew upon the Plane of Shadow via Mystra's Weave, Shadow Weave magic users drew their power directly from Shar's dark weave, which was formed from the gaps and negatives in the Weave itself. Despite this, the concept of the Shadow Weave closely aligned with the principle of reflection that underpinned shadow magic. Shadow magic casters could thus truly understand the Shadow Weave, and many were naturally attracted to it and could learn to utilize it.

Notably, negative energy was not tied to the Shadow Weave, and spells or effects drawing on negative energy do not harness it.

Practitioners
The ability to use shadow magic had a tendency to run in families, manifesting in childhood. In such cases, it became a family tradition, its secrets passed down from grandparent or parent to child.

Humans of the Tethyrian ethnic group had a legacy of shadow magic that dated back to the ancient Talfirians. This included both a knack for practicing it, and for resisting its effects. A number of Tethyrian rogues became shadowdancers as a result.

Shadowdancers and others like them did not learn shadow magic through study, but acquired the ability instinctively through close association. Experts and more traditional shadow mages were uncertain as to how this occurred, but it was a matter of ongoing study.

The majority of users of shadow magic were bards, those who possessed a rare and mysterious power known to them only as "shadow magic". The most common and basic form of this was the ability to make natural shadows move and dance to their tunes. However, such power carried a curse dating back to the evil Shadowking of Talfir. As the bard user gained new shadow powers, and if there was no other Shadowking in existence, the shadow magic slowly corrupted them into a new Shadowking to replace the old. The Shadowking fought the bard for control, causing a split personality, and could control undead shadows. Finally, they were transformed bodily into the monstrous Shadowking.

The most expert practitioner of shadow magic was the shadowcaster. They usually began as gifted apprentice mages who were discovered and taught by a shadowcaster mentor. Others were sponsored by a church of a deity of darkness, such as Shar, Mask, Set, Lolth, or Shargaas. They trained shadowcaster mystic theurges and noctumancers, in the hopes of cultivating an interest in darkness amongst their followers.

Some unlikely practitioners of shadow magic were gnomish and Lantanese artificers, who used technology to replicate the effects of arcane magical spells. But when a mundane mechanical apparatus wasn't up to the task, they tapped into the power of shadow magic instead to produce genuine supernatural outcomes. They required training in arcane illusion magic to access the shadow magic.

Organizations
There were a few organizations that routinely practiced shadow magic in Faerûn, including: The churches of Lolth, Mask, Set, Shar, and Shargaas also had an interest in shadow magic.
 * Demarch's Folly
 * The Hand Behind the Mirror.

Famous users
Some important users of shadow magic were:
 * Verraketh Talember, the Shadowking of Talfir
 * Caledan Caldorien, a Harper bard
 * Suelivain, a shade of the City of Shade
 * Zezania Tarth-Kelet, a priestess of Shar.

Attitudes
Shadow magic was very rare and its nature and philosophy were poorly understood. Some felt that its dark powers meant it was inherently evil, or at least inextricably linked with evil—the curse of the Shadowking gave quite some credence to this notion. Thus, users of shadow magic faced a host of misconceptions, prejudices and even persecution, especially from the clergy of deities of good and light.