Shadow canopy

Shadow canopy was an evocation spell of darkness used by the Shadovar to protect excavation sites.

Effects
The spell created a flat dome of shadowstuff 25 feet (eight meters) above the ground and with a radius of at least 325 feet (99 meters), depending on the power of the caster. From a distance, a shadow canopy appears like a purple-black dome, but upon closer observation, it becomes clear that the walls of the dome are not solid. They have a glossy appearance, almost like a semisolid oil.

It was impossible to see through the dome with natural vision, and even a creature using the magic of blacklight could not see through it. Within the dome, everything was covered in shadow as if in perpetual night without stars. This allowed creatures such as shades or vampires to exist quite happily, even if it was broad daylight outside of the dome.

It took at least six seconds to cast this spell, and the effect lasted at least eleven hours.

The dome could be centered above the ground anywhere within a couple hundred feet (60 meters) of the caster but could not be cast higher than the ground to create a sphere, nor could the center of its effect be placed upon a moving object.

A shadow canopy spell could dispel any light spell of lesser or equal power. Light spells of equal power could not dispel a shadow canopy effect; only a more powerful light spell could.

Components
The spell required verbal and somatic components and the dried eyeball of any diurnal creature and a handful of coal dust, both of which were consumed in the casting.

Notable Users
Every Shadovar expedition included an arcanist powerful enough to cast this spell.