Shadar-kai (fey)

Shadar-kai, also called shadow fey, were a species of bitter, malicious fey whose very souls were cursed by shadow, even as they were masters of shadowy magics.

"There are no shadows in this world save those that serve the will of the shadar-kai."

- Sallan Kath-Moran, shadar-kai adept

Description
Shadar-kai were graceful, slender humanoids slightly taller on average than humans, but weighing some less than a human of equivalent size. They were typically covered in tattoos, decorative scars, and piercings.

Personality
Shadar-kai were intensely loyal to others in their band, but hated the various civilized peoples of the Material plane and sought to take vengeance upon them all.

Abilities
Shadar-kai were naturally very sneaky, capable of hiding in seemingly plain sight so long as there were shadows. Though they lacked darkvision, they possessed a superior form of low-light vision.

Shadar-kai spellcasters were typically skilled in illusion and shadow magic.

Combat
Shadar-kai preferred spiked chains as their weapon of choice, as it suited their grace and agility, and could be used to deal a variety of painful deaths.

Shadar-kai predominantly trained as rogues, with many others training as wizards or clerics.

Society
Shadar-kai were extremely long-lived, possibly even immortal. While only a very few, if any, remained that remembered the ritual that caused their curse, there were many that had heard the story first hand from their ancestors.

Shadow curse
The shadow curse dominated shadar-kai society.

Items
Shadar-kai made several different magical items to strengthen themselves or help stave off the shadow curse. The gal-ralan was a common item devised by the last of the shadow mages; essentially a wearable cold iron torture device, it weaken their health but strengthened their ability to fight off the shadow curse. Shadar-kai also made blackstone runes and night extract for their own purposes, and were known to make use of shadowlight oil.

To help fight off the shadow curse, shadar-kai were known to use magic items such as cloaks of resistance, periapts of wisdom, various ioun stones, and similar items that bolstered their wisdom.

Relationships
Shadow fey only allied with humanoids when it served some greater purpose, or so they could eventually betray and kill them. They were known to train shadow mastiffs and shadow asps, as well as other beasts of shadow. Darkweavers, shadow demons, and shadow dragons were known to enslave shadar-kai, at least for some time.

While shadar-kai still honored their people and their courts, most other fey treated them as pariahs for what they had done, trying to alter the world as much as they had sought. Only redcaps willingly worked with the vengeful shadar-kai.

Despite their shared environments and reliance on shadows, shadow fey and dark ones had a violent hatred for each other. While in dark ones it seemed to stem from jealousy and their isolationism, in shadar-kai the grudge was much deeper. Scholars theorized that the shadar-kai's hatred was caused by some new knowledge of the future, the dark ones' own strange connection to the Plane of Shadows, or, perhaps, that the dark ones' unknown origin might be the mortal champions who once thwarted the shadow mages' ritual so long ago.

History
In the early days of the world, shadar-kai lived like any other fey, bound to peace and to nature, with joy and light in their hearts; though even then, they were of shadows, for they had always wielded strange influence and held secrets of the Plane of Shadow. Yet as mortal people rose to civilization, some of the greatest shadar-kai mages saw in the swirling tides of that plane a prophetic vision, foretelling the pillaging of nature by those mortals.

Some amongst the shadar-kai called for a strike against the mortals in order to prevent this from coming to pass, but the shadow fey were not particularly numerous, and could not through guile or force change the course of things. Thus, a new solution was found.

Using their innate power of shadow and potent magical skills, they sought- and, perhaps, found- a way to darken the world. A hundred of their spellcasters, each a master of ancient and mighty magicks, joined together to perform a ritual that would irrevocably bind the Material plane and the Plane of Shadows together. And with this new eternal twilight, the shadow fey's bond with shadow and long-practiced rituals would grant them mastery over their environment, allowing them to forever ensure the sanctity of nature.

However, the ritual did not go as planned, for not even the shadow fey could the dangers lurking in the shadows. When the ritual was cast, the masters of spells looked into the shadows and found that their species would be the shadow-plane's conduit into the material world. The ritual would bind the Plane of Shadows to the souls of the shadar-kai, the ritual creating a nexus of power on the Planes as the very essence of the shadar-kai became an anchor to pull first the nexus, and then the whole dark plane into the material world.

Yet, there were those who opposed the shadow fey: heroes of that primitive age, servants of long-forgotten orders, and outsiders who sought to protect what their masters had created. They fought their way past countless shadow fey guardians, they found the nexus on the Plane of Shadow and at the height of the ritual, made a great sacrifice of their own, interrupting the ritual. The resultant backlash was titanic, killing countless shadar-kai and scattering the rest, and scouring both planes of any sign of the mortal champions and the shadow fey mages.

But, while the planes remained separate, the tie between the Plane of Shadows and the shadow fey was not undone, but the pull was reversed, becoming shadowy chains that forever tried to pull their souls into the realm they had sought to enslave.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave