Shadow

Shadow is the wall between realities. Most of the time, Shadow prevents each reality from intruding on the others, but on occasion the wall weakens, the barrier between worlds thins, and the things from one universe slide into another.

Passages through Shadow are fleeting and can appear anywhere without the slightest warning, a rising tide that cannot be predicted. There are reports of portals taking the forms of great pools of tar, abnormally dense fog, or even waves of intense darkness. When these effects recede, they leave items or creatures marooned in our world. Shadow portals often manifest in remote, desolate locations, and these creatures enter our world confused and alone.

There seems to be no correlation between the particulars of a manifestation and the objects or creatures that come through. The same type of Shadow portal might admit a wave of vermin in one manifestation, a tribe of trolls in another, and a lone basilisk in a third. Then there are times when no creatures are left at all, but objects are deposited instead. This could be anything from a single colorful potion to a magical sword that glows in moonlight. There are even rare reports of whole buildings - a keep, a tower, an entire castle - appearing out of thin air.

It appears that the trip through Shadow is one-way. Those that arrive have no ability to return. To date, all attempts from this side to breach the wall of Shadow via technology and magic have failed.

The Gift of Lethe
Passage through Shadow alters creatures at a fundamental level as they are brought "in tune" with the mundane world. They gain a few abilities in the process, such as the ability to speak local languages, but the most disconcerting aspect is that the passage through Shadow has blurred their memories.

Shadowkind refer to this phenomenon as "The Gift of Lethe," and it results in the dimming and outright elimination of memories. Close details are not forgotten - names, relations, closely held beliefs, as well as personal experiences all remain. However, a great deal of education and raw information is expunged - legends, tales, geography, politics, and other bits of nonessential secondhand knowledge disappear forever.

As a result, a creature of Shadow likely remembers their name, family, profession, traditions and customs, and the existence of magic, but won't be likely to remember who their nation's leaders were, the geography of their homeland, the names of other countries, or any other matters concerning the details of their former life.

Many of the Shadowkind do not remember how they fell into Shadow in the first place. Some speak of passing through doorways, others of fog rising in the middle of the night. But most can do no more than acknowledge that they suddenly appeared in a different world with no memory of where they were or what they were doing mere moments before.

The loss of so much knowledge has various effects on different individuals. Some take the loss well and adapt quickly to their new environment. Others seek to rebuild their homeland, gathering together individuals of similar species, temperament, and motivation. Still others spend their lives trying to find a way back home.

The Veil of Shadow
Another strange Shadow phenomenon is referred to as the "veil of Shadow". To most of humanity, the world is a mundane place; ordinary, predictable, easily divided into categories. The human psyche is built around these assumptions, and when presented with evidence to the contrary, most cannot handle the stress of the revelation and seek ways of reconciling what they see with what they believe can and cannot be.

In effect, most of humanity outright ignores the existence of Shadow and Shadowkind. A mundane human passing an ogre in the street might simply see a large man, while a monster might be interpreted as a large dog. A magical fireball might be remembered as an exploding gas leak, while a werewolf becomes a howling drunkard. Shadowkind refers to these mundane humans as Sleepwalkers, people who wander through life on autopilot, blissfully unaware of their surroundings.

Some particularly aware individuals, however, can see the oddities around them. They perceive things for what they are, rather than what their minds would prefer them to be. The Shadow community refers to these individuals as the Awakened. Some of these Awakened are unable to cope with what they see and quickly descend into madness, but most have the mental fortitude to accept that they have pierced the veil and can see the world as it truly is, and often become deeply involved in the world of Shadow.