Shadows

The Shadows are a species of mortals closely related to vampires in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR. Ward.

Creation

Shadows were originally vampires, but somewhere along the way they became their own separate species. The Shadows that appear in the series are all described as dark-skinned and iAm and Trez are referred to as "the Moors."

Characteristics

They are very similar to vampires, however, there are some characteristics that are unique to them:

• Shadows are described as being dark-skinned with dark hair.
• They typically have black eyes that can flash green in the equivalent of a wink or in times of high emotion.
• Shadows have a unique magical talent of bending dark areas or Shadows to their use; including the ability to hide within a Shadow without being seen.
• Shadows have the ability to walk in sunlight.

Culture

Body Language

• A Shadow will bare their fangs and snap their teeth together twice in warning.
• As in many human cultures, Shadows commonly kneel when sitting.

Clothing

• Most Shadows wear fine metal mesh that hangs from the hoods of their robes to mask their faces. The quality of the mesh and the colours of the robes denote the wearer's rank.
• Guards wear black, long knives at their waists, and their face masks are similar to chainmail. The wearing or absence of the mask might denote whether they expect combat or not.
• maichen wear pale blue robes and delicate mesh.
• The loose grey garments of male servants are called farshi. The thong-like shoes are of thin leather, more akin to gloves than shoes.

Hierarchy

The Queen and King

• Since theirs is a matriarchal society, they are ruled by a queen. When the current queen, maichen, took the the throne, she elevated s'Ex to the equivalent of a king and together they rule the Shadows.
• The Queen's seal is a star

The Heir

• Currently, there is no clear heir to the throne, however, maichen is pregnant.

The Anointed One

• Traditionally, if a male's astrological charts at his birth suitably match the heir to the throne's, he's declared the Anointed One and becomes her breeding stud to produce the next heir. Although it's a pampered life, the male has no say in his own fate, which can be lonely since no one is permitted to even touch him. He is kept adorned in jewels at all times; the metal settings are steel to prevent dematerializing.

• This role was abolished by maichen when she took the throne.

The High Priest

• AnsLai currently fulfills this role.

The Chief Astrologist

• He wears red robes, gloves, and a face mesh.

The Executioner

• s'Ex has served in this role, however, it's unclear if he continues to do so.

Tretary

• The person in charge of recording important events.

Court

• The highest ranking nobles at court are referred to as Primaries.

Servants

• maichen (maids) are considered essentially worthless and are taught to keep their heads lowered in submission. They're also expected to serve in whatever way a superior demands.

Language

Shadows have their own dialect of the Old Language and use some unique terms such as Unknowables, which refers to other races since they're believed to contaminate a Shadow through interaction with them.

Laws

• There can only be one female heir to the throne and in order to ensure that there is no question of ascendency or possible power struggles, any other daughters born to the queen are killed.
• It is a capitol offense for any male to touch the Heir or to even see her face upon pain of death.
• There are prohibitions against touching the Anointed One.
• Most prisoners are tortured before execution and either buried or eaten by the head executioner and his guards.

Religion

• The core tenets of the vampire and Shadow religion are essentially the same. Spirituality plays a significant part in Shadow culture and is present in everyday life. For example, simplicity is believed to elevate the soul and so to this end, there's very little signage in the palace. Specific rooms such as the library and storage closets are marked with subtle plates high up on the doorjambs.
• The Shadow Death Lexicon is one of their religious tomes.

Rituals

Death

• The mourning rituals, at least for those of royal blood, involve days of prayer, meditation, and seclusion for everyone in the Palace. Towards the end of the period, the Queen drinks sacred tea mixed with the dust of ground meteorites to commune with the stars, which they view as holy. This is followed by rituals of bloodletting and sex.
• The body of the deceased is cleansed over and over with sacred minerals and purified water while prayers are recited forwards and backwards. Then they're wrapped with fragrant cloth and wax is melted over it.
• When a male's mate dies, he will cut ceremonial marks on his chest and abdomen, which his next of kin sets with salt to ensure scarring.

Purification

• When a Shadow returns to the Territory from the outside world they're considered sullied and a cleansing may be ordered. Queen Rashth used it as a punishment.
• An acid is introduced to the bloodstream, in modern times a syringe is used, which causes pain and severe vomiting for nights. The ordeal can result in death.

Superstitions

Astrology is a fundamental part of their culture and will dictate the course of an individual's life, even the age at which they achieve majority.

• The record is written in black ink on parchment scrolls with red and gold dots that form a constellation.
• If one ascends to the heights of the court, then the chart is marked with three gold stars in the corners.

• The charts of royalty are larger than those of commoners and are sealed with wax; civilians' are smaller and tied with strings marked with tags

Tattoos

• Rather than using ink, they use a type of poison that discolours the skin, causing temporary pain and sickness. Males will pride themselves on enduring the side-effects for a small design such as a mate's name over their heart or a family symbol on their arm.
• At six years of age, all males receive permanent markings at the small of their back.

Eating Habits

Like vampires, Shadows must, in addition to regular food, drink the blood of a member of the opposite sex of any of the vampire races in order to sustain themselves.

Cannibalism

Unlike vampires and sympaths, Shadows are known to engage in cannibalism, which is considered a proud tradition.

Physical Characteristics

Like vampires, they have retractable fangs.

Sexuality and Fertility

Bonding

Like vampires, male Shadows will bond with their mates.

Sex

Shadows view sex as a sacred act that can directly affect one's soul, which can then in turn affect the souls of any other partners in a sort of metaphysical STI. A couple will purify themselves before coming together at night and the act must not be completed during the day. They will hang a banner on their door announcing why they are secluded so they will not be disturbed.

The Territory

Despite their similarities, Shadows prefer to remain apart from vampires in an insular society of about two thousand subjects. The 2,000 square acre Territory of the Shadows is north of Caldwell between the peaks of Adirondack Park and the flat area around Plattsburg. 20 miles north and on the other side of a mountain is the sympath colony. To outsiders, it's an artist's colony and the few humans in the area take a "perverse pleasure" in protecting the artists and their work. It's surrounded by a huge, thick concrete wall and a dilapidated façade. Inside, the settlement is kept neat, clean, and tidy, even the trees and grass are uniform. The water is always 98 degrees.

The servant's settlements some distance behind the Palace are essentially "pup tents made of wood that were painted black and roofed with tin panels that were left silver." The huts form orderly rows, and there were no lights, no cooking fires, and no loud talking. The servants only use these for sex and sleep since they eat, bathe, and dress in the servant's wing of the palace. The residential sections of the aristocrats and middle-class are in front of the Palace.

The Palace

The Palace is in the centre of the property behind walls faced with highly-polished marble. At the back, there's a sunken door marked with symbols. The interior is also white marble and full of hidden rooms and passageways, some of which s'Ex built; there's also a central courtyard.

Astrology Chambers

• Central Chamber
  • It's made of red marble and considered the most sacred part of the palace compound
  • The ceiling is an immense, curved sheet of glass and a circle is cut into the floor.
  • Three doors branch off: the main corridor, the Chief Astrologer's private residence, and the record room
  • s'Ex built a secret pocket door that opens into a pitch-dark passage that runs to the left and parallel to the main corridor; the lock is coded to his palm-print.
    • It comes up behind a tiled partition that has a secret door hidden in the patterns of the tile

• Record Room
  • The door is set into a gold jamb and has an inscription above; it's accessible by a palm reader.
  • The floor is gold and the room is full of a thousand gold drawers that are numbered by birth date and each is as long as a female's arm.
  • There are two white drawers high up on the right:
  • One contains the queen's chart and any those of any children she may have
  • One contains the charts for iAm and Trez.
  • The ceremonial garments worn when an heir ascends to the throne are kept here.
    • They involve layers of mesh with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and rubies set in platinum and a thin veil.

High Priest's Sacred Chamber

• Located not far from the ceremonial hall, there's a black marble slab in the centre where cleansings are performed.

Library

• The lights are motion activated and there are no chairs as it's assumed people will take the books back to their own quarters to read at their leisure.
• The stacks are marked with black-on-black numbers in an obscure cataloging system known only to those familiar with the library.

Maichen's Private Quarters

The Nursery

• Formerly the Queens private rooms, maichen had it converted into a nursery for the young of the palace servants. Before, they would have to either leave them with a family member or at a cold prison-like nursery far from the palace.

Prisoners' Cells

• Plain marble rooms with a sink and toilet behind a screen in the corner.

The Queen's Ritual Chamber

• The room is extremely disorienting due to the solid black marble and is lit by special oil lamps that glow greenish-white.
• The only furnishing is a cabinet where some food is kept.
• This room is used for practices such as mourning.

The Staff Wing

Viewing Room