Shadow: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:34, 1 April 2009

The Shadow subpath was one of the original 12 Subpaths of Nexus. It was created with the others during The Shattering, and was founded by Gravis. The Shadow path was one of mystery. They were dark and haunting, but not necessarily malevolent; sometimes they were the kindest creatures you ever met.

Roleplay

Unlike other paths of its time, the actual role-play was relatively contested among it's members. The Shadow role-play was open to interpretation by each member to a certain degree. A similarity would have been the embrace of and need for balance. The type of "balance" not much unlike the same balance Geomancers or Diviners speak of. The Shadow essentially maintained balance in the Kingdoms, and also on broader scales. Sometimes this would require a Shadow to align themselves with individuals or ideals that were perceived as "Good" or "Evil". The Shadow referred to these extremes on their moral spectrum as "Light" and "Dark". A Shadow's nature was to remain neutral. They were between the "Light" and the "Dark", commonly known as "Gray". "Gray" was nearly synonymous with the Ohaeng teaching.

Those who took no time or care in understanding the intricacies of the Shadow could easily have been confused by their actions and it was not uncommon for them to be misunderstood.

Post-Quota Roleplay

Later, in order to adapt with the Quota which Nexon placed on all the subpaths, the Shadow path attempted to change its role-play. Several Shadow conceived the idea of Three Teachings which Kaymat expanded on greatly. This teachings consisted of Chagi for body, Sasang for Mind, and Kiun for Spirit. Regardless of the founding of this new role-play, tensions within the newer leadership lead to the Shadow disbandment.

Shadow Spell List

Walker Spells: Dazzle 15 second paralyze, effects the targets that lie on the immediate 4 squares around the caster.

Fuddle Targetable; makes the targeted perform a random expression.

Shade Invisible trap.

Hear footsteps Lets caster see a persons name who is close to you.

Guide Spells: Cut purse Targetable, makes the targeted drop a small amount of his/her money on the ground.

Enshroud Makes any individual in the 4 squares around the caster invisible.

Shadow dye Gives the Shadow's dye.

Bind shadows Creates a Shade blade out of a Steelthorn.

Elder Spells:

Elder sage Sage in Kingdoms.

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-The [[Shadow]] subpath was one of the original 12 [[Subpaths]] of Nexus. It was created with the others during [[The Shattering]], and was founded by Daggett. The Shadows were a path of mystery, a cross between ninja and mystic. They were dark, but not malevolent.
+The [[Shadow]] subpath was one of the original 12 [[Subpaths]] of Nexus. It was created with the others during [[The Shattering]], and was founded by Gravis. The Shadow path was one of mystery.  They were dark and haunting, but not necessarily malevolent; sometimes they were the kindest creatures you ever met.
 ==Roleplay==
-The Shadow role-play was hard to define but yet very definitive. Unlike other paths of its time, it was not something you could easily stereotype such as the [[Spy]] role-play or something you could necessarily learn such as the [[Diviner]] role-play. The Shadow role-play was mysterious, elusive, and very open to interpretation by each member.
+Unlike other paths of its time, the actual role-play was relatively contested among it's members.  The Shadow role-play was open to interpretation by each member to a certain degree. A similarity would have been the embrace of and need for balance. The type of "balance" not much unlike the same balance [[Geomancer]]s or [[Diviner]]s speak of. The Shadow essentially maintained balance in the Kingdoms, and also on broader scales. Sometimes this would require a Shadow to align themselves with individuals or ideals that were perceived as "Good" or "Evil". The Shadow referred to these extremes on their moral spectrum as "Light" and "Dark". A Shadow's nature was to remain neutral. They were between the "Light" and the "Dark", commonly known as "Gray". "Gray" was nearly synonymous with the [[Ohaeng]] teaching.
-At the crux of the true Shadow was balance. This idea was not much unlike the same balance [[Geomancer]]s or [[Diviner]]s practice. The Shadow existed to maintain balance in the universe. Sometimes this meant aligning themselves with "Good" or "Evil", which was commonly referred to by Shadow as "Light" and "Dark". Most popularly, however, a Shadow chose to align themself with the "Gray", or what eventually became the [[Ohaeng]] teaching. This Gray Shadow was a mixture of the Light and Dark. No Gray Shadow was either good or evil, but instead a delicate balance of both. And so as the path itself strived to maintain in the realm in which it existed, there was always the eternal struggle of maintaining the balance within the self. The output of both of these notions is what others saw as the Shadow role-play: Sometimes malacious, others benevolent. Those who took no time or care in understanding the intricacies of the Shadow could easily have been confused by their words or actions. The Shadow, of course, were content with being gravely misunderstood and misinterpreted.
+Those who took no time or care in understanding the intricacies of the Shadow could easily have been confused by their actions and it was not uncommon for them to be misunderstood.
 == Post-Quota Roleplay ==
-Later, in order to adapt with the [[Quota]] which [[Nexon]] placed on all the subpaths, the Shadow path attempted to change its role-play. Then current [[Elder]] [[Dementia]] created a role-play based on a blood lineage known as the [[K'urimja]] tribe, which worshipped [[Hyun Moo]] amongst other changes. Several Shadow concieved the idea of Three Teachings which [[Kaymat]] expanded on greatly. This teachings consisted of [[Chagi]] for body, [[Sasang]] for Mind, and [[Kiun]] for Spirit. Many people hoped this more definitive role-play along with some grounds to explain why now so many Shadow would be "brought home", that the Shadow role-play could survive the [[Quota]]'s onslaught. However, the dissolution of the balance portion of the role-play along with the somewhat drastic change of role-play created tension in the path and set itself up for a great fall.
+Later, in order to adapt with the [[Quota]] which [[Nexon]] placed on all the subpaths, the Shadow path attempted to change its role-play. Several Shadow conceived the idea of Three Teachings which [[Kaymat]] expanded on greatly. This teachings consisted of [[Chagi]] for body, [[Sasang]] for Mind, and [[Kiun]] for Spirit.  Regardless of the founding of this new role-play, tensions within the newer leadership lead to the [[Shadow disbandment]].
-==Destruction==
+== Shadow Spell List ==
+'''Walker Spells:'''
+Dazzle
+''15 second paralyze, effects the targets that lie on the immediate 4 squares around the caster.''
-During the 40s a subpath [[quota]] was instituted by God [[Eldridge]], motivated by the very real threat of disbanding the subpaths should numbers not increase. This hit the Shadows particularly hard as they had always been one of the smallest and least stable paths. As the Quota progressed, the Shadows consistently lagged behind the most, but did grow significantly.
+Fuddle
+''Targetable; makes the targeted perform a random expression. ''
-Elder [[Citian]] was given some sort of ultimatum by Eldridge, likely a threat of his removal as Elder. Soonafter, he called a path meeting. As Shadows appeared for the meeting, Citian declared the Shadows disbanded and dismissed the entire path, including his Guides.
+Shade
+''Invisible trap.''
-==Aftermath==
+Hear footsteps
+''Lets caster see a persons name who is close to you.''
-Many in the community thought Citian a hero for his deeds, and his message of protest resonated well with members of the other subpaths, who had grown weary of trying to increase numbers. Several guides and walkers of other subpaths (particularly those who were friends of Citian) even quit their respective paths in a move of solidarity. However, this phenomenon was not widespread, and most Elders and Guides were disgusted at the potential destruction of the subpaths' collective hard work.
+'''Guide Spells:'''
+Cut purse
+''Targetable, makes the targeted drop a small amount of his/her money on the ground. ''
-The Elder Haven was in a panic the night the Shadows disbanded. Many Elders could sympathize with being pushed to the breaking point, but could not tolerate Citian's jeapordizing their paths. Some felt that Citian was merely wishing to cement his own legend. Eldridge called an emergency Elder meeting the night the Shadows were disbanded.
+Enshroud
+''Makes any individual in the 4 squares around the caster invisible.''
-Many in the community, especially the Shadow Guides and Walkers who had worked hard to save the path, thought that Eldridge would simply restore the member list and choose a new Guide to replace Citian. However, Citian played right into Eldridge's hands, and the Shadows were not revived. The disbandment of the path proved the perfect opportunity to form the [[Ranger]] path, which, it was widely believed, would have more appeal and differ more from the [[Spy|Spies]].
+Shadow dye
+''Gives the Shadow's dye.''
-Within a day [[Angelica]] was drafted by the Elders to head the newly-formed [[Ranger]] path. Within a week the path was up and running; soon it had grown to one of the largest paths in Nexus. The Shadows would not be coming back.
+Bind shadows
+''Creates a Shade blade out of a Steelthorn.''
-==Lessons Learned==
+'''Elder Spells:'''
-Citian is a contentious name in Nexus history. It is widely held that Citian's actions, while bold, were not heroic, as he destroyed the Shadow path and jeapordized the future of all the Subpaths. However, there are still those who speak of him with reverence, mostly for the legendary destruction he created. In summary, he is viewed either as an underdog who challenged the Gods and lost, or an attention-seeking brooder who wanted to leave his mark--and didn't care if he destroyed the Subpaths in the process. It is not known if the Gods implemented any safety features to prevent an elder from dismissing his entire path after this event.
+Elder sage
+''Sage in Kingdoms.''
-As the Shadow were a path that struggled with roleplay identity and numbers, it is unsurprising that they were not allowed to re-form. Questions remain on how the Gods would respond if a more active or important path, such as the [[Diviners]] or [[Muses]], were to suffer an elder breakdown and disbandment. Many speculate that had Eldridge not wanted the Shadows disbanded in the first place, he would have simply re-formed the path, as it was <i>more</i> work for him to design an entire new path, complete with circle, spells, and roleplay. The changing of hands from [[Nexon]] to [[Kru]] and the subsequent reduction of emphasis on the Quota also raises new questions about what kind of response might occur.
+== See Also ==
+* Any helpful and related articles
-The event also presents an interesting study in sociopolitical structures; it is no coincidence that the weakest path suffered the most strain as a result of being expected to keep up with the other paths. The path also suffered considerably as it had the least to offer the community of any of the subpaths, and a smaller membership base to boot; power-struggles and coups were also frequent. All of these factors were certainly contributors to an event that might be better described as the culmination of a gradual and general collapse.
+[[Category:Rogue spells]]
+[[Category:Subpaths]]
+[[Category:Shadow]]