Shadow

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.

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.

At the crux of the true Shadow was balance. This idea was not much unlike the same balance Geomancers or Diviners 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.

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.

Destruction

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.

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.

Aftermath

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.

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.

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 Spies.

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.

Lessons Learned

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.

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 more 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.

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.