Betrayal of Absence

Biographical information

Birthplace Sphere of Detachment, Enigma City Born Died Age 551 Home Enigma City Sexuality Pronouns

Physical description

Race Shadow Aspect Sub-Race Forsaken Gender Male Height 6ft 9 Mass 50 Pounds Hair color None Eye color None Skin color Black Marble Color

Political information

Affiliation(s) Shadow Court Occupation Inner circle of the Shadow Court Clan(s) Caste Domain Masters Apprentices Alias(es)

Out-of-character information

Writer Karrade Created on 4/12/22 Avatar Symbaroum Core rule book

Appearance

Completely void of any features, in brighter light to his side you would see the image of what he should look like, an elven male, condemned to take the place of his shadow. The trapped image would look in pain, tormented to be in an eternal prison, a reflection until the end of time perhaps, or hundreds of years so far.

Often the faceless figure will look like black marble, and have a clear outline, but when near a shadow it becomes more wispy and hard to make out. He is usually dressed in black robes unless he knows battle is near, in which case he may wear armor with emerald markings.

Skills and Abilities

Martial and Magical:

A Master with dual-bladed weapons. Moves like water, and is so light that he can kill by a thousand cuts.
Shadomancy: Is one of a handful of Masters at Shadowmancy, and is pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
Shadon Incantations: Not only understands shadon but can use it for diabolical incantations on the mortal and immaterial planes.

Survival:

Espionage. There are few better spies than someone who can move unseen and is blessed or cursed by the god of lies.

Weaknesses:

Natural Magic. This is no mere shadowkin born from shadow, this creature has taken the place of a living thing and so upset the natural order. Making it fear the natural magics of forest guardians and natural healers most of all.
Truth Magic: Magic that reveals lies and shows what is real, is especially potent on a creature built of them.
He is no more susceptible to fire than anything else, especially bright light can still repel him but does not affect him like a lesser shadowkin, his physical form is not dispersed or threatened by light.

Strengths:

Fast and agile. Just like the elven life he took at birth, the Betrayal of Absence not only retains an elf's agility but surpasses it.
Shadow Walk. This unnatural thing takes shadowmancy's ability to blend in and be one with the shadows one step further, and can appear as if it walks through them like a passage.
Hard to Kill. Has a physical form but does not bleed, a cut that should kill him doesn't, it wounds. Not incorporeal but not corporeal either, as of yet what makes up the shadow aspect is not fully understood and is being studied in secret by arcanists.

Personality

Being as he is, most shun contact with him. They either fear or even revere him for his form being pleasing to their god Eleth, either way they know better than to get too close. This has left it easy for him to be cold, ruthless, mocking, and detached. He was born in the Sphere of Detachment, and that runs through him. Some would say psychotic but very intelligent also, if anything his desire to mock and chastise his opponents might be his undoing one day.

Biography & Lore

In the light, this Forsaken walks with his former image as his shadow, a horrific fate that befalls some shadowmancers and is rarely spoken about, where the shadow takes their place entirely and their former appearance becomes their shadow. Only this individual was born that way, cursed or blessed depending on your point of view. The child was born in the Sphere of Detachment, a place where shadow forms are detached from willing hosts in a serene environment in service to Eleth. They thought it would make for a stronger shadowkin if it was cultivated from birth, but in the end it took the host completely over.

The Forsaken are a catchall term for any race or species that cannot be explained within Engima city, as such it's a broad collective, but usually tainted by the hidden nature of lies and deceit. It is no different for this black mirror of a man. Others know him as the blightborn, a forsaken, his true name that none know is Nelaeryn Vallen, the man forever trapped in the reflection.

As with all things in Engima City, struggle, assassination, plotting, and scheming are the way to power within its walls. This creation of Eleth knew it from an early age, and though it's grown like boy into a man would, inside its always been adept at espionage, spies, lies, and backstabbing. It should not be of this world, it is wrong.

A slow, steady, and bloody ascent through the ranks of the shadow court, an organization dedicated to the study of shadowmancy had brought him eventually into Engima cities circle of thorns, its ruling body as a representative of the court. To go into detail would be to dictate a hundred murders, a symphony of violence, and other acts like blackmail or kidnappings beyond counting.

His ultimate goal could simply be power, but that would be too obvious, and Eleth hates predictable known outcomes.

Betrayal of Absence