Magick
Ley Magick
Magick, as defined by both mortal and fae scholars, is specifically the use of magic sourced from ley lines. These magical bodies run through Arethil like a mycelium. Tapping into these veins of raw magic is an ability exclusive to fae species.
Black shucks can utilize all typical parts of ley magick: ley travel, glamour, magick, magick reservoirs, wards, and elemental magicks. Though black shucks are not known for
legendary magicks, they are categorized as greater fae for their other abilities.
Terrifying Bark
More useful than glamours to persuade others into fear and obedience is the black suhck’s bark. Technically a glamour of the mind, both fae and mortals are subject to the magick of this ability, and it takes an “iron will” or a great deal of power to avoid its effects. Those who are not lucky enough to have immunity to it, however, are subject to flights of terror of the shuck’s design. Barks can cause paralysis or can cause the person to flee in fear. The stronger the shuck, the louder the bark, and the louder the bark, the greater its range and power. Some of the greatest shucks of Sluagh legend were said to paralyze entire battlefields with a single howl.
Every black shuck has three forms: their humanoid body, their canid body, and their shadowforms. Shadowplay has two stages: being a shadow and the shuck’s true body, or true shadowform. All forms of shadowplay are addictive, for it was from these forms shucks once came and naturally crave the return to.
The first stage is to "become" a shadow. Taking the shape of a black mist, a shuck can quite literally meld themself into a shadow. In this state they retain few of their abilities, existing most for the purpose of rest and surveillance.
As shadows, black shucks retain many of their abilities from other forms, though they are at their most vulnerable. Injuries sustained when in shadows can deal far more damage to shucks than in any other form.
The second stage is to take one's shadowform. A nebulous body of shadow that swallows all light, they are dangerous and terrifying. Holding this form is both incredibly taxing on a shuck's mind and also highly addictive. It is rarely let loose by any shuck in their right mind and exposing it is
taboo in the shuck community, exposing them to renewed rounds of criticism from the rest of the fae community.
Too much shadowplay has been known to corrupt the integrity of a shuck's mind, reverting them from civilized creatures to beings of pure instinct and whim. Shadow madness is a real and dangerous affliction that many shucks suffer from, and it is ultimately the most common cause for shuck deaths.