Shadow/Light-Walkers

Shadow-Walkers and Light-Walkers are a relatively rare, artificial species that was first created as a side-effect of when the deity Rencal Kei-Rhai first absorbed the Obsidian Duke, Sh'ther Kei-Sihr, who at the time was a mindless being simply known as "The Shadow", before he reformed himself into something more stable from within Rencal. They often start out as energy-based constructs, created in a ritual as mere mindless servants made of of light or shadow and a bit of someone's soul energy, though they may eventually gain sentience and sapience either through an accident or by intervention, turning them into true Shadow- and Light-Walkers. However, many of them, especially when they first popped up after the Era of Shadows, are also people who simply were turned into Walkers in accidents involving Ena; while this is rare, it's a unique situation where the Soul splits from the body, and forms a new, Ena-based body for itself in the form of a Walker. Shadow- and Light-Walkers are near-ethereal in their nearly featureless forms and lack an organic body; most of what they are is their soul, surrounded by a shell of energy given form. They are able to eat and they sleep to replenish their energy, but they mostly sustain themselves on the energy around them. Some Walkers reportedly have the ability to transform into near anything, but most can only disguise themselves as something looking similar to either their creator or their old appearance before they got turned into Shadow- or Light-walkers. As their name suggests, Shadow-Walkers can seamlessly blend into the shadows and traverse through them, while Light-Walkers can do the same in bright light and well-lit areas. Shadow-walkers have a bit of an undeserving reputation of being irritable and violent, due to the chaotic nature of shadow-ena, so in the past, people tended to be a bit wary of them, but nowadays, most people realize they're just people like any other.

Spirit-People

The near complete lack of physical bodies and their complete inability to physically age gives Shadow- and Light-Walkers a pretty unique perspective on life; Light-Walkers tend to try to cherish the moments they have with their more short-lived loved ones, while Shadow-Walkers may try to bury their feelings as they lose the people they love. Not only that, but the fact that The Great Wasting left their original populations mostly unscathed also makes many people consider them living relics. Nonetheless, Walkers tend to remain unseen, due to their unique ability to take on a more normal-seeming form. This isn't due to any fear of discrimination, but rather out of a fear of unwanted attention; namely due to the healing tears that Shadow-Walkers produce, or the poisonous tears the Light-Walkers produce; both of which have many applications, making them very sought-after, especially by prominent arcanists and illiadologists.

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