The Shadows

Many Athasians claim that the Shadows have always existed. There is little evidence to contradict this, for references to the Shadows go back hundreds of years. After so much time, the Shadows have evolved considerably, becoming less a tribe or family and more a vast, complicated secret society with an exclusively elven membership. While most Shadows are born into the group, outsiders are sometimes admitted. An early reference to the Shadows comes from an ancient epic sung by bards. This is known as “The Saga of the Fall of Kaday”. The song speaks of Kaday, a powerful defiler, who is undone by a jealous ex-lover. Spurned and rejected, a beautiful wizardess makes a pact with a mysterious group of black-clad elves, giving them all her worldly possessions in order to grant her vengeance. To her dismay, the elves retaliate out of all proportion, casting down Kaday in a cataclysm that destroys both him and everything he owns. In the end, the distraught wizardess repents of her deed and dies of grief. This story, a popular tragedy told in innumerable versions (in one, the rejected wizardess and her lover still wander the wilderness of Athas, wailing endlessly), illustrates several points that are familiar to those who know the Shadows. An inherent (if chaotic) sense of justice and fair play seems to permeate their dealings. Orders are often followed to the letter, even to the extent of causing destruction and grief far out of proportion to what the client initially requested. The Shadows, it seems, are determined to teach foolish outsiders to think about the consequences of their actions. Every city, as well as most villages, has tales about the Shadows. They can take the role of heroes, villains, or an amoral force of nature. Sometimes, they are thieves who can be foiled only by the quick thinking of brave templars. At other times, the Shadows are noble avengers who frustrate the goals of greedy sorcerer-kings or brutal bandits. In all the stories they are similar – dark-clad, soft-spoken elves who provide any service or obtain any item, for a price. Recently, however, the Shadows seem to be growing less active. While many assassinations, thefts, and other acts of mayhem have been blamed on this mysterious group, there is little evidence that the Shadows are involved. True, their handiwork is still seen on occasion, but to nowhere near the extent that it was in the past. Some claim that the Shadows are dying out. Most learned scholars agree that the Shadows are still active, but they have simply changed their tactics. The thefts, killings, and espionage continue, and are still offered to anyone who knows the right questions to ask, but now the Shadows seem to have discovered an easier, more certain way of life. Like many other elven tribes, the Shadows have discovered trade.

The general populace knows little about the Shadows, thinking of them only as mysterious elves who appear – sometimes unexpectedly – to offer their services to anyone who can afford them. As for the exact internal workings of the tribe, few know or care.All of this is fine with the Shadows. A vast and unthinkably old organization, the Shadows have survived this long by keeping their secrets safe from outsiders. The Shadows are divided into numerous cells, known as talons. Each talon is based in a different city and is responsible for all activities in the vicinity. A talon is led by a talon-master, usually a high-ranking rogue or wizard, who acts as patriarch (or matriarch) of what amounts to an extended family. Talon-masters meet once every ten years in a secret location to select the grand shadow master, who leads the tribe for the next decade. The grandmaster arbitrates disputes, selects new talon-masters, and coordinates all activities. The talon-masters are autonomous leaders, with no obligation to follow the grand master's edicts, but the grand master retains the right to remove talon-masters from office, so his wishes are usually respected. Below the talon-masters are numerous sub-commanders, known as shadow-masters, each responsible for a different section (or “claw”) of the talon. A fighter leads the mercenary claw, a wizard the magical claw, a thief the espionage claw, etc. Under the shadow-masters are numerous elves with skills appropriate to their section. Some Shadows are not associated with any particular claw, but work temporarily for whichever is most appropriate at the moment. Most talons have added a claw devoted exclusively to trade, led by a high-level trader and employing lower-ranking Shadows of every class. Various claws, their rules, and organization, are listed below. Some details vary from talon to talon, but the basic functions remain the same. 

This is the claw most frequently encountered by outsiders. Many Shadow mercenary claws are known only as freebooters with no connection to the mysterious elves. These groups have their own history, heraldry, and uniforms, leading customers to believe that they are independent elven mercenaries.

Shadow defilers favor spells of stealth, deception, and illusion (there are a large number of illusionist specialists). These specialists are almost always assigned individually to assist other claws in the pursuit of missions. As with the mercenaries, members of the magical claw sometimes masquerade as independent agents, hiring out to the highest bidder. Funds from their employment go back to the magician's talon, without the knowledge of the employer.

Thievery is one of the Shadows' specialties. This claw includes mostly thieves, plus a few illusionists skilled in concealment spells. Numerous supposedly impregnable vaults and heavily guarded fortresses have fallen to their near miraculous skill. The Shadows' skill as thieves has entered popular legend, for if a certain task is deemed impossible, a popular proverb states that “you might as well try to hide treasure from the Shadows”. The Shadows' services do not come cheaply. A deposit of up to 100 gold pieces is required for particularly difficult assignments, an amount that few Athasians can afford. After the job is done, the Shadows demand up to one-half the value of the item they are asked to steal. Woe unto the individual who cheats the Shadows, for the item in question will invariably disappear, along with much of the employer's wealth.

The Shadows' skill at intrigue is every bit as impressive as their talent for theft. Secrets known only in the deepest hearts of Athasian nobles have become common knowledge or fallen into the hands of extortionists as a result of the Shadows' activities. Secret trade agreements, communications between conspirators, and crimes against sorcerer-kings – all are targets of the Shadows' spies, and nothing seems truly safe. Should the Shadows feel that their employer will use the information gained for evil or selfish purposes or to harm the innocent, that employer may well find himself the target of the Shadows' vengeance. Often, information or acts similar to what the employer requested are visited upon him, or his enemies learn his most devastating secrets. There is no telling exactly when the Shadows' sense of fair play will be offended, but when it is, disaster invariably follows.

Raiding claws are not assigned as much as they are simply unleashed. Those who require their services often hire them simply to disrupt an enemy's caravan traffic. Material gain is not an issue for the employer, as raiding claws take all they find as part of the claw's pay. These claws have a composition similar to a normal tribe, with fighters, scouts, wizards, and so on. Pay depends on the plunder to be gained from the target.

Extremely lucrative targets are raided for next to nothing (a few dozen gold pieces), while poorer victims cost more (hundreds or thousands of gold pieces).

Until recently, trade was a limited part of the Shadows' activities. Small merchant claws were maintained to fence stolen goods or to buy supplies needed by the talon. In the past few years, however, Shadow merchants have gained considerable status, and their activities have grown to equal or eclipse the Shadows' familiar pursuits. Trade with the Shadows is simple. They will buy or sell anything, anytime, anywhere, and to virtually anyone. Prices depend on the Shadows' attitude toward the individual. Buyers or sellers of chaotic or good alignment are usually favored, although those of a neutral bent also receive good treatment. Evil or lawful individuals can get good deals, but they must bargain skillfully. The only groups the Shadows refuse to deal with are the sorcererkings and their templars. They will even deal with outside defilers, although they charge exorbitant prices for doing so. Most often, Shadows appear and disappear as silently and mysteriously as their name suggests. An individual in need of a certain item will often find that exact item offered to him by a mysterious, hooded elf who speaks little but always delivers as promised. Shadows sometimes operate out of a normal elven market, usually by agreement with the tribe that operates it. Although they will sometimes present themselves openly as Shadows, they most often do business in the guise of their host tribe, allowing their hosts a share of the profits. The Shadows never themselves operate elven markets, preferring to work individually or in very small groups.