The Metaphysics of Shadow is a set of heretical beliefs on the true nature of reality, dating from the early days of the founding of the Mithran Relgion (or possibly even earlier). These beliefs were expunged from both major branches of the religion around the time of the Great Schism of the Mithran Church, one of the few subjects both sides agreed upon.
This spiritual belief holds that two fundamental realities exist, which often oppose each other; the reality of the material world (described as evil and corrupt and the source of mankind’s base nature) and the spiritual world (the source of mankind’s higher impulses).
The spiritual reality is described as being the true reality, far more powerful and important then the physical world, which is essentially just a shadow or reflection of the true world. This spiritual world is not necessarily good or beneficial however, it contains entities and horrors that are ruinous to life.
This spiritual world is more commonly known as "The Shadow" or the "The Shadowlands" or the "Shadow Sea" in more mainstream philosophies, though the Metaphysics of Shadow claims this is a misnomer and it is our material world that is the shadow.
Some philosophers also claimed this sea was fed by a single river, the “River of Shadow” which flowed from a single spring at the center of existence. The Shadowlands themselves are often described as the shores of that shadowy sea, where it “washes up on the world of the flesh”.
This philosophy of the supremacy of the spiritual over the physical is reflected in the structure of the metaphysics, which details seven major elements that make up all of creation, only one of which is physical
The metaphysics also claims that all intelligent beings are composed of a blending of these elements, though in most people the mixing is not perfect or balanced.
These elements are
- Light
- Darkness
- Mirror
- Dream
- Music
- Spirit
- Flesh
The Metaphysics of Shadow holds that these elements exists in a complex relationship to one another, some opposing eachother (as light does with darkness) or naturally allied (as Dream and Memory).
These early Mithran philosophers also described one final, composite element, that of Shadow. The philosophers claim that this element is the ultimate expression of blending all the seven together in harmony and is the fundamental force of creation and the fundamental structure of the cosmos.