Ten Shadows

The Ten Shadows, called Tömshan Ye Xü [tʌ́ɱʃàn je ᵏ!͡¡ʊ] in Iskel, are the ten rulers of Legwa Rrina. They are elusive and immortal individuals consumed by their need to control the others. All Shadows are individual characters in Nguhcraft lore, but all managed by Suwi. The Ten Shadows and their situation were based on the Skeksis from the 1982 film The Dark Crystal.

The Shadows are stuck in an endless chase for power that has lasted for centuries. Turning to unnatural sources of power, the Shadows perfected the use of magic and ended up corrupting their land. This recklessness drove away all of the country's inhabitants, and stripped it of its cultural history. Today, few records of the civilization remain. The Shadows continue their eternal game of chess against each other in their stronghold. Their once-governmental roles slowly transformed into more efficient ways of discreetly gaining the upper hand. They fear overt abuse of power as it would risk retaliation from every other Shadow. The Shadows could be described as having an addiction to gaining power because they seek it without conscious reason or purpose. Yet, they retain remarkable skills of manipulation and foresight necessary to advance them in their struggle.

Tömshan Clü Zhǎla-no (About the Shadows)

Each Shadow performs a unique role in their society. They gain power by moving to a higher point in the hierarchy, which is achieved by the Shadow using their role to make others submit to their authority out of respect for their own twisted culture. Every Shadow has to compete with those at a lower or equal status because they are trying to surpass them, and those at a higher status who are trying to avoid being surpassed. There typically is not a singular most powerful Shadow that outranks the rest. This is because one Shadow's role is very often not enough to devalue the others'. Quite the opposite, the more power one Shadow has over the others, the less they are able perform the role of those with lesser power. There are circumstances when one Shadow very clearly rules over all the rest, but these are rare and primarily happen when the collective focus of the Shadows happens to shift into the domain of one Shadow's role. This happens regardless of whether the focus is positive or negative regarding a situation.

Elder

The Elder aims to bring the light of the gods into the ŋorld and claims to have a deep connection to the divine. It is important to note that the Elder does not revere purity. They are as wicked and tormented as the other Shadows. Their worship of the gods is blind and guided by the search for power. The Elder, in no capacity, wishes to reduce suffering.

Mage

The Mage studies and uses magic, primarily experimenting with enchantments and sculk.

Warmonger

The Warmonger grows their power by conquering other lands. However, they are only able to do so once in a stable enough position within the ever-shifting hierarchy.

more to come