Difference between revisions of "Shade"

Shades exist in two general states, enraged and non-enraged.{{book ref|sfs}} Shades are enraged when those around them violate the Simple Rules by moving quickly at night, lighting a fire, or drawing the blood of another. Whether or not a shade is enraged impacts both the behavior and appearance of a shade wildly. During the daylight hours, non-enraged shades are fully transparent and therefore invisible and respond to violations of the Simple Rules more slowly than they do at night. When night falls, non-enraged shades appear as ethereal, translucent, white figures that glow softly in the night. A shade's own luminescence is faint, but they may be illuminated more strongly by [[glowpaste]]. They move lazily, floating just above the ground with waves of white an arm's length long trailing behind them. As most shades are formerly people, they take the shape of the person they were before becoming a shade. However, older shades begin to lose their distinct human forms and their features begin to shift and become indistinct. A shade's eyes are said to be dead looking, void of emotion and any sign of life. Unlike many species of Cognitive Shadows, shades are not as self-aware as other Cognitive Shadow.{{wob ref|2110|General Signed Books 2016|date=2016-07-31}} They may retain some memory of the people they once knew in life, but even this is uncertain.{{book ref|sfs}} They do not typically react to people or events in the Physical Realm, although whether they cannot see or simply do not care is unknown. In their normal state, they wander aimlessly and without purpose unless their attention is drawn and they enrage. Shades are naturally lightly repelled by living creatures, unless they have become enraged. Populations of shades in specific regions of the Forests fluctuate, which can dictate how many people travel through that area.▼

Violation of the Simple Rules is the only known way to cause a Shade to enrage and take notice of the Physical Realm.{{book ref|sfs}} Quick motion will only draw their ire during the night, and appears to be the least dangerous rule to violate as shades enrage more slowly. If a shade begins to enrage due to quick motion, falling still may cause the shades to return to their more placid state. Kindling a fire also is a violation of the Simple Rules and will draw the attention of a large number of shades. However, the light of a flame blinds shades, leaving them confused and dazed. If a fire is kindled shades will enrage quickly with no hope that they will calm down until they have tried to attack the perpetrator. They are drawn first to the source of the fire and then will look for any quick movements around it. It is worth noting that it is the act of lighting a fire, not the presence of fire itself that enrages the shades. Fire-crazed shades can still be fought with careful strategy and coordination, defeating the nearby shades and moving away from the source of the fire. Drawing the blood of another person enrages that shades the quickest and causes them to be the most aggressive and dangerous. They will seek to kill the person who drew the blood first, but their rage puts anyone nearby in extreme danger. It is worth noting that blood produced by accidents or normal body processes does not enrage the shades. The blood must be exposed to the air in order for shades to notice it; the Threnodites believe they can smell it. Even if blood is drawn in a place protected by silver, shades will still throw themselves at the barriers and attempt to enter. Enraged shades will still be drawn to recently deceased corpses that are still warm, which they will still wither away.▼

When the Simple Rules are violated, and a shade begins to enrage their appearance changes as well. They come to a complete halt and their forms bleed to a deep black color as they enrage. As their earthsight engages, their eyes burst alight with a glowing green color that trails a misty light and they look around and take notice of events in the Physical Realm. In the case that blood is drawn, their eyes turn from green to crimson as they enter their most enraged state. Enraged shades move more quickly than those that are non-enraged. Once a shade has enraged and attempted to punish the violation, it will eventually return to its more placid behavior.▼

Shades are a Cognitive Shadow generated when a person{{book ref|sfs}} or another animal{{wob ref|date=2016-2-20|7445|Calamity Philadelphia signing}} is killed by another shade{{book ref|sfs}} It is uncertain what mechanism controls this process. However it is known that the Cognitive aspect of the person is imprinting on extra available Investiture, allowing this Investiture to remain sentient after the death of the person's Physical form.{{au ref|threnody}} This is due to the high levels of ambient Investiture on Threnody,{{wob ref|8324|Oathbringer release party|date=2017-11-13}} possibly left over from the death of Ambition. The absence of any Shards on the planet itself however impacts the shades, causing them to behave differently than other Cognitive Shadows.{{wob ref|6891|Words of Radiance San Francisco signing|date=2014-03-06}} This is possibly the cause of their diminished self-awareness. The exact population of shades is uncertain but is known to number in at least the thousands and is in reality likely much higher.{{book ref|sfs}} As shades are themselves composed of Investiture, they struggle to leave Threnody's subastral, but would be able to survive elsewhere if they managed to do so.{{wob ref|8543|Oathbringer Portland signing|date=2017-11-16}}▼

Shades are almost entirely incorporeal, able to pass through solid substances like walls.{{book ref|sfs}} The most dangerous of a shade's ability is its touch. A touch from a shade withers and blackens flesh, causing it to pull in towards the bone. Black tendrils rise on a person'skin. The skin on a face touched by a shade pulls in towards their eyes and cheeks, lips pulling towards their teeth. Their eyelids shrivel up and their eyes feel dry as their vision goes cloudy, eventually leaving their eyes milky and blind. A shade's touch causes a sensation of icy cold pain and numbness in the affected body parts. The fingers of a shade are their only corporeal component, able to grip and hold their prey. While the hands are the only tangible part of a shade, touching it at all is harmful and accidentally walking through one is deadly. A person who has been badly withered may not survive and are often rendered crippled for life. They will often sleep for a long periods after they are withered and some components of their body may refuse to return to their old state if the treatment takes too long. Damaged body parts appear withered and skeletal and must be removed afterwards. Prolonged contact over a large area of a person's body can cause death. In a person's final moments, they will tremble and spasm, arching their back. Their head may crumble in on its self and their eyes may sink into their head. Upon their death, the shade will turn a person's flesh to dust and simply leave behind a blackened and ruined skeleton and their clothing. A person killed by a shade's touch will become a shade themselves at some point after their death.▼