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{{Magical Entities
|image=AU_Shadows_for_Silence.jpeg
|magic=Potentially [[Ambition]]
|world=Threnody
|books=[[Shadows for Silence]]
}}
{{quote
|People on Threnody are afflicted with a particular ailment that—upon death—sometimes turns them into what we call a Cognitive Shadow. I will leave aside the nature of whether or not a Cognitive Shadow is actually the soul of the person— this is a question for a theologian or a philosopher.
|Khriss on the subject of shades{{au ref|threnody}}
}}
A '''shade''' is a type of Cognitive Shadow that is native to the [[Forests of Hell]] on [[Threnody]].{{book ref|sfs}} Spirits of dead Threnodites, the shades haunt the Forests preying on travelers and can only be defeated with [[silver]]. The shades are dangerous and feared by all inhabitants of the Forests, as their touch can cripple and disfigure and may even kill a person and turn them into a shade.
== Nature and Abilities ==
{{quote
|A spirit infused with extra Investiture will often imprint upon that very power. Much as the [[spren]] of [[Roshar]] become self-aware over time because of people's focus on the [[Surge]]s as being alive, this excess Investiture can attain the ability to remain sapient after being separated from its Physical form.
|Khriss on the creation of shades{{au ref|threnody}}
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}}▼
{{sidequote
|One doesn't merely decide to become a shadow! It's an important rite! With requirements and traditions.
|Nazh to Kelsier{{msh ref|3|2}}
|right|300px;}}
▲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.
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