Year 18

"And so I said to the blacksmith, well if you're intending on killing the Emperor, you better damn well have a better plan than those group of thugs you've been supplying with weapons in the sewers. At least supply them to some thugs who the Emperor wouldn't be able to smell six miles away!" you say, and this is followed by a few laughs from some of your fellow shadows.
"Hah, good one brother! Tell me, what did you do to the blacksmith?" Brother Murk asks.
"Oh we relocated him to our safehouse in Derlerg along with his buddies, reported that we eliminated him as a dissident…you know the usual. I must say, their surprise that we aren't going to kill them is always amusing though." You reply.
"Yes, given our reputation, I imagine it is. Still, it's all for a good cause eh, brother?"
"Yes brother, it certainly is." You say to Murk with a nod and take another drink of black tea.
"Well I have to say I'm very glad you've finally managed to settle in brother, I have to admit, for awhile I was getting a little worried about you. You just didn't seem like yourself after our ceremony initiation." Talia says.
"Yeah, well I guess I was just a late bloomer or something."
"Don't worry about it brother, it's all in the past. What matters now is that we're all on the same page now." Murk replies.

On the same page…the problem is you really aren't on the same page. You haven't been since you got here. The other problem? You're starting to feel like you might be getting there though. During the time you were forced to socialize you just swallowed your fear and self-doubt and proceeded like it was any mission. And you were successful. Perhaps a little too successful.

Once you actually got sent out on a mission, you were paired up with Brother Murk. A fellow you had become semi-friendly with during your months of socializing. Your original plan was as soon as you left Gloom, you were going to run to the nearest Empire fort and make your report.

Though for this plan to succeed in any meaningful way you would've had to kill Murk and despite your better judgment, you couldn't bring yourself to do it. You later cursed yourself for this temporary weakness and the next time you were sent out, you vowed to yourself that you'd do it again, the problem was you had only become friendlier with Murk within that time. You failed again.

By the time they rotated your partnership and you were paired you with someone else, you still couldn't do it, because now you actually started to feel like the Shadow Guard really was like a family to you. And you liked that feeling. In fact it was the best you've felt in a long time.

Yet, now you are in a difficult position. You are still loyal to the Empire and the Emperor first, but you haven't been able to find the fortitude to expose the Shadow Guard for what they are. You attempt to rationalize it in your mind, by claiming the longer you stay the more you learn about their exact plans, and while that's certainly true, it really isn't the TRUTH.

The real truth is you're starting to believe in the Shadow Guard's cause slightly. You don't know if it's because you've spent so much time here that you've developed some sort of emotional attachment or some odd sort of subtle indoctrination.

Is this what Dendrin really had in store for you? Did he know you could be turned even without his intervention? Before you had that experience everything was so certain, your feelings weren't a constant source of ups and downs. Even under Mistress, you don't remember ever feeling this. It was either success or death. It was very simple and you preferred it.

Now you don't know what the hell you're doing. Are you a traitor? Are you still loyal? Are you both? Are you neither?

You excuse yourself from the rest of your brothers and sister and say you have to get some rest, though in reality you have to take a long look at your priorities. Once again you spend a few more months going through your usual routines and quietly suffering in silence.

That comes to a halt when Murk comes into the barracks one day…

"Hey, where are brother Cyrus and sister Talia?" he immediately asks you.
"Uh, sister Talia I think is in the library and brother Cyrus is probably with brother Draven somewhere." You reply.
"Oh, well I'll go get Talia, someone else can look for Cyrus, but you need to report to Master Ebon right away."
"What's this all about?"
"I don't know, just that he wants you, Talia and Cyrus to see him. Something about someone from the Empire wanting to meet with all three of you. Sounds important."

You get up and walk to Master Ebon's office which remains closed, so you wait. A few moments later, Talia joins you.

"Hello, brother. Isn't master Ebon here?"
"If he is, he isn't answering his door, so I've been waiting outside."
"Do you know what this is about?"
"Dunno, just that someone from the Empire wants to see us."

Talia nods and remains silent. Soon Cyrus joins you and asks a similar question, to which you answer in a similar manner. He grunts at you and stands as far from you as possible, though he says something polite to Talia. Same old Cyrus.

No sooner has Cyrus got there, when Ebon's door opens. You hear a voice that tells you to come in. You didn't even think he was inside, but you guess he was really waiting to see you all together. When you all enter, he tell Cyrus to close the door and gets right to the point.

"You three have been summoned by Mr. Mol. Apparently he wants to ask you a few questions and is insisting on doing it somewhere in the capital I believe. In any case, he claims he wants to check on your progress as an Eternal, but I suspect he's fishing for information about us."
"You don't think he suspects anything do you?" Talia asks.
"I do not believe he knows anything about our true goals, if he or anyone did, I have no doubt we would've been moved upon by now. No, I think this is just another Empire ploy to try to get more inside intel on our organization, which for the reasons I just mentioned they cannot know about."
"I won't say a word to this running dog of the Empire! My eyes have been open a long time and my loyalty is and will always be to Dendrin." Cyrus says.

Master Ebon nods. "Yes, I know it will be. I have no doubt, but I still would like you all to just be on your guard when answering questions none the less. It probably won't come to this, but kill yourselves if you have to. It won't be ideal, since it'll arouse suspicion, but it'll still give us time to go ahead with our plan anyway, even if it would be a few years early. Anyway, the three of you are to make your way to the town of Lenet and from there you'll take an Empire carriage to the capital. Return immediately if you are able. May Dendrin and the shadows hide your true intentions."

With those last words, Ebon sends you away and the three of you set off on your journey. You begin to feel nervous as soon as you leave Gloom, you weren't expecting this happening, but deep down you did know that something like it was going to happen eventually. You remain mostly quiet during the journey as you try to get in a certain frame of mind of what you're going to do or say. Cyrus is mostly silent as well, though you're guessing that's because he's so firmly entrenched in his belief in Dendrin, that he knows what he's going to say and do.

Talia is the only talkative one and that's mainly questions about what you both think Mr. Mol will ask you. You know she's dedicated herself to Dendrin, but you sense that perhaps she's a little nervous too, though you don't know if it's due to her new loyalty to Dendrin or because she's been harboring secret loyalty to the Empire like you have. You decide to imagine it's the latter, mainly because you want to make yourself feel better.

Eventually the carriage from Lenet reaches Qale, the Empire's capital and several soldiers immediately step forward to say they are here to escort you to Mr. Mol. The three of you are taken from the opulence of one of the main streets and quickly through a system of back alleys until you eventually reach a non-descript building. You enter and there you see Mr. Mol. It's the well dressed man you saw speaking to Brother Gray six years ago. He's also wearing the same formal black suit he was back then.

"Ah, the Shadow Eternals. I've so wanted to catch up with your progress, but my attention was on your less subtle peers for a while. I think we've sorted them out though, so now it's time to sort you out as well. Just a formality really, we just want to see if you're achieving your full potential in the Shadow Guard. After all you're Eternals first, and we wouldn't want your talents to not be used to their fullest potential in the service of the Emperor, right?"

Cyrus and Talia say nothing, but you feel obligated to acknowledge that question if only to not look suspicious.

"Correct. All that we are, we owe to the Emperor's will." you say.
"Glad to hear it! Now then we're just going to be asking you some questions, these soldiers will take you to a place to wait. Off you go."

At this point the three of are marched out of the room and down a long hallway. The cold broken stone walls and desolation of this place almost makes Gloom look cheery by comparison. Eventually you reach a door on your left and Cyrus is told to wait inside the room. He enters without a word, but gives you and Talia a look like "Say nothing!"

A few moments later you reach another door on the left, this time Talia is told to wait inside. She hesitates for a moment, but enters. She gives you a look as well, though this one is more of concern.

Finally you reach the last door on the left and you are told to enter and wait. You do so without looking at anyone. The door shuts behind you and the ominous sound of a lock is heard.

There isn't much you can do, so you sit down at one of the chairs in the middle of the room and wait.

And wait…and wait…and wait…and wait…

You don't know how much time has passed, but you get up and move about several times before sitting down again. You don't quite panic as much as you think you would, but being alone with your thoughts is definitely not the best thing for you. Right now you're already thinking they've managed to break Talia into talking and probably killed Cyrus.

Maybe if you cooperate right now, there will be leniency? Why shouldn't you cooperate? The Shadow Guard ARE traitors after all, and this is just the kick in the ass you needed to remind you of that.

But then there's the other part of you that feels loyal to the shadows and how you shouldn't betray them. You go back and forth what you're going to do several times, and then you hear the lock on the door. Mr. Mol enters…

You shadowy Agenda (More history and goals)

In the years you've been here, you've learned much more about the Shadow Guard's plans along with their history, which of course has a much positive spin than the usual things the Empire puts out about them or the common perception.

Before the Empire, the worshippers of Dendrin made their home in the Derlerg province. However, only a special few became "shadows" and they became more like protectors and holy people of the territory. Whole villages were dedicated to the worship of Dendrin, but there was no crusade or oppression of those who did not. Dendrin was not a deity that encouraged conversion by the sword, which is more than can be said for the Empire when they eventually arrived.

When the Empire (Still known as the Qualan Empire at the time) came to Derlerg, the people were unsure of what to do. Most wanted to fight off this potential aggressor, but instead they asked for the guidance of their Dendrin priests. The shadows then consulted each other, and finally Dendrin.

The answer to all surprised his faithful. Dendrin told them to surrender without a fight. He told them to not only surrender, but to swear loyalty to this "so called Emperor" and offer to be part of his armies. He said he knew where their true loyalties lay and that all would be revealed in time.

He told them to ask for only one stipulation of the Empire and that was that they are allowed to continue their worship and to never mention his name except among each other. (Hence why you've never heard the name of Dendrin, until you joined the Shadow Guard)

Trusting in Dendrin, the shadows obeyed. When they asked for an audience with the emperor they did exactly what Dendrin told them to. The Emperor was amazed and even overjoyed at such an offer. When he saw the powers that the shadows offered, he accepted their loyalty without many other questions. He was still hesitant about their insistence on their religion, but this was during a time when the Empire was less restrictive about such things and after proving themselves several times in the following years, the Emperor dismissed their worship as silly superstition, but ultimately not a threat to his power.

ed to decades and the Derlerg province eventually assimilated completely to the Empire. Most of the people who once worshipped Dendrin, didn't anymore and the new generation born were completely ignorant of him. However his shadows still kept the faith like they were suppose to, but there were still so few, and that's when Dendrin came to them again. He told them that they must start actively looking for worthy candidates to join or preferably, to breed with each other to produce more shadows.

This was a new order by Dendrin to actively recruit as opposed to people seeking out Dendrin themselves, but once again, the shadows obeyed. The Empire certainly didn't mind having more shadows to serve it either. It was around this time that the decree came that the Shadow Guard proper was formed to serve as a type of internal security since the Empire was growing larger and needed to weed out dissidents. Some most likely objected to this trust in the shadows, but the Emperor was convinced of their loyalty so they were elevated to the status they are today.

Unfortunately for him, the Emperor would've done well to be more paranoid and to have listened to his advisors at the time.

The Shadow Guard have been planning, and scheming and waiting since the very beginning to overthrow the Empire. Dendrin foresaw that if they resisted in the beginning they would've been crushed. True the Empire would've suffered losses, but his followers would've been wiped out completely, and without followers what use is a god?

Now centuries have passed. The Shadow Guard is so entrenched in the Empire that if it were to rebel now, as it surely will, the Empire would surely be vastly damaged and most likely fall. Right now the shadow guard's duty is to root out dissidents and that's true up to a point. Some are immediately passed over to the Empire to keep up appearances, others are killed if they prove unhelpful, but for those that are too useful to turn over and are willing to help, then they join the "normal" resistance that the Shadow Guard has been building up over the years. When the revolution comes, it won't just be the shadows rebelling.

Strangely, there doesn't seem to be any grand plans to "take over" though. The main goal seems to be overthrowing the Empire and gaining "freedom". This seems very odd to you. You could understand better if there was a system in place for the shadows to take power afterwards, but why would they want to overthrow something, only to leave anarchy behind?

It would seem the shadows are intending to do just that, and then a mass exodus back to the Delerg province to rebuild their old temple and continue to worship Dendrin. Nothing more, nothing less.

While you should find everything about this agenda repugnant, you can't help but respect and admire the patience and planning of such a cunning plan. You doubt if you could maintain such a facade for so long. Then again you've been blending in as one of them for two years now and your own loyalty isn't necessarily to them.

Perhaps you've come to respect the Shadow Guard so much because you've started to think like them…