Shade Magic

Shade Magic, also referred to as Dark Moment, Darkness Incarnate, and Darkness magic; is an advanced Dark Magic developed by He Who Walks in Shadows sometime around 70 BE. The actual capabilities of the magic involve the ability to manipulate your own shadow, with more powerful users able to change the properties of it. Like other forms of magic, Shade Magic is fueled exclusively by a unique form of warped magical energy stored in the body. The main difference, however, is that the energy that fuels shade magic is produced by the human heart after a series of special body modifications.
==Creation==
The magic originated when the man known as Shadowalker, working with the Children of Darkness, attempted to make humans more like their gods, which were known as Shades. After a lot of experimentation, Shadowalker succeeded in developing a special compound created using a combination of human blood and several magical energies. When injected into the body, this compound altered the bodies of the recipients, allowing them to produce the energy that would later be used to fuel this unique magic.
As time went on, more advanced forms of the modification compound were discovered, allowing shade mages to develop their abilities further. It was quickly noted that only those who had undergone basic modifications could receive further modifications, which resulted in the magics Stage System.
==Modification Process==
The process of modifying the body to use shade magic is considered to be inhumane, vile, and extremely painful. When the compound required is injected into the bloodstream, it begins to flow around throughout the recipients entire body and heart. Survivors of this process have noted that the feeling as the compound moved around was similar to shards of glass tearing up the sides of their veins. After a significant length of time, with the time being longer for later stages, the body will react to the compound. If your body failed to reject the compound, and the modification worked, the pain will simply subside. If your body rejected the compound, and the modification failed, your body will forcibly release whats left of the compound immediately, usually in the form of vomiting.
==Stages==
As mentioned before, further versions of the compound allowed for more advanced modifications, and therefore more powerful abilities. It should be noted that when your shadow is being manipulated, light no longer has any effect on it.
===Stage 1===
Stage 1 shade mages are only able to produce enough energy to do basic actions with their shadow. The only known ability is the power to manipulate the shape of your shadow, allowing you to give off the illusion that it is moving around. While useless on its own, Stage 1 is the basis used for the later stages.
===Stage 2===
Stage 2 shade mages are given a bit more freedom, with the power to latch onto the shadows of others. When your shadow is latched onto another, the victim's shadow effectively becomes the controller of the bodies movements. In other words, stage 2 allows you to either paralyze, or forcibly control the movements of others, so long as you link to their shadow.
===Stage 3===
Stage 3 is considered the first stage in using shade magic for offensive purposes. Stage 3 shade mages gain the ability to give solid form to their shadows, as well as bringing them off of the ground.
===Stage 4===
Stage 4 is a rare and advanced form of shade magic, and the first that allows the user to empower themselves. This stage allows the user to wrap their own shadow around certain parts of their body, increasing either the speed or physical strength of whatever is covered.
===Stage 5===
Stage 5 is an extremely rare stage, as well as the most advanced form currently discovered. This stage allows the user to fuse certain parts of their body with their shadow, in order to change the bodies own properties. Examples would be sinking into your shadow in order to remove a physical form, or fusing with your shadow in order to gain even more effective results than stage 4 abilities.
===Stage 6===
Stage 6 is a relatively recently discovered stage, and the effects have yet to be officially finalized. However, what is known suggests that stage 6 allows one to use shade magic in complete darkness, which was previously impossible.
==Side Effects==
As with all forms of dark magic, shade magic has multiple side effects that occur when used.
*As the magic is fueled by energy produced by the heart, using the magic has an exhausting effect, with later stages having more of an effect.
*With each stage achieved, your natural lifespan is decreased, with stage 1 being 10% and stage 5 being half.
*The obvious weakness is either completely surrounding light or complete darkness, as shadows won't be able to produced in these conditions.
*As you progress through stages, your body begins to lose its "light." This causes your appearance to change.
**At stage 1, your sclera become light grey, your hair gets darker, and your skin gets paler.
**At stage 2, your sclera and hair continue to get darker, and your skin paler.
**At stage 3, your sclera and hair are dark grey, and your skin is unnaturally pale.
**At stage 4, your sclera are slightly black, your iris' grow darker, your hair is somewhat black, and your skin is extremely pale.
**At stage 5, your sclera are pitch black, your iris' are very dark grey, your hair is jet black, and your skin is pale enough to give off a slight glow.
**At stage 6, a large black mass appears on your skin above your heart, with black vein patterns stretching out of it, covering your entire body.
*Additionally, with each stage, your skin becomes more sensitive to light, with stage 1 being an itch and stage 5 causing severe burns. This only seems to happen when light directly touches the skin, so later stage shade mages usually wear thicker clothes that cover their entire body.
*The most notable side effect occurs in now the shade mages, but in any children they have after receiving modifications. These children that survive birth are known as Shadowborn.
**Shadowborn very rarely survive, unless both of their parents are shade mages of similiar stages.
**They are able to naturally use shade magic without the modifications.
**The stage they are depends on what stage their parents were. However, they are unable to advance to later stages.
**Finally, their appearance is dependant on what their parents looked like before becoming shade mages, and they never suffer from the appearance changes.
==Notable Users==
*Damien Tyr: Stage 6
*He Who Walks in Shadows: Unknown Stage
*Kristian Gleath: Stage 5
*Amorette VI: Stage 4 Shadowborn
*Kai: Stage 4 Shadowborn
Category:New Voldrania Category:Magic