Black Shadows Assassin Group

## Origins (1736-1800)

The Group's Symbol

The Black Shadows were founded on July 26, 1736 in London, England. Their first leader was Benjamin Sorenson , a former blacksmith from London who witnessed his family being murdered by Lorraine Tippanov , the future founder of the Frost Claws assassin group . Sorenson was so enraged that he decided to take action. He called for anybody who wanted revenge for their family's or friends' deaths. He called his team the Shadows of London. Within two weeks of recruitment, Sorenson had recruited over 200 men and women who thirst for revenge. He appointed former nobleman Jack O'Daniel second in command at their first meeting on August 11, 1736. Sorenson led the group for 13 years before he died of food poisoning on March 16, 1749 at the age of 39. O'Daniel was appointed leader after his death. However he changed the group's name from the Shadows of London to the Black Shadows because of their clothing choice of black attire. He appointed Scotswoman Jeanne Carter second in command the same day he was appointed leader. Jack was the one who decided that instead of the group being vigilantes out for revenge, he decided to go down a much darker path and made the group an assassin team. Jack led the group for 20 years, changing the way the group acted. During his 20 year reign, Jack was captured by the Dragon Hearts assassin group and was tortured for four weeks. He eventually escaped, nearly dying from his injuries. Luckily he survived the ordeal. Jack was also the one who came up with the group's motto, *in nostra sociis obumbratio,*which translates to *The shadows are our allies* from Latin. Jack was killed by a Dragon Heart on May 19, 1769 in a battle in Bucharest, Romania at the age of 54. Jeanne became leader two days after his death on May 21, 1769. She was 40 years old and 6 months pregnant. She appointed Jack's brother Brandon O'Daniel second in command that day. Jeanne gave birth to her daughter Suzanne six weeks after her appointing of leader. But Suzanne died of dysentery three months after her birth. Jeanne was leader for only 3 years. She left the group on June 17, 1772, making Brandon leader that day. He appointed his fiance Marceline Adams second in command that day. Brandon was 29 at the time of his appointing. He married Marceline on September 27, 1776 at the Black Shadows' base. Brandon was leader for 19 years since Jeanne's leaving. Brandon witnessed his son Harry's birth on October 19, 1783. On July 26, 1791, the group's 55th anniversary, the group saw Brandon get killed by Marceline right in front of them. He was 39 when he died by her hand. She was then killed by weapons master Nicholas Sharkozy. Because of his heroic act, Sharkozy appointed himself leader that day. He appointed his good friend Jason Jones second in command. However, Sharkozy was leader for only 9 years. He died of a heart attack on April 29, 1800 at the age of 59.

## Growth (1800-1850)

Shortly after Sharkozy's death, Jones became leader, appointing Harry O'Daniel second in command. During his 14 year reign of leadership, Jones, along with O'Daniel, helped the group grow. By 1805, the group had close to 100,000 men and women. On November 16, 1809, the Dragon Hearts Assassin Group attacked the Black Shadows at their base. It caused Jason to be permanently blind in his right eye. That day, the Black Shadows forced the Dragon Hearts off of their property. The Shadows suffered 300 casualties and over 500 injuries. For the last 5 years, Jason struggled to keep the group together. But it was too much for him. He hung himself in his room on May 1, 1814 at the age of 49. Harry became leader after the devastating loss of Jason. Harry appointed Amanda Coughlin second in command. Harry was the leader for 15 years. He married Amanda on July 20, 1821 on the Black Shadows' base. Amanda wasn't able to bear any children however to carry on the O'Daniel legacy. It didn't matter to Harry though as him and Amanda were the only ones who will carry on the O'Daniel legacy. Harry died of pneumonia after his 15 year reign on August 18, 1829 at the age of 46, making his widowed wife Amanda become leader. Amanda appointed Karina Sojourner second in command. Amanda was leader for 11 years. She was the one woman able to successfully take out the leader of the Frost Claws on February 16, 1834. Amanda died on October 30, 1840 at the age of 43 of grief. Sojourner became leader that day, appointing Patricia Nowacki second in command. She was leader of 10 years. Karina was not the best leader however. She caused the death of 80 members intentionally. Patricia finally decided enough was enough. She tainted Karina's drink. Karina died on November 10, 1850 at the age of 42.

## Rebuilding the Group (1850-1900)

After Patricia killed Karina, she became leader. At that point, she didn't believe in second in commands. She abolished the position after becoming leader. She made an attempt to rebuild the group. She was leader for 19 years. She was known as the She-Devil of the Black Shadows. She killed over 150 men and women of the Dragon Hearts and Frost Claws. She was killed in a knife fight against a Dragon Heart on July 17, 1869 at the age of 48. She appointed Alan Crawford leader that day. Alan thought that removing the rank of second in command was a bad idea so he brought it back. He gave his sister Carol the job. Crawford was leader for 9 years. He witnessed the Northern Raiders Assassin Group being founded in 1870. He immediately ran back and began doubling his efforts to take them out. On June 28, 1878, Crawford was killed in a boating accident. He was 51 when he died. Stricken with grief, Carol stepped down and gave the rank of leader to Matthew Mason, who appointed Syrena Sarconi second in command. Mason was leader for 11 years. In those 11 years, Matthew and Syrena recruited over 200 men and women who wanted to exact revenge. On December 15, 1889, Matthew was killed by a gangster who was working for a group issued by the Northern Raiders. He was 36 when he died. Syrena stepped in as leader, appointing her brother Jonathan as second in command. Syrena had a side job of working as a bartender in Bristol, England. She was leader for 11 years as well. Her biggest achievement was successfully conducting the first torture interrogation, the main method of the Black Shadows. She successfully killed an informant from the Frost Claws, who was spying on the Shadows. On March 19, 1900, Syrena led a group of Shadows to kill Cameron Cook of the Northern Raiders. But she was fatally stabbed in the belly. She returned to London, only to die two days later from her wounds. She was the youngest leader to die in the Shadows' history, at only 32.

## Road of Despair and Bad Luck and Ultimate Disbandment (1900-1950)

After Syrena's death, Jonathan decided to carry on her legacy. He became leader, appointing Jordan Malachai second in command. Jonathan was leader for 10 years. Little did he know that his reign would be the start of some bad luck in the group. In 1906, Jonathan was captured and tortured for 2 years by the Dragon Hearts. He escaped, but was stabbed in the eye before he officially escaped. Jonathan was deemed blind in one eye for the rest of his reign. On May 26, 1910, Jonathan was silently murdered by a Northern Raider. He was 46 when he was murdered. Jordan found him the next morning dead. Jordan announced the news and made himself leader, appointing Karen Genetski leader. Jordan was leader for 10 years as well. He was somewhat successful with his leadership. He had an affair with Karen from 1911 to 1916. He broke up with her as he was only interested in keeping the group together. Karen understood it and continued to serve as his second in command. Jordan was killed by a Dragon Heart on May 29, 1920. He was 43 when he died. Karen became leader, appointing Sasha Coen second in command. Karen was not the best leader but she wasn't the worst leader however. She was raped by a Northern Raider on June 21, 1925 while on contract in Glasgow, Scotland. She returned to London, half-naked and bloody. She was treated for her injuries but the Raider got her pregnant. She ordered for the baby to be killed when it was born. On March 26, 1926, she gave birth and they killed the baby. That was the one event that made Karen realize that a curse had fallen over the Black Shadows. Karen was killed on June 26, 1930 by a Frost Claw. She was 53 when she died. Sasha became leader after that, appointing Mazie Swanson as second in command. She was leader for 10 years as well. However she was the first person to see a new faction rise in 1937; the Dark Angels Assassin Group. Sasha was murdered by a Dark Angel on September 13, 1940 in New York while on contract. She was the oldest to die at 60 years old. Upon hearing the news, Mazie immediately jumped into action, appointing no second in command for fear of that person would be dead after 10 years. She set out to break this curse. She made a promise to the group that after 10 years, they would have to disband to give each other some time. Sure enough after 10, Mazie was still alive and she watched as her fellow Shadows left forever, or so it seemed.

## Reemerging of the Shadows and Alliance with the Northern Raiders (1980-present)

It seemed that a man formerly from the Frost Claws set out to bring back the Black Shadows. That man was Sergei Sarkov. Along with his wife Alina, who was pregnant with their child, they successfully rebuilt the Black Shadows with Sergei taking on the role of leader. On May 25, 1984, Alina gave birth to their daughter, Zalina Sarkov. Seven years later, Alina gave birth to a son, Jacob "Jake" Sarkov on July 27, 1991. After Zalina was kidnapped by the Dragon Hearts in 1997, Sergei struggled to protect Jake, who was 6 at the time from being kidnapped. Finally, on January 11, 1998, Sergei finally said that the group will be dormant until Zalina's return. Nine years later, Zalina returns to see that her parents were dead and Jake missing. She assumes the position of leader where she has been leading ever since. After Jake's return the same year, Zalina appointed Jake second in command. Zalina made an alliance with Jon Durik of the Northern Raiders on May 31, 2017.

## Personality of the Group

The Black Shadows have a very dark personality. They are sinister, sadistic, intimidating, and overall violent. When they are with their fellow clanmates, they are more laid back, calm, sympathetic, caring, and more importantly nice. However some members of the Shadows are more prone to anger, such as Kolrak. Most of them had troubled pasts like the Sarkov children. Even the Sarkov children's cousins had troubled pasts.

## Skills

Each member of the Black Shadows have a very unique set of skills. However most of them have the exact same type of skills. Some of the more popular skills are sword fighting, knife fighting, and knife throwing. Examples of members who have unique sets of skills are Zalina, Jake, Sammy Stark, and Sirax. Zalina is proficient in archery, Jake is proficient in sharpshooting, Sammy Stark is proficient dealing with poisoned kunai and a mastery of martial arts, and Sirax was proficient in using handguns.