Shadowseer

The Shadowseer is a political and religious leader within the Nesarian Vampire civilisation which presides over the many scattered Bloodhomes and seeks to unite the Vampire race behind a common purpose. The Shadowseer is not a supreme leader, but does have the final say in arbitrating disputes that are brought to her, and all Bloodhomes are expected to obey her requests. The most important role of the Shadowseer, though, is establishing a communication link with Silaris the Great Raven, enabling Silaris' magic to work through the Shadowseer and allowing the Vampires to know the will of their Titanic guardian. The Shadowseer is therefore, essentially, a Witch through which Silaris acts, but since the disappearance of magic there has been no recorded proof of communication or witchery.

The Shadowseer was helped by an organisation of assistants known as the Watchers, who aided the Shadowseer wherever possible and were responsible for appointing the next Shadowseer upon the death of the old. Each Bloodhome would offer up a candidate to become the next Shadowseer, which had to be between the ages of 10 and 15 (for context, a Vampire grew to full maturity at around the age of 25), and had to possess faith and adequate strength of body and mind. Once the Watchers had narrowed down their choice of candidates to the two most suitable, they would carry out the Rite of Appointment to decide which would become the Shadowseer. What actually occured during the Rite is completely unknown, though those who believe that the role of the Shadowseer was to act as a Witch to host Silaris' power also believe that the Rite of Appointment involved contacting Silaris to present the two choices, and the Watchers would pick whichever candidate the Titan favoured.

Once the candidate for the new Shadowseer had been chosen, they underwent a rigorous program of training, including physical fitness, education on theology, law and history, and the introduction of physical changes to make the Shadowseer able to commune with the shadows. This entire process typically lasted for five years. Because of the length of time involved in this process, many elderly Shadowseers who knew they were going to die soon consented to beginning the selection process early, so that the new Shadowseer could replace them rapidly after their death rather than leaving a gap, which could be dangerous.

The physical changes introduced to a Shadowseer appeared to make the frailness of their Vampiric skin even more extreme, requiring them to remain covered from the sunlight at all times. They would also turn the Shadowseer's eyes milk-white and render them unable to see during the height of daytime due to the overwhelming brightness, but it gave them excellent night-vision, and were crucial for "seeing into the shadows" (i.e. observing dimensional rifts which allowed communication to and from the Dreadlands). The Shadowseer was also granted increased strength and height. Some sources claimed that the Shadowseer was castrated as part of the process, whereas others vehemently refuted this as untrue, whilst admitting that the process rendered the Shadowseer infertile. These physical changes, according to one source, were caused by the implantation of a black magical crystal called a Key into the chest of the Shadowseer, which would then dissolve and dissipate its energy throughout the body.

The Shadowseer wore a distinctive costume of black robes, which were carefully designed to never let a single ray of sunlight touch the Shadowseer's extremely pale skin. Much like most Vampire nobility, she wore a long, flowing hooded cloak which was pulled over her head whenever she was at risk of encountering daylight, but she additionally wore a veil with an integrated silver tiara inlaid with striped onyx, which she only took off when in private with the Watchers.