Umbra

After Mosk Manytrees kills Davix, what is left of Davix (besides his heartsong) goes to an icy dream realm, which Mosk later dreamwalks to. Neither of them know what Davix is. At their second meeting, Davix theorizes that he might be a, 'ghost. Ahma. Andi. **Umbra**. Or apparition. Wraith. Shade.'

Davix in this state is substantially weakened, and cannot escape the icy realm. He also loses some of his memory prior to arriving, and only regains some of it when he absorbs some of Mosk's magic. When Mosk drains him almost dry, Davix begins truly fading away, and Mosk has to provide him with magic to keep him there.

## Folklore/Mythology

'The term *shade* in classical mythology translates Greek σκιά, or Latin *umbra*, in reference to the notion of spirits in the Greek underworld.'

'In literature and poetry, a shade (translating Greek σκιά, Latin *umbra*) is the spirit or ghost of a dead person, residing in the underworld.

An underworld where the dead live in shadow is common to beliefs in the ancient Near East, in Biblical Hebrew expressed by the term *tsalmaveth* (צַלמָוֶת: lit. "death-shadow", "shadow of death"; alternate term for Sheol). The Witch of Endor in the First Book of Samuel notably conjures the ghost (*owb*) of Samuel.

Only select individuals are exempt from the fate of dwelling in shadow after death, and instead ascend to the divine sphere. This is the apotheosis aspired to by kings claiming divinity, and reflected in the veneration of heroes. Plutarch relates how Alexander the Great was inconsolable after the death of Hephaistion up to the moment he received an oracle of Ammon confirming that the deceased was a hero, i.e. enjoyed the status of a divinity.

Shades appear in Book Eleven of Homer's *Odyssey*, when Odysseus descends into Hades, and in Book Six of Virgil's *Aeneid*, when Aeneas travels to the underworld. In the *Divine Comedy* by Dante Alighieri, many of the dead are similarly referred to as shades (Italian *ombra*), including Dante's guide, Virgil.'

## References

1. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 3 January 2019. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17959874/chapters/42417629. Chapter 1: The Past Revisited.
2. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 29 March 2019. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17959874/chapters/43252853. Chapter 3: Pushed Over.
3. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 23 January 2020. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17959874/chapters/53470720. Chapter 24: Bound Together.
4. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 30 August 2019. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17959874/chapters/48516644. Chapter 13: The Glory of the House of Atros.
5. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 6 February 2020. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17959874/chapters/53990812. Chapter 25: Reversals.
6. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 19 November 2020. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/67599242. Chapter 7: Bad Habits.
7. ↑ "Ghost". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost. Accessed 5 May 2021.
8. ↑ "Shade (mythology)". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shade\_(mythology). Accessed 5 May 2021.