Shadar-Kai

The Shadar-Kai are fey elves reborn in the darkness of the Shadowfell by the power of the Raven Queen. The Shadar-kai are the eternal servants of the Raven Queen, appearing in the material plane or Feywild to be similar to a Moon Elf, but in the Shadowfell their true form is visible, that of an eternally scarred being of darkness.

### History of the Shadar-Kai

The Shadar-Kai were once those who served a powerful Elven queen in the early days after the split of the Seldarine. She had pushed herself to a high seat of power which she used in an attempt to mend the relationships of Corellon and his kin, to no avail. Even still, her people remained at her side and she worked tirelessly towards her goal of reunifying all of the elvish peoples, when one day she remembered the work of one of her colleagues, an accomplished mage who had written countless tomes on the power of souls, their origin, and the capacity for power each soul carried within it. She used these theories to bind her followers to her own soul, and then used their power to augment her own, pushing her strength further until she rivaled the Gods in power. She and her people camped outside the Way-Gates of Arvandor itself, a powerful portal that allowed the members of the Seldarine to walk in the Feywild. After a terrible plague tore through the eladrin population, decimating the smaller way-camps of her followers the queen was forced into action and began a ritual to Force the gateway open and bring the Gods before their people to answer for their foolishness. The ritual was underway when the queen noticed an unexpected tug at the corners of her soul. All too late she was aware of a number of dark wizards among her followers that had latched onto the lines that powered her soul, draining those of her followers. In a rage she fought to destroy those who would ruin their chance at restoring the pantheon, but she was too strong now and did not know her own strength. She lashed back against the wizards and the ritual went wrong, in a horrifying blast of pure energy she and all of those around her were transported in a burst of energy to the Shadowfell and in the explosion the queen, her followers, and the Way-Gates of Arvandor were vaporized. As they died their screams gained supernatural power and twisted the dark wizards' forms, turning them into the Nagpa, who would bear her curse for all time.

The queen's soul was collected by Nerull while her physical form was left to waste away. The Shadar-Kai began to brim with the energy of shadows, memories began to circle and collect until their bodies were once more strong, and as their queen's soul grew stronger so too did their bodies. As they had before, they poured energy into her form until suddenly, it began to move. The swirling shadows that had surrounded her broken body began to fill the space like down in a pillow. She stood before them changed, and so too did their memories of her. The Raven Queen was all that stood before them and they agreed to serve for their bond was eternal. They constructed with her the Fortress of Memories where she holds the part of souls she believes most important and so too is the power of memory important to the Shadar-Kai.