The Great Shade

The Greatest Being to have ever existed

The Great Shadow

The Foggy Monster

The Giant

Primitives (Maggots)

> "*The Great Shade was our Ancestor. We ARE parts of it. We shall not tremble before such filths and kin betrayers as angels. We will remain while they will die.*"
> ― Vorgach to his clan.
>
>

The Great Shade was a being who lived on Arken long before the Primitives, as one of the many beings created by Archeus. It is considered the origin of all lives on Arken, as its maggots evolved to become Primitives while what remained of its head generated the Titans. Its body as a whole also became the basis for the Continent of Arken.

## History

The Great Shade is one of the many beings created by Archeus at the beginning of Arken. In every ways as colossal as the others, it grew even more by feeding on them, quickly becoming the tallest creature of the entire planet. Taking advantage of the constant mist and thunderstorms, it became even more of a deadly predator, and wasn't affected by the Stoneskin Disease that Archeus created in the same way as its siblings, as it could still move. However, as the Great Shade grew bigger and bigger, it came to fly close to Archeus and craved to eat her. After trying to aggress her, Archeus killed the Great Shade and sculpted the continent from its flesh. From its head came the Titans that walked on its body and its maggots evolved to become the Primitives. The island located around its heart became the island where Alhoon is. Its blood became the World Sea, flooding the Thundering Wastes, until only the Thunder Isles remained as a vestige.

The Great Shade is seen as a deity by Primitives, who rever it as their creator, and used it in the iconography of Alhoon, their most important city. It was also part of the religion of the first humans, as a reminescence, spreading many myths about a monster's body being used as a ground.

## Powers and Abilities

* **Size:** The Great Shade was the tallest creature of Arken, and at the time of its death, was big enough to circle the whole planet. Its blood serves as the sea while its body serves as the continent of Arken.
* **Heat View:** The Great Shade seems to have been able to see the heat of its opponents. It can be tied to it being made by Archeus. In a similar way, the constant fog around it could be a consequence of it, sucking the heat of the environment to keep it.
* **Creation:** Its death created the Titans and the wildlife of Arken as a whole.
* **Acid Blood:** Its blood is acid, like Primitive blood.
* **Resistance to the Stoneskin Disease:** While it still ended up dying because of it, the Disease did not prevent it to move until very late after catching it. It is suspected it's this inherited resistance that made Primitives immune to it.

## Trivia

* The Great Shade is the main deity of Primitive Paganism. Since the Primitive Empire, it is tied to the city of Alhoon, as the Great Shade is supposed to be Alhoon's dedicated deity.
	+ As Humans descend from Primitives, myths of a great monster being killed and used to shape the world are derivated from the Great Shade.
* The Achalayr Dynasty claimed to be the Great Shade born again to unite Primitives. In a similar way, Vorgach was allegedly claimed by the Great Shade's followers to be the same.
* While not linked to them directly, the Great Shade notably looks like a Dragon, specifically what could a proto-Dragon would look like. Considering Dragons' link to Archeus as embodiments of Elemental Magic, and the Great Shade being technically created by Archeus and being able to use what seems like some sort of elemental magic, it is possible that the Great Shade is indeed a proto-dragon.