Shadowkin: The Veil-Bound
“We are not lost in the dark. We are what walks within it.”
Overview
The Shadowkin are the Mythborn descendants of the ancient Myrran, a race once bound to the Veil—the liminal realm between light and dark, life and death, memory and dream. Shadowkin are not ghosts, nor undead, nor illusions. They are living echoes of twilight, the quiet ones who move through shadow not with fear, but with purpose.
While the Myrran have all but vanished into myth, the Shadowkin remain—subtle, secretive, and sacred to those who revere the balance between endings and beginnings.
Physical Traits
- Eyes: Deep violet, obsidian, or silver. Often lacking visible pupils, and may faintly glow in darkness.
- Skin: Shades of gray, ashen brown, twilight blue, or deep plum. Some shimmer subtly in moonlight.
- Hair: Typically black, silver, or deep indigo; sometimes appearing smoke-like at the ends.
- Other Traits: Shadowkin often move with near-silent grace. Their presence is unsettling to some—not through menace, but by uncanny stillness.
Culture
Shadowkin culture is centered on memory, silence, and sacred in-betweens. They value secrets not as power, but as protection. Truth is revealed only when one is ready to carry it.
- Dreams are sacred. They believe the Veil speaks through visions.
- Names hold power. Many have two names—one public, one only shared with their closest bonds.
- Death is not an end. It is a passage, a thinning of the veil.
Communities are often hidden—underground sanctuaries, fogbound cities, or shadowed groves. Their temples are built from dark stone, lit by soulglass or bioluminescence.
Magic & Abilities
Shadowkin are naturally attuned to Veil magic, which deals with memory, shadow, and hidden truth—not necromancy, but something older and quieter.
- Veilstep – Short-range displacement through shadow; appears as a blur or vanish.
- Echotouch – Read emotional imprints left on objects or places.
- Gloomsight – See in absolute darkness; detect illusions or hidden beings.
- Dreamspeak – Enter or influence dreams, especially during moonrise or trance.
- Whisperbind – Temporarily anchor a lingering spirit to communicate.
Advanced Shadowkin can shape shadow into tools or illusions, or even cloak entire spaces from perception.
Role in the World
- Memory Keepers: Guardians of forgotten truths, lost names, and ancient pacts.
- Dreamwalkers: Seekers of prophetic dreams or hidden knowledge.
- Investigators & Oracles: Called upon to solve mysteries, unveil corruption, or reveal soul-deep truths.
- Spirit Whisperers: Some serve as mediators between the living and the recently dead.
Relationships
- With Mortals: Feared, misunderstood, or romanticized. Some think them cursed; others see them as sacred.
- With Seers of Namsae: Strong affinity. Many Seers are Shadowkin, or were trained by them.
- With Noctari: Mortal enemies. Shadowkin reveal what the Noctari hide.
- With Druids: Distant respect. Shadowkin embody death as a natural part of life.
Lore & Legacy
- The Myrran were once the spiritual stewards of the Veil; the Shadowkin are their echoes.
- Some believe the Veil itself has chosen Shadowkin lineages to protect certain truths.
- The ritual of Stillbirth Flame—a rite of passage for young Shadowkin—allows them to see their ancestral memory in a shadowfire mirror.
- A Shadowkin once walked into a battlefield alone and emerged with every soul’s name etched into their skin.
See also: The Veil, Myrran, Seers of Namsae, Noctari, Whisperbind, Stillbirth Flame