Shades (also known as
ghosts or
glitches) are rare and occult metaplanar manifestiatons observed in areas of high
arcanic concentration. Their forms and behaviours vary dramatically, usually forming harmless anomalies but sometimes generating reality-warping entities. Shades all require a sustained flow of arcane energy, without which they dissipate. Followers of the
Aeonic Way incorporate different types of Shades in their belief system, but they are generally regarded by the wider scientific community as common types of free thaumic interaction without further meaning.
Overview
Shades have been encountered by nearly every spacefaring civilization. Shade worship was deeply rooted in pre-
Chantry Boshaari culture, who associated them with religious figures known as
Æsimar. More scientifically, shade occurrences are often classified by their arcane attunement, energy, agency, and thematic presentation.
Classification
Lesser Shades are weak, near-formless manifestations that resemble classical elements (fire, ice, and such). They are usually formed near Thaumium-rich locations, most commonly on the outer world
Zindra . These anomalies are thought to be caused by microrifts between real-space and hyperspace. They do not 'wander' and easily dissipate should the arcane energy be locally disrupted. They do not seem to exhibit any sentience.
Greater Shades are rarer, more complex and less understood. They, too, are manifestation of arcane energy; however they do not require a microrift and often exhibit highly specific conceptual themes and even behaviours. Informally, they are categorized as
celestial, demonic, seelie, unseelie, and unknown (though researchers often resist personifying these manifestations). A few scientists insist that Lesser and Greater Shades are completely distinct concepts, which only share superficial similarities. Others yet assert that the
Oberon were a catastrophically enormous kind of Greater Shade, but the scientific consensus remains open.
Familiars are manufactured Shades, deliberately constructed through complex arcane rituals by skilled magisters called
Pacters. These entities seem to exhibit some amount of base intelligence - though no more than a GPT program, as they work according to thaumic instructions and engrams arcanically molded into them at the time of construction.
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