Shadar-Kai

The Elven tongue is a complex, ever-changing language that has been modified as the years have gone by, but a few words and phrases have come to remain consistent.
One of these phrases is Shadar-Kai, which when translated into Common roughly means "Hollow Born" or "Shadow Born".
To be born a Shadar-Kai is to be born without a connection to the Forming Light, and thusly, without a soul. Shadar-Kai are marked by having little in the ways of emotion, and by inspiring a feeling of dread in those around them. The Shadar-Kai play up this reputation, moving through the land like wraiths on the wind.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

When they speak, Shadar-Kai speak Elvish. However, this tongue of Elvish is an ancient one that has not been used for millennia, meaning even the eldest scholars cannot understand all of what they say.

Culture and cultural heritage

Shadar-Kai culture is defined by their lack of emotion and their connection to the Raven Queen. Being born without their connection to the Forming Light, Shadar-Kai have incredibly dulled emotional responses to anything around them.

Common Dress code

Shadar-Kai dress exclusively in shades of black, white, and grey to represent their connection to their Raven Queen. They will also fasten ravens' feathers somewhere across their body.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

The birth of a Shadar-Kai is not a time of celebration, but rather a time of worry. A Shadar-Kai's birth is marked by a palpable sense of dread at their birth, and it is not uncommon for some elven mothers to attempt to hide their child.

Coming of Age Rites

Shadar-Kai that manage to survive to adulthood under the Raven Queen are destined to be given her mark. A priest or priestess of the Raven Queen will brush the Shadar-Kai's forehead and chest with a pitch-black feather said to have been plucked from her wings.
This rite has a purpose: replacing the Forming Light that a Shadar-Kai should be born with with a fragment of the Raven Queen's own power, bonding them to her for the rest of their existence.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Being bonded to the Raven Queen grants the Shadar-Kai a form of immortality, meaning that funeral rites are not normally performed for them. Upon death, a Shadar-Kai is reconstituted in the Shadowfell and given time to recuperate before being sent out again.
A Shadar-Kai that somehow loses their connection to the Raven Queen will not reconstitute upon their death.

Common Taboos

Like many who follow the Raven Queen, the Shadar-Kai despise undead. They will strike them down wherever they stand with no remorse.

Historical figures

• Princess Valeria Arcadeus: The daughter of Empress Aquila Arcadeus, born during the Age of Strife. Perhaps the most famous Shadar-Kai, she was immediately marked as one by her nurses, but was masked from the Raven Queen's grasp. However, the Raven Queen managed to interfere, taking Aurelia under her wing.

Ideals

Gender Ideals

Shadar-Kai do not have much of a concept of a gender beyond how they physically look. Unlike other Elves whose idea of gender is incredibly fluid, Shadar-Kai don't have much in the way of a gender identity, beyond using it for aesthetics. It is not uncommon for Shadar-Kai to choose one and stick to it for the sake of convenience, however.

Awfully convenient, isn't it. Our children can be born without their light, just so the Raven can fill their heads and bodies with her essence instead. I'd be impressed if it wasn't so abhorrent.

— The Late Empress Aquila Arcadeus, after the birth of her Shadar-Kai daughter

Encompassed species

• Elves

The Raven's Curse

It is believed by some that the birth of the Shadar-Kai is not an accident, but rather a curse that came from Taros herself.
To those who believe in it, the curse is said to be a form of penance for the actions of the Elves' ancestors, the Children of the Light, and that this will haunt the Elves' lineage for the rest of their days.