The Shadowlands WIP
A Treatise on the Hidden Dark of Faerûn
Foreword: A Scholar’s Warning
The world is full of hidden places, but few are as treacherous as the Shadowlands. A realm of shifting forms and forgotten names, it defies understanding, slipping between the cracks of reality like a whispered secret. No scholar has mapped its borders, no spell can fully pierce its veil, and those who seek it rarely return unchanged—if they return at all.
The Arcane Citadel, a sanctuary of knowledge older than many empires, has long pursued the truth of the Shadowlands. What little we know has been gathered from scattered records, half-mad testimonies, and relics that defy explanation. Some claim the Shadowlands are a realm of lost things—memories, souls, even entire histories swallowed by the dark. Others believe it is not a place at all, but a force that watches, waits, and claims those who come too close.
There is no safe way to study the Shadowlands. Even to read of them is to invite their gaze. Many who have tried to understand this realm have found it creeping into their dreams, their reflections, their very thoughts. If you have come this far, tread carefully. The Shadowlands do not give knowledge freely. They take something in return.
Appendices
A. Notable Figures Who Explored the Shadowlands
B. Creatures and Beings Native to the Umbral Realms
C. Significant Historical Events Linked to These Lands
D. Known Oaths, Curses, and Shadow Contracts
"You have been here before. You will be here again. You are here now. But you never have been. And you never will be."
— Inscription found in a ruin that has not yet been built.
