The Hollows
The Hollows
The Settlement of the Hollows
Known as “The Hollows,” this remote settlement in the Shadowfell is both a home and a haven for Shadar-Kai who have turned away from the Raven Queen. The village has no formal name, but its desolate surroundings and the solemn nature of its people give it the air of a place both lost and defiant. The buildings are simple and functional, crafted from dark stone and twisted wood, standing against the bleak, eternal twilight that cloaks the land. Scattered paths wind through shadowed homes, leading to secluded spaces where each resident can reflect in solitude, free from the divine influence that once bound them.
The people of the Hollows are defined by their rejection of immortality, having chosen to sever their ties to the Raven Queen in exchange for a finite, unchained existence. Though they lack the boundless vitality of other Shadar-Kai, their lives are now their own. The scars they bear, both visible and unseen, are symbols of this hard-won autonomy—a reminder of the painful path they took to claim true freedom from the Queen’s grasp.
The Severing of Shadows
The Severing of Shadows is a rare, excruciating ritual that allows a Shadar-Kai to break their bond with the Raven Queen, choosing a mortal life over eternal servitude. Only the strongest in will attempt this rite, for the toll is immense, stripping away both their immortality and the regenerative power that once sustained them.
- The Gathering of Shadows: To begin, the Shadar-Kai spends days in solitude, dredging up every painful memory of the Raven Queen’s influence. Recollections of past lives and echoes of tragic moments surface, forcing the initiate to confront the sorrows and suffering they were once bound to endure in her name.
- The Rite of Bleeding: A ritualist uses an obsidian blade called the Scythe of Regret to carve a crescent-shaped wound over the initiate’s heart. Each cut is agonizing, as the blood drained carries away fragments of their immortality. Scars form over these cuts, and tattoos etched afterward mark this sacrifice—visible symbols of their defiance and choice to embrace mortality.
- The Battle of Shadows: The initiate must face a physical manifestation of their own shadow, a creature born from the sorrows of their past. This shadow creature can only be harmed by the initiate’s own blood, meaning each strike weakens them further. Defeating this creature severs the final connection to the Queen, allowing the Shadar-Kai to reclaim their soul.
- The Tear of Mortality: For the final step, the initiate must obtain a Tear of Mortality—a drop of water that forms on the Petals of Sorrow during the rare Shadow’s Apex eclipse. Drinking this tear seals their fate as a mortal, permanently free from the Raven Queen’s reach. The weight of this choice settles immediately, and they feel the finite nature of their life closing in.
- The Queen’s Fury: The Raven Queen senses this severing, and as retribution, she curses the freed Shadar-Kai with visions of the Shadowfell whenever they sleep, tempting them to return. Each dawn, they must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC 15) to avoid exhaustion, enduring an existence shadowed by the Queen’s lingering sorrow.
The Severing of Shadows grants a hard-won freedom at a steep price: a finite, fragile life. Only a handful have ever completed the ritual, and those who do lead a haunted but self-determined existence, forever marked by their choice and the scars that tell the story of their sacrifice.
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