DarkmasterN
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🕑 Added 2022-10-29 16:00:12 +0000 UTC11. some form of shadow being
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Ever since humans first stepped into the light, humans have feared the shadows. Moving, unknown darkness that contains infinite secrets, and a limitless horrors. Not only that but a shadow follows us everywhere we go, and even it's movements can startle us.
While usually this means nothing, on occasion, the shadows you see moving around in your home when you think it's a trick of the light. The human shaped entity standing at the foot of your bed. Or the collection of pitch black men standing on your porch are more than a trick of the light.
Shadow people, also known as The Umbra, Shades, Darkmen, or Nightstalkers are shadowy creatures that hail from a dark place. They emerge from other worlds, and follow creatures in the dark, approaching with their pale eyes that reflect even the slightest light, and occasionally their white teeth that glint at the slightest flash. They appear on Earth or Urth and seem to manifest out of nowhere, but almost always targeting a specific person. They are incredibly quick and can hide behind things in the blink of an eye, making those they're stalking feel as if they had just seen a flicker or something else. It's possible to be stalked by shadows for years before you actually see one, and in many situations it may only be seen as it is revealing itself to you.
Shadows always seem to emanate a deep rumbling or buzzing noise, like a distant factory or machinery such as a train approaching, and the sound gets louder the closer that they get. These sounds and the shadowy figure can keep you transifxed, and it can be easy to stare as they approach, almost paralyzed, and in fact it's often times due to sleep paralysis that they appear.
This is when shadow people feed, as they feed on nightmares, fear, warmth and movement, and as they watch you, they slowly drain you of your lifeforce. Breaking free of the sleep paralysis may break you of this hold and they will more than likely disappear, however some, especially if in large numbers, will continue to target you as they attempt to invoke fear. These are times in which they often show teeth, and make growling sounds like large dogs, the sounds of children, howling wind, creaking wind, static, or even the screams of large men.
Some don't possess eyes, and others look like shadows of people you know. Some seem to be tangible, and others are nearly transparent. Some are clouds of shadow, and others perfect silhouettes. Some shadow people can touch you, and when they do they feel as if they are burning or extremely cold, but either way can leave ashy handprints and burn marks on creatures that they touch, and those touched by them tend to always feel that burning sensation like a sore scar for the rest of their life, especially when they grow near again. Some creatures have been touched by shadows and dropped into a coma, had a seizure, dropped dead, or both of them vanished as they touched with an echoing scream.
There is a specific shadow, known as the Hat man, who appears to be massively tall and with a wide brimmed hat. It seems to watch creatures from a distance and gives them a great feeling of unease and fear, and may approach and touch you when you are stuck in sleep paralysis. This figure appears in dreams, or standing far away, and seems to stalk creatures, causing them to become panicked and exhausted, and the closer it gets to you the greater your feelings of panic and exhaustion become, even allowing you to lose time, memories, and to lash out at those around you.
No one is sure what these entities truly are. Some believe that they stem from people who had escaped their shadows, or whom had their shadows stolen by the fae, though fae shadow creatures seem to be their own entities. Others believe them to be evil spirits that simply feed on fear. However there is one theory among the arcane world that seems to have some credence.
The theory states that they are remnants of a lost world. A world burned by nuclear armageddon, a cosmic event that wiped away everything, burning the galaxy to it's very core. This flash burned the visage of the people there into reality itself, and burned away the walls of our own. The blackened husks left behind wander this reality, semi tangible, semi existent, and seek the life that they once had. To them we are just as strange. But we are also like an unattended snack to a starving man set in an obvious trap. They approach hesitantly, quietly, and attempt to gather our warmth, but cannot comprehend what we are... that we are them... Could they be from a future time, when shadows are all that remain of mankind, or are they simply remnants of a dark place, seeking to be whole again?
Shadow people appear on Earth and on Urth with the same amount of frequency. Though many times sighting of shadow people are minor hallucinations, sometimes it's the real deal. They seem to appear more when dealing with creatures from the darkplace, lending credence to the theory that they are from dead worlds seeking warmth. However it seems that even other supernatural creatures have questions and curiosities about the shadow people. Spellcasters have attempted to capture or trap them, only for them to vanish, and even when attacked or destroyed they seem to simply fade away, leaving no trace.
Some spellcasters have been able to summon them to do their bidding, though they often times are found dead eventually. Regardless of how one may command shadow people, the hatman seems to be a free agent at all times.
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A very fun cryptid, and so I share it's very fun lore. This is another I've had some ideas for but never used em~ I have two versions. One with and without pupils and teeth for the hat man.
