The Shadow Rift (Domain)
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This section contains canon info from officially published sources |
Located at the heart of the Core, the Shadow Rift appears from the outside as a deep chasm full of Mist. But at the bottom of the chasm is a thriving civilization of Shadow Fey, protected from the sun by the Mists above. These same Mists of Shadow make it difficult to enter the Shadow Rift safely, for to penetrate the Mists far enough means to fade away into nothing. The interior of the Shadow Rift is subject to a temporal fugue, so that a fortnight outside the Rift corresponds to a year inside.
Political rule of the domain alternates between the Seelie Court of Queen Maeve and the Unseelie Court of Prince Loht. The darklord of the domain is Gwydion, though he remains trapped within the Obsidian Gate.
Things, Creatures & Personages of Legend
- Ruins of lost civilizations on the Greenlands' plateaus[4]
Biology
Flora[5]
Despite the lack of a sun, plant life exists in abundance and diversity throughout the Greenlands, especially plants bearing fruit and flowers. Various plant species of the Core are seen together without regard to differences in climate or environmental preference. Strange plants unknown elsewhere also abound in the Greenlands, including applewort, heartrose, shee's kiss, and starweed. Other plants hail from the Plane of Shadow, such as the umbral banyan.
On the other hand, the Stonedowns is mostly bereft of plants, save for the Stonedowns moss.
Fauna[6]
Many kinds of nocturnal fauna thrive in the perpetual twilight of the Shadow Rift.
Native Horrors[6]
- The Arak and various fey mostly dwell in the Greenlands of the northern Rift.
- The saugh are undead troops formerly obedient to Loht but later revealed to truly obey Gwydion. Now mostly lurking in the arid areas of the Stowndowns (if corporeal) or the Black Marsh (if incorporeal). Shadows can pop up anywhere.
- Creatures from the Plane of Shadow or of a shadowy nature thrive here. These shadowy creatures enjoy a heightened hardiness due to the dark energies permeating the Shadow Rift.
- Vermin of varying monstrous sizes. Spiders and spider-like beings (aranea, etc.), are reviled by the Arak due to their association with the Cult of the Spider Queen, and thus have been
Geography
The geography of the Shadow Rift is divided into two major regions, the lush Greenlands of the Northern Rift and the bleak and barren Stowndowns of the Southern Rift. In the chaotic Greenlands, the preternatural life is so abundant it can be seen in the unusual motions of the plants[4], and even inanimate objects may seem to have a semblance of life about them[7]. With the exception of the five plateaus that rise above the rest of the Greenland and its rolling hills, the Greenlands presents a relatively flat surface.[4] On the other hand, the Stowndowns are dull, craggy wastelands characterized by treacherous, uneven terrain and deadly chasms.[7][8] The perilous Black Marsh is the primary exception, but its mires and wilting hopelessness make the Marsh wretched on its own terms.[9][8]
The Greenlands are separated from the Stowndowns by a 500 ft. set of cliffs called the Precipice.[10]
Weather
The Shadow Rift for the most part shows a temperate climate[2] similar to its neighbors, getting enough rain to provide for the flourishing vegetation of the domain.[1] However, true winter season never comes, leaving ice and snow out of the domain entirely.[1]
Terrain
Mountains
- The Darkenheights rises out of the eastern half of the Southern Rift.[11][6]
Lakes[11][12]
- Loch Lenore, in the Greenlands, fed by the Hidden Cascade falling from Tepest above.
- The Biting Tarn, in the Stowndowns, fed by the Falling River and rendered noxious by the contaminants of the Falling River's tributaries.
Communication
Rivers[12]
The Falling River originates in Loch Lenore, winding across the Greenlands and receiving contributions (not always water, sometimes strange things like liquid silver, slime, or even blood) before spilling over the Precipice into the Biting Tarn of the Stowndowns. Two rivers leak out of the Biting Tarn, the Nightrush and the Grimfey Flow, ultimately ending in the Black Marsh.
Roads
Fractures
Fractures are the primary way of entering or leaving the Shadow Rift. The Fracture leading from southwestern Tepest (specifically the Wytchwood[13]) to the Shadow Rift is a series of underground caverns. It is the most reliable[14] and only continuously available[15] fracture, although there are others.[16]
Economy
According to "S", the Shadow Rift has no systematized economy, at least in the way mortals understand it.[17] The shadow fey need not food and only eat for pleasure, instead subsisting off of the Shadow Rift's energy.[18] Moreover, they have no coinage nor do they conduct trade with the surrounding domains. Exchange takes place through barter or trading favors. Except for some specific exceptions, shadow fey often hold loose views on personal ownership of physical items.[17]
The shadow fey may obtain objects from mortals through theft or through exchange. In the latter case, the fey may offer illusory faerie gold revealed to be mere debris when the sun's light falls upon it.[17]
Population Distribution
Towns
- Anvolee (mostly changelings)
Villages
Authority
Darklord
- Gwydion, although his activities are highly restricted due to his imprisonment in the Obsidian Gate
Temporal Rule
Queen Maeve and Prince Loht alternate as rulers of the Shadow Rift, each for fifty percent of the year.[19]
Spiritual Rule
Due to the Arak's rebellion against and liberation from Gwydion, who was "their" deity, the Arak as a collective recognize venerate no other gods. This does not mean they don't accept the existence of gods, but they largely leave worship as a pursuit of the mortals.[20] Consequently, no centralized church exists at this present time.
This is not to say the Arak completely lack divine spellcasting. Rather it is something uncommon and highly cherished among the Arak, although Queen Maeve is taking steps to make it more common.[21] For more on the Arak and religion, see "Church and State" and "Gods and Religion" below.
Church and State
The state of the Arak supports or decries few gods or religions. A stark exception is the Cult of the Spider Queen, which is loathed by the vast majority of the Arak. Arak that become zelldrow are driven into exile, forbidden from entering the Greenlands.[20]
In an effort to boost divine spellcasting upon the Arak, Queen Maeve has supported Ailiah and her followeers in creating the Church of the Ancestral Fey. The Unseelie Fey have condemned this practice as a way of enslaving the Arak once again.[22]
Government
The government of the Shadow Rift is composed of the Two Courts, Queen Maueve's Seelie Court and Prince Loht's Unseelie Court, each of which presides over the Shadow Rift from the Malachite Palace for fifty percent of the year from the Rift's subjective time frame. The Courts are absolutely obedient to their leaders, Maeve ruling through endearing charm and celebrity and Loht through tyranny and harshness.[19]
Law
The Law of Arak, the commandment for the Arak to never kill the Arak, was declared by Arak the Erlking in response to Gwydion's past abuses of their people. This law is the main law no Arak will transgress. Other laws are typically regarded as general guidance and rules of thumb rather than absolutist protocols.[23] This is not to say that the wishes of the Shadow Rift's king and queen are take lightly, for their commands are law as far the Arak are concerned[24], and both Queen Maeve and Prince Loht can punish transgressors severely.[25] Both monarchs employ quicklings and invisible stalkers to deliver their wishes throughout the Rift.[24]
Law-Enforcement
The chaotic Muryans, aided by their Muryankin, act as the police force.
Extra-Judicial
The powrie are often used as professional murderers. However, since they are never used to murder other Shadow Fey (an act breaking the Law of Arak)[26] and the ruler's wishes determine the law[24], it is unknown to what to degree and when using powrie as killers and enforcers might be considered extrajudicial.
Intelligence Gathering
In addition to their skills as assassins, powrie serve as spies.[26]
Language & Culture
Sylvan, the language of the fey, is spoken as a native tongue in the Shadow Rift, and the Arak speak Arak (Language) as their native tongue as well. Several languages of the Core are also known, and several of the various Breeds of the Arak, such as the brag and the teg, have their own breed-specific variants.[27]
Due to their fascination with mortals, the Arak have stitched together an eclectic culture with elements borrowed from various different cultures around the Core.[28]
Gods and Religions
As previously mentioned, the Arak as a collective venerate no deities. The Cult of the Spider Queen once had a significant following, but today it receives only loathing for the vast majority of the Arak. Individual shadow fey may become divine spellcasters in service to particular gods, but this is more to alleviate boredom than actual worship on the part of the fey.[20]
Druidism has a significant number of followers among some subbreeds of the Arak, although they venerate nature as an abstract force rather than a personified divinity.[20]
A new spiritual movement, the Church of the Ancestral Fey, has surfaced. They venerate the no gods but rather hold a special reverence for the spirits of fey gone of past ages. Bolstered by Queen Maeve's encouragement, Ailiah, the first of the Fey Priests, leads a cult of this religion's followers. The fey of the Unseelie Court condemns the movement as building another form of slavery for the Arak.[22]
Chronology
BC
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Shadow Rift (Module) p. 121
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 Gazetteer V p. 98
- ↑ Gazetteer V Author's Notes
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Gazetteer V p. 100
- ↑ Gazetteer V p. 103-104
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Gazetteer V p. 103, 105
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Shadow Rift p. 119
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Gazetteer V p. 101
- ↑ The Shadow Rift p. 119-120
- ↑ Gazetteer V p. 99-100
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Shadow Rift p. 120
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Gazetteer V p. 100-101
- ↑ The Shadow Rift p. 124
- ↑ Gazetteer V p. 99
- ↑ Gazetteer V p. 116
- ↑ Gazetteer V. p. 99, for a list of other options, see category:Fracture
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Gazetteer V p. 115
- ↑ Gazetteer V p. 109
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Gazetteer V p. 113-115
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Gazetteer V p. 110
- ↑ VRGttSF p. 62-63
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Van Richten's Guide to the Shadow Fey p. 62-63
- ↑ Gazetteer V p. 110-111
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Gazetteer V p. 113
- ↑ Gazetteer V p. 114-115
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 VRGttSF p. 60
- ↑ Gazetteer V p. 98, 108-109
- ↑ Gazetteer V p. 108
Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue
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Secrets of the Dread Realms - pp7,33,35 | |
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Secrets of the Dread Realms - pp8-9 | |
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Shadow Rift, The Shadow Rift |
