On the Topic of Shade Infestation

There are two main ways of the Shade affecting organic creatures: possession and infestation. The former is a common and relatively well-known occurrence; however, the infestation is often overlooked, despite its extremely dangerous nature and the fact that it is the main way of the Shade replication.

The Shade infestation is a highly contagious process, outbursts of which can multiply the Shade population in a few waves. The Shade mimicries the infestation, making it look similar to the common tertiary genes: Gembond, Crackle and Smirch, however the changes in the victim's behavior usually makes the infestation easy to identify, unless the dragon attempts to act casual, which is often the case when dealing with the Shade worshipers.



Fig.1 Shade 'clusters' on subject C1-32

Early stage of infestation is extremely similar to Gembond growth caused by onyx cobra venom. Since nausea and mood changes are common to the gene development, the beginning of the infestation is often overlooked in areas where onyx cobras are plentiful. Outside of sample examination, the best way to identify the contagion is by noticing the visual differences between the gene and the infestation - the Shade clusters have smoother, matte surface, unlike crystal-like structure of Gembond (see Fig. 1). Identification is significantly easier on dragons with a known light or bright tertiary color, as it darkens when affected by the Shade.

This stage of infestation is treatable through magical means, though the process is still in development and, as of right now, often causes several mild to severe side-effects. (see Report 3-06, "Mental State of Infestation Survivors")



Fig.2 Subject C4-03 (drawing created post mortem)

5-20 days after the initial infestation (depending on the size of the victim), the clusters rapidly soften and burst, entering the second stage of the contagion. The dark, sticky liquid (Fig.2) oozes from the cluster bases, which sap the magical energy out of the victim, turning it into additional material. The liquid is the Shade primal energy, which can be consumed by Shade entities and possessed creatures, infect other organisms on direct contact, or, in large enough quantities, form new Shade entities.

The process is extremely painful, thus sentient victims tend to seek help, likely infecting multiple targets. While animals, on the contrary, seek solitude in this stage, the smell of blood and noises is likely to attract predators. Direct contact of the liquid with skin, eyes and body orifices result in infestation spreading to the new victim; contact with fathers, fur and scales is dangerous, but infestation can be prevented by removing the contaminated areas.

The second stage lasts for 6-24 hours, and the contagion is not treatable after the clusters bursting. It is recommended to use long-range spells and weapons to quickly put the victim to death, and then destroy the Shade energy with Fire and/or Light magic, as per standard cleanup protocol.



Fig.3 Subject C5-73, Earth, Grapefruit/Ginger/Bronze Capsule prior to infestation

As all magical energy is sapped from the victim, they enter the third stage of the contagion. They lose most colors and enter a "zombie-like" state, the personality gone completely, wandering aimlessly until dying from exhaustion, thirst or predators. While the generation of Shade energy is stopped, some of it remains on the surface, and the body is still contagious and will infect a predator if consumed. When finding an entity in this state, act according to the standard cleanup protocol.


The Shade epidemics start most often in large predators and dragon communities with plentiful Basic and dark-colored Gembond tertiary genes. Shade worshipers and possessed dragons use infested members to infect whole communities at once. Such cases are especially dangerous, since a worshiper will try to hide the infestation even in its second stage, using various drugs to overcome the pain. See "Elimination Protocol v. 4-02" for further details.