Lore

This dragon exists only to hold lore





The Shade had been allowed to fester for too long. Long tendrils of Shade wrapped around each other. Like the magical energies that long ago formed the dragon deities, the Shade too began to concentrate and change. The Shade was no longer just an eerie fog lacking real substance. A horrific creature floated in the sky, kilometers above Sornieth’s lands. Five heads, two tails, twelve limbs, it was a monstrosity. But it made no move yet. This being was not to repeat the mistakes of the past. It simply observed. The ShadeRunner observed and waited.

The time had come. The ShadeRunner lifted a hand. Parts of the Shade broke away. Too small to be noticed by the gods, but more than enough to wreak havoc. In concealed places of the land the Shade reconnected with the ancient tendrils of Shade that had remained on Sornieth after its last attack. Hidden and secure, the Shade started pulsating and growing.



The ShadeRunner's Teachings

The Shade was the nothingness before all else was born and to this state it wishes to return. The ShadeRunner preaches seclusion and conquest. One clan, one flight, one planet, one sun. You must stand alone, the sole existence in the world.

By mere coincidence, this ties in well with Plague’s “Only the strongest survive,” leading the Shade to primarily recruit plague dragons.

Thanks to the actions of the 11 gods, the Shade doesn’t have much power or strength in the world. Instead, it focuses on recruiting dragons, presenting itself as the 12th god and convincing dragons to fight its conquests.

There are numerous clans that worship the Shade, many more are popping up as the Shade reaches out to new dragons. The relationship between different ShadeClans is cold and diplomatic. They each have the same goals, destroy other clans, destroy other dragons, so they will work together where need be, however, they are mindful of the fact that while they may cooperate, in the end the final battle will be ShadeClan against ShadeClan. In the end, there will only be one (and of course each clan sees itself as the future victor).




FadeClan
FadeClan's customs and traditions

Religion

FadeClan worships the Shade, yet they still have a certain respect for the PlagueBringer. The ShadeRunner wants there to be one of everything and the PlagueBringer wants the fittest to survive. You can easily believe in both, the ideologies are not in opposition, which has resulted in a curious mixing of cultures. The degree to which each deity is supported varies from dragon to dragon. Although this does sometimes result in clashes between different ideologies.

This is despite the written laws saying that any dragon refusing to worship the ShadeRunner will receive punishment. In reality the situation surrounding dragons is much more lax, FadeClan is not a clan of religious zealots. As long as there is not outright criticism, dragons usually get away with what would be heresy in other ShadeClans. This does however depend on the listening ears. Some control and power must still be upheld in a clan to retain structure and order. While even the clan leader, DarkSky, often turns a blind eye, should any dragon make a formal complaint, punishment would be inevitable as breaking religious laws is taken seriously, at least on paper.

To keep the “true” religious stance of the clan clear, all religious or spiritual positions held within the clan, whether directly linked to the Shade or not, such as smokereader or spirit charmer, are only given to dragons most loyal to the Shade. Dragons with such prestigious titles are given power to punish disbelievers as they see fit, which sometimes results in severe punishments as a dragon chose the wrong company to open their mouths in.

There is also a generational difference in how the Shade is perceived. Older dragons who joined the clan usually don’t take the Shade too seriously and only follow religion where necessary to make a show of loyalty. However, such thoughts are only expressed on the inside and as such to any outsider the clan appears to be much more loyal than it actually is. This includes to hatchlings born into the clan. The clan has many events and activities reinforcing loyalty to the Shade and when the hatchlings are fed tales and stories of the Shade from such an early age, young dragons often become firm supporters of the ShadeRunner.


Magic
“Magic is a tool for the weak. It is for those who cannot adapt and survive without it.”

Magic is not allowed to be used without a permit. Only certain licensed dragons are allowed to use magic. A license will be given, for example if it is related to their trade.

This is for two reasons; one official and one cultural. Firstly, as elemental magic was granted by the dieties, not the Shade, it goes against many religious teachings. Secondly, due to the plague aligned nature of the clan, self-sufficiency is highly valued. The strength of magic can fluctuate day to day, depending on the natural flow of the world. Therefore, magic is seen as a crutch, only for those who cannot adapt and survive without it.

The one exception to non-authorised magic use is in battle. As soldiers may face battle with those from outside FadeClan, one cannot expect them to necessarily abide by the same rules. Therefore, if the opponent was the first to use magic, you may follow. However, as FadeClan soldiers have little chance to practice their magic, they are often weak to magical attacks. Although the FadeClan army is known to be strong in claw to claw combat, a well coordinated team of mages can do substantial damage.


Households

In FadeClan, friendship is valued above romantic relations and households typically comprise of multiple friends living together, rather than a single family unit. Sharing a home with someone indicates the highest degree of closeness. "They're part of my house," or "They're my household" is equivalent to saying "They're my wife/husband" (except without the romantic implications). In FadeClan, there is no concept of marriage and the difference between a friend and a mate is less important than the difference between living together and not living together. A mate simply refers to the type of relationship (romantic), without indicating closeness. The same view is taken with family.

Your household is more important than blood family. Hatchlings aren’t raised exclusively by their parents, but rather by a small inner circle of close friends, the household. As parents do not always belong to the same household, hatchlings are often split up. The multiple eggs in a clutch are divided between the two parents. (With an odd number of eggs, the last egg is usually adopted to a third household. It is seen as a great honour to be chosen by the parents. Odd numbered clutches are believed to indicate good luck and fortune for the hatchlings.) A hatchling may never see their nonhousehold siblings or parent. Having your family around you is less important than having a household.

Romantic actions are not seen as exclusive. It is socially accepted to court multiple dragons at once, however having only one mate is still the most common practice.


Additionally, while large groups are the desired living condition, FadeClan homes are not spacious by any means (a remnant of the older architecture, most of the dens were built prior to the cultural shift that made large households more common). Sometimes close friends will be unable to form a household, if only due to practicality. This can result in a denial of the closeness of a relation by other surrounding dragons, as they do not acknowledge it as equivalent to a household. A dragon not in a household may be ridiculed by other dragons as acting too emotional for the current situation, for example at the loss of a friend.

Note: In process of reworking lore to follow this idea better



HollowClan

The clan that inhabited LifeSap forest prior to FadeClan. HollowClan had a very different culture. More in DarkSky's bio.