“Chronicles of the Shadow”. As documented by Rael Al’mesar, historian and scholar of The Dark Forces.

In the beginning there was, by all accounts, not a whole lot around. There existed only the basics; there were two distinct entities, which for our purposes will be known as The Light and The Dark. Of course there are other names, many in forgotten dialects which have no place here; the one distinguishing name was for The Dark, throughout history it has been commonly referred to as Moren’tren or The Darkness in the common tongue. This stems from the commonly held belief that The Light came first and that the Shadow of The Dark fell across it. My research has however uncovered evidence that this was not the case and in fact there is much suggestion which leads to the conclusion that in fact both were created at the very same instance. It is impossible to ascertain the reason, but it can be rationalized that each was the balance of the other. In any case, both forces were in existence at the formation of everything, known as The Great Beginning in the common tongue, an event which neither party had a hand in, but an event which changed them both. History records that it was this event that lead to the formation of corporeal avatars of the forces each side represented. The Dark was the first to make the choice of physicality, and became the Dark Lord or possibly the Lord of the Dark. Translation of ancient texts written in forgotten languages is problematic at best. The Light was a driving force, never choosing to take on a corporeal form, instead opting to remain an unknown entity of power and wisdom.

It is unknown what started the war, but what is known is that each harbored deep resentment towards the other for the simple reason of existence. The only knowledge that has survived of the events that transpired was the simple fact that the battle was fierce, so fierce that it is said to have lasted for an eternity. In the end it was The Light which triumphed and the Dark Lord was cast down, exiled to a far corner of the newly formed universe, wounded and weakened.

The Dark Lord, though defeated never lost sight of his goal, biding his time, growing in strength and power until in a surprise act of total aggression, attacked The Light with all his energy, seemingly destroying it. Great and unnatural fires, black as the Dark Lord’s heart crackled with his dark powers, and he proceeded to bombard wave after wave of his energy, until finally The Light was consumed by it. However in its death throes The Light fought back, attacking the Dark Lord as he stood triumphant, with the remains of its own pure energy. Thus both Light and Dark were destroyed; the shattered fragments of each were flung far and wide.

This is no place to discuss the philosophical implications, but needless to say is that the Universe craves balance, and it was from the shattered fragments of both entities that a rebirth took place with each being formed anew, partially tainted by the other’s final assault. The Light was reformed into corporeal beings, the Seven Lords of Light, no longer as pure or as wise as once was. A similar fate arose from the remains of The Dark, with the formation of the Five Lords of Shadow. Neither were as powerful as they had been as a single being, for there was now also the problem of individual egos and pride among the forces. Since then there has been an ongoing war raged in the heavens and on the Earth, and we mere mortals have but glimpsed a fraction of what was once called Shadar Bekkar or The Shadow Wars in the dialect of the West.

For this account it is what befell The Dark that concerns us, The Light has for all intents remained unchanged, a council of seven individuals each one seventh the power of the former self and each harboring differing views as to the best way to protect life, liberty and justice. The Dark itself was reborn anew, his consciousness surviving, though reduced in power he is still a formidable force. He calls himself the Moren’âgulâr in the tongue of the Wraith or simply translated as the Lord of Darkness, reflecting the fact that he is no longer the pure Dark Lord. The first to rise, he formed and leads the Shadow Lords. Tainted though he is with The Light, this has allowed him insight into the tactics of his enemy. Where darkness is a weakness in the Lords of Light and light is a weakness in the Lords of Shadow, The Taint is a strength in the Lord of Darkness. He has a keen insight for leadership, and a thirst for power. Preferring manipulation and subterfuge to outright conquest he is moving forever forward on the path of his vision, whatever that may be. Betrayer of Light is the mantle he wears, with no true name other than Isain’atran, in basic terms this is translated as The Nameless One. Though there are no known followers, there has been many whispers in the halls of power, none of which I am able to verify, of secret followings throughout history which have sought gifts of power and ability in return for service and loyalty.

Darkness tends to be less about sharing than Light, and hence the Lords of Shadow are organized in a strict hierarchy according to their creation. Each also serves a very specific function, as all lords of either side do. The second lord to be formed from the original essence is the Lord of the Forsaken, known as Nae’blis which derives from the Dark Elvish for Keeper of Souls. Both names relate to his function as Keeper of the Underworld and guardian of Hades. Bear in mind that Hades is his own creation, a place of entertainment for all Shadow Lords. Second only to his master, the Nameless One, this lord is loyal to a fault, it is reasoned that this is a result of The Taint. This being said, he is still ruthless and malicious, and his rule of the underworld is a harsh one. The followers he most often attracts, which have been noted throughout recorded history, have been those who have fallen from grace or who have betrayed the light. He himself has a weakness for women, though unfortunate, he is still an efficient general willing to go to any lengths to further his goals.

Our next lord is, in fact, a lady, the first to take the female form upon reformation. The Lady of Chaos, the Sal'alvendra, truly dark and sinister, she is an anarchist to the very end. Powerful enough to effect fate, and vengeful enough to use it for evil, she is to be feared. She functions mainly as the Keeper of the Great Laws of the Universe, laws which anger her to no end. They are essentially the ultimate rules of the universe, on a level of complication so vast that for a mortal to look upon them would be to go mad. Paradoxes are her virtue, and nothing frustrates her more than a rule that cannot be broken. Her Taint is her manner, quick to temper and then even quicker to calm, she can be unpredictable to the point of insanity. Her followers, those of the Wild North, know of this tendency as evidenced by her inclination to take her aggression out on others. Best to be wary of for she is a law unto herself.

The fourth to be formed takes power in the elements, a lady of the destructive energies; she is the Lady of Frost, the Mai’calaenda roughly translated as the Ice Maiden. Little is known of her for she is a true recluse, preferring to work in the background so as to undermine her enemies from within. Unfortunately for her enemies these powers manifest as great natural disasters, floods, blizzards, drought, and even volcanoes are not beyond her influence. The fools affected believe these to be acts of nature, when in fact something more malevolent is the harbinger of their disaster. Her Taint is manifested in the presence of compassion, and she often takes pity on those she harms. To this end she has on occasion given lovers a perfect spring day to enjoy as well as rain for strong crops to grow. Pointless acts from her point of view but beyond her ability to stop.

The final lord in the Inner Shadow, the highest council of the Shadow Lords, is the Lord of Jest, known to the people of the South as Nar’Derin. Born not only of the shattered fragments, but also of the souls of the dead, he stands lowest despite his power. His dominion is time and space, the very fabric of the universe. A Trickster by his very nature, he is worshiped under many names, most notably by the Norsemen of the Eastern Seas, who worship him as Loki. His Taint is his very sense of humour, keen and witty, yet this feeds upon his darkness as he plays pranks upon the mortals of the world. His Taint is the largest of the Shadow Lords and as such his loyalties are somewhat less than would be expected, and is only kept in check by the Lord of Darkness himself, for no other has the power to control him.

So it can be seen that none of these Lords of Shadow are to be trifled with, to do so is to bring peril to all you hold dear. This work is purely of a scholarly and historical nature and does not delve deeply into much of the philosophies of the separate lords. The Lords of Shadow remain veiled in obscurity, none more so than the Lord of Darkness, a wraith extending out in his limitless desire for domination. His Dark Will drives his followers on, furthering his own goals, though many may not knowingly do so, his hand stretches far. All should tremble, for the end of the Shadow Wars is drawing execrably closer and that all that serves the Light will find an eternity of pain and suffering. So ends this and with a heavy heart I leave this to the ages.

- From research compiled post mortem. It appears that several researchers did not please the ones who commissioned the work. It is unknown who commissioned the work, as they paid their money and vanished. From private works and diaries they were said to be “commanding and tall, so much as to inspire fear”.