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Long ago, in the land of Sihana, there was a man. This man who detested the weakness of humans, and desired their destruction, believing them to be a blight upon the land. He was known only as The Shadow. This man had long studied the Dark Arts, and so on the new moon, when his power was greatest, he created an army from the darkness. An army of the kinds of creatures that haunt the nightmares of children. The kind that live in the shadows of every corner and every dark place. The kind that you know are watching you, even when you can’t see them. And so a war erupted in the land. Races were torn between sides, families were destroyed by the conflict. Some sided with The Shadow, while others fought to protect the humans. After much death and bloodshed, it seemed all hope was lost for the humans. But a group of warriors appeared. They fought against The Shadow and turned the tides of the war. The Shadow was defeated, and the warriors slipped away once again, but not before a prophecy was foretold. The prophecy says that The Shadow’s apprentice will rise to fulfill his master’s wishes, and the warriors will be reborn. When they are most needed, they will be drawn together once more to determine the fate of the human race in one final clash.

The story so far:

Sheba has summoned all the Warriors together, the question remains- can she get them to join the cause they were created for? The Assassin doesn't want to fight against his fellow drow, so he refuses, bu the Heir offers to pay him if he'll come along. When, or rather if, everyone accepts, Sheba will unlock their powers, making them stronger, but also making them a target for the Shadows.

The Shadow is back! Well, it's not the same Shadow, but a new one that has been called by Sly, the personified essence of darkness, to take his place. Lilith has sworn her loyalty to him, but Koji, the previous assassin for The Shadow, has gone rogue, and is now working for whoever will pay him. One task he cannot seem to complete is to kill Lilith, since he has feelings for her he can't seem to quell...

The Warriors:

The Witch- Healer, caster of beneficial spells and defensive spells. Can only cast so many spells at once since spell casting consumes energy. She is the one who has called the warriors together again.
Race- Witch
Status- Traveling fortune teller

The Beast master- A hunter from the Elven race, he/she is master of the creatures of land, water and air, and friend of the earth and the plants, can call upon them for help and can understand their wills.
Race- Elven (remember that Elves and Drow hate each other, so you wont, at least at first, get along with any Drow)
Status- Hunter

The Mage- Master of the elements, can only cast of offensive spells. There is a limit to how much magic he can cast at once, since spell casting consumes energy. The more powerful the spell, the more energy it takes.
Race- Mage (mages live longer than humans and have magical abilities)
Status- Revered mage from the University of Magic.

The Heir - A human of the castle, and heir to the throne, he/she is a natural born leader, master tactician, and loved by his/her people. The Heir is respected by those who side with the humans, but the key target for those who detest humans. He/she is an unmatched swords(wo)man, a master of melee weapons, is protected by the light, though he/she cannot call on it, it may chose aid him/her in times of need, providing all different sorts of help, from temporary animal companions to healing wounds.
Race- Human
Status- Heir to the human throne

The Assassin- Creator of potions and poisons, the assassin is stealthy and can kill from the shadows and is aligned with the same darkness the enemy uses, able to use some of the dark arts.An unexpected hero, the assassin has been making kills for political and wealthy figures for a while, but no one really knows who he/she is. The Assassin was called to protect the humans, but will he be loyal to The Warriors, or to The Drow, who have sided with The Shadows.
Race- Drow (remember that Elves and Drow hate each other, so you wont, at least at first, get along with any elves)
Status- A powerful Assassin.

Other- The Protectors~ The force opposing The Shadows to protect the humans.

First in Command- The one heading The Protector army. He's not a warrior, but he's a powerful person none the less, adept in all sorts of weapon fighting and tactical strategy.
Race-???

The Shadows:

The First in Command- Once the apprentice of The Shadow, he has risen to take the place of his old master and has raised an army to destroy the humans. He/she has mastered the Dark Arts and Necromancy.
Race- ??? (not human)

The Second in Command- Would follow the new Shadow till death and beyond. He/she
Race- ??? (not human)

Assassin- With an assassin of their own, The Shadows use him/her to infiltrate groups or kill powerful enemies via poison or other stealthy means.
Race- ??? (not human)

General- There are three Generals, each of them with different powers and abilities (you choose what they are)
Race- ??? (not human)

Other- If you can think of something else on this side you want to be, let me know.

Character Skeletons:

Username:
Character name:
Race:
Age:
Warrior or Shadow:
Position: (The warrior you are or the position you hold in The Shadows)
Picture:
Short Bio:

Sheba stood in the center of the human capital. She was making her way to the castle, rushing through the streets, trying to push past the many civilians who crowded them. She had been waiting since the war began, waiting and watching. The time had finally come. She was to call together the warriors to defend the human race against The Shadow. Or rather, The New Shadow. Even as the was had started going poorly for the Protectors, she hadn't acted. It wasn't time. She knew that she had to wait until the very last moment, or their efforts would be wasted. She had cast a spell that sent out a signal to all of the Warriors, calling them and awakening their long dormant powers. Most likely none of them knew who they really were. Perhaps a couple of them had a guess, due to their extraordinary skills, but she was the only one who had known for sure. The Beast Master, an Elven hunter granted the powers of the earth. The Mage, elemental master. The Heir, tactician and natural born leader. The Assassin, a drow shrouded in night and death. And then there was her, the Witch. She was more of a support than anything else, but she hoped she would be of some use in their journey.

Her feet kicked up dirt and dust as she continued to move. The castle was in sight, though how she'd get in if the Heir wasn't there she didn't know. She had sent the signal, but there was always the chance that he or she (for she had never met any of these Warriors before, and had lived in seclusion so she was unaware of any of their genders) wouldn't understand what the signal was. It would awaken their power, make them stronger, and hopefully would draw them together at this one point, the human castle. The wind gusted, causing the hood of her cloak to fall backwards, but she didn't stop. Her feet carried her to the castle gates, but she couldn't pass through. Surely the guards wouldn't believe her story. She needed a way in...

DAHN

The sword made a very nice hum as the flesh of a human's neck slisched around it. As soon as the appendage was severed from the body, it was taken and wrapped in a black cloth by a blacker figure in the shadow of an alley. The body flopped over, and the neck was wrapped quickly to prevent blood pooling. Then the figure disappeared.

"You have done well, Assassin," a fat man eating a chicken leg said with his mouth full upon sight of the head of his enemy. "There is one other, however, that I must have removed," he scowled, an evil smile on his lips.
The dark figure, with only his eyes, said "I must implore thee: thy request was of one death, not two. I hath done thy deed, and I now require a payment."
"Payment? You'll get payment," the fat man said as he waved his hand at the figure. With the wave, four men came forward and drew swords against the figure.
"Mistakes shall not be held lightly, sir. Recall thy men lest thee lose thy life as well."

"Lose my life? Don't make me laugh; I'm eating. Kill him."

The figure, clean and showing no fatigue, grabbed a pouch of money from the dead fat man and picked out five pieces of gold, leaving the other forty-three pieces. It pulled out a beaten instrument and made a small notch in an open space near the strings. He put the instrument away and cleaned his weapons on the clothes of the dead men. When he finished, he fell to his knees, holding his head as if in agony. Hundreds of images passed before his eyes of many different places, but only one stood out from the others. A castle.

He knew this castle, and started heading toward it. He did not know why, but something called him. He reached the gate and kneeled before the gatemaster. "I have been summoned," his eyes said.
"Yeah, you and four hundred other people. You get to wait for official order, just like them."
"Understood, sir," the figure thought, standing again and walking away. He walked around to an unguarded section of wall and scaled it. There were very small holds, but it was not the worst he had scaled. At the top, he flipped over the other side and slid down, landing softly on the ground. He stood once more and looked around. He had been here before, for three contracts. This time, he feared, he would not be contracted for money, but for something much more important. His half-century of life told him this was no ordinary feeling, and he would find out why.

SLY

It was in a conundrum. It was confused. Without the promise of the human, it felt there was no hope for her to show the others what darkness could do. Not that it cared; it simply found the humans interesting and gullible. It had made its appearance female to appeal to man's senses and woman's jealousy. It knew how the world of flesh worked, and it knew it could manipulate them with words and actions. It had resorted to physical attempts only once, but could not retain its physical appearance for more than thirty cycles. It knew it could not interfere physically with the world. It could only guide. And that's what it did to the first.

But now that the first was gone, it did not know what to do. It did not even know what had happened to the other followers. It only knew it had to call those who had followed before and those who could be changed to follow Darkness. It had to call them together on the ruins of the old and build a new Shadow. So, standing on the throne of the first, it rang a call to those willing to serve again, and to awaken the new face of Shadow so that Darkness could rule. When the call was finished, it sat on the throne, willing to wait as long as necessary for the new king to come and take its place. Until then, it would guide the Shadow and rebuild.

Laying low in the heat of the road Sibelius napped, a hood pulled down over his face to keep the sun's watchful eye off his face. His staff lay in the crook of his arm and a small mouse sat on his shoulder watching dutifully as though a sentinel. A rather loud and deep snore pulled Sibelius from his slumber and the mouse squeeked, "I would have been fine Artemis if you hadn't been snoring." He yawned long and with volition enough to crack his jaw.

Stretching he used his staff to pull himself out of the shade of the tree and back onto the dust of the beaten trek. Oddly he saw no one and considered his luck. "Suppose we walk today then Artemis, what say you?" He reached for a wineskin hanging aptly from his hip and took a small sip of the water inside before ambling onward. Quite suddenly he was hit with the notion to go the opposite way, it defied logic as town and a good nights sleep were closer in the direction he was heading but none the less he promptly turned around. "How queer," He said to himself.

It was hard to breathe for the old half-elf. He had in safty from the onslaught of heroes, trying to find ways to bring back his master, but he had failed. There was no way to bring him back as of now. A corpse? Perhaps. But then what would he be? He would have no mind. If his master had made the proper preparations then Galbrix could have summoned him back as a Lich, but he was too prideful, thinking he would win. But Galbrix had to find a way, else continue his master's work himself-

He stopped the brainstorm. That might work. He stared at the crags in the cavern of limestone he hid in. It was a musty area, mushrooms growing in the dark that cast their green brilliance only feet away. Galbrix had found one on his straw mat once, so he knew they spread rapidly. In fact he sat at his desk now, where many had already grown on the wooden surface of the former wooden crate.

Yes... he could continue his master's calling. He might finish this dream of wiping the plague of humans from the filth ridden land. They were a sickness that spreads, an unholy curse. They deserved to be wiped clean, burned even. His master... The Shadow... had deserved that much in his hard work, and if he wasn't here... then Galbrix would continue his work.

Galbrix looked to the opening of the dark cavern, wondering if he remembered where that throne was when a tug appeared in his mind. He was being called by an unearthly force. He got up and shuffled into the dark maze of tunnels, following the hook that now reeled him in, caught in his brain. The Shadow... would have retribution.

Zanos Falen: The Heir

The young man awoke after a fitfull nights sleep. The attacks had slowed recently becoming less frequent. An elderly man walked in carrying a tray of food and set it beside the bed on the nightstand. "Good morning Sir all is well I hope?" The boy nodded with a smile, "Yes, Though you know how I hate that Sir business, Zanos will do just fine." he said taking a glass of orange juice from the tray. The Butler bowed Before leaving quietly. Zanos Knew hed continue to call him Sir until he died.

After getting dressed He walked to his study sitting in a large chair so he could work. He ran through the reports of the night watch like he did every morning. However something was off... He could feel this strange pull to be outside. He stood and grabbed his sword before heading to the front gates. He saw the gaurds talking to a young girl who quickly left. "As you were..." he said walking inbetween the gaurds. Both jumped in surprise having not heard him aproach. They immediately stood straight and rambled out a shaky "Yes sir." He stood clmly facing the street, he had to be here for some reason but he wasnt sure exactly why. "Thats strange..." he mumbled.