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I'm the candle maker. My duty is to bring light to the city. It's been cast into darkness... |
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| —Shadow God, Requiem for the Forgotten Shadow | ||
The Shadow God is a major character and the main antagonist of the thirteenth Dark Parables game, Requiem for the Forgotten Shadow.
A deity of both light and dark, the Shadow God is summoned by the Brotherhood and plans to take over the world.
The Shadow God is based on the Shadow from the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale The Shadow. His light side is based more on the writer of the tale.
Aspects[]
Shadow God[]
The Shadow God has the appearance of a tall, strongly built man with chin-length brown hair and dark eyes. He has slight facial hair and dark markings covering his face and arms. He wears a dark, sleeveless leather shirt with matching pants and boots. Around his neck is a ruby pendant hanging from a silver chain.
When he is overtaken by his shadow, his entire skin has a shadowy look and the markings are a brighter color.
The Shadow God is a kind deity, pitying lost souls who come to him. Yet, his loneliness from being on the dark side of the moon caused him to be envious of the humans' happy world. He has loved the Maiden Goddess ever since he saved her, yet was conflicted over himself and his shadow. When influenced by his evil shadow, the Shadow God only cares for himself. He showed no hesitation in turning Guida back into a cat or imprisoning his lover. However, when he returned to normal, the Shadow God hoped to redeem himself in the town of Anaben.
The Candlemaker[]
The Candlemaker looked exactly like the Shadow God with notable exceptions: he doesn't have the markings his true self has.
History[]
The Shadow God was born when light and darkness entwined long ago. He came from the Shadow Realm, a parallel realm, Earth's twin. There are two separate sides of him, his good side and his shadow side. Eventually, his loneliness led him to seek out the Moon Goddess to make a deal with her.
He can only come to Earth after sunset when the sky is dark. On one of his visits to Earth, the Shadow God heard the cries of an abandoned black kitten. Feeling pity for her, he took her with him and gave her the name Guida. He made the cat a ruby necklace, which caused her to obtain his human form. Finally able to speak, Guida expressed her loyalty by staying with him even when the Shadow God insisted that she is free to do whatever she wished. Sometime after, while the Shadow God came to visit the earth, he heard the cries of a maiden. He followed to find a woman trapped by mercenaries. So he chased them away and rescued the lovely woman. It turns out that the woman he saved was the Maiden Goddess and they fell from love at first sight. They would keep their relationship a secret and would meet in the most beautiful place in Anaben.
However one night, the Shadow God began to have a conflict with his darker self, making his relationship with the Maiden Goddess a struggle. He managed to ignore his darker self's tempting whispers but realized that he had lost his shadow. He told his lover about it and she, worried for his weakened state, asked her two sisters, the Moon Goddess and the Sun Goddess, to help find the shadow. Unfortunately, the shadow almost overpowered the two goddesses, so the sisters devise a plan. They created the Shade's Lantern to capture the shadow. However, unable to destroy the shadow, the Maiden Goddess ripped him to many pieces with the Magic Glass Wand. The body of the Shadow God, now a husk, lived his life as a commoner in the town of Anaben. The husk, however, would grow to miss the Maiden Goddess. So he would light the candles in hopes that she returns. She never did and the husk became known as the Candle Maker.
Meanwhile, Guida, overcome with anger at the goddesses, turned back into a cat to find a way to recover the shadow pieces. She joined the brotherhood and plot her revenge against the goddesses. At the same time, Guida would remind a cat to keep the Candle Maker company. However, it could have been her plan to pretend to be afraid of the dark so the Candle Maker can light the town, exposing the shadow pieces to the light.
Sometime later, the Fairytale Detective came to solve a case and met with the Candle Maker. He didn't talk a lot to her since talking became difficult before he became a husk and informed the Detective that his cat is afraid of the dark. That is why he has to light all the candles. Eventually, the Brotherhood captured the Candle Maker as the last shadow piece was found and absorbed by the candle. With Guida taken over, she performed the ritual as the shadow pieces returned to the Candle Maker, making him whole once more. However, his darker side was under control, and plans to have the world overcome with shadows.
When Guida opened a portal, the Shadow God cause part of the ceiling to collapse before going through the portal. In the Shadow Realm, the Shadow God and Guida have captured the Sun and Moon Goddesses. They then plot to capture the Maiden Goddess as well. Together, the Shadow God and Guida made a twister in the castle. Once the Detective stopped the twister, the two continue mentioning their plans before causing a fire. After the Detective put out the fire and got confronted by Guida, the Maiden Goddess tried to intervene but ended up captured by the Shadow God. With all three goddesses captured, the Shadow God plans to start another ritual.
Near the end, the Shadow God appeared, disappointed with Guida's failure to stop the Detective. In response, he turned her back into a black cat before he dealt with the Detective himself. However, as the Shadow God was defeated, the three goddesses were freed and cleanse him of his evil self.
A day after the Duke and Duchess have not returned home, the Shadow God gave the Detective some information before going on his way. In the end, the Duke and Duchess told the Shadow God about Guida. Feeling bad for how he treated her, he sets off to find Guida and make things right with the Maiden Goddess' blessings to help him along his journey.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Immortality: Like all the other deities, the Shadow God can never grow old or die.
- Devour Spirits: According to the "Rise of the Shadow God" parable, the Shadow God feeds on lost souls in order to increase his power and the influence of his evil side.
- Evil Spirits: Under the influence of his evil shadow, the Shadow God can summon evil spirits to take care of his enemies.
Relationships[]
- Maiden Goddess (lover/fellow deity)
- Guida (companion/friend)
- Moon Goddess (fellow deity)
- Sun Goddess (fellow deity)
- Duchess Elena (possible friend)
- Duke Herman (possible friend)
- Rasputin (possible follower, sealed away)
- Count Leofric (follower, deceased)
- Joseph (follower, deceased)
- Leofric's Henchman (follower)
- Unnamed Followers
- Fairytale Detective (former enemy)
- Anaben (patron land)
Relevant Parables[]
Rise of the Shadow God (from Requiem for the Forgotten Shadow)
Long ago, darkness and light entwined to create the Shadow God. With the Shadow God came another world, Earth's twin. It was a cold and empty place wrapped in darkness. This is where he resided. The Shadow God was born neither good nor evil. His job was to maintain the balance between the shadows and the light. The Shadow God had two souls: One was pure and mellow and the other was dark and harsh. He was lonely in his world of darkness, so he made a deal with the Moon Goddess. She let him reside on the dark side of the moon, allowing him to descend on Earth after sunset. The Shadow God never interacted with humans, and he became envious of their happy world. He built a tower to connect the two worlds and attract the lost souls that he pitied. He offered them asylum. As more souls joined him, he felt his powers grow. Soon, an inner battle began inside him. He couldn't resist the temptation of devouring the lost souls. He swore to wrap the Earth in darkness so that he'd never have to return to the moon.
The Maiden and The Shadow (from Requiem for the Forgotten Shadow)
Ancient traditions forbid the Maiden Goddess from ever interacting with mortals. But the temptation became too great. Since then, every full Moon, she would descend into the world and help those in need. Word quickly spread about a beautiful maiden with magical powers. This story piqued the interest of the local mercenaries, who plotted to ambush her, hoping to harness her powers for their own gain. One night, they staged an accident, and soon the Maiden Goddess arrived, falling right into their trap. However, by some strange fate, the Shadow God was passing by and heard her cries. He chased the mercenaries away and released the Maiden Goddess. Suddenly, a powerful love was born. They had to keep each other a secret, so they met every night at a place with the most breathtaking view of Anaben. Unfortunately, the Shadow God was torn between his two souls and their love struggled. To protect her only love, the Maiden Goddess disguised the Shadow God's husk into a commoner and sent him to Anaben. She returned to her astral plane, heartbroken. Meanwhile, the husk, longing for her love, lit a candle every night at the time they were supposed to meet - but she never came. As the town of Anaben grew, he began lighting candles everywhere, hoping that the Maiden Goddess would one day come. That is how he became the famous Candlemaker.
Fall of the Shadow God (from Requiem for the Forgotten Shadow)
Centuries ago, the Shadow God lived, deeply in love with the Maiden Goddess. However, having two sides to his soul, they fought each other relentlessly. One night, his Shadow whispered to him: 'If you become strong enough, you will never have to return to the Moon'. The Shadow God ignored the evil whispers for as long as he could, but something terrible happened - he lost his own shadow. Terrified, he came to the Maiden Goddess looking for help, but as time passed, he felt his powers growing weak; even speaking was a tiresome task. And so, the Maiden Goddess called for her two sisters, the Sun and the Moon Goddesses. They searched for his Shadow day and night, and when they finally faced him, they were almost obliterated by his powers. Not long after, the divine sisters devised a plan: The Sun and Moon Goddesses created the Shade's lantern, which was able to consume the Shadow. Unable to destroy him, the Maiden Goddess used the magic glass staff and tore him to pieces, hiding each part inside a common person of Anaben. The threat was gone, but now the Maiden Goddess' beloved was no more than a husk.
The Cat of Shadows (from Out of the Shadows)
Since ancient times, the people of Anaben believed in the superstition that black cats brought misfortune and misery. In one peaceful household, there lived a cat white as snow. One day, she had a litter: six pure white kittens, but the seventh was as black as the night, with mesmerizing blue eyes. The cat's owner was horrified when he saw the shadowy kitten, so he took it away and left it in the woods. The blind kitten mewled, crying out for her mother. By fate, a mysterious figure was passing by and heard the tiny kitten's cries. It was the Shadow God. He took pity on her and cradled her in his arms. He named her Guida and kept her at his side ever since. One day, a thought occured to him. He forged a beautiful ruby necklace and put it around the cat's neck, and before he knew it, a blue-eyed lady stood before him. 'You cared so deeply for me, now it is time for me to return the favor', said Guida. The Shadow God insisted she should be free to go wherever she desired, but she refused, wishing only to serve him. Not long after, the Shadow God was split and destroyed by the Sun and Moon Goddesses. With her beloved Shadow God gone, Guida swore to restore him at any cost, believing her hero had been betrayed by his lover and her sisters. She turned back into a cat and plotted revenge on the Maiden Goddess and her two sisters.
Trivia[]
- Rubies are associated with the Shadow God and sapphires with the Maiden Goddess. Rubies and sapphires are the same stone (chemically speaking) and thus a fitting pair for the couple.
Quotes[]
As the Candle Maker[]
- "Nghhh... Hmm... Oh, hello."
- "I'm the candle maker. My duty is to bring light to the city. It's been cast into darkness..."
- "I've done this for as long as I can remember... It's-It's all I can do."
- "My cat... It's afraid of the dark, you see. That's why I have to light all the candles."
- "I'm whole again... and in control!"
Galleries[]
