Sombras

Summary
The Sombras, commonly referred to as Shades, are a type of ethereal shape-shifter that has both the ability to pass through solid objects and the ability to interact with the physical world. They can take on any shape but generally cloak themselves in hooded robes. The form of a Sombra is bonded with a physical item which can often be seen in this hooded form, such as a skull or mask peeking through the hood. Frequently the item is kept hidden in more private individuals. They are a highly docile and scholarly people, who are known for their curiosity, secrecy and odd social conduct.

Appearance
Sombras can take on any form to alarm or deceive a foe, but generally appear as floating, hooded creatures. There are often two eyes peeking out from beneath the hood, staring in curious analysis of some new object. Alternatively the hood may hold a helm, mask, skull, decorated sphere, or any one of a plethora of trinkets and ornaments hovering in place of a head. The Sombras can appear in tattered robes as dread reapers, or as neat, humble monks. There is no semblance of a regular anatomy, and no arms to fill the sleeves, or legs to walk on. Instead, Sombras hover along in what is considered a rather eerie fashion by most observers. The robes can often have curious items hovering around or inside them, or dangling off of them – trinkets collected by the particular shade.

Abilities
Sombras have the ability to pass through any solid object and take on any form they choose, as well as the ability of levitation. They also have the ability to use what appears to be a rudimentary form of telekinesis, but is actually an extension of their shape-shifting – The Sombra can manipulate their Shade form and use smaller, less substantial strands of it that are invisible to interact with the physical world. This is a more exact form of interaction than merely relying on their own dexterity in an imitation of humanoid species, and so this “telekinesis” is generally to perform most tasks. It is especially useful for writing, as Sombras are incapable of speech, and so they tend to communicate with soft ink on water-paper scrolls, which is easily erased and thus reusable.

All of these abilities hinge on the Sombra’s environment. The Sombras feed on Twilight, which is permanently abundant in their home of Ravenheim. Sombras often go to Kyrheim and Ariaheim in search of treasures, and in these worlds they are weakened during day or night. Sombras expend the energy they receive from twilight whenever they use abilities during the day or night, and a total depletion of their energy will cause them to dissipate into the dreaming. While the darkness will simply cut off a Sombras access to energy from Twilight, daylight actively drains the Sombra while they use abilities. It is for this reason that the hooded form was created, which makes it easier to travel through daylight areas.

Diet
Sombras have no diet as it would be defined by other species, but rather are entirely nourished by converting matter into energy using Twilight as a catalyst energy source. They can stockpile this Twilight energy for long absences if necessary.

Life Cycle
The number of Sombras in existance is constantly kept at a fixed number known only to the Patriarchs. Because Shades are sexless, they do not reproduce out of love or instinct, but out of rebirth, or in rare cases, a ritual known as Dormant Awakening. Shades have no real limit to their existence and typically do not die. Though they can cease to exist if unable to access twilight for an extended period of time, this rarely happens. Some Sombras have been known to simply ‘fade away’ late in their existence, but again this is not common, and is also a complete mystery. If a Sombra dies, the balance is kept in check by the Dormant Awakening, a ritual by which the Patriarchs form a newly summoned Sombra from each of their limitless shadows, granting to it the gifts of Conciousness, Emotion, Intiution, Structure and Curiosity. Likewise, it is common for a Sombra to perform the Rite of Rebirth late in their life cycle, which leaves them dissipated in the Well of Wonders only to be reborn later. The reborn Sombra is not a duplicate of itself, but a reorganization of itself and the many other Sombras who choose to be reborn, like molecules of water spreading evenly in a pond and becoming one, only to be seperated again entirely new. Besides these three factors however, Shades have no limit to their lifespan.

The life cycles of a Sombra are not as easily categorized as other, organic species. They can however, be loosely divided into the following stages.

New-life

A newly summoned Sombra is virtually indistinguishable from any other Sombra. It is adequately adept in its abilities but not as much as older Sombras. As Sombras use abilities such as shape-shifting and tangibility they become increasingly adept at them and are able to use them more efficiently. A new-life would drain its twilight energy more rapidly. A new-life Sombra differs mentally from other Sombra based only in terms of the knowledge it possesses – Or lack thereof. A new-life will spend much of its time being guided around by a Chamberlain stage Sombra. This stage lasts for only about five years.

Scholar

The Scholar stage is a large portion of the Sombras life in which its robes are coloured white and it attends Albus Academy. Though the Academy is open to any Sombra, it is generally only visited out of necessity by those who are no longer scholars. The scholars spend years studying and understanding history, art and science. The naturally extreme curiosity of the Ombra people and the highly concentrated form of teaching in the Academy means that a thoroughly in-depth educational experience is had in a relatively quick amount of time. However, Sombras spend a minimum of twenty years in the Academy, sometimes scaling up to fifty years.

Wanderer

Wanderers are some of the most important citizens of Omen. After ‘graduating’ Albus Academy, a Sombras robes will likely turn brown, black or grey but retain a white cloth pauldron, scarf or draping over the shoulder. The Sombra then leaves Omen in search of treasures, information or knowledge. This stage of life is occupied by most Sombra for anywhere from two to five hundred years. The Wanderer can return to Omen at any point if it so chooses, often to pick up on information or find a fitting prize to seek. However, the Wanderer will not truly return home until it has acquired something of true value for Omen.

Chamberlain

This is the stage that most Sombras occupy. Many do not ever reach a further stage than this. Here they may wear the white mark of graduation, but marked with a pentagram to show their ascension to Chamberlain. It is at this stage that the Sombra receives its own Hollow, and its right to preserve certain treasures for itself (aside from this scenario, Sombras have no recognition of ownership). Having proven themselves, they are also often required to guide new-lifes until they become scholars.

Auctor

Auctors are recognized experts, authoritarian voices for certain topics or schools of thought. For this a Chamberlain must prove itself and be recognized and examined by the Patriarchs. Auctors are often given important roles in the academy or as librarians. They are highly revered beings. It is unheard of to see an Auctor younger than several hundred years but there is no specific limit, and thus it is closer to a social rank than a life stage. Auctors have golden scarves and embroidery in their hooded forms.

Patriarch



It is unknown how a Sombra becomes a Patriarch or if it is possible. There are only five in existence. Their word is law in Omen, and they have instantaneous telepathic access to all information held in the city. All five Patriarchs are bonded to black feathers, the symbol of Raven. They alone hold knowledge of the beginnings of the Sombras, and they alone are responsible for their continued existance.

Behavioural Traits

Sombras are typically odd creatures. They are also not terribly individualistic and do not differ as drastically from one to another as most other species would. Sombras can differ in taste and sometimes in how eccentric or calm they are, but in few other ways.

One of the inherent, recognisable traits held by the species is their curiosity. Sombras are often not welcome in other societies because of their tendency to stop and stare at something – or someone – that interests them. It is not unusual for a Sombra to hover next to the object of their affection for long periods of time, perhaps hours, analysing and occasionally scribbling down notes on scrolls of parchment. Needless to say, other beings find this unnerving at the best of times and maddening at the worst.

Sombras are natural collectors and delight in finding unique or rare items. Unfortunately, they have no societal understanding of possession or ownership. They respect the treasures kept in Omen, but those treasures are there out of a universal requirement to pool knowledge. They do not understand human desires to keep treasures and prizes simply to look at or use for functional purposes and will take anything they see without realizing it belongs to someone. This has earned Sombras the reputation as thieves in many places. Sombras actually despise the thought of thievery and punish it heavily, but they define it differently (to a Sombra, thievery only applies when it is something unique being stolen, or something being stolen from someone’s hollow). It is easy, fortunately, to explain to a Sombra not to steal, but they continue to have difficulty with the concept. This is particularly difficult with food, which Sombras do not need, as they will often grab handfuls of food from market stalls completely oblivious as to why it was arranged there.

Although Sombras could appear in any way they wished, they are almost always seen wearing hooded, scholarly robes. The robe-form serves a functional purpose when travelling outside of Twilight, as it offers some protection from the draining sunlight. However, Sombras also take on this form when in Omen. This is because the Sombras were once nomadic and did not always live in Omen, and so it became a cultural expectation to always wear the hood form, similar to clothes in human societies. The Sombra are also a very secretive race, and some fear that revealing creating other forms in front of other shades would reveal personal details about the particular Sombra. Thus, those who favour privacy constantly appear robed.

As a final note, it is possible for a Sombras personality to be dictated, if only slightly, by the manner of object its soul is bound to.

Social Structure
Society is incredibly simple in Omen and was never encouraged by necessity to complicate itself with additional layers or castes. Though the life stage of a Sombra may vary, this really only indicates how knowledgeable the Sombra is. Thus, certain shades are more respected, such as Chamberlains being more respected than Scholars or New-Lifes, but this does not result in any form of disadvantage or prejudice to the latter groups. There are no politics or power struggles. The Patriarchs govern everything with the assistance of the Doll King of Omen and the consultation of the Auctors. Every other Sombra is free to do as they like, within the law. They are also free to leave. It is due to the unity of nature in the race that there are no wars, conflicts or rebellions. The Patriarchs feel they are most qualified to rule and all other Sombras are in agreement, as this is logical. They have no reason to ignore the most logical option because the Sombras do not desire power – Only knowledge. The entire society is based around two things.


 * Enabling every Sombra to freely seek out information as they please.


 * Safely preserving this knowledge in Omen.

Language
Sombras are often multi-lingual due to extensive studying and exploration of the Labyrinth of Language. There is no primary second language for the species but they are potent in all major tongues, even outside of Ravenheim.

There are two tongues unique to Omen that the Sombra use. Both are runic non-verbal languages of course, as Sombras are incapable of speech. The first is known as Labrin, and is specifically used for mathematics, scientific experiments and any context which require the immediate and clear communication of data - exact and not muddled. In this language, words carry a single meaning each. The language itself is considerably small, but it is here that the numerical system of the Sombras is found. This is generally used in a work capacity.

Aesthetically, Labrin is a curious sight. The language is linear, its characters taking the shapes of cubes, zig-zags and little mazes.

The second tongue is Floreo. This tongue is used for day-to-day communication and for the more artistic language composition, such as poetry or fiction. This language is more complicated than Labrin, but still more streamlined than oral tongues as it does not need to account for pronunciation in its alphabet.

Floreo, aesthetically, is close to human hand-writing and moves in elegant, elaborate flourishes and twirling, decorative patterns.

Immigration and Emigration
Occasionally, Sombras in the “Wanderer” stage of life will not return to Omen due to having found somewhere they prefer, or they will return to the city with their gift and then leave. Many more Sombras spend large amounts of time during their Wanderer stage outside of the city, exploring, as there are many Sombras in Omen. The shades will often wander the world, and rarely fall bored. Sombras almost always choose to stay in Ravenheim, however, as it is difficult to find a way to survive for long outside of permanent Twilight.

Other beings rarely stay in Omen for long. There are residential areas in Oakharbour, but these are used either temporarily out of business necessity, or out of desperation, as Omen is a good hiding place. There are a few cases of outsiders earning trust and respect with the Sombras and being asked or allowed to stay within the city proper. These people are few and far between, to the point of only making up a negligible percentage of the city’s population.

-- Royal Seal 18:58, July 31, 2013 (UTC)