Nightmare Kumos
[Name] Teheriel
[Gender] Male
[Age] Ageless
[Environment] the shadows
[Eye Color] white and pupil-less
[Species] shadow kumos
[Appearance] lanky, black form with smokey aura
[Status] single
[Preference] unknown
[Children] none
[Family] none
[Likes]
[Dislikes]
[Personality]
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Some say there is a way to redeem shadows, but it is not often done. For this to happen, their death must be avenged. Shadows who were not cruelly murdered are obviously not so eligible for this form of "redemption". If a shadow is redeemed, supposedly, their soul becomes one with the earth and their hunger for life energy is permanently sated.
Not all shadows are wicked. Most are, but even most of those know not to entirely kill a source, as then it is one less. All shadows must feast on life energy, so in that respect they are all evil. Those who are smart or, well, not evil, will practice self control when feeding. They will only take enough to sate their hunger, an amount that will usually be regenerated with temporary ill effects.
But, of course, you cannot tell what kind of shadow you've encountered until it begins to feed, and you won't know it is feeding until you either see it, or feel the effects.
Bottom line: if you see a shadow, usually recognizable by the glowing or nightmarish eyes, do not try to interact with it. Turn around, walk away and pray to all your gods that it did not see you.
This life energy exists in the form of souls, thought, dreams and nightmares. Souls are the easiest to come by, as every living creature has one. Thought is the second easiest, as most living creatures are capable of thought. Dreams are the third, as they can only be accessed during sleep, and nightmares, generally being less common than dreams, are the hardest to come by but also the most nutritious and delicious if the shadow has the power to access them. Souls and thoughts can be fed on by every shadow. Most can drink up the dreams of a sleeping victim, but only a small percentage can enter the dream and entirely consume it. An even smaller percentage can manipulate the dream into a nightmare.
Shadows are parasites, and like all parasites they harm those from which they feed. In the case of souls, the individual may begin to feel weak as his or her soul is lapped up. When it is too late, vertigo sets in and the victim will die within a few hours even if left with a small part of their soul. The stealing of thoughts is the least destructive, like a tick stealing a small quantity of blood and leaving no disease. This thought theft does tend to blot out memory and temporarily inhibit thought, but free thought will return after the shadow has left.
The consumption of dreams and nightmares erodes the mind of the victim, especially if the shadow is one of the few who can twist dreams into nightmares. The constant torture of terrifying images tends to break down ones ties to sanity. If the shadow continues long enough, the victim will become completely broken off from reality with little hopes of return. Some have even become brain dead from the constant invasion and theft.
