Shadar

The Story of Shadar Los, Keeper of the Gloaming Veil

In the time before mortals understood the balance between light and darkness, there was a goddess born of the in-between. Shadar Los emerged not from creation, but from transition—the fleeting moment when day surrenders to night, and life gives way to death. She is neither a deity of endings nor beginnings but a custodian of the spaces in between, a guide for those who walk the liminal paths.

The Birth of Shadar Los

Long ago, when the gods carved the realms of existence, they overlooked the boundary spaces. The radiant gods of day and the shadowy lords of night focused on their domains, leaving the borderlands of dusk and dawn to fester in chaos. Likewise, the passage of mortal souls from life to death became perilous, fraught with wandering spirits and predatory fiends.

From this neglect, Shadar Los was born. She coalesced from the first sigh of twilight and the final breath of the dying. Her form shimmered with the gray hues of dusk, and her voice carried the stillness of a graveyard at midnight. Neither harsh nor gentle, she simply was—a quiet, persistent force ensuring balance where others sought dominion.

Domains of Influence

Shadar Los embodies two distinct but intertwined domains:

Twilight: She watches over the spaces where clarity fades, fostering reflection and serenity. Her twilight domain aids those who seek solace in the uncertain and protects wanderers traveling through danger as the light wanes. She is the guardian of thresholds, a beacon for the lost.

Death: Far from a harbinger of destruction, Shadar Los tends to the transition of souls. She ensures that the dead find peace and the living respect the sanctity of life’s end. Those who disturb the natural order—necromancers and those who cling to unearned immortality—earn her quiet wrath.

The Veil and Her Followers

Shadar Los is known as the Keeper of the Gloaming Veil, the intangible boundary separating life from death, and light from shadow. It is said that her divine veil cannot be torn, ensuring balance is maintained between realms. Her followers, known as the Twilight Shepherds, are a rare and eclectic group. They include:

• Twilight Clerics who protect travelers and invoke her to illuminate the darkest paths.
• Death Clerics who tend to the dying, ensuring their peaceful passage. They are often feared but respected, as their work is seen as sacred.
• Wanderers, poets, and those drawn to life’s transient beauty, who see her as a muse and protector.

Her worshippers carry lanterns of dim, unending light, symbolizing her guidance in the darkest of times. These lanterns are said to burn with "twilight fire," a gift from Shadar Los that can calm the restless dead or light the way to safety.

Legends of Shadar Los

One famous tale recounts her confrontation with a god of greed who sought to hoard the souls of the dead. This god, Karvorr, sought to build an army of the deceased to conquer the celestial planes. Shadar Los stepped forth, silent and calm, and wove her Gloaming Veil around his stolen souls. Though Karvorr raged and tore at the veil, its magic could not be undone. The souls slipped from his grasp and passed peacefully into the afterlife. Such was the power of this action that Karvorr himself felt himself drawn into oblivion, temples and his worshippers all fell to ground or lost memory of that which they worshipped.

In another legend, she is said to have created the Twilight Mirrors, ethereal pools of water hidden in forgotten places. These mirrors reflect not the viewer's image, but their truest fears and desires. To gaze into one is to gain insight into oneself, though few leave unchanged.

Appearance and Symbols

Shadar Los appears as a figure draped in robes that seem woven from twilight itself—shifting between soft grays, deep purples, and the faint shimmer of silver stars. Her eyes glow faintly, like dying embers, and her voice resonates like a whisper in the wind.

Her symbols include:

• A half-shrouded lantern, representing light in darkness and guidance through transitions.
• A crescent moon within a circle, symbolizing the cyclical nature of life and death.
• A veil with intertwining threads, signifying the balance she preserves.

The Balance of Shadar Los

To honor Shadar Los is to respect the in-between. Her priests teach that neither life nor death is to be feared, for both are but parts of a greater journey. They counsel patience, acceptance, and the importance of maintaining balance in all things. Yet, her neutrality is not passive—those who disrupt the natural order will find her a formidable foe, wielding twilight and death as her weapons.

Shadar Los stands eternal, a quiet sentinel at the crossroads of existence, ensuring that no soul is ever truly lost.