Black Eyed Shadekin

Shadekin are largely thought to be myth by much of the galaxy, few settle in realspace where those outside of their own kind can come to know them.

However, Shadekin with black eyes have by one means or another, lost their ability to process energy, and as such, their ability to freely travel and to live among the rest of their kind. These weakened, exiled creatures tend to struggle to live on their own, and so will usually seek out places where they might be able to live and contribute.

Overview

• Black Eyed Shadekin are not originally from realspace, so many things can be unfamiliar to them.
• Black Eyed Shadekin suffer from an unresolvable chronic injury to most of their body, which makes them rather more susceptible to physical harm.
• Shadekin are naturally quite capable of surviving in nearly any kind of environment without special equipment.
• Due to their condition most Black Eyed Shadekin tend to take on simple, safe jobs. It is uncommon for a Black Eyes to deliberately go for anything combat related.
• Black Eyed Shadekin naturally communicate through empathy which you can speak by typing ,M
• While it is basically never their native language, in order to be hire-able by NT they must at least be somewhat fluent in Galactic Common.
• Black Eyed Shadekin can wear most clothing. Many prefer clothing that covers most or all of their body, to attempt to hide what they are, and to avoid standing out in a foreign society.
• Black Eyed Shadekin can eat most typical food items and have no species wide restriction on diet. Their bodies do burn through food faster than most.
• While Black Eyed Shadekin may be familiar with growing up among their own kind, they are typically so disconnected with other shadekin as to be unaware of any current events or happenings.

Naming

Black Eyed Shadekin most often actually lack a proper name. Their their condition is almost always the result of failing in a ritual where they would be given a proper name.

These nameless ones typically adopt something more of a title relating to what they do, rather than a proper name. This tends to lead to individuals referred to as their occupation or other notable features.

'Nurse' 'Enginemaster' 'Short Tail'

Even still, Black Eyes are typically very particular about the topic of naming, and will generally only accept nicknames from those who have earned their respect. Names are extremely important in shadekin culture, so that tends to carry over to Black Eyes as well. Be wary, as they may fight you over it.

(See also ITG, below.)

The Ritual

Shadekin typically live on another plane of existence, one made almost entirely of energy, which can be shaped by one's expectations on their surrounding. They also have adapted to absorb and process this energy to survive. The ritual by which shadekin earn their names is generally known to be highly dangerous. This involves deliberately overloading oneself on this energy by briefly entering a font of the stuff. The purpose of this overload is to rapidly expand one's capacity for it, and to develop the ability to phase shift, allowing them to cross into other planes of existence. This can be done naturally, but typically takes what amounts to multiple lifetimes. This ritual is essentially a 'coming of age' ritual. One is only allowed to attempt this at around normal breeding age, and is considered an adult for trying it.

Most will succeed and go on with their lives and names, though will need some recovery time.

Some will not, and these ones typically do not survive.

'Black Eyes' Condition

Black Eyed Shadekin are extremely similar to their non-black-eyed counterparts. The primary difference physically is in that, those with black eyes have suffered a chronic injury that prevents them from processing and retaining energy. Most who fail this ritual will perish in the attempt, but extremely rarely one may burn themselves out, but still survive the occasion.

Failure in this way however typically means that they can no longer process the energy that they use to survive within The Dark, the parts that are used to do that are quite literally burned out, and there is no known way to restore them to full function. As a result, Black Eyed Shadekin are by necessity, exiled from The Dark, their home. Sympathetic individuals will typically gather them up and transport them to somewhere that they could reasonably survive. However, this failure still leaves them largely alone in the world, and denies them their proper Shadekin name that one would receive for completing the ritual.

It is possible for a fully powered Shadekin to burn themselves out as well through prolonged, excessive energy overload, but this is exceedingly rare.

The injury primarily affects the creature’s skeletal structure and connective tissues, and as a result, Black Eyes are typically quite physically weak, prone to broken bones and more serious physical injuries than one might expect from Shadekin. Additionally, while normal Shadekin can subsist off of the energy that they take in, Black Eyes cannot, and so must take advantage of a somewhat underdeveloped digestive system to survive. They can eat most things, but their bodies quite simply burn through anything that goes through them, so a lot of food is required to keep them going.

The wounds related to this condition take a long time to heal, and learning to fit in with a new people takes even longer, so by the time any of these creatures might appear among NT halls, the events that gave them this condition will typically be pretty far in the past, and most will have gotten used to it.

Relations

Shadekin in general do not actually have or claim a name for their own kind. Names for them vary from one culture to another due to being given to them by those various cultures. Black Eyed Shadekin are very much not a group. Like the rest of the Shadekin, they tend to identify individually. However, they are typically relatively secretive about being different, and do their best to fit in with sympathetic groups. As such, while Black Eyes are often evasive about what they are or where they are from.

ITG

Within the Coreward Periphery, in and around the Virgo system specifically, a company has taken to gathering and training Black Eyes to participate in spacefaring life. The company is commonly known as ITG, or Ironcrest Transport Group. While details are extremely scarce, it is said that the CEO of the company is a hulking figure with red eyes, with a special affinity for Black Eyed Shadekin. As such, while still extremely rare, Virgo and the surrounding systems do have a higher than average concentration of Black Eyed Shadekin. Many of them have been trained within the ranks of ITG, and it is not uncommon for such Black Eyes to still work for ITG, but be contracted out to other companies. ITG does offer Black Eyes the choice of taking a proper name, though these names are almost always extremely generic words or phrases should the Black Eyes in question choose to accept one. (Think ‘John Doe’, ‘Little Steamer’ and similar things. BASICALLY Black Eyes -can- have a proper name, but it should be kind of generic, and they sort of have to have a background with ITG for that. This name doesn’t have to have anything to do with what they do or what they like.)

In Summary

All in all though, Black Eyed Shadekin are typically creatures who dreamed big, of a life beyond what they had, of rising through the ranks of their society, going further, reaching higher than anyone who’s tread before them.

Only to have the limitations of their bodies smack them back down to earth.

That said, most are driven, and have something to prove. The world has done them wrong, and they want to earn their place in spite of their condition.

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