Shadow Stalkers
Shadow Stalkers are elusive and alien creatures from another plane, which appear strange and unsettling to most Tyrians. Their bizarre and uncanny armies strike terror into the heart of any who dare to face them. The Shadow Stalkers were brought to Tyria through a flaw in their Voidgates, which left permanent scars throughout their home plane. Desperate to save their home, these mysterious entities ventured through the Voidgates to Tyria, shutting off their only path of return. Now, they are trapped in an unfamiliar plane, uncertain if their sacrifice was enough to save their home.
Shadow Stalkers lived in relative harmony in their strange, lightless plane, known to them as the Labyrinth. They dwelt in cities scattered among the ancient winding paths, using their plane’s ambient magical aura to navigate in the darkness. This changed when the Voidgates began to appear in their plane. The Voidgates interfered with the Labyrinth’s magic. The fungi and mosses near the newly opened gates withered and animals shunned them. Shadow Stalkers who lingered close to these Voidgates too long became weak and ill. Soon it was discovered that the magic permeating the Labyrinth was slowly draining life from the Plane through the gate and unless action was taken, their home would become uninhabitable. The Shadow Stalkers began to investigate the other side of the Voidgate. Near the Voidgates, there were traces of the Labyrinth’s magic, manifesting as a faint miasma which allowed them to sense their surroundings. As they moved further, however, they discovered that magic in Tyria operated very differently than in the Labyrinth. Rather than permeating the plane like air, magical power in Tyria was far more concentrated, and magic users were like bright lights in total darkness. They were able to detect these magic users opening new Voidgates throughout their plane, heedless of the damage their spells caused. On discovering the cause of the disturbance in their Plane, the Shadow Stalkers sought out volunteers to explore the plane of Tyria and shut the gates. They prepared relics that would allow them to sense things in Tyria, projecting their own magical auras which they could use to sense things. Soon, they were ready and began to pour out through Voidgates, destroying the gates behind them. They surged through the old Ogre Kingdoms, sealing any Voidgates they found which might connect to their world. The destruction of these gates left the Shadow Stalkers with no way of returning home, and they were now trapped in Tyria. Some Shadow Stalkers hid in the ruins of the cities which they seized, slowly learning to adapt to the new plane, some pursued the Ogres and their Shamans hoping to prevent them from opening new gates, while others sought a way to return home. How will you navigate this strange plane?