Shades
Shades are beings, usually humanoids, but perhaps some creatures that have found a way, usually through magic, to become part of, or partly, shadow. They are not longer truly mortal, nor are they truly immortal - because they do not live forever. But they do live a very very long time, perhaps even a thousand years. But since their transformation is within shadow, they live longer if they stay in the Shadow Relm. They can leave the Shadow Relm, but extended stays away does disrtupt the link with shadow and over time could weaken then and even shorten their lifespan.
Shades appearance can vary greatly. Powerful shades may look very similar as to what they were before becoming a shade. But wearker or older shades tend to lose their original appearance and become grey and sickly looking over time - sometimes even horrific in appearance. Still others, those with great power, are able to use the Shadow to alter their appearance nearly at will. However, 8 times out of 10, a shade does appear at least slightly different that it did before it became a shade - such that if you new the person well before, you would still recognize them but you might think something is different with them. So, most shades, look just like normal humanoids, although their skin may be gray to inky black, as are their eyes, and they may even have black, nearly smokey or inky wisps of shadow emanating off them. And they are usually thinner than most humans.
