The Wandering Shadows

The Wandering Shadows are not of a single race, or culture, or background. They are people who left society for having had some kind of strong disagreement with it, its rules or members, or even perhaps because they were kicked out for committing a crime, or displeasing someone. The consequences for slighting someone in the Feywild can be quite excessive from an outsider’s perspective – in a way, someone who was merely kicked out of their Court is a lucky person. Some would be very glad keeping their lives was even an option.
These are not people who seek a quiet place to live in peace after that happens, who want to settle away from trouble. No, after such an affront to their reputation and pride, they very purposefully choose violence and vengeance as their way of life. Some have chosen to leave their previous lives simply because they felt like doing it, so they could travel permanently, and sate their need for violence, and to constantly fight, to live in a society where things are decided through the law of the fittest, the strongest, where so much is on the line, instead of living through half lies and half truths, the constant manipulation of the Fey Courts and how complicated they like – or need everything to be.

Life is War, War is Life

The Wandering Shadows are called that because they like to roam the Feywild during the night, using the darkness to their advantage so they can attack settlements, or unaware travelers. They use masks to cover their identities, a way of showing that although they might all be different, that the paths which led them there diverge, they’re now a single people, despite their many differences from before. Their clothing is made of bits and pieces from things they’ve found, garments they’ve stolen, until they all look like a messy collection of mismatched knickknacks.
A group of Shadows can vary from 20 members to around a hundred of them. They do not recognize any laws or rules besides their own, but within their communities it is important that they respect the way things work, as well as the group’s hierarchy – even if it’s a loose one. Although they get some leeway for breaking the rules, given that’s part of their life philosophy and what got them there in the first place, a troublemaker will only get so many opportunities. Fool me once, that might be fine; fool me twice, that’s on me; fool me again, and your pieces will end up as food for the wild animals, your blood and bones used as paint to adorn someone’s clothing.
These groups usually have only one leader, although it’s not impossible to see two or three leaders, usually people who are very close friends or romantic partners. Shadows don’t often trust other people enough to share this power with – after all, these people aren’t exactly trustworthy, and they’re all there for a reason. The leaders know how others think and that they might be betrayed at any time. Still, there are always exception to what is more common.
Although they usually are not outright murderers, they have no problem hurting people until they get what they want. They’re actually very organized when it comes to ambushes and attacks, showing up with no warning and fighting with efficiently and swiftly and leaving a trail of destruction behind them. Then they disappear back into the darkness and keep wandering the Feywild, never taking the same path twice, never with a clear goal in mind, but always travelling to their next target, whatever or whomever that might be. Violence and revenge is always at the forefront of their mind, the tenets by which their live their life. Some might have clear reasons for this, others might only enjoy the blood-lust. Since they are a wandering culture, they don't usually take a lot of treasure with them, although they will steal things that please them, or things they see are important to people, even if they discard them later, only for the sake of hurting those they've attacked.
Either way, everyone in the Feywild knows to avoid the Wandering Shadows, unless they're looking for trouble themselves. These people have no qualms about being utterly violent, and they'll stop at nothing to get what they want, even if that is merely a vague idea of revenge. After all, they can't actually take revenge on the Courts which kicked them out, as much as they wish to do so. So the rest of the Feywild will have to do.

Creature Sketch by Shahab Alizadeh