The Plane of Echoes

The Plane of Echoes, commonly referred to as the Shadowfell, is a dimensional plane paralel to the Material Plane and the Sub-Etherial Plane, as the third of the three Inner Planes that are connected to the Etherial Plane, which serves as a crossroad between the planes. The Plane of Echoes is the place where since lost matter created after the arrival of the Gods continues to make it's footprints upon the world, often only to degrade into the raw magic of the weave to return to the Sub-Etherial Plane, where it serves to be formed anew in the Material Plane.

It is in this plane, being in more ways than one the echo of the Material plane, that rarely, but sometimes, some semblance of life is created from the scraps of matter. Sometimes by those both powerful and unlucky enough to have the power to sustain themselves here, sometimes just on it's own.

Inhabitants

In fact, as much as the Plane of Echoes has a reputation with the few who know outside of it's existence for being an empty mess of depressing grey mountains and black rivers of oil, over the millennia even in this harsh place unique lifeforms have been sprouted here and there, in rare occasions even founding civilizations of sorts. In between the countless forms of shapeless monstrosities and hybrids of plant, animal and the cold rock itself, there were a few creatures, who due to sapience (and sometimes super-sapience) minds gathered themselves into true peoples, thriving in groups and sometimes even cities, but rarely larger groups than that.

Most notably, there were:
The Night Touched & the Black Blight

Of all the powers that inhabit these realms, there are none as important to know of, nor as feared, as the Night Touched. Powerful creatures that hail from the Void outside the Planes, these creatures are few in number, yet their power over the plane is stronger than any other. The Night Touched seek to feed upon all life, destroying even the Echoes of life from other planes.

Yet more dangerous than their own presence, is the side-effect of their destruction: "the Black Blight". As the Night Touched destroy even the Echoes of things outside the plane, the core stability of its matter itself is destroyed, leading to a form of arcane cancer to beset itself upon the afflicted matter. This affliction in its turn spreads like a corroding piece of iron to nearby matter, not destroying it, but corrupting it. This horrible process saves neither animal, rock nor tree, as upon being infected the afflicted object or creature will start the long process of mutation, until after a varying amount of time it reaches a state known as "Void-Broken", after which the lines between it and reality becomes so thin and abstract that it slowly desolves into nothingness. As the very nature of the Black Blight is instability, the way this happens can take many forms, but what is certain is that anything that becomes Void-Broken becomes extremely dangerous to be near to.

The Sorrowsworn

As stated in their paragraph, the influence of the Night Touched reaches deep into the very fabric of the plane. It is from the corrupting power of the Black Blight that the Sorrowsworn were born. All creatures who by some unfortunate chance happened to get infected with the Black Blight, these creatures have mutated into a million variaties if tumorous monstrosities, with complete madness having taken control of them. Yet together with the madness, what is curious that from time to time, they seem to stop their mad behaviours move and suddenly move in a deeply logical and organised manner like bewitched by a dominating spell. When spotted the usual reaction is to spot their movements. Are they irregular, one may try to take the monster out or otherwise ignore it. Yet are they seeming sane, the best course of action would be to flee to safety, for they will not be alone, nor mad, and trouble is coming your way.

The Khayal

Known as the creators of order in a realm that severely lacks it, the Khayal are a line of genies that for millennia have inhabited the plane, although their exact origin has been lost to time. What is known, is that the Khayal are masters of the arcane, as with their power they have carved out mighty domes of magic, the so called "Quba'tun" (sg. "Quba"), which for as long anyone cares to remember have been used as the foundations of the greatest cities in the plane. Styling themselves as Maliks, they rule as kings over sometimes huge populations of migrants who have bent the knee in return for a life beyond the dark tides of the Black Blight.

The Lost

Of the meriad of people that scour the Plane of Echoes, those who are classified as "the Lost" take up a unique place in the way that they are not one people at all. As the name suggests, these people encompasses trans-planar travelers that got stuck and their descendents that managed to build up a living in the harsh environment of the plane. Over the centuries, many settlements rose and fell across the continent, with these people often bending more together than would be likely in the Material Plane. Humans, dwarves, orcs and even demons and celestials often join forces here to either resist or join the influences of the native powers that be.

The Khumat

One of the people that one would not find in the Quba'tun of the Maliks are the Khumat, monstrous creatures that take the shape of humanoid crocodiles. The Khumat have carved out their chance of survival merely by expanding their menu, as the Khumat have long expanded their carnivorous diet to include mana itself. Being mortal creatures however, they are not able to do so in the way how fae would do so in the Material Plane, instead, they have resorted to implanting items into their skin that serve as vessels for personal guardian spirits. This spirit functions of a simple deal, the Khumat is to bring it's spirit sources of magic, in return the spirit provides the Khumat power and nutrition. This warlock-like relation of patron-follower results in the Khumat being highly hungry for any sources of magic, which makes them ravenous raiders in the process. Khumat society, often relegated to nomadic tribes constantly on the move away from the Black Blight, keep themselves busy with raiding, plotting and scheming with any and all forces to allow them to get as much magical items as possible, with the foremost members of their tribe having been granted great powers by their patron spirit.

The Azer

Counted as perhaps the greatest craftsmen among the creatures of the Planes, the Azer stand as a people that have settled along the geysers of elemental magic that frequent certain parts of the Plane. Misleadingly called the Fire-Dwarves by outsiders, they take the form of short, broad and bearded creatures. Yet while their unrelated lookalikes from the Material Plane hold skins of flesh and fluids of water, the Azer's skin instead is of Azerium (an alloy of lithium, adamantium and copper) while their innards are of blazing elemental fire. They are classified as a Shelled Elemental, as much like a tortoise they are together with their metal skin considered one creature. They reproduce not in the usual manner either, instead, Azers literally pour their children from molten Azerium, before spending years perfecting it in the forge. At the end, the Azer fuzes a part of his own being into the mold, a process of whom the "parent" Azer heals over time, as the "child" Azer grows in spirit.

The Azer have lived longer upon the plane of echoes than anyone cares to remember, including themselves, although it is said they arrived together with the spreading of the elemental magic on the plane around the start of the Age of Creation. They have built mighty cities, known as "Mishigochi (sg. Mishigi)" in their own tongue, which often spread like the wheels of a cart around the elemental geysers, which are known as "Libochi (sg. Libi)". The Azer are known as self serving people who tend to seldom look beyond the safety of their geysers, although exceptions exist.

The Genasi

Among both the Elemental Geysers, the Mishigochi of the Azer and the Quba'tun of the Khayals, a minority people has slowly grown in population over the centuries, those being the race of Genasi. Half-Elemental by birth, they are often deeply connected to the element that has birthed them, although their function and status differs greatly depending on where they live.

The Genasi of the Mishigi are probably the worst off of the bunch. As non-azer living in Azer cities, the almost exclusively fire genasi are considered as second rank citizens by the azer, with them serving at the very bottom of society.

Better off than them are the Genasi of the Quba, as within the majority migrant population of the Khayal ruled cities the genasi do no particularly look out of place, with their inert gifts over elemental magic often proving them useful people, with many having climbed the ranks to become nobility or otherwise powerful.

Last but not least are those genasi who live in their own settlements, often far removed from other settlements. These people, called the Free Genasi, live a mostly tribal life, forever on the run for the Black Blight.

The Krinth

Removed from the protecting walls of the Khayals and Azer, many people live mostly nomadic lives on an eternal flight from the influence of the Black Blight. Yet while all of them flee the destructive corruption, not all people who live in its wake choose to fear it. The Krinth instead choose to worship it as their holy wrath. Often edging the influence of the Black Blight, none know it's nature better than them. Although the Night Touched destroy them just as well, if not worse, than the other peoples, the Krinth tribes mostly live as zealot raiders.

The Yara-ma-yha-who

Perhaps one of the stranger entries on this list, the Yara-ma-yha-who are creatures that look like little shrunken red men, although they behave more like animals than people. These creatures resemble little red frog-like men with very big heads, large mouths with no teeth and suckers on the ends of its hands and feet. Instead of hunting for food, it is described as waiting for an unsuspecting traveller to rest under trees or rocks in its vacinity. The creature then drops down and uses its suckers to drain the victim's blood. After that it swallows the person, drinks some water, and then takes a nap. When the Yara-ma-yha-who awakens, it regurgitates the victim, leaving them shorter and more animalistic than before. The victim's skin also has a reddish tint to it that it didn't have before. If this process is repeated, the victim becomes a Yara-ma-yha-who themselves. What makes this creature noteworthy enough to reach a list dedicated to people, not fauna, is the fact that created Yara-ma-yha-who with the gift have found a way to retain their sanity, leading to the rise of a somewhat intelligent, but mostly arcanely capable race of predators. The creatures can now be found in many places around the Plane, living mostly in trees and caves. Although still not very intelligent or developed, they are great sorcerers with vast intrinsic knowledge of the arcane.

The Strigoi

Among the populated lands of the plane, another blood-sucking people have taken the overhand over the Yara-ma-yha-who however, them being the vampiric strain of the Strigoi. They are a far more intelligent, yet not less animalistic creature. Most Strigoi possessed all the same powers of a common vampire, such as being able to spider climb, shapechange, assume a gaseous form, and charm people. Though they lacked their energy draining touch and those that were savage brutes only displayed the power to cling to and climb across walls and ceilings. Strigoi also had a number of powers that were unique to their strain, as well as different powers depending upon what race an individual Strigoi was before he became one.

While many creatures in the Material Plane have an immunity to common vampirism, to the strain of the Strigoi such immunities are rare, with frightening cases of even creatures such as Shadow Dragons becoming Strigoi.

The Shadow Dragons

Last but not least are the Shadow Dragons and their servants of the shadows. These dragons have been a part of the plane for as long back as the creation of dragonkind in the Material Plane. They are known as powerful and cruel warlords of ghastly undead hordes, yet the Black Blight from time to time also takes it toll on them. The Shadow Dragons often lead armies of shadows, although they are abandoned often in sight of defeat, their masters not willing to risk their own lives. It makes the sighting of Shadow Dragons a rare occurrence, especially when overpowered.

Still, these creatures have managed to spread their influence so wide, that few regions outside the densely populated areas are safe for any continuous period of time. Their hunting grounds are massive, only using lairs to breed their offspring, which is a very rare occurrence to begin with.

The Closeness of the Elements

Due to the inner workings on the arcane, Elemental force is the hardest to decay and the easiest to form, as it often echoes onto the Plane of Echoes without losing too much cohesion, it is for this reason that of all the forms of magic, elemental magic is by far the easiest arcane form to master here. Many creatures who have not formed with control over another source of non-arcane magic have turned to the elements in a bid to strengthen their power. It lies for this very reason that the Plane of Echoes has an asterisk on it's reputation of being a dark and gloomy place, the strong presence of elemental powers. All the elements have a strong hold over the Plane of Echoes, with Fire and Wind holding a special position of having more concentrated "geysers" than the others. These geysers are located around all of the Plane, yet like the geysers on the Material Plane they tend to stick to certain areas and line across the world.

Alternative Name(s)

The Shadowfell

Type

Dimensional plane

Included Locations

• Cenebarathrum

Inhabiting Species

• Dragons