For Gold & Glory: Card of the Week: Frozen Shade

Admittedly, it's a cool painting.

A Guest Testimonial

The subject of this week’s writing is the Frozen Shade. Rather than write of my scant experiences with these foul creatures myself, I have called on the expertise of the Dread Lady Shade herself to speak of her kind.

On Becoming a Shade

My Frozen Shade collection is relatively paltry. I've given all but these to Megan, who has always been a Shade aficionado. She's got that Alpha Shade from the other pictures waiting for her, too, the next time she deigns to visit me!

“It could be said that I started down the path of becoming a Shade at the same time that I became a mage. Like most who discover that they have magical abilities, I tried my hand at all different colors of magic. I immediately abandoned the practice of White magic, finding no appeal in
its use. Shortly thereafter, I gave up Red magic for the most part, which was just as well, since Red leylines were hard to come by in the mostly flat regions of central Parma that I called home. While I stuck with my studies of Blue and Green magics and learned how to use them effectively, it was Black magic that appealed to me the most. Something about its darkness drew my mind seduced my soul, and I quickly learned how to wield the power I could draw from the bogs of northern Parma to greater and greater effect. From raising mindless undead minions and cutting down the creatures that my rivals would send against me in battle, I quickly progressed to the use of dementia magic and to summoning more powerful undead to my aid. As my mastery grew, I eventually was able to command the most powerful Black magic, calling forth powerful demons and bending them to my will. Black magic offered power, and I was more than happy to take as much of it for myself as I could.

“Of course, as every student of Black magic learns early in their studies, power comes at a price. Most obvious to the outside observer, and even to those who casually dabble in Black magic, is the sacrificial price demanded by the demons and other creatures that Black magic is capable of summoning. But there is a more subtle price as well, beyond the realm of sacrificial payments to dark entities. Power is addictive, and the power of Black magic is no exception. The occasional user of Black mana might avoid this addiction, especially if they are careful to use it sparingly and only as an adjunct to other magics, but those who specialize in its use soon find it impossible not to wield its power—not that many who progress this far in their use of Black magic would ever see this as a reason to consider ceasing its use. I certainly did not. What started for me as seductive whispers promising power became an unrelenting need to use that power. The time came that the power I could draw solely from the leylines I had collected became insufficient to satisfy this need, and the dark rites that I used to perform only for the sake of expediency became their own purpose. Now, when I cannot access sufficient Black mana to sustain this need, my body itself starts to fade, and my physical strength can only be restored, however temporarily, by more Black mana. Some might consider this to be a steep price paid for the mastery of Black magic, but it seems like a bargain to me. What is the strength of the body compared to the might allowed to me by the dark magic I call on to fulfil my every need? As long as I have more, I shall want for nothing.”

—The Dread Lady Shade

The Lore of Shade-Kind

While Underworld Dreams has little to do with Frozen Shade as a card, I've always enjoyed the art reminiscent of Gustave Doré's illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy. Perhaps this is a Shade guiding a poet through the Underworld's Dreams?

Shades are the restless souls of the dead, the inhabitants of one underworld or another. There are as many afterlives across the planes as there are mortal cultures, and they range from fiery infernos to darkling purgatories to frozen hells. The fate of the souls condemned to these places is not necessarily damnation—many cultures venerate and these spirits of their ancestors as near-divine.

The majority of shades remain in their respective underworlds, but some return to haunt the planes of the living. These are typically summoned by foul black magic, but some find their way back by their own will. Once returned, many are reluctant to leave again, especially those hailing from unpleasant afterlives. These tend to seek out swamps and bogs, where the rich black mana strengthens them and grants them temporary agency in the mortal world.

Shades of Battle

Frozen Shades are not commonly employed in battle between mages: the cost to summon them is relatively high, and can be more effectively spent in summoning Hypnotic Specters or casting Underworld Dreams. Furthermore, they require constant infusions of black mana to be effective—requiring mages to both devote themselves the magic of the swamps and to divert their resources from other spells. Summoning Shades into battle is not an easy task, nor one to be taken lightly.

Not what you want to see across the table from you. Maybe it's a Shade casting that Dark Ritual in the art?

But for those mages who persist, a Frozen Shade is a threat that cannot be ignored. Though normally weak, a Shade can grow to enormous strength in the blink of an eye provided that enough black mana is available. And there’s almost always more black mana available than meets the eye, thanks to the Dark Rituals employed by all black mages worthy of the name. No, it is far better to send these foul creatures back to the underworld as soon as they show their shadowy faces than to wait until they can grow to uncontrollable strength.