- "In the center of your being, there's a tiny beating heart."
"What, you mean like my soul?"
"Part of it, yes, the slimmest part, but it holds specific power. It's called a Shade." - ―Martin Chatwin and Julia Wicker
The Shade is the tiny beating heart of the soul and the part that allows people to process complex emotions and connect to one another. The bonds of friendship, love, intimacy, trust, and compassion all rely completely upon the Shade.
Overview[]
Shades allow one to feel things fully, and while this allows people to connect to one another through empathy, it is a dangerous aspect of the soul that makes people vulnerable to pain that could irrevocably damage them. A Shade that has suffered intense trauma can become such an agonizing raw nerve that one would do anything to make the pain stop - even remove the Shade itself.
Alice Quinn's shade
A person can lose their Shade through either willful or violent means; consciously removing it, something considered extremely risky, or having it unwillingly severed. Severing one's Shade can seem like a huge release, as they are relieved of the emotional burdens the Shade brings, but it's also a double-edged sword. For Martin Chatwin, removing his Shade freed him from the emotional fallout of Christopher Plover's abuse, but it also led to him becoming The Beast. Without his Shade, Martin was freed from his pain, but also his conscious and all moral compunction about his actions. When a magician is consumed by magic they cannot control and becomes a Niffin, their shade becomes lost in the process. This results in niffins being creatures who run on impulse and pursue their agendas with no regard for others and are considered extremely dangerous.
Julia Wicker's shade
Upon removal, a Shade goes to the Underworld and into the Elysium providence for eternity where they help perform subtle miracles to deserving children.[1] For the dead to properly move on in the afterlife, they must have their Shade, though this may be arranged post-mortem.[2] A soul without a shade that goes to the underworld manifests a hole in their torso that slowly seals shut. Once this occurs, their shade can never be returned to them.
While in the Underworld, Shades manifests as a child, though they do maintain their memories and connections to others. Alice Quinn's Shade recognized Quentin when he and Julia arrived in Elysium.[1]
History[]
To be added
Shadeless[]
Julia's missing Shade
The following is a list of characters who have had their Shades removed, willing or not:
- Martin Chatwin[3]
- Julia Wicker (restored)
- Quentin Coldwater (23rd Timeline) - In Timeline 23, Quentin was killed by The Beast, who tore his body and shade apart. When he was brought back to life by Alice Quinn she was unable to restore his Shade.
- Niffins - In the process of becoming a Niffin, an individual will lose their shade.
- Alice Quinn (restored)
- Charlie Quinn
- Friar Joseph
Trivia[]
- In Greek mythology, Shades were the spirits or ghosts of a dead person and another name for the Underworld was "the Kingdom of Shades".