Shadow ascendant

This article contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

The Forgotten Shadow is a powerful religion that sweeps through the Forsaken. A devotee may throw off the shackles of her zombielike body, becoming one with the Shadow. Those who succeed become shadow ascendants. Outsiders do not understand the process that fuels the ascendents' evolution from physically powerful but slow corpse to a quick and deadly shadow. The Cult of Forgotten Shadow, however preaches that all Forsaken are born from the Shadow, and that they carry a portion of the Shadow within them. By strengthening her ties to death and undeath, the ascendent manifests her inner Shadow, bonding with it until she becomes a living shadow, the ultimate manifestation of the Shadow from which she was born.

As Forsaken undertakes her journey, many changes manifest. The Forsaken's skin darkens, and shadows cling to her body. Her features blur and become indistinct, almost as if they were melting away. The ascendent becomes more sensitive to light, preferring to stay in darkness. Later, the air becomes cold around the ascendent. Her voice echoes, as if she speaks both words and thoughts. The ascendent becomes one with darkness and shadows, and she feels her emotions grow colder and darker as she continues down this path.

At the culmination of this path, the ascendent's body fades, and she becomes a living shadow. While the Forsaken loses the strength of an undead body, she gains the perfection of undeath, an incorporeal and inhumanly powerful free soul. This form resembles her old form, but without facial features. Hair and body shape remains, formed of the stuff of shadows, and eyes remain as burning balls of unholy light. The Forsaken still has a body, however, and is not truly incorporeal as a ghost is. The ascendent's shadow body bears some substance, almost like an ephemeral, inky fluid, but it is so wispy that it almost doesn't exist.

Shadow ascendents obviously, are universally Forsaken. Ascendents come from all walks of life, but most are priests, though the occasional warrior or rogue may find ascension in the Forgotten Shadow. Most Forsaken revere ascendents as the perfection of death and their own inner darkness. An ascendent is a powerful creature, a physical manifestation of the Shadow, free of mortal constraints such as a body or feelings. Shadow ascendents hold a special place in the Cult of the Forgotten Shadow. Most ascendents are followers of that faith, and expound that their transfomrations are proof of the faith's truthfullness. Ascendents attend the cult sa prophets, leading clergies to the path of truth undeath. Even ascendents who claim to be atheists have some knowledge of religions and faith, if just to understand their own undead bodies and the Shadow from which they were born. Secretly, an ascendent must have a little faith to begin the transformation, despite how atheistic she may be.

Among the Horde, ascendents serve as nigh-invincible spies, priests and assassins. These living shadows frighten other Horde members, but the Horde bears a measure of respect toward them. The shadow-creatures they become resemble some shaman and voodoo spirits, though dark and uncontrollable. Tauren are wary of the creatures, which exude an overpowering stink of death to the tauren's spirit-sensitive noses. On the other hand, some trolls revere those who complete their manifestations of true undeath as dark Loa spirits, and go out of their way to please ascendants.Template:Cite