a.k.a. Court of the Night, Court of Inward Sight, The Lightless Court, Court of the Subtle Knife
Recognize and honor the talents of others, and know the limits of thine own.
Shadow Court is one of the ancient Great Courts, along with the Seasonal Courts of Western Europe. It originated in Eastern Europe from superstitions about the day and the night and is closely related to the Diurnal Courts. Its members focus on humility and the wisdom of selflessness.
Shadow Court only recently appeared in Port Bowen. It began in 2001 as a group of like-minded courtless changelings who desired the safety of numbers, but who refused to join the seasonal courts. Some were turned away by the existing powers, while others disliked the courts' inflexible rules and holier-than-thou leadership. These changelings embraced democratic ideals and felt called to help their fellows instead of shun them. Tongue firmly in cheek, the group started calling itself the Shadow Court.
Their growing power among the courtless drew the attention of a loyalist named Cedar. He infiltrated their democratic "court" and perverted their brotherhood for his own use. Under his leadership, Shadow Court grew to a huge 200 member organization which Cedar pitted against the seasonal courts of the Freehold of the Mist-Burnt Veil. His tactics were brutal and underhanded: many of the courtiers were kept in line through blackmail and threats to their loved ones.
Meanwhile, the original members of Shadow Court began to acquire strange contracts. They didn't remember bargaining for them, nor could they pin down their first appearance. Unbeknownst to them, they had stumbled into the traditional role of Shadow Court and were being rewarded with the Contracts of Eternal Shadow. Cedar's false courtiers – those who did not adhere to humility nor cleave to the court's true principles – never gained the use of these contracts. The disparity was used against them during the Shadow War to separate the true members of Shadow Court from the pretenders under Cedar's direct control. This move cut a huge hole out of Cedar's power base and led, in part, to his downfall.
Back in control of their own court after the Shadow War, the courtiers agreed to join the Freehold of the Mist-Burnt Veil. During those negotiations, Radiant Court surfaced to balance out Shadow's influence.
These days, Port Bowen's Shadow Court is a full member of the freehold. Unlike every other court, they retain their democratic ways. The true head of the court is elected directly by its members and is something of a Prime Minister. The crowned monarch is chosen by the "season" of Shadow, as usual, and is little more than a figurehead.
Shadow Court and Radiant Court together form the Contrast Courts. Freeholds ruled by this pair change power twice per year, either on a Samhain/Beltane cycle or a Solstice cycle. The former sees Shadow Court take power from November 1 through the end of February, and the latter has them in power from the Summer Solstice until the Winter Solstice. In Port Bowen's Freehold, both courts share power with the traditional seasonal courts of the area. Since the court is both new and very small, they hold power for only 14 days. In an odd twist, these two weeks fall late in Spring.
Shadow's reign is often marked by deceptively virtuous deeds and displays of selflessness. Though these acts are encouraged by the court, everyone knows they're twisted into self-serving tools. The wiser Shadow courtiers realize that such behavior is unavoidable, and counsel that at least this way those self-serving acts have a beneficial side-effect.
Shadow Courtiers who lead their court often exemplify the court's ethos of putting others before the self. Their humility is worn openly, but never emphasized.
Crown Benefit: The monarch of Shadow Court can reign in the extravagance of others. Once per scene for each dot he possesses in Shadow Mantle, the Shadow Monarch can choose a target and spend one Willpower to penalize the next social roll that target attempts. The penalty is equal to the Monarch's dots in Shadow Mantle.
Shadow Court and Radiant Court are mystically intertwined in a way unseen in other courts. Shadow courtiers enjoy an affinity with both Contracts of Eternal Shadow and Contracts of Fleeting Radiance. Those of Fleeting Radiance are slightly harder to master, however: Shadow Courtiers treat their mantle as one dot less for meeting the prerequisites of Fleeting Radiance clauses.
The local Shadow Court has so far eschewed the traditional court positions, instead slowly creating its own. More will surely be created as their need arises.
Even those most humble can destroy a court. Given its history, it is no surprise that Shadow Court has a position dedicated to killing the monarch if the need should arise. The Damocles is often appointed in secrecy. Should they exercise their power without cause, the damocles will surely be killed or banished by their brothers.
This position is always led by a member of the Order of Damocles entitlement and often serves as a recruitment tool for the order.
Most Shadow Court rituals are based on old pagan traditions from Europe.
Celebrated during the Winter Solstice.
Celebrated during the Spring Equinox.
Celebrated during the Summer Solstice.
These twin rituals take place on the first night of the Perseid and Leonid meteor showers, respectively. Shadow Court and Radiant Court typically negotiate which court claims which event, either on a yearly or permanent basis.
The night of the ritual, the courtiers use every means at their disposal to spy the first meteor of the shower. Optical telescopes, binoculars, and sight-enhancing contracts are all fair play. Remote imaging, however, is not.
a.k.a. Harvest Feast, or simply Mabon
For Shadow court, the Mabon Feast is a quiet ritual of thanks and community which takes place on the day of the Autumnal Equinox. Attendance is limited to Shadow Courtiers, though some invite close friends. Courtiers are required to attend. Every attendee brings some sort of fruit, grain, nut, etc. to share. Goblin fruits, oddments, and other edible hedge oddities are accepted and somewhat favored by most courts, but are not at all required. The foods are usually presented to the court's monarch as a symbolic gesture of the harvest.
After presenting their offering, each attendee sits on the floor or bare ground wherever they like. In theory, no regard is paid to station or status, but favoritism is inevitable. Once everyone has arrived and sat, the offerings are put onto as many trays as are needed. The trays are then passed from hand to hand so that everyone can partake of the court's wealth. Before taking something from a platter, however, each person must say aloud something for which they are thankful. The thing in question can be an act, an object, a relationship, or something even less tangible, but a new one must be unique for every platter. If someone can think of nothing new, it's better to repeat an old thing than to remain silent, but it's a mark of shame and a sign that that person lacks personal insight.
Once every tray has made the rounds, the courtiers eat and drink together, reaffirming their bonds of camaraderie.
These conditions must be met by each individual.
Every person who meets the conditions above gains the following:
a.k.a. The Silent Auction, Gift of Word and Deed, Show and Tell
Continuing Fall's harvest theme, the Patron's Harvest is Shadow Court's way to gain support for its initiatives. This ritual is held in early November and is a sharing of deeds accomplished and planned, with an eye toward involving the members of other courts. It is held in a large hall or building where courtiers (and those they invite) all present their accomplishments of the past year, and their plans for the next. Like school science fairs, the presentations are posters, reports, or some other form of stationary display attended by its creator. Guests are welcome from the entire freehold and are encouraged to walk around and investigate any presentation which catches their eye. For their part, presenters are supposed to remain silent unless addressed. Those who make a show of advertising their work are not asked to return.
The Patron's Harvest serves a few purposes. First, it shows what Shadow Court has been doing. Since they don't brag, as a rule, many of the courtiers' accomplishments would otherwise go unnoticed. Since they are not as secretive as Winter, they like to avoid such an outcome. Second, it shows what the court is planning. Telling the freehold in this way allows courtiers to gain support for their endeavors and allows duplicate projects across the freehold to cooperate. A downside is that it also opens the way for other courtiers (or even whole courts) to obstruct or otherwise prevent projects to which they object. For this reason, not all plans are made public. Third, it ensures that the court is firmly engaged with its freehold by preventing miscommunication and allowing free discourse.
The participants in the ritual fall into two types: Presenters, and Patrons. The ritual's effects are long-ranging, with some extending for up to a year.
Presenters who satisfy the above conditions gain the following benefits. Note that some benefits have extra conditions of their own.