#i rewrote alot of this from my old blog lllll

[altarfates]

Things to remember about the shadow magic & how it immensely changed zed. The magic’s origins begin centuries ago in the era of darkin and aspects and its secret has been guarded by the kinkou for a very long time. Not many even knew of its existence and it is seldom spoken of even within the ranks of the kinkou. Zed’s decision to embrace that potentially malevolent power was justified by the peril ionia faced at the hands of noxus, it doesn’t mean it was the right decision nor a judicious one. It takes a great deal of mental fortitude to wield that power and until Zed returned to claim the box and fully merged with it that power was volatile, unstable, its influence bled into his thoughts and blighted his mind leaving him far more susceptible to the throes of his anger, to violence, it augments and exacerbates what had already taken root within Zed having faced the cruel reality of war and death. Even after he has fully merged with the power it still takes diligent meditation to remain in full control over it, exertion on the body leads to vulnerability to the power’s hold and thus after long campaigns and battles it’s not so unusual to find Zed returning to days of solitude to regain that composure and hold over it. The shadows themselves are motile, responsive to touch, it leaves the impression of gliding your hand through smoke, they undulate but from a distance appear solid and profoundly dark. When fingers grace the skin they coil closer to it as if encompassing them, it’s as if they are drawn to the source of contact and warmth. Whilst it’s not something that was documented or known about the magic it is something that steers Zed away from casual contact, at times, the less that is known about his power the more auspicious a situation will become for him. He shares this power with his acolytes through a ceremony, it’s the mark that a disciple has been fully accepted into the order and the process is one where only the two are present and participate. It gives that person a share of his power and whilst not subtracting from his own strength it does give Zed an awareness of that person’s presence, usually it’s very vague and only through intense meditation and honed concentration can he determine that person’s location, wellbeing ect. The shadow’s influence over his mind effected his lucidity and left him prone to outbursts of anger, at the time all of that vehemence was directed at their enemies thus it was harder to recognize but he changed, irrevocably he changed and there was a time where Zed even felt trepidation about it fully conquering his mind. It’s images, memories that do not belong to him, they’re never clear but they feel range from feeling poignant to brimming with animosity, voices, sometimes it’ll be nothing but darkness and a cacophony of voices. It took time and a great deal of perseverance to be able to wield it as effectively as he does currently, his body, already honed as a weapon, had to be retaught many lessons the kinkou had taught him, that equilibrium that he had come to despise proved indispensable in becoming able to control the shadow magic and by extension himself.