Sapience,

The Sciomancers Guild has always coordinated and stood at the forefront of the continent's response to any incursions from the Shadow Plane orchestrated by the Shadow Mother, a duty that comes with our expertise with Shadow. Our students of Revenant arts are required to study and hone the traditions taught to us by the ancients who still continue to stand guard for centuries, even after their bodies have rotted away. This is before our students are able to shape the natural ambient Shadow all around us. Our Shadow Marked mages draw upon Elemental Shadow only after years of grueling discipline, and development of their Control. This is not new to any magi who draw directly from Elemental Planes - maintaining direct channels to any of the Elemental Planes demand no less than total Control.

The Sciomancers draw from the most destructive of all elements, and those who display even an iota less than what is needed for full and total Control are culled from our ranks. We are the most aware of the dangers of Elemental Shadow, for we work with it and wield it in our every day. With great power comes great responsibility, and the Sciomancers stand resolutely against the Shadow Mother's designs, as the power afforded to us grant us advantage that we can, and will, leverage over this foe. Our mandate: to excercise Control over any and all occurence of Elemental Shadow, and to obstruct any and all of the Shadow Mother's plots. For over two centuries, the Guild has established and continued to excercise this Control alongside our Spirean and Bloodlochian allies. For even longer, ancient Revenants and other allies have guarded Sapience from the Shadow Mother's influence in silence, without advertising their work. Do not doubt - this will ALWAYS continue, long after all who are reading this today crumble to dust.

The Shadow Mother is a threat to all. Her machinations move the ignorant, the gullible, and the careless, and She seeks only two things: the removal of the organised obstruction by practicing experts in Spinesreach, and subsequently, the total consumption of Sapience that the first will enable. The Sciomancers suspect, from the recent events, that the Shadow Mother's machinations ever move apace, and we must adapt again, as many times as we need to, no matter how many victories or footholds She gains, to respond to and deny Her.

To that end, the Sciomancers Guild announces the formation of the Shadowguard, our militant arm, that will be a new coordinating body for Sapience's response against Ohlsana's conspiracies with the priority mission to guard against any and all threats to Sapience from the Shadow Mother.

To all of Sapience, the Shadowguard urges: You, as well, can resist the Shadow Mother. Fall not for the Shadow Mother's insidious whispers. Cull and replace the weak-minded amongst you who have already been seduced by Her words, or fallen prey to Her machinations. We fight on all fronts, for the Shadow Mother has always attacked from all fronts. Also remember, the Shadowbound are not the only agents the Shadow Mother has used in the past - always, it is those who have acted with arrogance, with jealousy, with ignorance, that have moved the pieces on the board to Her advantage.

Take careful note of those amongst you who may be displaying signs of the Shadow Plague. Their actions are erratic, characterised by bouts of clarity and confusion. They ask for aid, and then dismiss it. Look out for sudden changes in skin colour, in their eyes, in the ideals they speak of. For more information, attend the public seminars that will be organised, or contact the Shadowguard or a representative of Spinesreach - we may yet save your loved ones, but rest assured, even if they are too far gone, we will ensure they rest without becoming a tool of Ohlsana.

The Shadowguard stands as the Sciomancers Guild's immediate and direct response to anything that may seem to be a precursor to another War of Night. Come to us with your suspicions of any least conspiracy, from any quarter, that may seem like it is from the Shadow Mother, and we will act.

For a start, the Shadowguard will keep the peace in Spinesreach's public seminars about the Shadow Plague. We defend the scholars who willingly share their knowledge about what to do against the Shadow Plague. During the seminars themselves, the Shadowguard asks all bounty hunters to suspend attempts at your marks participating in the seminar. There may be a price on their head, but you can make your attempt to collect it AFTER they have learned about the Shadow Plague. The Shadowguard will enforce this against any who initiate combat or who attempt to disrupt the seminars by being rowdy, regardless of City or Guild affiliation.

As a warning to all who may foolishly worship the Shadow Mother: The Shadowguard will cut down like chaff all those who act in the interests of Ohlsana. Nothing will be left of the ignorance that Ohlsana exploits, when the Shadowguard are done. Like the charred bodies left in the wake of a Revenant's culling, so too, we will bring ruin and destruction to those who seek to endanger us all. For Sapience!

Kagura Tsuchimiya
Shadowguard Champion

Penned by my hand on Kinsday, the 15th of Lanosian, in the year 503 MA.