‘ Believe me, I would have died for her, but I am bound to this life. I can only look on as my friends die off, time and time again. ‘
~ Shadow Warrior to Elune
The Shadow Warrior, is the main protagonist of SpellForce: The Breath of Winter and also a possible protagonist in SpellForce: Shadow of the Phoenix. He was a legendary Rune Warrior who averted the Aryn Crisis but in the process lost his humanity and turned into a Shadow. He also plays a major role in the second series where he aids The Shaikan.
Biography
Early Years
The man who would be known as The Shadow Warrior was one of the rune warriors that fought in convocation wars. His recruitment was likely the same as the majority of his peers, a mercenary who was lured by the promises of gold and glory in service to The Circle. Although it is unknown under which one of the thirteen he served it is a fact that he served alongside Lena, and Grim. Sometime during the war he was defeated and his rune was lost.
The Aryn Crisis
In the distant past a white dragon was born by the name of Aryn whose unique physiology proved a danger to the world of Eo, This particular dragon was capable of decreasing the temperature of any environment that he resided, to the point of freezing, by his mere presence. Just as he was about to freeze the entire planet one of the five rulers of the elves, Queen Cenwen, saw the pain and loneliness of the creature and offered to be his eternal companion on the condition he leave her people alone. The dragon not only agreed but also granted his powers to Cenwen's clan, who would become the first Ice Elves. For thousands of years, the duo would peacefully and happily await the end of time in Aryn's sealed cave in the mountains, until Aryn awakens due to his companion's absence and furiously breaks out of his cave to search for her.
The Resistance
Approximately two years after The Battle of Fiara, Grim and Lena went to a rune monument in Mirraw Thur in order to summon him. They required his abilities in order to help The Resistance, a group of freed slaves that fought against the slavers of Urgath. Grim was hesitant on giving the warrior his rune back, believing he would be more useful in this manner but Lena insisted on it. Afterwards they ventured to the resistance camp and explained the situation to the warrior, the Ice elves had allegedly rescued Cenwyn from Aryn unware of the fact that this would lead to Eo's destruction. In order to free the elven queen from the Winterguard base the resistance required the prowess of their old leaders Dunhan and Reowys, who were Rune Warriors. Fortunately the Shadow Warrior was able to recover their runes with help from his comrades and a mysterious mage called the Masked One. Afterwards Grim announced the attack and the unprepared elves were slaughtered.
Crimson Empire
After annihilating the ice elves the trio headed to the prison but instead of a queen they found a prince, one of the Fial Dargs that was trapped in ice. Grim freed the creature and revealed himself to be devotee of the Renegades, it was also revealed that Cenwen was in fact in the custody of the Crimson Empire at Shal'Dun. After this revelation the Fial Darg and Grim left Mirraw Thur while sending a battalion of Crimson empire soldiers to destroy the resistance. Shorty after Elune, Lena's former mentor and a priestess of the ice elves, appeared in the prison and demanded explanation. Lena explained the whole matter and pleaded to her to save the resistance before casting judgement on her, which Elune reluctantly agreed, beginning the perilous journey to Tirganach, home city of the ice elves. The Shadow Warrior did everything in his power to escort the refugees and in the end succeed despite the attempts of the vicious Dracon Arach who was on their pursuit.
Ancient Knowledge
Once the refugees safely arrived at their destination High Priestess Aedale explained the whole truth to the shadow warrior and Lena, Cenwen was indeed abducted by the Crimson empire and their Fial Darg patron who intended to use her blood in order to perform a ritual that would release Zarach and Nor. Before they could proceed to Shal'Dun however the Shadow warrior was sent by Elune to the lands of the dwarves to acquire the Firebane, an ancient and powerfull spell that was capable of destroying the defensive towers of the crimson empire located at The Nevershade Frontier. First he arrived at the Winterdeep and put an end to the undead curse that was plaguing the island. Then he arrived at Fastholme and was greeted by King Ragnar Undalfskjar and his advisor Murim. They revealed that the city was under siege by undead hordes under the command of the undead giant Gorg, who had kidnapped the elder Windjalf in the hopes of receiving the Firebane himself. The Shadow Warrior offered his help and was thus given command of the dwarven army and access to the rune monument in the city. He managed to defeat the undead army, slay Gorg and free Windjalf. Windjalf was reluctant but gave up the firebane. The Shadow Warrior then returned to Tirganach and reported his success to Elune. Afterwards the warrior and Lena traveled to The Nevershade Frontier. The Crimson empire and their Troll allies stood to chance against the rune warrior and his dwarven allies, who were led by a destroyer called Borondir. The warrior even managed to destroy the infamous Darkwall before venturing to Shal'Dun.
Unlikely Allies
At the outskirts of the city The warrior met with Craig Un'shalach and his rebel Dracon caste, fortunately the meeting ended with them forming an alliance. After much planning and preparation The warrior and his allies invaded Shal'Dun and were able to conquer it, at the climax of the bloody battle Lena got her revenge against Grim and froze the traitor to death. After the battle Craig approached the warrior and told him that eventually they would have to deal with the Fial Darg and the only weapon capable of doing so was a sword called Shadowblade which was kept in Firefangs.
Esoteric Weapon
The Shadow Warrior arrived at the Firefangs but it was invaded by the Shadows and the Shadowblade itself was guarded by a Fire Angel. The Shadow Warrior posed as a servant of the Fial Darg and helped the fire angel in defeating and sealing the shadows, but despite this the fire angel refused to give up the sword and figured out the lie before dying at the rune warrior's hand. The Shadow Warrior was informed that whoever wielded the blade would lose their soul but that was a price he was willing to pay in order to save the world. Afterwards He and Lena returned to Shal'dun but where met with Archon Zhaal Tuor who lied to them, telling them that Craig had been executed. In actuality, Craig was captured on orders of the Masked One. Unable to dwell on it for long, the Shadow Warrior and Lena continued their journey to The Abyss, where Cenwen was being held.
Price of Victory
At The Abyss once again The rune warrior demonstrated his mastery of the art of war and completely butchered all of the forces of the Crimson empire. Inside the abyss they met and freed Cenwen but all of a sudden the Fial Darg emerged and murdered Lena. The dark lord taunted the Shadow Warrior and engaged in a fierce battle with him but the warrior emerged victorious. Cenwen thanked the Shadow Warrior and told him to meet with her in Tirganach before teleporting away.
Chilling Battle
The rune warrior met with the elven queen in Tirganach and discussed how to stop Aryn. Cenwen told him that the Fial Darg had put a spell on the dragon which would leave him unable to recognize her. The only way to break the spell was to fight the Frostweaver until he was weakened enough for Cenwen's song to dispel the spell's effect. The rune warrior was a bit scared but he accepted nonetheless and headed towards the Frostweaver Rift.
Once there he was greeted and assisted by Murim and the dwarves of Fastholme. The battle between the Frostweaver and the Shadow Warrior was long and dreadful but at last Cenwen's song was able to rid the dragon of the Fial Darg's spell and the world was once again saved.
Rune Wars
Deception
Five years after the Aryn Crisis , The warrior approached the Masked One to produce a cure for the unbearable pain that the Shadowblade was causing him. The magician decided to blackmail the rune warrior into doing his bidding by offering him healing potions which supposedly could cure him. The masked one brought the warrior to the mysterious City of Souls and ordered him to slay a Fial Darg that was guarding a certain grave and bring him the urn that was kept in that grave. The warrior was reluctant at first but eventually did as he was told. When his benefactor received the urn he poured a strange potion onto it and the person that was revived was none other than the circle mage Raith Skaddar. The rune warrior was utterly horrified and disgusted at this revelation but the Masked One simply ignored him and ordered him to assassinate a Dryad that resided in Empyria. The warrior violently protested but was ignored again and reminded of his critical condition.
Revelation
Since Arias Magnus, the current god-emperor of Empyria, was a servant of the Masked one the warrior had little trouble reaching the Dryad's Cove. He met the dryad and almost did the deed before she revealed the truth of the masked one's plan and his cruel trick on the rune warrior, There was no cure for his problem. The warrior furiously swore vengeance and set off to hunt down the magician but his betrayal was witnessed and reported by another resurrected circle mage Rohen Tahir. The warrior was defeated and imprisoned in the Darkwind Keep alongside Craig Un'Shallach at the hands of the masked one who revealed himself to be none than the king of death himself, Hokan Ashir.
Unity
Sometime later the warrior was freed by the Phoenix Bearer who explained Hokan's ultimate plan and the fact that they were part of a prophecy that foretold they were meant to destroy The Circle together. The warrior accepted to accompany her despite no longer caring about vengeance or whether they would even succeed in the end due to the extreme amount of pain that he felt because of the Shadowblade. They proceeded into the Gorge and after defeating all of the Blades and Sha forces that were stationed there entered the Bone Temple of Zarach to destroy The Circle and stop Belial from being summoned by his chosen. In the bone temple with a bit of help from the "locals" they completely annihilated Hokan's forces and freed Ereon (Daruis in the language of the Shapers) who in gratitude gave them some guidance on how to defeat Belial. The following battle was extremely challenging but the heroes emerged triumphant and slayed Belial along with the revived circle mages, there remained only one more person to die. The infuriated Hokan tried to summon the Arch-Fire but The Phoenix bearer held out the phoenix stone while the Warrior broke the celestial creature that was contained within free with his Shadowblade. The freed Phoenix easily destroyed the mad mage.
Metamorphosis
The circle's madness finally came to an end, Ereon and the Dryad were forgiven by the Guardians. Ereon returned to his brethren and his former lover began to fully heal Xu and return it to its former glory, her work was made easier with Alyah Arias succeeding her evil father. The rune warriors bid each other farewell and parted ways. All was well in Eo except for the tortured warrior who turned into a Shadow not long thereafter. The Shadow Warrior was welcomed by his new people and was even granted a high position by their leader The First Shadow but the reasons as to why are unknown.
Shadow Wars
Secret Ally
During the initial phases of The Shadow Wars the Shadows fought for the Kingdom of Lar and even managed to slay the rebel dracon Craig Un'shallach for their leaders, Sorvina the alchemist and high archon Toth Lar, but eventually grew tired of following their orders. The Shadow Warrior, presumably under the orders of the First Shadow, searched for a solution and found it in the form of a Shaikan known as The Soul Carrier who alongside Nightsong, Craig's daughter and leader of the Norcaine rebels, was on a campaign to stop Sorvina.
The Deal
The Shadow Warrior secretly followed the shaikan for a long time and even attended Craig's funeral but it was only after Soul Carrier had created a Shadow Ring in Fireforge that he revealed himself to him. The warrior explained that the shadows were obeying Sorvina because she was in the possession of The Black Mirror, an otherworldly artifact that was the origin and source of the shadows' power, and if the carrier could obtain it for them they would abandon her during the storm on Dragh'Lur. The warrior awaited the shaikan's answer to his offer under a black tree at the Gate of Swords and as expected the Soul Carrier agreed to his deal. Then the warrior explained that the mirror was located in The Crater of the Black Star and this location inaccessible to Shadows due to a certain spell that the Guardian Hirin had put on it and thus the warrior advised the shaikan to seek the Free Traders for help.
Payment
The Soul Carrier had to go to great lengths in order to collect the Black Mirror but succeeded nonetheless and after taking the Shadow Warrior's pledge received a shadow crystal that could be used to contact the warrior. The shadows were true to their word but at the exact moment that the battle of Dragh'Lur had come to an end and Toth Lar was slain the First Shadow and his retinue appeared to demand the mirror despite the Shadow Warrior protests that it was not the right time. This act made the Soul Carrier lose the support of The Clans and Nightsong's trust.
The Hunt
Sometime later when the Soul Carrier had freed himself from Shal and was hunting Janus Malacay, who had taken control of Sorvina's body, together with Nightsong after regaining her trust in Crystal Wastes he called upon the Shadow Warrior for help who gladly granted it to them. Together they defeated all the forces of the clans that were stationed there and found Malacay's lab but to their surprise he was not there and in fact had used some sort of teleportation device to teleport himself to his secret lab at Steel Shore. After a while the party figured out how to activate the device but before using it the shadow warrior remarked that Malacay must have been a true genius in order to invent a personal teleportation device for himself to which Soul Carrier joked that The Circle would have gladly accepted him among their own.
The Empress
In Steel Shore, as a last favor the Shadow Warrior gave command of some of his forces to the Soul Carrier before disappearing. After Malacay was defeated he appeared to comfort and encourage Nightsong to rule her people while offering his and the entirety of Shadows' help which she accepted.
Portal Crisis
TBA