‘ 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 who 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 fought 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 in which he resided 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 left her people alone. The dragon not only agreed but also taught the Elves the wonders of ice magic. For thousands of years, the duo peacefully resided in the north, protected by Aryn's eternal ice, until one day, Cenwen disappeared, awakening an enraged Aryn whose anger would once again pose a threat to Eo.
The Resistance
Approximately two years after The Battle of Fiara, Grim and Lena went to a rune monument in Mirraw Thur to summon a Rune Warrior who would aid them. They required his abilities to help The Resistance, a group of freed slaves that fought against the slavers of Urgath. Grim was hesitant to give the warrior his rune back, believing he would be more useful when controlled but Lena insisted on it, allowing the Shadow Warrior to act freely. Afterwards, they ventured to the resistance camp and explained the situation to the warrior, the Ice elves had allegedly rescued Cenwyn from Aryn unaware of the fact that this would lead to Eo's destruction. To free the elven queen from the Winterguard base, the resistance required the prowess of their old leaders Dunhan and Reowys, fellow Rune Warriors who parted ways following a falling out. Fortunately, the Shadow Warrior was able to recover their runes with help from his comrades and they led a successful attack on the elven-occupied settlement, slaughtering them in the process.
Crimson Empire
After annihilating the ice elves, the trio headed to the settlement's 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 a devotee of the Renegades. It was also revealed that Cenwen had been abducted and was 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. Shortly after, Elune, Lena's former mentor and a priestess of the ice elves, appeared in the prison and demanded an explanation for what had occurred. Lena explained the whole matter and pleaded to her to save the resistance before casting judgment on her, to which Elune reluctantly agreed, beginning the perilous journey to Tirganach, the home city of the ice elves. The Shadow Warrior did everything in his power to escort the refugees and in the end, succeeded despite the attempts of the vicious Dracon Arach to stop them.
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 to perform a ritual that would allow Zarach and Nor to return to Eo. 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 powerful spell that was resisting the scorching fires of the crimson empire. First, he arrived at Winterdeep and put an end to the undead curse that was plaguing the lands. He then continued to 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 at first but gave up the firebane as a reward for his life. The Shadow Warrior then returned to Tirganach and reported his success to Elune. Afterwards, the warrior and Lena travelled to The Nevershade Frontier, the location of a nigh impregnable wall of the Dark Elves. With the help of dwarven allies, the warrior 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 meant to break the Fial Darg's hold on the city. 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 causing him any harm was the Shadowblade which was kept in Firefangs.
Esoteric Weapon
The Shadow Warrior arrived at the Firefangs, a barren land now invaded by the Shadows streaming out of theShadowblade, which 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 Rune Warrior's deception before ultimately losing to him in combat. The Shadow Warrior was informed that whoever wielded the blade would lose their to the shadows, but that was a price he was willing to pay to save the world from Aryn's wrath. He and Lena returned to Shal'dun but were met with Archon Zhaal Tuor who informed them that Craig had allegedly 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 when 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 rune 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 sceptical of his ability to defeat the Dragon, 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 Shadow warrior's soul became more and more consumed by the Shadow Blade he was wielding, prompting him to rely on the Masked One to provide a cure to mend his pain. 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 it. 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 near 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 soon noticed and he 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 master of necromancy 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, they 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 annihilated Hokan's forces and freed Ereon who in gratitude gave them some guidance on how to defeat Belial. The following battle would prove to be extremely challenging but the heroes emerged triumphant and managed to stop Hokan's merging with Belial. Hokan, infuriated by this turn of events, tried to summon the Allfire but the Rune Warriors used their combined power to open the Phoenix Stone with the Shadowblad , freeing the Phoenix that easily destroyed both Hokan and the rest of the revived Circle Mages for good.
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 the Shadows fought under the orders of Sorvina who had forced them into submission by bringing the The Black Mirror into her possession. The Shadow Warrior, presumably under the orders of the First Shadow, searched for a solution to rid them of her ropes 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 but it was only after Soul Carrier had created a Shadow Ring in Fireforge that he revealed himself to him, no longer being able to hide. The warrior explained why the shadows were obeying Sorvina and if the carrier could obtain the Black Mirror from her, they would abandon her during his attack 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 was inaccessible to Shadows due to a certain spell that the Guardian Hirin had put on it, thus the warrior advised the Shaikan to seek the Free Traders for a way of getting there.
Payment
The Soul Carrier had to go to great lengths 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, causing the Soul Carrier to lose the support of The Clans and Nightsong's trust, as his deal with the Shadows was made in secret and the Shadows were frowned upon by his allies.
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 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 the Steel Shore, as a last favour, the Shadow Warrior gave the Soul Carriercommand of some of his forces 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