Shadow Fiend

Shadow Fiends were creatures of shadow, given sentience by dark magic. They were used to guard locations judged important by the Bloodlet throne coven. Besides that, they also guarded tombs of fallen members of the Bloodlet throne, such as Shriekwind Bastion. They were unnervingly loyal to the Bloodlet throne coven. They were especially dangerous,due to their ability to switch between corporeal and shadow forms. They could understand and speak the common tongue, though they had their own whispery language for communicating among themselves.

Biology and appearance.
In their corporeal forms, shadow fiends appear humanoid, usually hooded and cloaked in black. Their facial areas appeared pitch black, save for the eyes, which glowed a ruby red.The rest of their bodies are concealed under the cloak, besides their hands. The hands are five fingered, like most humans, Unlike humans, they had long black talons in place of fingernails.

Their cloaks were actually part of their bodies, that could meld with the rest of them when they reverted to their shadow forms. The shadow form was the usual form of the fiend. Because of its magical nature, it was unable to keep a corporeal form for more than a short time. They compensated for this by only becoming corporeal for a short time, before reverting to their natural form. In addition, they could make a limb physical, attack, and retreat before their target could retaliate. When in their natural form, shadow fiends were nearly undetectable. When they were first seen, they were often dismissed as odd looking shadows.

They were extremely hard to kill, do to their nature. Most weapons, were prone to pass right through them. Most enchanted weapons enchanted with cold, shock, or life and stamina stealing damage were unlikely to make a lasting impression. On the other hand, fire, bane of the undead, and magic stealing enchantments could destroy a fiend. Unfortunately, weapons enchanted with drain magic were often destroyed, as the weapon absorbed so much malevolent magic.

They were vulnerable to blessed artifacts and weapons. Their claws were unable to penetrate blessed armour or shields, as well. As for magic, fiends themselves were unable of casting spells. Though they were immune to cold based destruction spells, the school of Alteration and Illusion, they could be damaged or destroyed by spells that focused light as a weapon, fire, or repelled undead. Though not typical undead, those spells focused on combating them could still cause serious damage.

Shadow fiends were could understand the common tongue, and were capable of speaking it. When they spoke, it was in a deep voice. When they spoke among themselves, in whispers reminiscent of wind across stone and rustling leaves.

Behavior
''Also...I'm not crazy. I'm NOT. And I'll beat the stuffing out of ''anyone who says different. But...it looks like the shadows cast by our'' ''torches are MOVING. And not in the way shadows normally move. It's like ''they're following us. Watching us. ''

Shadow fiends, as mentioned above, were able to comprehend and speak the common tongue. When not engaging trespassers or grave robbers, fiends were capable of carrying on a conversation with their vampire masters. They would sometimes speak with trespassers, as well, warning them away. Whether this is because they wish to avoid harming ignorant innocents or simply frighten them is unknown.

When engaging grave robbers, they would often remain in their shadow forms, allowing the defilers to get deeper into the tombs, before springing a devastating ambush. As grave robbers seldomly have enchanted weapons or holy artifacts, the fights are often a brutally one sided affair. Once attacking, shadow fiends never take prisoners.

Like the Nox Umbrae, they preferred to avoid brightly lit areas, as they often lost the element of surprise. When in tombs, upon encountering a party of robbers, they'd most likely kill the torchbearers first. When fighting forces trained to combat the undead, such as the Paladins of Arkay, or the Order of the Silver Sun, the fiends were much more cautious. They understood the danger posed by the blessed armour and weapons of the Paladins, and the commonly enchanted weapons of the Order. The fiends would often strike a perceived soft spot in the enemy formation, before fading away. They could be defeated by a cunning commander who made a flank seem weak, before counter striking with a strong force.

Shadow fiends were loyal to the Bloodlet Throne coven, and could not be bargained with or coerced. They took their duties as guardians very seriously, never suffering an enemy to live. Because of this, Shadow Fiends very seldomly left the area they were assigned to guard, even if it meant their destruction. On the rare occasions they did leave their posts, it was often in the company of a powerful vampire of the coven, or to pursue any grave-robbers that had escaped their clutches with something of value.

History
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