Shadar-kai
Denizens of the Shadowfell, cursed to eternal exile and seeking escape above all else. Through communion with the spirit Trogeth, bound within a necromancer's journal, the party learned the truth of their plight.
The Curse and the Queen: The Shadar-kai followed their queen into exile. She was once a Fey queen who ascended, was condemned, and cast from memory. Now she rules the Fortress of Memories in the Shadowfell, desperate to be remembered. Their devotion to the Raven Queen is not zealotry but inheritance - they are bound to her fate.
Portal Attempts: The Shadar-kai have attempted to create portals to escape the Shadowfell at three sites:
- The Great Mushroom (abandoned due to dangers)
- The Great Pine (abandoned due to dangers)
- The Great Tree (disrupted by the party)
Methods: The necromancers operated beneath the Great Tree, channeling soul-energy through green crystals siphoned from something far below. When asked what would succeed where they failed, Trogeth answered plainly: "Thin the veil further."
Relationship to the Cult: The Cult of Whispering Stars unknowingly aids the Shadar-kai's long struggle by thinning the veil between worlds. The Material Plane is merely a stepping stone for the Shadar-kai - they seek the Feywild, not dominion over mortals.