Shadows are deep dark and mysterious and recently I've been 'exploring' shadows of my own. Thanks to a good bit of bouncing back and forth between fellow HitRECorder Soupy and I have made a modest starting point in a possible story for these shadows that hopefully will continue.

Together Soupy and I made a small leap into what could possibly become a huge shadow world. What we jointly discussed were a shadow world that was separate from the human world, different types of shadows and their functions, how shadows related to the sun and light in general, and lastly a possible story these shadows could fill. Hopefully what we discussed can become a set of guidelines in creating a story or something even bigger.

The Shadow World vs. The Human World

Soupy and I saw the shadows as living in a separate world from us humans, only living in our world briefly to take up space as shadows and then moving back into their own world to live as shadow beings. In the Human World shadows take up objects shadows and human shadows as they look to you today, darker silhouettes of that object or person. Shadows in the Shadow World, also called Umbra (meaning darkest part of a shadow), have an appearance that looks like what I have illustrated (contributed to this collab) they appear human like with arms, legs, and eyes and can freely move about without objects or humans tying them to one place or another. Shadows living in Umbra are also free to interact with other shadows and can form friendships with one another. 

Types of Shadows

Currently Soupy and I have discussed about 5-6 different types of shadows that could possibly live in Umbra but I'll only be explaining a key 4 right now because some shadows are lacking a full description that would be needed in order to tell a story about them.

Noondays- Noonday shadows are mainly short and round with large eyes and stubby arms and legs. Their form comes from the shape of shadows during noon hours where shadows don’t stretch. Though the ‘furthest’ from the sun, Noondays enjoy being able to witness the sun at its brightest time of day. 

Longrays- These shadows appear during sunrise and sunset hours. Their bodies come from the long shadows that thrive in the early and late lights of the sun. The elegant Longrays have the privilege of being the only shadows to be present when the earth is ‘closest’ to the sun.

Midlights-Midlight shadows appear in the in-between hours of sunrise and sunset. Their shapes are variable unlike noondays and Longrays because they are not dictated by the sunlight they’re summoned by. Without the extremes of noon or sunset/sunrise light, their shapes are able to take on a more individualized appearance.

Gloam- Unfortunate shadows called by the dim light of the moon. They make up nighttime shadows that are only darker spots in a darken world. These nighttime shadows suffer from gloom most of their lives.

Fauxbeams- Fauxbeams are shadows born of artificial light. Just as souls are something we humans are unable to build with their hands, these "man made" shadows suffer the same fate. Barely responsive, Fauxbeams only seem to respond to stimuli when necessary such as picking themselves up after falling over. Fauxbeams are not found where other shadows are and seem to gather in an area unknown to most. Why they bother to come together with their own is a mystery.

How Shadows View the Sun and Light

Shadows relate the sun as a sort of god like figure in their world. The closer to the sun the better shadow you are. Because of this shadows are governed by a caste system. This system ranks shadows from very revered and highly respected to lowly and worthless. Longrays make up the highest caste and are highly revered due to their closeness to the sun at both sunset and sunrise. Midlights make up the second highest caste because they are active in the human world at times when the sun is close to the ground. Noondays make up the second lowest caste because they are the furthest from the sun during light hours. Gloams hold the lowest caste because they do not see the sun at all. Gloams are cast out among all shadows as shadows no other shadow can interact with. Midlights, Longrays, and Noondays are able to interact with one another freely but often choose not to due to their rankings. Gloams often hide in secret areas in Umbra and are rarely seen by the other shadows.

The Possible Story

Soupy and I briefly talked about a possible story these shadow beings could make up. The story was about a Midlight named Ombra (meaning shade, or shadow) and his quest to be allowed to see a sunset. As a Midlight he is only permitted into the human world at the in-between hours of sunrise and noon and noon and sunset. Beyond that small plot Soupy and I never really expanded but perhaps that could grow into the story we HitRECorders could tell, among many others.

 Please remark with any questions you have for the basic outline I've given, I'll be more than happy to answer. Here is hoping we can create a story using these details as a guideline for what could occur in Umbra and the human world.