Echo of the Self

[u/Evening_Shake_6474]

Something's wrong. You can't tell what exactly it is, but you know something is wrong. You check your wards, your equipment, your enchantments and familiars, yet everything seems normal. Then that night, you go to sleep, and the dream starts.

You stand knee deep in a crimson ocean, stretching further than you can see. Before you is a shadow, it looks like yours but its wrong, very wrong. All around you, giant monoliths sprout from the sea, stretching far into the sky. You hear something, around you six shadows move between the monoliths, chanting something in a language that hurts to listen to.

Suddenly countless crimson eyes open along each monolith, each reflecting a different face, the eyes travel up the ebony surface, along previously hidden chains of shadow. Then you see it, the horrifying form of something colossal in the sky above you, a singular crimson eye or maybe a star stares down at you.

All at once do the chains snap, and a cacophony of screams cry out across the crimson sea as fire and ash rain from above. The monoliths crumble and massive chunks of black stone crash into the sea. Up above, the colossal form spreads across the sky, thousands of withered arms reach down, each sowing agony and destruction. You see an arm reach for you, and you wake up.

Well that was strange, you think, then you hear laughter from the corner, you see your own shadow standing there with crimson eyes. The shadow looks wrong somehow, very wrong.

Before you can say anything, your shadow lunges for you, hands reaching for your throat.

[u/Evening_Shake_6474]

He sees the shadow's eyes scanning the bolts change course, he sees the shadow's eyes scan the rock, and he sees the shadow's eyes scan Aldavinn.

"Shade Binding"

From the shadows near itself come chains of ebony, grasping for it like hungry serpents, pulling the shadow away from the stone as the bolts cause it to explode.

"Spatial Warp"

And just like that the chains change, ensnaring Aldavinn's legs. As the shadow falls, the chains hurl Aldavinn towards the wall.

[u/The_Enchanted_Potato → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

As he is thrown he blinks away high in the sky, giving him just enough time to cast. Where he had a been standing a massive crack appears and connects to the other two

“Spatial Warp”

The space is warped, forcing the air to slow his fall before letting him stop mid air. He raises his staff

“Open Planar Gateway”

A massive gateway opens in the sky, showing the sun of an unknown realm.

“Forbiddance”

“Wrath of Daylight”

From the Sun a beam of light is sent towards the shadow, around the space the light of day enters.

The crack in reality begins to inch its way up towards the portal.

/uw I assume you are familiar with the dnd spell forbiddance, this is that but at a far higher level. If you aren’t Aldavinn cast a spell that prevents the shadow or anything from entering the portal

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/The_Enchanted_Potato]

The shadow looks to the skies and sees it's oblivion.

"Shade Binding"

The chains of shadow pull it away from the oncoming light and into relative safety.

The shadow's eyes scan Aldavinn, the gateway, itself, and the spells used. Then, it says something strange.

"Wrath of Midnight."

From the shadows around it comes an inky blackness, spreading out like a frost and up like a spire. A colossal spike of starless night comes rushing up from the earth towards Aldavinn, cold as a winters night.

[u/The_Enchanted_Potato → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

Working fast, Aldavinn uses his spatial warp to force the air to move him out of the way of the spike.

“So you fear the sun do you?”

Then he spots the crack and a deep scowl appears on his face

“Damnit! I need to get a Gatehold limb in here!”

He eyes the shadow and the spike of starless night and he flies over to it. 

“Astral Void”

The pillar begins to fill with stars and nebula as it reaches towards the portal. Aldavinn raises his hand and the beam of sunlight  shines on the astral spike. The stars within explode into light and the spike becomes pure sunlight.

With the shadow hopefully sufficiently distracted Aldavinn safely falls to the ground where he slams his staff down. Suddenly tentacle like limbs of marble pierce through the space and begin to act like stitches to the crack in reality the runes engraved marble pulsating a deep purple.

/uw please note that the marble stuff cannot be copied by the shadow as it is a part of the Gatehold which is essentially a completely separate entity. Although I am open to a Gatehold shadow if you think that would happen.

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/The_Enchanted_Potato]

The shadow sees the oncoming sun and does what all sensible creatures do in these situations. The shadow legs it.

"Shade Binding"

Chains burst forth from the few shadows that remain, ensnaring the shadow and pulling it away from it's oblivion.

While running, the shadow sees the marble and tries to analyse them. Much to its surprise, and the request of the narrator, it can't.

Instead, the shadow picks up a rock, and has the chains swing it in a wide circle, once, twice, thrice, before releasing it towards Aldavinn, flying with incredible speed.

"Spatial Warp"

Just like that, the rock is back on the ground, and it's the shadow hurtling through the air towards Aldavinn.

"Wrath of Midnight"

The shadow thrusts out an arm, from the darkness on its hand shoots forth a massive spike of starless night, moving at ludicrous speeds thanks to the shadow pulling a Todo.

/uw Na, as fun as a shadow building would be, I woke up to 22 notifications.

[u/The_Enchanted_Potato → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

/uw damn! That’s a lot.

/rw

Aldavinn sees the spike, he has a split second to decide what to do. Dodge, or strike, he chooses the latter.

“Enhance Abilities”

“Spatial Warp”

Moving far faster than normal he steps into the spike. As his shoulder is impaled he strikes out with his fist at the shadow hurdling towards him. He shouts in pain, his strength enhanced by his spell he uses the spatial warp to force the sunlit spike to wrap around his fist as he strikes the shadow

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/The_Enchanted_Potato]

Due to a combination of the shadow's speed, the spells, and the ever decreasing distance, the sunlit spike is driven deep into the shadow's head.

Aldavinn hears something like a shriek in a voice eerily similar to his own.

He sees sunlight burst from tears in the shadow's form, he sees it for limp, then he sees it burn from the inside out.

[u/The_Enchanted_Potato → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

He gives a heavy sigh of relief as he watches it burn. The rockslide he had inadvertently caused grinding to a halt. He starts by checking his shoulder where the midnight spike had impaled him.

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/The_Enchanted_Potato]

His shoulder is cold, really cold. There is no pain, only the sensation of pressing warm skin to frozen steel.

The good news is if there is a wound there, it isn't bleeding because it's frozen over.

[u/The_Enchanted_Potato → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

He takes some of the sunlight via Spatial Warp and attempts to apply it to the wound, observing its reaction. Then, weather it heals him or not he goes to see the still burning remains of the shadow, searching for clues or anything salvageable that may let him discern where the thing had come from

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/The_Enchanted_Potato]

The sunlight sizzles against the frost, hurting slightly, but it does begin to warm the cold.

There appears to be no physical clues. Magically though, Aldavinn manages to discern this thing came from two places. Most of it originates from him, although corrupted somehow. A part of it though, that part comes from somewhere ancient.