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"A cleansing fire always burns little Mandus, but it purifies and it makes anew."
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One last thing, a shadow is following you. It's a living nightmare - breaking down reality. I have tried everything and there is no way to fight back. You need to escape it as long as you can.

Daniel on the nature of the Shadow.

The Shadow, also known as the Guardian of the Orb,[1] is the otherworldly and mysterious guardian of the esoteric Orbs. It hunts down, and usually kills, those who come into contact with an Orb without being sufficiently initiated into the Mithraic arts and capable of wielding its power.[2] It serves as an overarching antagonistic force to the Amnesia series, except in Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.

The Guardian's true nature is ultimately unknown as it doesn't assume a physical form, with it being variously described as a "beast",[3] a "brooding abomination",[4] a "shadow cast by the Orb";[2] or in more abstract terms such as "a living nightmare, breaking down reality"[5] or "the universe catching up with itself".[6] It instead makes its presence known by leaving behind a pulsating, flesh-like organic residue that is harmful to the touch; the manifestations of which are usually paired with a loud roar and a violent shaking that can cause damage to surrounding structures and may result in their collapse.[7] It is also known to cause great mental anguish in the minds of those who wield the Orbs.[8] Its typical method of killing includes tearing its victim limb from limb, splitting their heads open, and flaying their skin.[9][10]

Before the fall of the Mithraic faith, the knowledge on how to wield the Orbs without unleashing the Shadow was more widespread. This knowledge was ultimately lost for most of humanity, with Dutch physician and occultist Johann Weyer being one of the notable few to figure out how to properly wield an Orb without falling victim to its Shadow, thus amassing a large collection of Orbs throughout his lifetime.[11]

The Shadow plays a central role in Amnesia: The Dark Descent, as the primary reason behind Daniel travelling to Brennenburg Castle deep in the Prussian heartlands to seek the aid of Alexander. Its fleshy residue can provide a significant obstacle in-game, as it grows increasingly prominent as areas in the castle are revisited - dealing damage upon touch and impeding Daniel's progress by blocking the way forward.

The Shadow is also featured in the Remember short story "With the Blessing of a King", which follows Johann Weyer as he collects an Orb from a church tomb in Calais with the aid of three French soldiers. It later also makes two more appearances in the midsection of Amnesia: Rebirth and in an optional event in the final area of Amnesia: The Bunker.

Information[]

The Shadow is a massive, invisible being that pursues those who have abused the power of the Orbs.

Wherever the Shadow passes, it leaves behind a fleshy organic "residue" that is harmful if touched. This residue can take the form of pulsating lumps of flesh or membranous webbing and is blood red in colour. If Daniel is too close to this residue, his sanity will slowly decrease. Sometimes, Daniel has to jump on this residue in order to advance. Although the residue will not always hurt Daniel upon contact, it's good practice to avoid touching them as much as possible; if Daniel sees the residue "moving", then there is a good chance that he will take damage if he stands too close to it. If Daniel is hit by the residue, he may take only a little damage, while other hits can drain his health to the next stage and possibly even kill him. Residue dodging can be very difficult at times while being unavoidable during others. If unavoidable, Daniel can run through these areas to take minimal damage.

Though the Shadow safeguards the power of the Orbs from thieves in order to protect the Universe and has killed many people to achieve that end, it may spare some robbers' lives. When Agrippa discovered his first orb in the Prussian forests, near Altstadt, he was caught by the Shadow but not harmed. It reclaimed the Orb and carried the man miles away across the Alps to a grassy field outside Genoa. It's ultimately up to this otherworldly force's discretion if the victim is mutilated, spared, or completely devoured.

Johann Weyer was the only one since the fall of the Mithraic faith who managed to amass an entire collection of orbs and separate the Shadow from them. He could use their power without incurring the cosmic beast's wrath, but he had very little control over the Guardian itself. In 1558 he was able to summon the Shadow within an Orb Chamber in Calais to consume some murderous French soldiers so he could claim the mystic relic they had found, but he could not then stop it from swallowing up everything and everyone around it and had to flee.

At the beginning of the game, the Shadow was pursuing Daniel because he had taken an Orb that resided in an African tomb in Algeria. Though he was not directly harmed, everyone else he came into contact with was brutally killed afterwards. In order to seek refuge from this ancient horror, Daniel travels to Brennenburg Castle, where the baron Alexander promises a means of warding off the Shadow.

Alexander repeatedly mentions that Daniel is "tainted" and "branded" by this supernatural force. The meaning of these labels concerning Daniel is not understood, as Baron was intentionally being cryptic. To "taint" something is to contaminate it, whereas "branding" someone is to mark them indelibly, indicating ownership. Nevertheless, it proves itself to be unstoppable in its hunt for Daniel. From the towers of the castle to the toxic sewer tunnels and the bottomless pits of the Chancel, no environment deters or hinders its expanding organic matter. Its organic matter even extends outside the castle itself; the forest can also be seen covered by its fleshy matter.

While this fleshy residue is easily seen even in the darkest reaches of the castle, there is no mention of it before Daniel arrives in Brennenburg. In the journal entries, the Shadow is described as a completely invisible force. A bright red aura is often radiated when large masses of flesh join together. Also, though this residue is known to be left by the Shadow, the being itself is never seen. It is unknown if it has a physical form at all. All that can be assumed is that the ancient horror is gigantic. The stomping noises made as it chases Daniel gives a feeling of its immense size. The movements it makes when following Daniel cause all of Brennenburg Castle to tremble. It makes the ground quake, and fells tall trees. It also makes the castle start to cave in.

Kita was able to successfully study the residue on a small scale before the event of Amnesia: Rebirth and found out how to utilize it as a weapon. However, when the residue used in a mass-scale, it caused a catastrophic destruction in Kita's city/empire.[12] This event may indicate that the Shadow's residue cannot be yielded on massive amounts by anyone, other than Shadow itself.

Tasi Trianon used the orb to open a portal in The Other World. The Shadow of this orb was not only interested in killing her but also in consuming copious amounts of Vitae.

Physical appearance[]

The Shadow is a mysterious, invisible creature. It passes and leaves behind with red, fleshy, web-like "residue" which can be dangerous to touch.

After Daniel escapes the Cells and before leaving them, the Shadow, in its most directly seen appearance when chasing Daniel appears as a red, glowing mass of smoke.

Encounters[]

Amnesia: The Dark Descent[]

Theshadowamnesia

The Shadow starts to chase Daniel

Throughout Amnesia: The Dark Descent, the Shadow constantly hunted Daniel, and—while not directly confronted since it was not visible to the human eye—its effects on the environment could be found all over Brennenburg Castle. It was responsible for the fleshy residue that appeared whenever it touched a surface, as well as the unnatural darkness that shrouds the rooms in the Storage, and the flooding of the Cellar Archives and Archive Tunnels. If Daniel lights some candles it will sometimes roar causing the entire environment to go darker still. Any lit candles and his own lantern will also glow with an eerie dark red.

The Shadow blocked Daniel's escape from the Entrance Hall and initially his progress until the acid is created and utilised to erase a thin webbing of the Shadow's residue that is blocking the path to the Refinery.

Curiously, the supernatural entity interacted with the monsters it came across differently. When it consumed the Cellar Archives and Cistern, it allowed the Kaernk to appear and attack Daniel. Without its influence and flooding the cellars, the water monster would have no ability to even pursue Daniel in this area. Whereas, with respect to the Gatherers, a Servant Grunt was seen lying in a bloody mess in a room in the Sewers, although it was possible that that was the work of the Grunt's fellow Gatherer, the Brute, which was in the same area and may have used the blade on its arm to hack the Grunt into pieces. While Grunts are shown to work together when commanded to do so, it is unknown if a Brute would tolerate them, much less cooperate with them. If the Brute was not behind this attack, however, it is to be speculated that the Shadow itself tore Alexander's servant apart.

When Daniel repaired the machine that powered the elevator in the Back Hall he entered the lift just as the Shadow swallowed up the entire area. The guardian advanced through many floors and overtakes the shaft as it tries to stop him. However, the cables snap in the process and the elevator plummets down to the prison before it can consume Daniel.

Interestingly, if Daniel were to wait long enough in the Cistern, the Shadow unintentionally allows him to escape this area. While it does block the normal route of escape and summons another Kaernk to contend with, its flesh actually forms a "bridge" leading out into the next room that Daniel may walk over safely.

If Daniel were to fall back down the well he climbed out of to reach the Nave, he will respawn in a room that's locked off at first from the outside. Upon trying to leave the room, the Shadow consumes it, thereby briefly blocking the only exit door with its organic residue, then removes the residue off of the door to allow Daniel to leave.

Although described as "sluggish", the Shadow could occasionally move much faster than normal. When Daniel escaped the Cells, a tense pursuit between Daniel and The Shadow was initiated and the red residue appears at a much quicker pace. Should Daniel cover a lot of distance the guardian will advance even quicker, only slowing down a little when it comes across shallow water. Being caught during the chase is fatal.

The Shadow bellows angrily when Daniel completes Weyer's Tonic for Agrippa. It does not want him helping the dying alchemist, knowing full well it would mean Daniel has to abuse its orb's power to help another.

When Daniel entered the Inner Sanctum to confront Alexander, another tense pursuit between Daniel and this cosmic persecutor commenced. Fortunately, Daniel was able to slow it down by closing a huge door buying him precious time to break the final seal to the Orb Chamber where the Baron awaited. The Shadow overtakes the area with its organic matter and roars again when Daniel leaves the area.

The Orb Chamber marked the final encounter with the Shadow in the Dark Descent, one that will result in three different endings depending on what Daniel decides to do next. Allowing the ritual to take place, either by doing nothing and watch Alexander escape, or throwing Agrippa's head through the portal. This will result in him being consumed by the Guardian.

Furious with him for either allowing another to abuse the orb's power, or misusing it himself, the cosmic force devoured him. Daniel's consciousness is sucked inside the Shadow, a dark void, where the only sound is the sickening squelching of the beast's fleshy matter. If Daniel decided to save Agrippa, he asks Johann Weyer to work on a way to save him, as heavenly lights appear beneath the Shadow. If not, Daniel faces the cosmic guardian alone without any hope of escape and his worst fear is finally realized as he's trapped forever inside its absolute darkness.

If Daniel chose to stop the ritual, the Shadow would overtake the chamber. Alexander's escape-bid is foiled and he screams that they're both going to die. However, the Guardian is appeased by the length and effort that Daniel went to stop the Baron from misusing the Orb. It will not roar or frighten Daniel and further prevents its organic tissue from hurting him. The Shadow spares Daniel, and for his earlier transgressions, only devours Alexander as atonement. No longer hunted, Daniel is free to leave Brennenburg with a guilt-free conscience.

Amnesia: Rebirth[]

Tasi directly encountered the Shadow in Amnesia: Rebirth only once. She got chased by it in The Tomb of Tin Hinan and barely escaped to The Portal Chamber. Her other encounters were indirect; she mainly stumbled upon its residues in the Other World. At the end of the game, if Tasi chooses not to give Amari to Empress Tihana, then Tihana will become hostile. To protect herself and her newborn baby, Tasi will have to infect Tihana's vitae feeding system with The Shadow's residue, killing her. This also causes The Shadow to appear, and further infest the area with even more residue.

Amnesia: The Bunker[]

Just after escaping the bunker, Henri Clément arrived in what appeared to be in a section of the Other World, an Arena created by the Mithraic Cult for their bloodthirsty rituals of combat. If he managed to fall down the pit in the last battle against Beast, he will find himself in an endless vast dark expanse, where a distant light will grow bigger as a screeching howl can be heard, engulfing and killing Clément.

Although it is unknown what the Shadow's presence and purpose are in this area, it is highly possible that the Shadow's occupation in the area was related to its destruction of the Great Gate in the Other World. In the Roman Tunnels, it is evident that there is a dimensional merge going on between Earth and the Other World, creating the possibility of the Shadow reaching the Roman Arena through the clashing worlds.

Speculation[]

  • One of the Loading Screens states that the Shadow is not some "vengeful spirit," but the very universe catching up and trying to contain the Orbs. If this is true, the manifestations of its fleshy matter imply that the cosmos that Daniel and everyone who exist inside of is actually alive and sentient. It maintains itself, guarding the Orbs and hunts down whoever seeks to use them because if they try to leave it, that is the universe, these "escapists" may threaten its stability.
  • The religion Mithraism seems to be connected to the Orbs in some way, so it is possible the Mithraists believed the Shadow was either their god Mithra himself, or the giant bull being slaughtered in the iconic scenes monuments of which Zoroastrianism interpretations depict him or another deity slaying the primordial bovine Gavaevodata whose fleshy matter becomes the progenitor of all life.
  • It is not explained how the Orbs contain their unnatural power, or why the Mithraists could invoke them without getting hunted and killed by the Shadow. Weyer and Daniel (temporarily) were able to use the Orbs without incurring the Guardian's wrath. It's possible the Orbs choose their holder. Or maybe the Shadow deemed them worthy of handling such power, but not Alexander, Agrippa or Herbert, who would likely use it for their own advantage.
  • Daniel may be "branded" or "owned" by the cosmic guardian simply because he touched the orb and by doing so, became "tainted", inadvertently invoking the relic's powers and channelling them into himself. This might be why his intuition is so high and how he can recall foreign memories not belonging to him. The Shadow may now regard Daniel as much of its possession as the mysterious artefacts it usually guards, hence why it is so obsessed with him that it would kill anyone who dared make contact with him and even ignore the two orbs currently residing in Brennenburg, making no attempt to recover them.
  • Why the Shadow didn't simply take back the orb or dispatch Daniel as soon as he left the burial grounds is unknown. It's possible it chose the him to wield the orb as it saved his life in the tomb. It could have also spared Daniel in the beginning since he did not take the relic to wield its otherworldly powers for personal gain (indeed, he was oblivious to them) but simply to preserve it in a museum. He also did not remove the orb from the burial grounds, he was unconscious and forcibly carried away by Herbert's men with the broken orb shards in his hands.
  • In the Choir, Daniel is taunted by Alexander via telepathy who tells him that he is responsible for all the deaths, for if he had only "submitted to the Orb" when he first discovered it, then none of the bloodshed in Brennenburg would have happened. If true, if Daniel had not tried to flee from it but merely accepted the Orb's Shadow and yielded to its superior will, the events of The Dark Descent would not have occurred.
  • Daniel, spellbound by dreams, fell overboard from the SS Hortensia headed for London. Beneath him, in the dark Atlantic waters, something very large tried to take him away. The current, which is caused by the large thing or creature moving, pull him underwater and Daniel nearly drowns, but then he is raised up and put back onto the ship, by what he doesn't know. The crew of the ship did not respond to his distress. It happens so calmly that he wonders if it was all another dream. This unseen beast may have been the Shadow making an attempt to abduct him, and then abandoning the course of action.
  • There is no explanation given for why the Shadow did not consume Daniel in Africa or during his stay in London. It could have easily done so at any point. Herbert recovering the second orb may have served as a distraction initially, but it would not have taken it long to catch up to Daniel who eventually arrived back in London on the 22nd of June 1839. The Shadow only mercilessly murdered those who Daniel contacted enquiring information about the ancient relic, it made no attempt to take Daniel's life. When he learns about Professor Taylor and Sir William Smith's fate, Daniel immediately jumps to the conclusion that he is next. Fearing for his own safety, he flees on 17 July 1839 but does not once rationally consider that he's been staying in the same area for 25 days and yet no harm befell him during that entire length of time.
  • Given that Daniel was not himself attempting to study the orb, merely asking others to do so, it could be that any attempt whatsoever to harness the orb's powers, including simply studying it, is enough to provoke the Shadow. Seeking Alexander's help and performing the "warding rituals" could perhaps be seen as attempts to use the orb, thus ironically bringing the Shadow's wrath upon Daniel.
  • After taking the orb, Daniel's sleep was strangely plagued with nightmares as if a voice were calling across the void. The vivid dreams enabled Daniel to rebuild his orb. This may have been the Shadow's early attempts to communicate with him.
  • If the Shadow was trying to use nightmares to converse with Daniel, it would explain why it murdered Dr. Tate despite Daniel not taking the orb along with him, or discussing it. His physician simply gave him medication to stop these frightening dreams. His interference no doubt antagonized the monstrous force. Evidently, as it killed him within 48 hours, whereas it gave the marked Prof. Taylor and Sir William Smith each over a week to live. On the other hand, if The Shadow regards the "branded Daniel" as its property, the doctor simply examining him for a check-up would anger it in much the same fashion as inspecting its Orbs.
  • It is possible Alexander provoked or angered the Shadow thereby deliberately turning it against Daniel, since it was merely content to slaughter only those Daniel had been in contact with. When Daniel fled to Brennenburg, he believed that Alexander would protect him from this force and convinced him they can banish the guardian of the orb. However, on 8 August 1839 Alexander tampers with the artefact, Daniel has no idea what he is doing with the strange tools. Suddenly, the invisible force around Daniel now materializes, and the walls burst with pulsating tissue. After this point the Shadow is notably enraged, it roars and cries constantly, and now threatens to consume the entire castle and Daniel along with it.
  • Why Alexander would risk the guardian's wrath is unclear, he may have attempted to simply tame its power or intentionally doom Daniel in order to usurp the orb's power from him and add its energy to the one he took from Agrippa. Either way, it now threatens Daniel giving him the incentive to cooperate fully with the baron since the Shadow is brought out in full force and is actively hunting him. The blood wards Alexander has Daniel perform cannot banish it. These only serve to distract the guardian's blood-lust and anger it further. It could even be holding Daniel personally responsible for allowing Alexander to invoke its orb's power and why it'll devour him in three of the four possible endings.
  • When Daniel gets imprisoned in the Cells, the Shadow realistically gives him plenty of time to escape. It does not appear for some ten minutes. It eventually loses patience if Daniel stands idle, and doesn't leave. If Daniel leaves the cell, its spread stops immediately. Only when Daniel escapes the chamber does it give chase. This can be interpreted that the Shadow if anything, wants Daniel to stop Alexander, and is "hurrying him along", willing even to give him a head-start should he stupidly get caught first-time round because being ambushed by the Gatherers has wasted a lot of precious time needed to stop the baron. Its fleshy matter manifesting behind Daniel can only signify the entity is not "hunting" but forcing him to go forward, its advancements remind him there is no turning back from this dark descent. Any reluctance on the young man's part to defy Alexander's expectations enrages the "relatively-patient" guardian
  • Portrait alexander insane

    Alexander's portrait in low sanity, possibly hinting the Shadow's true nature due to Alexander's red skin from his face matching the creature's red fleshy residue.

    While Daniel's sanity is low, Alexander's portrait with his face sporting red fleshy skin, empty eyes, and a rather inhuman-looking mouth could hint at the Shadow's true identity as Alexander's red skin from his portrait match the Shadow's fleshy residue and what this invisible creature really looks like.
  • The Shadow's claim on Daniel also provides a plausible explanation for why Daniel resurrects whenever he ends up dead in the castle (unlike Amnesia: Justine, who only gets one chance). The Shadow has no intention of letting Daniel die, wishing only to "hold his feet to the fire" via terror, and make him "experience purgatory". This is showcased when it taunts Daniel should he fall down the well in the Nave when it intentionally traps him in a sealed room, then releases him. The entity wants to see whether Daniel's intentions with preventing Alexander misusing the orbs are met with its approval. Alexander may also know this, hence his determination to quash Daniel's resolve - he can't permanently kill Daniel if the entity keeps reviving him, so he wants Daniel to give up so he can escape unscathed. This would also explain why, in the death screen, it "gives" Daniel a piece of advice to not die or say "you must carry on" as in saying Daniel must keep going to stop Alexander.
  • In order to use the orb long enough to perform the ritual without being killed, the Baron may have turned Daniel into a sacrifice for the Shadow. Alexander hints at this several times, saying that "things can be done, but at a price" and urging Daniel to offer himself up. It might offer another explanation for the entity's strange behaviour, since it is hounding Daniel, but ignoring its orbs.
  • If Alexander did infuriate the Shadow, this would explain why it only killed him in the 'Revenge Ending', and left the 'redeemed Daniel' completely unharmed.
    • In the 'revenge ending', Daniel flees Brennenburg, but it cannot be certain if the shadow has departed forever, or turned back into its original "invisible-state" prior to Alexander's meddling. What is interesting, is that castle Brennenburg collapses once Daniel leaves and not before. Whether this was the Shadow's doing, i.e. waiting for him to get to a safe distance, or purely coincidental, is uncertain.

Trivia[]

  • The Shadow's residue is inspired by a video of some T. tubifex worms found in a North Carolina sewer.[13]
  • Alexander was the one that named the enigmatic Guardian of the Orbs as "The Shadow".
  • In 1899, the castle was destroyed by the townsfolk. As "The Shadow" likely destroyed the castle in the revenge ending, this could prove the revenge ending isn't the canonical ending.
  • The cosmic nightmare moves much faster outside Castle Brennenburg than inside the thick walls. The structure is the only thing that is slowing down the surrounding Shadow and preventing it from instantly swallowing up the helpless Daniel.
  • It would appear that the refinery is the first place in Brennenburg where the Shadow manages to break into. This is the first area where the fleshy matter appears and several large holes appear above, looking as if it bored or burrowed its way deep into the castle.
  • Shadow can assume an "invisible form" if it wants to. There is no mention of the supernatural entity's fleshy residue according to Agrippa and Herbert in the journal entries. It can only be heard roaring or baying and can only be 'seen' as it interacts with the environment.
  • Throwing objects into the flesh-covered walls such as crates or bottles can result in them either being lodged in the organic matter or hurled back out with great force. If pushed into the pulsating matter, The Shadow can easily destroy these large crates and unbreakable big bottles that Daniel may find lying around.
  • It takes almost three minutes for Alexander to complete his ritual and then the Shadow slowly arrives to kill Daniel, but if Daniel disrupts or stops the ritual the Shadow invades the Orb Chamber almost instantly.
  • In the bad ending, the guardian kills Daniel much slower than Alexander in the other endings. Although should he abuse the orb himself and save Agrippa in the 'special ending' the entity will engulf him very quickly.
  • In the 'revenge ending,' all traces of the Shadow's fleshy residue vanish.
    • This is probably explained by The Shadow's withdrawal from the castle.
    • Since Brennenburg collapses after the disappearance of the fleshy residue of the Guardian, it may be theorized that it was sustaining the castle's structure until Daniel could leave.
  • Depending the player's actions, the Shadow can kill every single antagonist in the series through optional means, with the exception of the Machine and the Engineer in A Machine for Pigs, as Oswald Mandus sacrificed himself to shut them both down. Alexander of Brennenburg, Empress Tihana and the Beast can all be consumed by the Shadow.

Video[]

Amnesia_The_Dark_Descent_-_Shadow_Sound_1

Amnesia The Dark Descent - Shadow Sound 1

A clip of The Shadow roaring as it manifests.

References[]

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