Shadowmasters

From Glen Cook Wiki

The Shadowmasters are a group of four powerful sorcerers who team up to gain access to the Shadows from the Glittering Plain. Their names are Longshadow, Shadowspinner, Stormshadow, and Moonshadow.

History

Longshadow and Shadowspinner are refugees from the Land of Unknown Shadows. They visit the Nyueng Bao pretending to be scholars. Actually, they are seeking the Shadowgate key which they know each former Free Company must possess. They steal what they think is the key, and meet a half dozen other sorcerers at the Shadowgate, including The Howler and Stormbringer, to begin tapping the Shadows. However, the key is a duplicate, used by the Nyueng Bao for ceremonial purposes only on their pilgrimages, and the would-be Shadowmasters are overrun by Shadows. Three of them are killed and Howler flees, injured. The remaining four (Longshadow, Shadowspinner, Stormshadow, and Moonshadow) manage to stop the gate while retaining some access, and with their newfound Shadow minions they rapidly build an empire in the far south of the world (the Shadowlands). However they soon begin squabbling amongst themselves and the empire comes to a halt before it threatens Taglios. As the Black Company heads south however they unite and make a concerted push again.

Stormshadow, Shadowspinner, and Moonshadow all perish during the ensuring conflict with Taglios and the Company. Longshadow endures longer, but eventually he too falls and is captured.