{{GalaxyPortal}}{{Spoiler | source = Death or Glory (Novel)}}{{Spoiler | source = Duty Calls (Novel)}}{{Spoiler | source = Cain's Last Stand (Novel)}}The '''Shadowlight''' was an old ancient [[Xenos]] artifact created by a an unknown race (presumably the [[Old Ones|Ancients]]) long before the origins of [[Mankind]]. It was said to be as old as the [[Necrons]], so ancient that it was only known only as a legend among the [[AncientsEldar]]{{Fn|2a}}{{Fn|2b}}.

During its study==Overview==In appearance the Shadowlight was a small, flat slab of dark stone that, nondescript though it was, gave off an unmistakeable erieness. It was apparently intended to be part of a larger machine, several parts of which were scattered along with it in "The Valley Of Daemons" on the planet [[Warmaster]Perlia] [[Varan]] attempted to make use of its power but was stopped in his plan and the machine was later captured by the Necrons{{Fn|2a}}{{Fn|2d}}.¹

==Source==*¹:The exact purpose of the xenos machine was unknown, although one researcher theorized that it was able to alter the fabric of reality itself, created by the Ancients as a weapon of last resort in their war against the [[CainC's Last Stand (Novel)]] by [[Sandy Mitchelltan]]{{Fn|3b}}.

The Shadowlight had a "side effect" that made it extremely dangerous: contact with the artifact could awaken the powers of latent [[Psykers]], and boost the powers of active Psykers, making them extremely powerful. However, not every psyker, latent or otherwise, survived contact with the artifact, and non-psykers who touched it without protection died almost instantly{{stubFn|2d}}. Based on this, one Mechanicus [[Tech Priest]] theorized that it was designed as a combined antenna and storage battery, meant to draw on the energies of the [[Warp]] and use them to power the primary machine{{Fn|3b}}.

==History==The Shadowlight was discovered by agents of the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] and the [[Ordo Xenos]], who established a secret Mechanicus Shrine in the Valley to study its properties{{Fn|2a}}. One of the Tech-Priests, [[Metheius]], believed that the Ordo Xenos were blind to the Shadowlight's real potential, and shared its existence with [[Inquisitor]] [[Ernst Stavros Killian|Killian]] of the [[Ordo Hereticus]]. Killian believed that with the artifact, he could create an army of [[psykers]], powerful enough to finally overthrow and destroy the forces of [[Chaos]]{{Fn|2c}}. One [[Imperial]] [[psyker]] who examined the artifact later said that, had Killian carried out his "imbecilic" scheme, the Shadowlight could well have destroyed the entire [[galaxy]]. Quite apart from the damage wreaked by these individual psykers, their very existence would have invited possession by [[daemon]]s, and acted as a gateway allowing the forces of the [[Warp]] to flow freely into the [[Materium]]. This psyker soberly predicted that, in two generations, the [[Eye of Terror]] would expand and swallow the rest of the Galaxy.{{Fn|3b}} During the [[Siege of Perlia]], under the cover of the [[Ork]] invasion of the planet, Killian and Methius stormed the Shrine, killed the researchers and stole the Shadowlight, with the unwitting help of a squad of over-zealous battle-sisters from the [[Adepta Sororitas]]{{Fn|2c}}. [[Commissar]] [[Ciaphas Cain]], leading an army of refugees across the Valley, discovered their handiwork, though he did not know until later who was responsible{{Fn|1}}. Killian and Methius continued to study the Shadowlight in secret inside a Sororitas convent on [[Periremunda]], recruiting members of a local [[cultist|Chaos cult]] to serve as "test subjects."{{Fn|2c}}{{Fn|2d}} When Cain and Inquisitor [[Amberley Vail]] confronted Killian, he attempted to escape with it, only to inadvertently handle it without protection, killing him{{Fn|2e}}. The Shadowlight was returned to Perlia and the Shrine was rebuilt. Over the next few decades, several more components of the machine were discovered, and it was partially reassembled{{Fn|3a}}{{Fn|3b}}. Somehow, the forces of [[Chaos]] learned of the Shadowlight and saw the same potential that Killian had, though in reverse. During the [[13th Black Crusade]], in 999 M41, [[Abaddon the Despoiler]] dispatched a small expeditionary force, under the command of Warmaster [[Varan]], to retrieve it{{Fn|3a}}. Cain stopped Varan, but the Shadowlight itself was captured by the Necrons{{Fn|3c}}. In a private discussion with Vail, Cain softened the loss by reasoning that the Necrons must have feared the Shadowlight, since it was created by their enemies; and for that reason, they likely had no immediate plans to use it against the Imperium. Thus, losing it to them was preferable to losing it to Chaos{{Fn|3d}}. ==Sources==*{{Endn|1}}: [[Death or Glory (Novel)]] – [[Ciaphas Cain: Defender of the Imperium (Omnibus)]], Chapter Twenty-One, pgs. 205-213*2: [[Duty Calls (Novel)]] – [[Ciaphas Cain: Defender of the Imperium (Omnibus)]]:**{{Endn|2a}}: Chapter Eleven, pgs. 343-345**{{Endn|2b}}: Chapter Twelve, pgs. 353-354**{{Endn|2c}}: Chapter Twenty-Four, pgs. 460-463**{{Endn|2d}}: Chapter Twenty-Five, pgs. 467-469**{{Endn|2e}}: Chapter Twenty-Six, pgs. 472-478*3: [[Cain's Last Stand (Novel)]] – [[Ciaphas Cain: Defender of the Imperium (Omnibus)]]:**{{Endn|3a}}: Chapter Six, pgs. 577-581**{{Endn|3b}}: Chapter Fourteen, pgs. 646-657**{{Endn|3c}}: Chapter Twenty-Four, pgs. 760-761**{{Endn|3d}}: Chapter Twenty-Five, pgs. 763-764 [[Category:Chaos Artifacts]][[Category:Ciaphas Cain (Novel Series)]][[Category:TechnologyPre-Imperial Times]]