#bolas dreadlord

[bedtimegiraffe]

Here's my little essay about King Arlan (and a little bit about Baldur) and their complicated relationship with ruling effectively.

Arlan, the (overall) very good king

King Arlan is keeping the kingdom running well

In the very first lore tablet, you learn that, "King Arlan Valleros VII currently sits on the throne. Known as the Gentle King, Arlan has reigned over a period of great peace and prosperity."

Periods of great peace and prosperity are not easy! It's a combination of luck, delegating effectively, and putting in a ton of administrative work to make sure the laws and policies work for the unique situation your nation is in at this moment. That stuff does not happen on accident.

Based on Aerin's statements that he never really saw his father, I'm assuming Arlan keeps busy with actually running the country. We never see Arlan show interest in hunting or any vices that would take similar amounts of time. I also don't get the sense that Arlan and Baldur are always like, hanging out. And we don't interact with many administrators, making him seem pretty hands-on.

King Arlan knows how to maintain an image

When you return from the Shadow Realm...

King Arlan is very savvy. Maybe he's sincere, who knows! But publicly honoring the heroes who saved your ass is a great way to get goodwill for yourself and make it so you no longer owe those heroes. Your party puts in quite a lot of work to save Morella and King Arlan just lets you take some weapons and armor no one was using anyway. Doesn't even send a single guard to help. Unlike Book 2...

Before the battle he does a great job making it seem like he's doing you a favor. Like you asked for his help and he's magnanimously granting it, even though the Ash Empire is very much coming to destroy his capital!

Which brings us to his take on Aerin being gone (assuming he was imprisoned previously)...

This is an awful thing to say about your son! But it's actually a pretty cunning move as a king. Arlan was absolutely right- his best move was to let Aerin go and hope he got killed. He gets to eliminate a problem making him look bad to the court (his son who committed murder and treason in a very public manner) and keep his reputation as a nice guy. He's the 'Gentle King,' not the 'Strong King' or 'Decisive King.'

And in the very unlikely (in his estimation) chance Aerin did come back alive and looking heroic, Arlan could keep him imprisoned indefinitely. Or (much less likely) he could say Aerin was corrupted before and use his success as an excuse to get one of his kids back in the line of succession. That's good for your ego and can help prevent a succession crisis if there isn't a super clear heir in place (which seems to be the case currently).

Overall, (and completely separate from him being a horrendous father) it seems to be like Arlan is actually a very good king. But there is one part of the job he sucks at...

Arlan's fatal flaw is that he is terrible at reading people.

'Baldur's great, no concerns!'

Obviously, we know that thinking that Baldur is going to be a good king is stupid.

But why didn't King Arlan know that? Aerin (who does seem to be pretty good at reading people) says he's, "handsome, bold, outgoing." Those things are all great for winning people over!

But not nearly enough to actually run a country. We know Baldur's not really even trying to have any of the practical, administrative skills that requires. And this system does not seem set up to function with a figurehead.

You know that tutor must have clocked that Baldur was asleep! It was probably common knowledge at the palace that Baldur never learned a damn thing. Either Arlan didn't realize his heir was not gaining any practical ruling skills (bad sign) or he didn't care (also a bad sign).

Even monarchs who aren't invested in their kids as people are usually very invested in their education. Because that's how you make sure the wheels don't fall off once you die, ending your glorious bloodline.

Aerin tells us that Baldur would never contradict their father. So Arlan absolutely could have forced him to read a damn book. But for some reason, he didn't.

'My second son sucks...

Arlan truly thinks that Aerin is useless. Which is a wild stance to take after you watched him kill big strong Baldur in a single blow and open a portal to the Shadow Realm.

Arlan got there a little late for Aerin's full villain monologue. But the second your party disappears through the portal, the smart thing would have been to determine if Aerin did any more damage. It didn't feel like it to Aerin, but he had tremendous access to people and resources. For all King Arlan knows, this could have been just one piece of a bigger plot.

And it was! Aerin admitted to corrupting dozens of people, usually very connected people. That's a ticking time bomb just waiting to cause more damage. One it doesn't seem like King Arlan ever looks into.

Arlan seems to just assume that Aerin can't cause damage because he's... not physically imposing? Because knowledge and connections are never a threat to power?

Pre-crisis, Aerin also talks about trying to smooth over Baldur's brash decisions. Having someone to soften the blow of harsh or unpopular decisions is absolutely crucial for any ruler, but especially one like Baldur. Yet Arlan doesn't seem to have any awareness of that either.

So Arlan at least picked up some vibes from Aerin that he was... something. Troubled could be 'miserable,' but this statement makes it feel more 'he creeps me out.'

-and I'm not worried about that.'

Even if Aerin was incompetent or messed up, King Arlan should have been concerned about that! Baldur is very strong and presumably good at not dying. But he throws himself into dangerous situations all the time for fun! There is a very good reason most monarchs don't stop at one kid if they can help it.

History is absolutely littered with examples of people who inherited a throne and ran things into the ground because they didn't have the ability to manage the amount of power they had effectively. If Arlan thought Aerin could fall into that category, he should have had people working around the clock to get him up to standard just in case.

Instead, King Arlan fully ignored Aerin, letting him just haunt the archives like a depressed ghost.

'The Heroes of Morella obviously agree with me, they're important!'

King Arlan makes the assumption, based on your party's status, that you'll agree with him on the 'complicated politics' of executing your own kid. Because you're not 'commoners.' Your party includes one elven noble, one orcish (until like 2 days ago) princess, and one human with a very prominent position in the Temple. Mal is more under the radar, but he was still proclaimed a hero. And your character is the most Hero of all.

So Arlan basically does that thing some people do where they trash talk a marginalized group, because everyone in the room looks like they belong to the majority group, so why would they object? (Never a good look.)

But Mal and Nia are both, at least to you, visibly angry with Arlan for being excited his son is (presumably) dead.

Still, no effort to backtrack or soften the blow from King Arlan. Just sails right over the dude's head that Mal looks pissed and Nia is using her damn customer service voice.

Seriously, King Arlan should probably keep an eye out for Mal... Not a big monarchist, that one.

Bonus Baldur, the tremendous idiot

The fact that Baldur thinks he's the first of his name, when "Baldur Valleros" literally founded his dynasty, is incredibly funny to me. Such ignorance. Such hubris.

I am not about to give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe Baldur I went straight to being king, so our dumbass is the first "Prince Baldur Valleros." His father is Arlan VII, there's no way no other king has named their heir after the founder of the dynasty. More evidence that he has never once learned a thing.

(Don't worry about Kade- he took a shadow lance to the face but he's fine. He's mostly fine. Feel free to look at my older posts if you're curious how that went down.)

Baldur seems to make the same assumptions about people based on their status as his father. I don't think it's an accident that when Baldur wants to tell gross stories (including the phrase "slum girls"), he immediately grabs Mal, the human man. Mal isn't all that subtle about his disdain for the nobility, but he still looks like the best one for Baldur to win over. Mal is also the one who steps up and negotiates for the group, making him look like the leader- even more Baldur catnip.

#blades of light and shadow #choices bolas #blades of light and shadow 2 #aerin valleros #arlan valleros #king arlan #baldur valleros #mal valori #kade #kade of riverbend #*tries to hold back a tide of examples from British history* #I am overwhelmed by the desire to psychoanalyze fictional characters #It would fill me with rage but I would love to be a fly on the wall pre-Dreadlord crisis with this family #Or talk to a servant! Did the common people actually like Baldur? Did they seriously give PRINCE Aerin zero acknowledgement? #Is Baldur handsome? I know I have a type but Aerin would be the one to catch my eye every time

[crystalwillow]

I’ve already made 2 of these trying to make it perfect. This is the 2nd one. I’m almost there right? Or is this good??

I would like to give credit to @melodyofgraves and PB for the art work I’ve used in this edit 💞

#pixelberry #pixelberry choices #choices stories you play #choices game #choices #playchoices #choices games you play #pixelberry studios #pb bolas #bolas mal #bolas nia #bolas kade #bolas tyril #bolas threep #bolas imtura #bolas dreadlord #pixelberry blades of light and shadow #choices blades of light and shadow

[choicesarehard]

Honestly, well fucking done, Pixelberry. 

#playchoices #pixelberry #choices stories you play #blades of light and shadow #bolas #yes balls #nia ellarious #mal volari #the dreadlord

[pixelburied]

though I hate that Nia was taken away, i LOVE that when aerin needed a super powerful vessel for the dreadlord, NIA is the First Choice. UGH HER POWER 🥺

#and the fact that Tyril is AN ELF #and the dreadlord chose The Human??? #very sexy of nia #playchoices #blades of light and shadow #bolas

[blightarts]

THE SHA-BRO COURT

I loved my Dude Erthax edit so much that I had to do it again with the other members of the Shadow Court... or should I say The Sha-Bro Court. We have the DudeLord, Duchess Baenia, and Baron Brostrasz. 😂

#playchoices #choices #choices stories you play #blades of light and shadow #choices blades #bolas #choices bolas #the dreadlord #duchess xenia #baron vostrasz

[pixelsbichoice]

What happens if you don’t stab Nia with the Blade of Light....

#playchoices #blades of light and shadow #bolas spoilers #blades spoilers #nia ellarious #dreadlord #mal volari #imtura tal kaelen #tyril starfury #mc: gun’th’r gho’rak #i couldnt do it OK #THAT IS MY GF

[watatsumi-island]

OK SO THIS IS LIKE HALF "SHITPOST" PLUS "UHM ACTUALLY YEAH WTF" KINDA POST BUT-

Has anyone realized that every member of the Shadow Court has killed their Sibling/someone who they used to be close to?👀👀👀👀

Like:

In chapter 16 in the final battle, if you choose to fight Zathra and you have the Legendary Bow she'll said that she killed Galdriel. It's quite likely that she and Galdriel were close friends before...you know. Shit happened. 😑 I think that maybe Duke Ethrax could have been acquaintances, allied with or maybe even friends with Ellara and Xaius before- as I said earlier- shit happened.

Duchness Xenia killed her sister, Baron Vostraz also killed his sister and we saw Aerin kill Baldur firsthand so...not really important but just wanted to say it 👀

#blades of light and shadow #bolas theory #idk lol #but I think ot might come up in Book two or something like that #or maybe im just stupid #or overthinking #but then again #i might be onto something here #👀👀👀👀 #baron vostrasz #duchess xenia #countess zathra #duke ethrax #aerin valleros #prince aerin #also we dont talk about The Dreadlord ok- #playchoices #pixelberry choices #pixelberry studios #pixelberry #shut up lauren #shut up lauren series

[scgdoeswhat]

REGULAR GROOT:

ROID RAGE GROOT:

This is so bad and I should be sorry for subjecting people to it

But I'm not lol

#blades of light and shadow #blades #bolas #groot #i am groot #guardians of the galaxy #dreadlord #gotg #marvel #playchoices #choices #pixelberry

[lyris-ofthe-spring]

LiSTeN— These two are about to give “power couple” a whole new meaning I’m not even kidding, just look at them-

#choices stories you play #playchoices bolas #playchoices #bolas mc #bolas tyril #blades of light and shadow #playchoices blades of light and shadow #bolas orc #these two are about to step all over evil groot #dreadlord watch out

[k-l-bryan]

Dread Lord Theory

So, seeing as how Blades is confirmed to be getting a second book and I doubt PB will keep Nia corrupted/ possessed; she is one of the main LI’s after all, for much longer, then in next weeks chapter the Dread Lord will need a new host.  I’m assuming his spirit/ essence will be weakened by MC and friends after they save Nia, so it will go into what will likely be the ‘weakest’ host, someone it can more easily overpower . . .

I feel like the Bard will leave the party again . . .

#blades #choices blades #choices bolas #blades of light and shadow #playchoices #pixelberry #kade blades #nia ellarious #dreadlord #dreadlord blades

[bedtimegiraffe]

End of Book 1 Make Out Sessions- Imtura and Nia

If you choose the diamond scene at the end of Book 1, but opt for the kissing options, you get some very sweet dialogue.

I always have trouble finding things like this, so here it is- for me and anyone else interested!

Imtura

Nia

#Apparent Nia and Aerin both have a student praise kink/teacher thing #Troubling possibility- does the Dreadlord have moves? Is that where Nia got this? #We love an Imtura who forgets how strong she is- then is soft #choices bolas #blades of light and shadow #nia ellarious #imtura tal kaelen #nia x mc #imtura x mc

[sciralta]

fun fact i have a folder called “long live the slut” on my phone filled with horny reaction images and i fully intend to use every single one of them on the characters by the end of Blades

#mal and duke erthax babes that means you #hell even the dreadlord can get it 👀👀👀 #blades of light and shadow #choices blades #choices bolas #my posts

[mplayschoices]

If we have to stab Kade(who is a host for the Dreadlord) for real later on, I'm deleting the app and thats that on that

#blades of light and shadow #bolas #kade #the dreadlord #playchoices #choices #pixelberry

[tyrilstolemyhort-blog]

⚔ B L A D E S G A N G ⚔

DISCLAIMER‼ DISCLAIMER ‼

The pictures were all from pinterest lol all I did was trace and redesign it soo crdts to those talented artists whoever they are x

#bladesoflightandshadow #bolas #bladesgang #choices #pb #bolaschoices #mal #nia #tyril #imtura #shadowrealm #dreadlord #princeaerin #choicesbolas

[suoirallesalta]

A Masterlist of all @suoirallesalta edits!

Every edit is tagged under #suoiredits. edits are sorted acc to their books! enjoy

click here for my art masterlist!

Making Sabina in the Character without using Character’s assets style (edit challenge

Kepler, in only the harness. 

f!Adam

Jen in her dress including the lingerie

Simon Montjoy in Ava’s dress

younger Mitzi Montjoy

AVSP MC as on the cover

💫 Nia Ellarious

the perfect pair? (Nia x MC in an AME crossover)

Goddess of the Sea (Nia x Sunkissed edit)

Nia and Imtura with... moustaches

Nia with TE Alma’s hair and MTFL Ava’s outfit (#suoirandom edit)

Nia as Neisha (new avatar)

Starry Nia (#BladesAW)

Empress of The Shadow (#BladesAW)

Nia as BloodBound women: Kamilah (#BladesAW)

Nia as BloodBound women: Rheya (#BladesAW) 

the pretty young girl next door (#BladesAW)

Quartermaster Nia Ellarious (#BladesAW)

Nia Ellarious as TE MC (#BladesAW)

Nia Ellarious as Shreya (#BladesAW) 

Nia Ellarious in her dress including her lingerie

nia ellarious hot goth girlfriend

The Priestess (GIF edit) (Nia in RC outfit)

Tyril Starfury

cold and broody™ vampire elf (#BladesAW)

cold and broody™ bodyguard (#BladesAW)

cold and broody™ elementalist (#BladesAW)

cold and broody™ orc (#BladesAW)

cold and broody™ designer; feat. f!Tyril (#BladesAW)

f!Tyril (#BladesAW)

Tyril with f!Blaine’s hair (#BladesAW)

rogue-ish Tyril Starfury (with a beard)

The Mage (GIF edit) (in RC outfit)

Scream(o)s from the inside (Kade album cover edit)

Bald-ur (#BladesAW)

Damn those elves and their magicks (Mal - Aerin hairswap)

Modern Rogue-ish Mal Volari (with a beard)

StarCorp

Blades of Lust and Sensuality

Jax Tora and Robin Matsuo (face swap)

Duke Richards in the banana mascot outfit from Platinum.

Charlie Smith

A relaxing day at the waterfall! (edit inspired by Charlie Premium Scene!)

Quartermaster of the Dreadlord (DSAW)

Quartermaster of the Flotillan Pirates (DSAW)

Siren of The Light (DSAW)

Charlie as Atlas, Eli and Shreya from TE (DSAW)

Maggie

Maggie! M-Maggie? (MM and DS Maggie Crossover)

Maggie with HC Hazel’s hair and QB Poppy’s outfit. (#suoirandom request)

Oliver Cochrane

Oliver Cochrane as Luke Hemmings

oliver cock rain (DSAW)

f!Oliver (DSAW)

Distant Sores (Charlie x Edward face swap)

DS MC using BaBu2 sprite (DSAW)

Distant Couture // Hot Shores (DS x HC crossover, DSAW)

Ayna Seth

student!Ayna and professor!Ayna

Ayna as Imogen from ILB

buff ayna

Ayna as Jackie in the Open Heart 3 CG

vampire!Ayna

Ayna Seth

Ayna Seth as a Lovelink Match

Ayna Seth as Robin Tora

aynia ellarious

TA meets TA (Ayna - Aiyana Midthunder crossover)

Blaine Hayes

m!Blaine in f!Blaine’s dress

f!Blaine as m!Blaine

Blaine with PT Raleigh’s Hair and MOTY MC’s outfit (#suoirandom edit)

Blaine Hayes edit inspired by @aestheteasteria’s icon

Tatum Mendoza

John Somerset x Tatum Mendoza crossover

Tatum in Ayna’s dress / Tatum as Ayna

MC

politics reporter and student (FA mc x WT mc)

MC with ATV Pax’s hair and TNA Robin’s outfit (#suoirandom edit)

Ayna x MC

girlfriends

partners

Bodyguard Murphy (lmao)

Murphy Icons <3

I think I got the address to the wrong Murphy

Skye Crandall x Gerard Way

Dark Mage Ajay (choicedits challenge)

Power Duo (Luz x MC)

Bridgette Gardner with TRH Cedric Vescovi’s hair and PM Hayden’s Outfit (#suoirandom edit)

Luz Estrada in her dress including the lingerie

Noah Marshall in the banana outfit (edit request)

Sadie McGraw

Sadie McGraw (in the TNA MC’s Golden Dress)

A bit younger Sadie McGraw

Sadie McGraw (in casual(?) outfit)

Aislinn Tanaka

Aislinn Tanaka in QB Poppy’s outfit and diff black hair

aislinn tanaka hot goth girlfriend

aislinn tanaka hot goth girlfriend 2

aislinn tanaka girlfriend

aislinn tanaka’s v short hair

Gabe and MC as Mal and Nia

Babe Ricci with long hair

The Boys

Ava as Britney from ILITW

IGHT (NB face swap)

MC with TE MC’s hair and BB MC’s outfit (#suoirandom edit)

bryce.. lahela .. and,, uh.. bryce sterling..

Rookie Ramsey

Rookie Varma

Raleigh Carrera

Raleigh Carrera with AME Mackenzie’s hair and VOS Naomi’s outfit (#suoirandom edit)

An exclusive sneak-peek at Raleigh Carrera’s fuck-the-stereotype Vinyls look that has got the fandom in meltdown!

Raleigh Carrera with BOLAS MC’s hair and THM Eris’s outfit. (#suoirandom edit)

A Very Wilshere Christmas! (Album Cover)

The Hottest Couple of the Industry (Avery x MC)

Poppy is just angry Avery

Zoey Wade

“Besties!” (mc and Zoey as Mc and Ava from MTFL)

priestess zoey wade

zoey in floral

zoey in floral (beach-wear edition)

TA Zoey Wade

Zoey Wade as Atlas Ernhardt

Zoey Wade in TE MC’s gala outfit

zoey in the dress she gave to mc in the first chapter

Ina/Ian Kingsley

Ina Kingsley with TF Becca's hair and BB Kamilah's outfit. (edit request)

Ina Kingsley with TNA Sam’s hair and WT MC’s outfit. (#suoirandom edit)

Veronica with TNA Sofia’s hair and ACOR Sabina’s outfit. (#suoirandom edit)

MC with BP Courtney’s hair and QB Poppy’s outfit.

how (ridiculous) mc would look if she actually wore that ligerie under that dress

📰 Robin Tora

Asian Robin as Ava Lawrence from MTFL

Asian Robin as Ava Lawrence from MTFL (#2)

Asian Robin as Ava Lawrence from MTFL (#3)

Robin as Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan

Jax Tora and Robin Matsuo (face swap)

Robin in an oversized baggy shirt

wait, wrong Robin- shit (Sofia TNA edit)

Robin Tora as Robin Tora and Robin Tora as Robin Tora

Robin as Cassian in Witness

Robins at the beach

robin hood

asian f!robin tora as blaine hayes

Flame the Crow & Me : One Boob (TC&TF face swap)

Annia Adairious (TCTF AW)

orc!Val (TCTF AW)

Kenna Rys with NB Katherine’s hair and HSS Principal Rivera’s outfit (#suoirandom edit)

🌙 Atlas Ernhardt

Atlas Ellarious

Atlas, the adventurous elf

Queen of Vampires, Atlas, of Clan Ernhardt

Vampire Queen Atlas (edit #2)

Atlas, the Snow Princess

Atlas, the Moon Princess

Atlas in genderfluid flag colors!

m!Atlas in f!Atlas’s Gala dress

f and m!Atlas swapped

☀️ Eli Solaris Russell (my mc)

Eli’s first (accidental) spell cast!

Eli’s momentous first day at Penderghast

⚙️ Beckett Harrington

“Small dapper Beckett… confirmed.”

Beckett as Connor from Detroit: Become Human

Shreya Mistry

Shreya “Wonder Woman” Mistry

❣️ Pend Pals

“All dressed in black.”

Pend Gals on a night out in matching black outfits (#1)

Pend Gals on a night out in matching black outfits (#2)

Magick Docs (OH crossover)

Pend Pals in Belvoire attire

Pend Gals on a night out after the Amorelia Day Gala (faceapp faceswap edit)

The Elementalists - Across the Dimension (2D art crossover)

💞 Shreya x Atlas

“your eyes, they shine so bright”

“Hey Shreya.. Marry Me”

“Wedding Day!”

💞 Beckett x Eli/MC

Beckett and Eli in a western setting

Eli x Beckett face swap

Eli x Beckett in Robin x Sofia art (lmao)

🌟 Double Trouble (Eli/MC + Atlas)

Hydrobreath (Eli + Atlas)

“my younger twin sister” (double trouble x mtfl edit)

Misc

Blood of the Sun (a spinoff movie poster)

Coolness of metal and water-atts (meme)

Alma with FA Dionne’s hair and D&D MC’s outfit (#suoirandom edit)

Sam Dalton

Sam Dalton as Sam Dalton and Sam Dalton as Sam Dalton

Sam Dalton with BB Serafine’s hair and TCTF Val’s outfit. (#suoirandom edit)

Sofia as Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil

the cake on sofia’s skirt works as floral print

John Somerset x Tatum Mendoza crossover

Vampire Harlenay

Flynn o’Malley in fem VOS characters’ hair 

Flynn o’Malley in fem outfits

Anna Koishi

Anna Koishi, at the club, with short pink hair

Anna Koishi with TE Atlas’s hair and PT Avery’s outfit. (#suoirandom edit)

Anna Koishi as Atlas Ernhardt

politics reporter and student (FA mc x WT mc)

Asian f!Dakota with Hispanic f!Dakota’s hair

Daenerys, the mother of dragons (using TRR mc)

TRR mc as Daenerys (edit #2)

the greatest witch of our time (BB mc as Hermione Granger)

me before you (poster edit with TRR Mc and AME Adam)

Aquaman (ft Cassian and Ava)

Wolf Bride wolf in Poppy’s outfit

Imogen Dragons

rip fallen books

The Crew (DSAW)

Wizards of Waverley Place (THOBM edit)

omg a hit tweet (pb meme)

Choicedits Challenges

ACOR Sabina without using her assets

OpH Jackie without using her assets

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger using Choices assets

Priestesses of the Light

Coldplay’s Higher Power album cover using only Choices assets

Asian Wolf Bride MC as TE MC

Lovelink Edits

Nicholas Adley in Pirate Outfit

Jamie Grant in multiple outfits from HERO

#choices #pixelberry #playchoices #play choices #suoiredits #the elementalists #choices foreign affairs #choices queen b #robin tora #Blades of light and shadow

[selfiealien-moved]

Something interesting I kinda noticed is that in bolas when people get corrupted its typically because the dreadlord is whispering to them about power and their deepest desires. He gets into their head. I don't think anyone who is corrupted is corrupted totally unwillingly. I think they're convinced, just as Aerin was.

Aerin would have been a child when the dreadlord began speaking to him in his dreams. And it would be years before Aerin starts actually actively working for him if we go along with the idea that the dreadlord has been in his head for 20 years but the corruption has only started to spread in the last couple years.

I think the shadow isn't so much taking over peoples minds so much as it is bringing out the worst of them. It plays on the thoughts already there and convinces you to act on them. And I think that's why Kaya didn't get corrupted, she was killed instead. Because someone as pure of heart as her would probably be much more difficult if not impossible to corrupt.

Tldr: I think the corruption shown by the shadow court is meant to be the same as irl corruption. It can happen to most anyone and turn into something ugly really quick, but it usually stems from someone's own greed.

#does this make sense i hope so i feel a lil jumbled #bolas #prince aerin #blades of light and shadow