Shadow-weapon

Most members of Faction Paradox bonded weapons with their shadows to create shadow-weapons, also known as Sombras Que Corta.

While most shadow-weapons were blades; (PROSE: The Book of the War) other objects bonded with shadows included crossbows, (PROSE: Of the City of the Saved...) bombs, (AUDIO: The Eleven Day Empire) hammers, (PROSE: Weapons Grade Snake Oil) torches, (PROSE: A Story of the Peace) cannons, (PROSE: A Hundred Words from a Civil War) and maracas. (PROSE: Judy's War) Quelch sometimes threatened to stitch penises onto the shadows of people that annoyed her. (AUDIO: The Eleven Day Empire)

Shadow-weapons were accidentally developed during the Faction's experiments with removing objects from time. After discovering that the meaning of an object could be left behind after an object was removed from the timeline, the Faction's armourers saw the potential to use the discovery to create discreet personal side-arms. The weapons were never actually present as a shadow, this is just how the mind of the observers interpreted the distinction between physical reality and the reality of information. (PROSE: Weapons Grade Snake Oil, The Book of the War)

A selection of shadow-weapons was kept in the Stacks. Newly recruited cousins would visit this selection and choose a weapon to bond with. (PROSE: The Book of the War)

During negotiations with the British government in 1752, a Faction Paradox ambassador performed a "Shadow Dance" with his shadow-weapons. (COMIC: Bêtes Noires & Dark Horses) It was from the observers of these demonstrations that the term "Sombras Que Corta" - Spanish for "shadows that cut" - originated. (PROSE: The Book of the War) Shadow-weapons were referred to as "Sombras Que Corta" in The Book of the War (PROSE: The Book of the War) and Faction Paradox: a Negotiable History. (PROSE: Weapons Grade Snake Oil) Some members of Faction Paradox adopted the term. (PROSE: Of the City of the Saved..., Now or Thereabouts) Sabbath once demonstrated his knowledge of the Faction by recognising Justine's shadow as a "Sombra Que Corta". (AUDIO: Sabbath Dei)

The shadow of Grandfather Paradox had an infinite arsenal of every weapon imaginable. (AUDIO: The Eleven Day Empire, The Shadow Play) Tonton Macoute had a shadow-tongue. (PROSE: Tonton Macoute) Later initiates to the Faction were usually unable to bond more than one weapon at a time, but legend held that the original four Godfather Lieutenants not only had multiple weapons, they had shadow armour as well. (PROSE: The Book of the War)