"I owe you both a debt..."

He seems to be known by many names. The Giver of Wishes may be one. Certainly he called himself 'Magic' to Nym and Meri.

Claiming to be the very spirit of magic, used by the gods to limit mortals when they grew to the level of twisting reality with wishes, and finally trapped by the gods when even that did not limit portals, The Shadow was the one Krunluc was trying to free.

It seemed that opening the portal was not the final step of the ritual - The Shadow needed a wish to free him, and in turn then bind him to limit mortals once more.

Still, The Shadow seemed happy to return, feeling that a climber shackled by a rope climbs so much higher than a climber free to climb as high as they want. And so The Shadow seemed to guide Meri to closing the portal, knowing that this would shift the magic of the ritual to being under Meri's control.

The Shadow bent the rules to come through and defeat Krunluc, giving the shaman what his heart wished when the shaman had first completed the ritual. However, The Shadow needed Meri to wish, to properly complete the ritual, but gifting Nym a wish too as a thank you.


The Shadow is now, presumably, looking down on mortals, after Meri's wish, avoiding the gaze of the gods, and quietly awaiting Nym's wish...