Past Lives Info Page

Script Information

Series Title: Shadow Life

Episode Title: Past Lives

Series Synopsis: An animated TV show that follows Silva Shado, a Dwarven assassin. Her family has been killed by an assassin who was hired by a rival dwarven clan. She too was killed by the assassin, but Umbra Caedes, God of Assassins, gave her another chance to live in return for doing its bidding. Silva now has two goals in life: hunt down her family’s killers and carry out assignments for Umbra Caedes. Umbra Caedes assigns Shadobear, the last of an ancient race of beings, to be Silva’s familiar and mentor, training and guiding her in the ways of magical assassination.

Episode Synopsis: Umbra Caedes has given Silva her second assignment. This time Silva is to kill a dwarven weaponsmith. Once there, she clumsily cast a spell to release the dwarf’s soul. As they leave, they are surprised by a cat wearing a bell around its neck. The bell reminds Silva of the past and she tells Shadobear the story of how her father tried to teach her to steal. There is a flashback to her past. The bell also reminds Shadobear of someone he lost and there is a flashback to his past.

Character Bios:

Silva Shado: She and her family are very unusual in that they barely look like dwarves – they are thin, weak, agile and magically-inclined. Her family has always been shunned by other dwarves. Thus they had to take up a profession which they were naturally good at – thievery and assassination. Silva is the exception in this already unusual family. She’s clumsy and had difficulty learning thieving and assassination skills. She was sent off to learn magic, the other abnormal trade for dwarves to learn. She was at the Academy for two years until she heard about her family’s death. She fled, fearing for her life, but she was eventually caught and killed. Umbra Caedes gave Silva life in return for endless servitude, but also the opportunity to take revenge.

Silva is 3 feet and 9 inches tall and weighs roughly 90 lbs. Dwarves are normally short and stocky, but she is short and thin. She still has somewhat thick bones, but she’s very lean, mostly muscle and not much fat. People often think she’s either a very short human or a tall halfling. She is 34 years old, almost an adult by dwarven standards (40 years old). Though she often passes for an adult in the human cities, she can also dress up to look like a human child. Her hair is silvery-white and her eyes are grey-silver. Her skin is a light brown. She always wears simple black clothes – tunic, pants, boots, gloves, and hooded cloak. Even her belt is completely black as well as the pouches hanging from it. The only metal she wears is the short sword at her hip and her hidden daggers (in her boots and up her sleeves). She often has a backpack of common thieving and assassination tools. Under the tutelage of Shadobear, Silva is learning how to combine her magical skills with her simple thieving and assassination skills.

Shadobear: He’s a Cura Ursus - the last of an ancient race of beings that traveled the world doing good deeds, except him. He was the outcast, always shunned because he would not spread goodness and caring. He left his race, just in time too, because some very powerful evil forces banded together to wipe out the entire race. He was the only one left. Umbra Caedes found him and recruited him, promising him long life in exchange for his servitude. He’s been a loyal servant ever since. Shadobear has a wry and sarcastic sense of humor. He claims that he doesn’t care about anything, but he is becoming attached to Silva.

Shadobear is a 1 foot and 11 inch tall teddy bear-looking being. He has dark grey fur all over except for white in a circular area on his stomach, around his nose/mouth and on the bottoms of his feet. He has small beady black eyes, a large button nose and a thin-lipped mouth. He always wears a dark blue, almost black hooded cloak. His distinguishing physical feature is a large dagger tattooed on his stomach. It is from this symbol that he draws all of his magical power from, including a special Assassin Intueri attack in which daggers shoot out of from the tattoo at whatever he is facing. This special symbol of power was given to him by Umbra Caedes.

Umbra Caedes: God of Assassins, this beautiful androgynous being has a habit of collecting one of a kind creatures and employing them to do its bidding. It generously rewards those who are loyal and severely punishes those who are not. It works in mysterious ways, sometimes doing good things and sometimes doing bad things, but always striving towards a goal that no one else knows or can figure out.

Umbra Caedes takes on many different forms depending upon its moods or plans. Whatever form it takes, Umbra is always androgynous and beautiful. Umbra is beautiful to everyone who sees it, no matter the preferences in what is beautiful. Umbra realized a long time ago that it was easier to seduce people than frighten people into doing whatever it wants them to do.

When Umbra appeared to Silva, it was in dwarven form. When Umbra appeared to Shadobear, it was in Felis Ursus form (cat-bear). Umbra has appeared to many other beings in other forms, but most of Umbra recruits never meet each other, unless Umbra wants them to.

Sylvin Shado: Silva’s father. He was very kind and loving, but also very firm and strict. He was intelligent and quick to act. He, of all his siblings, was the best at being an assassin. He could judge a situation very quickly and accurately. He never failed in his assignments, never got caught. He often gave advice to his children. He was remembered most for his saying “The shadows are our best friends, stick to them and they will never let you down.” His fatal mistake was when he stayed to protect his family, even when he knew he should flee. His love for his family over-rode his instincts and he sacrificed himself to save his wife and children. Unfortunately, they were all caught and killed in the following months.

He was 4 feet and 6 inches tall, the tallest amongst his siblings and most of his family. He was very lean and fit, weighing 130 lbs. His skin was a dark brown, his eyes were stone grey and his hair was brown with streaks of grey. He was 134 years old when he was murdered, most dwarves live between 300 to 500 years. He, like everyone in his family, always wore solid black clothes - tunic, pants, boots, gloves, and hooded cloak. His favored weapons were star-shaped shurikens, usually poisoned, and a long dagger.

He and Silva were very close. Silva was the youngest of 4 children, the only girl. She was born with silvery hair, a very unique trait to be born with. Most dwarves are born with brown or black hair, but turn grey or white when they reach adulthood around age 40. Sylvin named her Silva, more for her hair than to name her after himself. He had high hopes for her, seeing her as being special. He didn’t realize how different she was until she started manifesting magical powers. He was disappointed that she had trouble learning the family trade, but was always proud that Silva followed her own path.