Shadow Carja
Split three years ago from the Sun Carja over the contentious succession of Sun-King from Jiran to Avad, the Carja in Shadow are more conservative and religious than their counterparts. Firm in their beliefs that Sun-King Jiran’s rights and powers came from the Sun itself, and therefore were without contestation, Avad’s murder and removal of Jiran were seen as outrageous, kicking off the Carja Civil War. Retreating to Sunfall in the northwestern extremes of the Carja Sundom, the Shadow Carja continued the practice of slavery and gladiatorial games re-popularized by Jiran during his reign.
While their leader was ostensibly the Sun-King Itamen, much younger brother to Avad, the child was too afraid to do much more than delegate all authorities to High Sun-Priest Bahavas, who shared power with the head of the military, Helis. Vanasha, a Carja spy and provocateur, enlisted the help of Aloy and Shadow Carja captain Uthid to smuggle Itamen and his mother out of Sunfall and back to Meridian, where they were taken into the Avad’s protection. Bahavas was killed by Uthid during this effort, leaving Helis over the remaining Shadow Carja. Helis was eventually killed by Aloy at the Battle of the Spire.
Culture
While HZD presented the Shadow Carja as more bloodthirsty and militaristic than their Sun Carja brethren, this may be a picture biased by those of its leaders, Bahavas and Helis. As the faction split from the Sun Carja only a few years before, much of the culture would be indistinguishable between the two. Some Shadow Carja might hold more conservative views, especially when it comes to the Sun-Faith and class hierarchy, but this should not be assumed of all.
Fate of the Shadow Carja
Leaderless, excepting a group of squabbling Sun-Priests, and unable to feed themselves, the canonical fate of the Shadow Carja is unknown. Given Avad’s reluctance to push into the group’s territory, believing they’d suffered enough and had a right to self-determination, one might presume that Shadow Carja returning to Meridian under flags of truce or surrender would likely be welcomed and reintegrated.
Shadow Carja in Skyline
Skyline does not make any alterations to the canonical lore of the Shadow Carja. The group is present and plays a part in the Connection story module.
Shadow Carja Characters in Skyline
Players should keep in mind that not all Shadow Carja were part of the Eclipse, nor were all Shadow Carja complicit in the manipulation of the child Sun-King Itamen. As shown in HZD by Vanasha and Uthid, many of the Shadow Carja were just regular people who happened to believe Itamen was a more legitimate heir to Jiran than Avad. This doesn’t make them evil, or more conspiratorial. It might make them untrusted by the Sun Carja, but that’s a perception, not a character trait.