Blue-Black-Red: A Devotion of Unbound Ambition

 Adapted From The Contraversial Philosophy of Grixis

The Starfall Galaxy's devotion pie is an inherently complex thing. Sure, each of its five devotions are rigid and easy to define, but the magic happens when you begin to combine these devotions to create something new. This wonderful setting of ours has leveraged this complexity to craft many unique factions and characters, but when it comes to three-devotion combinations known as shards and wedges, the definitions become less apparent and the examples less available.

Blue-Black-Red Devotion

Blue

Black

Red

That's why in this new series, I aim to clear up what drives each of them at a fundamental level, starting with The Shadow Imperium. This combination of Blue, Black, and Red is a set of devotions that represents the best and yes, at times, the worst parts of sentience.

A Spectrum of Ambition

The story of this devotion combination really begins with the set Cosmic Nexus, giving us The Shard of The Sulphurous Reach, a miniature plane with a heavy focus on its lack of Green and White Mana. It's a vile world which has rejected anything natural or good. It's a place of suffering and sulfur, a land of hate and decay. This shard was a dramatic representation of what could be when life and light have been removed. While at a surface level it can be hard to parse any philosophical themes out of this representation, there is still something we can learn. What it tells us is that the Shadow Imperium is an ideology that rejects any natural or societal constructs that aim to define it. Sure, in the case of this shard’s representation, it can take on an abhorrent form, but the truth is, if we pull this back a bit, there is something substantial there. But let's hold on to that as it’s something that will come up later when we dig into the core of The Shadow Imperium.

For now, let's talk about the other faction representation of this three-devotion combination, and that is The Stygian Conclave from Nova Prime, who showcase a different view on what this combination of devotions can be. Publicly, this faction poses as upscale artificer aficionados, those who dictate culture, but in reality, they are a clandestine organization of assassins focused on preserving their own power and control. This version of The Shadow Imperium has a fine balance between all of the devotions present. They are the lavishness and extravagance of the Black-Red devotion while being an organization of calculated assassins, leaning into Blue.

When we move from factions to inspect the most common character type in the Shadow Imperium, we see that Umbral Scions come up time and time again, which fits neatly into a very similar space as the Conclave. At face value, Umbral Scions are elegant and beautiful, but behind that facade is a vicious killer, driven only by satisfying its own desires. It’s this concept, that of fulfillment of desire without restriction, that I want to focus on the most when it comes to discussing The Shadow Imperium.

Finally, the one character we cannot ignore when talking about the Shadow Imperium is that of Lord Vex, the Rift-Scourge, the personification of relentless ambition, cold amoral action, and spiteful deception. His motivations are that of domination and control, accomplished through schemes that span hundreds of years. Moreover, he is cruel and prone to acts of utter destruction. In many ways, he is the villainous archetype of the Shadow Imperium personified, but if you ask me on a more personal level, I would say that Lord Vex showcases the relentless desire for greatness and the drive to accomplish that goal nested within the ideology of the Shadow Imperium.

What these examples do is paint a picture for us, a reference of how this shard is represented in the Starfall Galaxy. But as always, we are merely seeing the dark side of this combination, often portrayed as some devotions and combinations seem forced into this role more often than others. The truth is, though, that there are layers to the Shadow Imperium, and if we peel them back to the source, there's actually something very sentient about this shard. So in an effort to confront the truth about the Shadow Imperium, I want to dive into three core philosophies that motivate it.

Core Philosophies

1. The Power of Imprint

To leverage a creative mind is to imprint ourselves on the world around us. The Shadow Imperium is a shard always concerned with its impact, expressed through self upon its surroundings. It aims to influence and to inspire. This is because with Black at its core, it's eager to take what makes it who it is and use it to reshape the world according to its own vision. While the combination of the Technomancer's Guild (Blue-Red) adds that spark of creativity to one’s own goals, to the Shadow Imperium, creativity isn't just about expression—it's a tool of transformation, a means to assert one's identity and bend reality to match one's will.

This drive stems from the belief that true power lies in the ability to leave a mark on society, through both its life and after its death. To craft something uniquely ours that stands apart from the constraints of the ordinary. It's about seizing control of the narrative, ensuring that our presence, our essence, alters the fabric of the world around us. It's a legacy that may influence others, and through things like art, inspirational speeches, or scientific discoveries, one may be remembered for their greatness long after they are gone. This focus on Black, paired with that of the Technomancer's Guild, lends itself to an individual who has a vision of how they wish to be perceived and of the legacy they wish to leave behind. They're uncomfortable in mediocrity and so utilize their skills to make something that can shine bright in the greyness of existence. It is leveraging the creative mastery of the Technomancer's Guild and the visions of grandeur of Black to create something of itself—something that will shine on well beyond after their own light fades.

2. The Drive of Motivation

The only thing stopping you from getting what you want is the motivation to act. Yet, the desire for more in and of itself is not enough to drive you forward. You need a fire in your belly that is never satisfied. This is where the philosophy of the Shadow Imperium leverages their Red side to fulfill this drive. With the relentless nature of this devotion paired with the ambitions of the Subtlety Collective (Blue-Black), this version of the shard’s philosophy is one that is never satisfied with what it has. It dreams big and pursues its needs with a passion, like a fire always stoked by the hunger of desire. In many ways, it cannot sit still, cannot rest on its laurels. Rather, it becomes obsessed with the idea of what it can become.

This constant pursuit, however, isn't aimless; it's deeply intentional. The Shadow Imperium doesn't chase after empty dreams or fleeting desires—it's about strategic evolution that never sits still whenever it reaches a plateau, where each step forward is a deliberate move toward a future where the self is fully realized and unbound by limitations. But this act is taken on with a relentless desire to keep on moving, to push what is possible for oneself. In this way, the Shadow Imperium thrives in the tension between hunger and vision, where the fire within propels it to continuously redefine and elevate itself. It's a philosophy that embraces the idea that satisfaction is the enemy of growth, and that as such, it seeks to remain ever hungry for what it can become.

3. The Deconstruction of Desires

Who are you? What do you want from this life? It can seem like a frivolous question with a quick answer—you want happiness, love, and acceptance, right? But why do all but happiness, broad as a term as it is, come from external entities? To the Shadow Imperium, this is a fallacy of our own making. We do not need to be accepted, nor do we need to be loved. Really, what we need is to find the root of what those terms provide us. To do so, we must be able to deconstruct our own desires and to shed any assumptions passed to us from the world around us. It comes back to the idea of rejecting both White and Green, the constructs of sentience and of nature.

It's about confronting the illusions we've been taught: the need for acceptance, the quest for love. But what does it mean to reject these constructs? It's not about denying the existence of community or nature, but rather recognizing that they are not the source of our worth. The philosophy of the Shadow Imperium pushes us to dig deeper, to question why we seek fulfillment in external validations rather than in the essence of who we are. Happiness in its truest form isn't something granted by others; it's something we forge within ourselves. By dismantling the illusions of what we think we need, we clear the path to understanding what we genuinely desire. This isn't about isolation; it's about independence. It's about embracing the freedom to define our existence on our own terms, free from the expectations of society or the dictates of the natural world.

This introspective look into our own desires is something that the Infernal Hegemony (Red-Black) touches on, but does so only through feeling. The addition of Blue, however, makes this exercise something done with a calculated approach. It is now time to come to a conclusion about what we want from life through logical reasoning. So, follow the path of your own needs and find the root of who you are, because when it comes down to it, we have placed walls in our own mind that need to be found and torn down with ferocity.

Conclusion

The Shadow Imperium is a philosophy that I often think of as the greatest and worst parts of sentience. It is true to itself and comes to that conclusion through logic, but those conclusions may often push away those close to us. It is creative and inspirational, yet full of hubris. It is the relentless ambition that has taken us from caves and into the stars, yet may be the source of our inevitable self-destruction. But the Shadow Imperium does not shy away from the darker parts of what make it who it is, as those parts of us are revelations of truth. So it says with its chest: Act without regret. Act to satisfy your creativity, your curiosity, and your desires, for if you do so, you will live the full life you were meant to.