What time do nightmares come?

[Nitpicking]

So ... does it seem to anyone else that the Shades of Threnody, the Nightmares of Torio, and the creatures of the Midnight Essence are connected? Nightmares and Shades are both the Cognitive Shadows of people who died on that world, and remain to prey on the living. They both have visual similarities to the Midnight Essence, which strangely can be created by the Unmade Re-Shephir and (in Tress and the non-canon Aether of Night draft) by a black Aether.

[Underwater_Worldhopper he/him]

9 minutes ago, Nitpicking said:

So ... does it seem to anyone else that the Shades of Threnody, the Nightmares of Torio, and the creatures of the Midnight Essence are connected? Nightmares and Shades are both the Cognitive Shadows of people who died on that world, and remain to prey on the living. They both have visual similarities to the Midnight Essence, which strangely can be created by the Unmade Re-Shephir and (in Tress and the non-canon Aether of Night draft) by a black Aether.

They're two different things. Shades and Nightmares are instances of Corrupted souls, which have a tendency to turn black. This is also seen in Nightblood, with his Breaths and other Investiture that he absorbs. Midnight Aether meanwhile is something completely different, it just happens to be the same color. As for why Re-Shephir can summon/control it, we just don't know.

[Treamayne]

35 minutes ago, Nitpicking said:

So ... does it seem to anyone else that the Shades of Threnody, the Nightmares of Torio, and the creatures of the Midnight Essence are connected? Nightmares and Shades are both the Cognitive Shadows of people who died on that world, and remain to prey on the living. They both have visual similarities to the Midnight Essence, which strangely can be created by the Unmade Re-Shephir and (in Tress and the non-canon Aether of Night draft) by a black Aether.

22 minutes ago, Underwater_Worldhopper said:

They're two different things. Shades and Nightmares are instances of Corrupted souls, which have a tendency to turn black. This is also seen in Nightblood, with his Breaths and other Investiture that he absorbs. Midnight Aether meanwhile is something completely different, it just happens to be the same color. As for why Re-Shephir can summon/control it, we just don't know.

Keep in mind that while Midnight Aether Spores and Midnight Essence have a lot of similarities, it is not confirmed to be two names for the same thing. They are related, but not necessaily identical. The Body formed of the Shroud that the Nightmares inhabit do seem very similar to the Rosharan Midnight Essence whereas Threnodite Shades seem much more like a traditional Cognitive Shadow (In that it mostly exists in the Cognitive Realm) but corrupted and with more "effect" in the physical realm - and that effect increases as it is "pulled" closer by broken Rules.