Matt and I were talking tonight about the question: "Why didn't the Manu Tenereans mention how to negotiate peace with the shadows to the Nimus Animae mages when they were staying there before they went off to found Nimus Animae?" Doesn't it seem like it might have been nice to warn these other mages? "By the way, here's how to avoid pissing off the magical creatures that will live in your covenant."

Several options occurred to us:

1) The methods they used to make peace are dubious magic, which they didn't feel comfortable telling outsiders about (although I think Calvus is the only one of the new mages who really sets off anyone's "upstanding citizen radar).

2) They didn't realize that shadows are pandemic to magical hot spots in Gaetan (or they thought that Tully and Ishta would have already dealt with them).

3) The magic they used to make peace with the shadows focused on their own magical underground pool, which is likewise designed to bind its users to secrecy and silence, so there were key parts of the dubious magic they absolutely couldn't talk about. The secret bits either make the magic incomprehensible, or they just make it seem really really suspicious, even to less upstanding citizens than Calvus: "You've been doing magic with the local demons, and you can't explain it, but you'd like to initiate us in it as well? How nice! Let me just send this urgent letter to Annalum and I'll be right with you..."

Oh, also Matt says that Somnex is also heavily involved with working with the shadows, since they influence people's dreams.

Leavened, of course, with a dash of 1 (we’ve got enough devotion to set off Upright Citizens Radar even outside of Calvus), and mollified a bit by the Tully ’n’ Ishta subset of 2.

You see Somnex had a new threat appear in his dream world, not a strong threat, but something that had to be dealt with. So he struck off on many adventures of daring-do, hard fought negotiations, politics more complex then those of Iam's time and a romance to define the ages.

With this effort Somnex helped in the dealings with the local Shadow creatures and their dream invasions.

Somnex a Mary Sue, if only in his dreams.

There is no point in relating any of this to Nemus Animae personages as they wouldn't understand or be able to operate in this fashion what so ever.

If the Shadows are the chatty type, I think Laetitia could've been involved, since she's good with the diplomacy. But my impression is that she dislikes the creeply crawly end of things, and would've gladly left whatever she could up to Somnex. She's the buoyant, optimistic kind of Mary Sue, not the dark, troubled kind of Mary Sue.