Shadhavar are equines, not native to Equus, slightly taller than little ponies and rather lankier, possessed of a single hornlike structure perforated with holes. The Shadhavar can exhale through this anatomical structure and produce flute-like music with it. Unlike little ponies, Shadhavar are obligate carnivores. They have magic based on their natural musical ability. Shadhavar are exceedingly uncommon in the Dusts.
Shadhavar are generally free-spirited and anti-authoritarian, and their social structure is loose and fluid. The culture is honor-based, and they frequently fight duels to resolve disputes, which sometimes, although not usually, end with the death of one of the participants.
The coats of Shadhavar are all grey to black, but their manes and eyes possess a similar range of variation to ponies. They have an analog of a cutie mark, which encodes, in their musical notation, their personal leitmotif, which acts as a sonic analog of a magic sigil, and determines what kinds of magic are available to them. As making this information available is tactically disadvantageous, Shadhavar usually wear clothing which conceals the mark in public. Another aspect of Shadhavar material culture is the Hornstar, an opalescent gem collected from the horns of deceased Shadhavar. This is a acoustic-magical transducer, which creates magical effects when excited by complex mechanical vibrations, typically Shadhavar spellmusic. Properly maintained, it is capable of functioning outside of the living Shadhavar, although the necessary acoustic environment for its useful function would be difficult to create by any other means. Hornstars are the only part of a deceased Shadhavar which are kept; the rest of the body is disposed of by any convenient means. An important part of any permanent settlement of Shadhavar is a repository for hornstars, called a Chamber of Silence. (It is taboo, and possibly rather hazardous, to make noise in the chamber.)
Shadhavar are generally free-spirited and anti-authoritarian, and their social structure within the Helix is loose and fluid. The culture is honor-based, and they frequently fight duels to resolve disputes, which sometimes, although not usually, end with the death of one of the participants. These duels are legal and participation is considered fully normative. Shadhavar have an eccentric, and often apparently irreverent, but nontheless extensive, religious life. Many members of the Dread Pantheon are worshipped by shadhavar religions.
The Shadhavar of the Arcane Helix in 1833 did not have a single ruler, but rather a council of three, all of them powerful musician-sorcerers: Heart Beat, Melody Line, and Death Note. The council did not exercise complete effective control over the Shadhavar, though.
Mature Shadhavar resist magical attack to a degree, and their coats tend to darken with age. They live about 100-120 years.
