Shadowlands
- For the animated cartoon series created by Ilsoap, see Shadowlands (Animated Series).
The Shadowlands is a large area of wilderness on the planet Gnosticus IV, located far west from the location of the Oracle.
Events in Keen 4 happen in the Shadowlands; Keen has to save the members of the High Council who were kidnapped by the Shikadi and imprisoned all over the lands.
Creatures and features
According to the story, the Shikadi left "a bunch of horrible creatures" to guard the High Council. It isn't known what species lived there before, but it seems the new ones have adapted well. Creatures in the Shadowlands range from small and harmless animals to huge monsters with an appetite for heroes. Life can be seen in the air, on the ground and underwater.
The Shadowlands' nature is versatile. There are areas consisting of dense woods, tropical forests, mountains and rocks, vast deserts, and a big lake (the Three-Tooth Lake). The levels have many themes: some of them are small villages, some are caves, some are nature with not much built in them, some are made of ice, one is underwater, and some of them are even ancient pyramids! For more details, see Keen 4 Levels.
It is not known who has built the pyramids or other buildings. Most of them are made of stone and seem quite old. Miragia probably required very advanced engineering and technology, or possibly even magic. It is possible that ancient or current Gnosticenes are the ones that built them.
The only human(oid) character living in the Shadowlands seems to be the mysterious Princess Lindsey.
The song played while Keen is on the map is "Shadows".
Shikadi Interference and Keen GBC
As mentioned above, the Shikadi left a number of creatures in the Shadowlands to guard the Council Members. However, it was not mentioned when these creatures were transferred, or where from. In Keen GBC, Keen explores the Shikadi World. Here he encounters many creatures he saw in the Shadowlands, and creatures related to them. One of three things is possible; either that the creatures are from the Shadowlands and were brought to the Shikadi World; that they are from the Shikadi World and brought to the Shadowlands; or that they are from another planet entirely and were brought to both the Shikadi World and the Shadowlands.
It is evident that some of the creatures brought to the Shadowlands have been there for some time: the Slugs have built villages (and maybe even elected a king), and Mad Mushrooms are everywhere. The following creatures appear both on Shikadi World and the Shadowlands: