The Shadow Runners are an all-male tribe of Trykers based in northeast Maiden Grove. They focus on trade and welcome most homins into their camp. They may react hostile only to Matis, due to their past as slaves to that race. To be precise, they used to be slaves of the Hamazans of the Dead Seed, a tribe of Matis whom they now peacefully share the region with.
In 2505, only a year after the Matis Amazons were settled, Tryker slaves escaped and founded the "Shadow Runners" tribe. They allied up with the New Trykoth Federation but continued to follow the cult of Ma-Duk. The situation was eventually formalized when in 2518 the Theocracy abolished slavery.
In 2602, the Shadow Runners made an agreement with the Brotherhood of the Fortunate Gubani due to their reputation as mount tamers, to provide them with Gubani mounts and zigs.

The Shadow Runners encampment is located northeast of Maiden Grove, near Void. Intended for habitation and trade, it has no military infrastructure but contains a warehouse, an enclosure and many Tryker tents.
    A second settlement, intended for the breeding and taming of Gubanis for the Brotherhood of the Fortunate Gubani is set up south of the Void.

The Trykers of this region were once the slaves of the Hamazans of the Dead Seed tribe, settled in the Maiden Grove under the authority of the great mask Fung-Tun. Their duties included sharpening their mistresses' weapons and training their mounts.
    It was during an incursion by the Masters of the Goo that the slaves, taking advantage of the jungle scrub, managed to escape with weapons and mounts.
    They then set about founding a trading tribe whose reputation continued to grow among the various factions of the Witherings The constant conflicts between the various factions became the tribe's business, and they continued to stir them up and profit from them.
    Developing a particular talent for evasion, these traffickers escaped their former mistresses by learning to blend into their environment and move in the shadows without being detected.
    In the midst of their war with the Masters of the Goo, the Amazons were unable to devote more time to capturing their former slaves and had to accept the high prices they demanded for weapons. Grateful to the Masters of the Goo for providing them with the opportunity to escape, the Shadow Traffickers agreed to give them much better rates.
    Over the years, the Shadow Runners supplied the surrounding tribes with weapons and other items, regardless of their allegiance, as “dappers have no smell”.
As they became a major player in the parallel market of the Sick Country, they had less to fear from their former mistresses, who now needed them too much and had no time to try and capture them between mercenary contracts.
    When the Theocracy ratified the Homin Rights Act, the Shadow Runners were legally protected from the threat of slavery on Zoraï soil. However, they remained wary, fleeing at the first sign of danger to hide in the jungle undergrowth.
    In 2602 the Brotherhood of the Fortunate Gubani made sweeping reforms to the lottery. Due to their reputation as mount trainers, they made an agreement with Shadow Runners to set up a breeding camp for Gubanis on the southern border of the void. The camp was inaugurated on Quinteth, Folially 29, 2nd AC 2602 ^[1], on the occasion of the New Year^[2]. During this event, the company introduced a significant number of new features to the lottery in order to make it more attractive.