Description
A bracelet which appears to be a black circular band of metal. However touching it reveals its texture to be akin to silk or fabric, and it is maleable as such. It smells like ash and tastes like the color black. These characteristics are held by all shadow bands though records often show that they develop patterns on them based on their users personality and emotions.

History
The shadow bands were initially created by the "gods" of the old world. They were gifted to followers to allow their faith in their deity to flow back into the band and in turn make the believer physically stronger. However in time it was found that faith was not nearly strong enough. In order to function the bands needed constant faith and prayer, but this was found to be insufficient even among the most devoted. So instead of channelling faith, the creators of the bands instead channeled all emotions of the followers. Some of these emotions however, made the bearers weaker when the band fed back into them. After a decade of testing and countless driven to the brink of insanity, the creators created a method so that only the strongest of certain emotions could fuel the band. Before the bands could be widely implemented however, the research notes for them were stolen and its designers killed. The bands could only be used by those who felt constant negative emotions, and the more one used the band the greater those emotions came into play. The research notes were thought destroyed until the roughest outline for them was discovered inside of a treasure vault of the praeteum almost two thousand years later. Using this outline, two mages were able to recreate the bands on a limited scale. Combining there own magics in addition to the scant notes they formed imperfect bands which could function intermitantley for the darkest of souls. The rest of course, we all know what occurred.

Abilities
The shadow bands are complex items created to level the playing field against strong opponents. The bands power operates in several steps. First, a person with a dark soul dons a band. At first these bands will have no effect. But as the person experiences more and more negative emotions, the bands absorb this psychic negativity and convert it. Using the magic of the sealers, this emotional energy can be converted into magical energy. However instead of being fed into a persons spells, it is fed into their brain. This excess flow of magical energy to the control functions of the body causes it to perform tasks it would normally be incapable of. Muscles can lift more, and people can work more strenuously. The magical energy also feeds into the sensory and motor cortex's of the brain, allowing for greater twitch reaction and muscle speed. Senses and precision are increased making a person faster and more accurate. Despite all these powers, the modern band is imperfect and can only work intermitantly. Furthermore its powers can only be used by those with truly dark souls. Lastly the greatest danger of the shadow ands is that as the emotions feed back into the body as magic, ones emotions and feelings (which were turned into magic) are magnified exponentially. Thus a reverse catharsis effect is created, the more it is used, the more strongly emotions are felt, almost leading to insanity, mania or depression