The Lore pf Shadows of Vahlvadell:

One of Vahlvadell's "Shadows" overlooking a village

The path to the afterlife has been barred. Those who die are now sent to a fabricated world, where they are stripped of their memories, and their faces. All previous experiences gone, and no ties to their past.

You play as a Shadow, one of the many hundreds of lost souls entrapped here by a being known only as the Architect. When you first awaken in this world, you are without form—a wisp, a shadow of your former self. In order to interact with the world around you, you—and other Shadows—rely on masks.

These masks, formed from stolen emotions and memories, bind you to a temporary yet physical body. The type of mask you wear determines your abilities, your powers, and how you interact with the world and those around you.

The Shadow puts a mask on and regains a physical form

The masks are mysterious, and no “human” truly knows how they are made. However, it has been observed that "Fetchers", a dark, bird-like race of creatures cast enchanted fishing lines through portals, stealing fragments of memories and emotions from those still living—from the world you once came from—and imbuing them into masks.

By wearing these masks, you become more human. Yet, although you have no memory or identity of your own, if the mask you wear does not align with who you once were, you may become something more than a Shadow—but far less than a human...

A Fetcher in the process of stealing memories for mask making

You must journey alone - or with other Shadows - through Vahlvadell to discover who you were, who you will become, and if you can ever leave.