NOTE: Attached to the files for Amnesia is a PDF of 5 short stories titled "Remember" relating to characters in the game, I'll briefly reference these stories as relevant.

Daniel's story in Amnesia begins with an expedition into the interior of the Saharan Desert. Daniel mentions a certain Professor Herbert as being the main lead for the journey and they are presumably good friends. Though everything about Daniel's life prior to this series of journals is left fairly ambiguous, from the short story "Old Friends" we learn that he is Professor Herbert's assistant and has been funded by the British Museum to go to Algeria. Herbert's friend, Faraj, gives him a map which leads to the tomb which Daniel would describe in his first journal entries. He would also receive a "cursed stone" from a french soldier in Algiers as a way to "encourage" the journey.

- Daniel states the architecture of the ancient tomb felt familiar, something which seems completely incomprehensible, but there may be an answer here:


After getting trapped in the room with the Orb, he would pass out and wake up with the vision of the Orb infront of him. Proclaiming that holding the orb bestowed him "ancient memories" of a seeming other world. This would explain the familiarity he felt towards the ante chamber of the structure, as its likely the orb has the power to retroactively give knowledge.


Daniel picking up the orb would cause it to become broken, something which is of extreme importance, as detailed later and in the various other Amnesia games, this ONLY ends up happening to him. As guided by Professor Herbert, he would be taken away from the expedition to return back to Britain.


This man is quite a peculiar figure throughout Amnesia. There are various times indicated in Daniel's journal and within flashbacks where it's alluded to that Herbert has a hidden agenda for the expedition. As shown in the short story "Old Friends" Herbert clearly knew the place of interest had supernatural connections and even likely knew the power of the Orbs ahead of time. However he would never relay any of this to Daniel, either to protect him or more likely in a selfish desire to attain the power of the orb himself. As corroborated from this game, Rebirth, Justine and the short stories. We can piece together that Herbert had contacted various other people (notably the family of Justine and Alexander) to help the expedition in Algeria. After Daniel would be recovered in the tomb with a broken orb, Herbert may have been discouraged to keep him along which is why he would send him back to Britain. Yet afterwards, Herbert and the remaining expedition team would be doomed by their persistence.



After Daniel's return, he would learn the news that the team which pressed on in the Algerian tomb of Tin Hinan, would entirely be wiped out with the exception of one man, Abdullah, who was sent out to warn French soldiers about issues going on with the continued excavation.

As recounted by Herbert's recovered journal. Daniel had certainly been saved by the orb while trapped, whether it cast him to the other world, or simply distorted time is a mystery but as we learn much later, this was likely no mistake. Herbert and the arab crew of workers would stay put excavating until ANOTHER orb was found. Amnesia: Rebirth goes in thorough detail about this portion of the story, but for brevity, the real tomb of Tin Hinan was located deeper than the chamber which Daniel had retrieved an orb from. This deeper structure may of been what Herbert had in mind this entire time. Yet, while down there, possibly at the tip off of Herbert retrieving an orb for himself, the shadow would make its first appearance in Daniel's story, in which it would kill off the expedition crew. Amnesia: Rebirth would show that Herbert had managed to make it to the "other world" while being pursued by the shadow but would perish while there.

- In "SuperSecret.rar" in the games files, you can find the audio files for Herbert's journals which were scrapped from the final release. The notes are accurate to what Daniel describes in his "Revelations" diaries, with the exception of the final note:

- Herbert describes that he can see through the eyes of Abdullah, as seen in Amnesia with how Daniel can recount experiences which he likely had never seen with his own eyes in flashbacks, it's possible that becoming in contact with the orb allows a being to have omniscient knowledge of a given place or environment.

Here's a very old youtube video which has the audio of the 3 journals from Herbert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-bkmO6nxTw

What's so intriguing about Herbert's extended excavation is that according to his journals, it would seem he and his team would only be attacked by The Shadow AFTER Herbert had taken an orb himself, with Daniel's retrieval of an orb seemingly having not called upon the shadow.

After Daniel would make his early return from Algeria, he would certainly be followed by The Shadow on his path to learn more about the cracked orb within his possession. At this point, Daniel would have no knowledge of its existence.

In the process of learning about the shattered artifact, he wakes up from a nightmare to an epiphany where piecing it back together becomes effortless. Just like the familiarity towards the burial chamber, and Herbert's vision through another human; there seems to be an amorphous power given to those who come in contact with an orb.


Across the "Haunted" series of journals from Daniel's diary, he experiences the presence of The Shadow for the first time. This sequence of notes is quite revealing:

- This note confirms that Daniel works at a university, where the now deceased Herbert has an office at.

- After previously inquiring to a geologist about the broken orb, he finds out that they had been killed soon after.

- Daniel would contact another Professor at the university to discuss the legend of the orbs

- Daniel would also confer with his doctor about having prolonged nightmares where he would hear a "call from the void".
- Finally, Daniel would go into Herbert's office to find out and contact addresses which he had. In one case, Alexander of Brennenburg would respond. This is rather important because it's confirmation that Herbert and Alexander had a connection and could have been a reason for Herbert's expedition in the first place.

In the end, all 3 of the people Daniel would discuss in some way about the orb and the shadow would perish in clearly deliberate attacks. Daniel takes the initiative in this case to make his way across Europe to Brennenburg because he believes there is something following him. It's rather peculiar that the shadow would be so lethargic with retrieving this particular orb from Daniel, especially compared with the story of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa.

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa was a real person that lived from 1486 - 1535. However Amnesia puts a twist on the story of this man's life. In his actual life, he was a man of various professions, and was an occult who studied various philosophies and belief systems which were condemned by the churches at the time. Amnesia takes the liberty of planting the idea that he secretly studied the likes of Mithraism, an ancient Roman religion which (once again is real) has been mostly lost to time. Mithraism is fairly important to huge swathes of Amnesia's world, though this guide could go on forever if I threw this in so I'll only do so when relevant.

The first mention of him in the game is in the Old Archives where there is a tale about his visit to Altstadt (the village the game takes place in). Here he is well documented to have stayed in the village, only to have mysteriously disappeared. He would reportedly die in 1535 without ever disclosing or relaying anything about what happened in Altstadt. Based on his death, we know he was in the village in 1525.


His next appearance is in the lengthy note meant for a student of his, Johann Weyer (once again another real person). In said note, he articulates in vivid detail what happened to him in Altstadt: For the past 20 years (since 1505) he has been looking for an orb. He concurs description from the Heliodromus (which is the second most "enlightened" group of people in Mithraism) once again showing his study of the religion beforehand.

He would obtain an orb from a cavern by the village, yet he too would be followed by what he would describe as a "guardian of the orb". This time its very immediate in its approach, and he runs by a group of fishermen only for them to be swallowed by the guardian. Agrippa believed to have been in the clear, only until the world around him changed in shape and appearance and he'd hear beckoning screams all around. The Guardian had caught up to him quickly and took the orb back, but would spare his life and take him far away from Altstadt. Out of fear, (or possibly, from the guise of The Guardian) Agrippa would never confirm this story for a full decade, seemingly the same time that he was reportedly dead. It's possible that Agrippa had faked his death in some way as a form of escaping his life so no one would trace him to his fascination with the otherworldly orbs.


There are many other facets about Agrippa's intentions and purpose throughout this game, but I'll put the key focus on their relation the mysterious entity which has repeatedly attempted to stop people from harnessing the orbs:

As per this note in the Chancel, we know that Agrippa and Alexander collaborated with what is almost certainly the same orb he had described to have found in Altstadt in the previous letter to his student, Johann Weyer. However he had obtained it, does not seem to have caused the guardian to cause chase to reclaim it like had happened before. Since he has studied these things for quite some time it's understandable he would've learned or found a way to obtain practically as many as he'd like, something Johann Weyer demonstrates well:

In the short story "With The Blessing of a King" we learn that after Agrippa's telling of the existence of these orbs to Johann Weyer, he is shown to have successfully obtained one (and possibly many more) of his own. The story shows Weyer using the wrath of The Guardian to dispose of two soldiers he did not trust while it was being taken. Yet from what we know about Weyer in the later parts of Amnesia and from this short story, he seemingly never had a truly horrific experience with it the way Agrippa described and through the events we see through Daniel...

From the moment Amnesia starts, as Daniel is stumbling his way through the castle, he manages to remember "The Shadow" before he collapses from his mixture to forget. Clearly, something so omnipresent that even the dwindling man could remember it.


Early on there are 2 huge gates you can interact with, and in both occassions The Shadow responds with a baying scream or by covering up the door with its pulsating tissue. These would be ways out of Brennenburg, but The Shadow does not want Daniel to leave yet.

In Daniel's Note to Self he describes The Shadow as "breaking down reality" which is definitely something to keep in mind. It's not just something which aims to reclaim orbs from those who provoke it, but also a force that can bend reality to get what it wants.

In a flashback in the Old Archives, Alexander discusses reinforcing the castle due to The Shadow being able to bring the aged structure down whence it arrives. It's unclear how Alexander knows it would do this, or how strangely slow it's behaving. Though we can presume since he is a being from another world that he has dealt with orbs and its protector in his own dimension, or potentially from destroying Agrippa's orb alongside his friendship with the aforementioned man and Weyer.




As noted in Daniel's "Revelations" journals, he recognizes the red tissue seems to be a mark The Shadow leaves. In the gameplay of Amnesia, it seems to be used as a sort of guidance for Daniel's journey. There is tissue that blocks off the Refinery which causes Daniel to need to burn it, at the same time this diverts him to finding his journals from Algeria and learning about the origin of the Servant Grunts in the Wine Cellar. Though it may not be obvious just yet, as the game progresses The Shadow's clear obstruction may be to take Daniel to realize parts of his past.

As well, when completing objectives in certain sections of the Grand and Back Halls, the Shadow slowly makes a stronger presence in them respectively. The tissue, while damaging to Daniel, doesn't pose a serious threat unless he were to linger in it. The Shadow seemingly uses the flesh it can create to deter people or things from going where it doesn't want them to.


There are some particular instances as Daniel recovers from Amnesia in Brennenburg where The Shadow has a sort of favoritism towards other beings:


The Water Monster / Kaernk
When descending through the Refinery, Daniel makes it to the Cellar Archives which look completely normal when first entering, but after a very quick loss of vision, The Shadow cries out and the entire place becomes flooded and covered in red tissue. Though this isn't the first sighting of the mysterious "Water Monster" it's the first time it attacks Daniel, this seems to be the work of The Shadow. The only time they are ever brought up in game is in a pretty offhanded remark by Alexander in this note, claiming that Weyer could give Brennenburg Kaernks to produce Tampter to save Agrippa from his decaying body. We also know that they are from another world, likely the one Alexander is from, but besides that they are still a huge mystery.
The Shadow works in tandem with the Water Monster, as their presence is very synonymous. When turning the valves in the Cistern, if you were to have first fixed the entry to the Morgue and received the vaccine there, the Water Monster appears at the very end of the Cistern and so does The Shadow's presence.

- The motive for the shadow to do this is fairly vague, but if we are to believe The Shadow is manipulating what Daniel sees/where he goes, then there would be something about this monster which it seems to favor.

The Grunt
In the sewers, there is an ominous moment where Daniel opens a door to find a dismembered corpse of a servant grunt. Though the Brute figures prominently in the sewers and moments after is shown to be able to dismantle a whole barrier, the huge amounts of the shadow's red flesh points me to the conclusion that this was done by it. Couple this with a quote which Alexander telepathically tells Daniel about him carrying The Shadow makes me believe this is so, as the brutes and grunts were not created by the orb but rather by Alexander and some supernatural workings of his own. The Shadow killing this one grunt could have been an attempt to prevent Daniel from dying, or as a display of power. (The only time we see grunts past this point in the game is in the Chancel and where he is captured)

From what is displayed through various accounts by other character, the guardian of the orbs is a force that permeates around any given person which enrages it. From Agrippa and Weyer's stories, it appears possible to take orbs while not disturbing the entity. But no one's experiences with this guardian are more unusual and defying explanation than Daniel's...



It was already shown in the burial chamber in Algeria that it may have saved Daniel from dying while trapped. It also was so generous as to be slow in its approach to reaching the orb from him as well. But there are many times in game where we can physically see this being toy with Daniel's life in miraculous ways.


When you die (or when captured in the Chancel) there's always a message before you come back to life. Usually relating to how you died or sometimes to what is happening to Daniel. It's critical to realize that when you die in this game, you don't simply load to your last save/autosave but you specifically come back in a particular location. It's no coincidence that Daniel is the only protagonist across all the Amnesia games this happens to either. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that The Shadow itself is the one that is communicating these messages to Daniel after he dies, only to bring him back to life. And I certainly have proof to back it up:

- As mentioned earlier, Daniel recalls having nightmares where he would hear The Shadow call out to him, one time even waking up from a nightmare to regain the ability to piece together his broken orb. Giving strong credence to the idea that it can telepathically communicate to him.

- Some death messages are helpful, others vague, but arguably the most important is the default message that appears "You Have To Carry On", as this quite literally would be The Shadow telling Daniel directly that he cannot die just yet, and is destined to continue his revenge story against Alexander.
- There is a fairly obscure death sequence if you were to fall back down the ladder in the Nave whence you climb up from the Sewers. When coming back to life, Daniel becomes trapped within a room as red tissue forms in front of the exit, only for it to be dissipated not long after. If there's any solidified evidence The Shadow is the one who holds the cards, and is practically guiding Daniel to do as the being wants of him, it would be this moment right here. There were so many easy moments the thing could have swept Daniel away and it would've been the end of his story, but it specifically chooses to keep him around.

Extra Examples:

- In the Cells, if Daniel weren't to escape within a fairly generous window of time, it would consume Daniel once and for all, causing an ending. Notice if this happens (or if you were to willingly let Alexander pass through the portal at the end of the game) Daniel will hear screams and cries similar to those described by Agrippa, implying a sort of guilt associated with the holder's actions.
- Also in the cells, when successfully escaping The Shadow assumes an almost physical form as it pounds the castle and chases Daniel at a moderate pace. If Daniel were to die here it wouldn't cause an ending, which would lead me to believe this sequence would've been The Shadow merely giving Daniel urgency to reach Alexander as it wouldn't be long until his gateway would be finished.


When riding the elevator in the Back Hall, The Shadow takes hold of it and causes it to plummet straight down to the prison. Though its possible Daniel would've departed at the prison anyways, the destruction of the shaft would've left him no choice but to press on to relearn his involvement with Alexander. It's also a moment where it feels Daniel shouldn't have survived, but as per many other instances, The Shadow wouldn't let him die this way.




As Amnesia comes to a close and The Shadow and Alexander become increasingly impatient, Daniel finally has the opportunity to absolve himself of both of them. As the Nave and Chancel become overrun by The Shadow, Daniel can still free Agrippa by throwing his head into Alexander's portal. When reaching the Inner Sanctum, Daniel would've recollected just about every piece of information as to why he took an amnesia mixture and has came back for revenge, if The Shadow truly did want Daniel to have remembered his past by its intentional directing, it certainly was successful.

- We know that if Daniel remained complacent in Alexander's ascension back to his realm, The Shadow would be overwhelmingly displeased and kill him.

- If Agrippa's head were to be cast into the portal, both Alexander and Daniel would seemingly die quickly to The Shadow as opposed to the slower death if Daniel let Alexander go. This leads me to believe that the guardian was beyond disturbed and was furious, possibly not even knowing this could be an outcome. Yet after dying we hear Agrippa say that there will be more to come, implying Daniel may live on or transcend realms like he had done for Agrippa and Agrippa had done for Weyer. This also draws the conclusion that however Agrippa and Weyer learned to evade the protector of the orbs was not entirely at the being's discretion.
- Finally, in what I think is the greatest ending, Daniel disobeys both Agrippa and Alexander, taking life into his own hands and dismantling Alexander's chamber. Though he screams at Daniel "You killed us both!" Only he is consumed by The Shadow this time...

When looking back on every story involving the guardian, there's been a striking connection, Alexander, Herbert, Weyer, Agrippa... all these people knew of the power of the orbs and had studied them long before coming in contact with one. Though, Agrippa and Weyer never expressly wanted orbs for their own gain, the same can't be said about Herbert or Alexander who disregarded many morals in their pursuit of the artifact. Yet, Daniel stands as the only one who knew nothing before possessing one, it's likely this being knew the heart of its beholder, Daniel was merely a victim of circumstance. It made him aware of the power of the artifact, but never once did he want to abuse the powers bestowed upon it, even criticizing Alexander for his obsession with it. Daniel may have been corrupted by Alexander's manipulation, but he knew there was still good left in himself, seemingly so did The Shadow.... why this name in particular? Daniel calls it such, but Alexander only does when in his presence, while other characters and Alexander in private calls it "the guardian". Daniel is shown to have a present nyctophobia (fear of the dark) and for him to call the force which pervades his mind The Shadow would reflect such fears. By him facing Alexander with a rejuvenated spirit is he only able to confront his demons and be absolved of his pain, banishing The Shadow once and for all.
The guardian helped one man find a new horizon on life while simultaneously finding the opportunity to catch a morally corrupt adversary in one cathartic end to it all