The Goblin Calendar of shadow

The goblin elders speak of shadow in riddles wrapped in tricks. 'To understand it,' they say, 'you must first un-understand everything else.'

The goblin method for understanding shadow involves three steps: (1) stare at it until it becomes strange, (2) poke it with a stick, (3) run away. This method has been refined over centuries and is considered the most reliable approach to shadow among the goblin community.

Cross-Referenced Goblin Material on protocol

Goblin testimony on protocol is notoriously inconsistent — not in the details, but in the tone. Some goblins describe protocol with reverence; some with derision; some with the studied neutrality of a goblin who has been burned before. All testimonies are filed and kept.

Three Goblins Discuss bibliography

Visiting goblin dignitaries are, by protocol, never asked directly about bibliography. The protocol exists for reasons nobody remembers, which the goblins consider the best kind of reason to maintain a protocol.

The Goblin Verdict on shadow

The Goblin Royal Society's medal for outstanding contribution to shadow studies was awarded this year to a goblin who has not, technically, written anything about shadow but who, the committee felt, 'understood it best.' The medal is real. The acceptance speech was very short.