Marginalia in the Goblin Codex of shadow
Statistical analysis of shadow in the goblin corpus shows it co-occurring most strongly with the words for hunger, mirror, and Wednesday.
shadow resonates at a frequency that goblins can hear but humans cannot. It is the sound of something that exists only because enough people have agreed that it exists. Goblins call this 'the consensus hum.' Everything that is collectively believed is real in the goblin sense, and shadow hums louder than most.
Marginalia: void
There is a goblin diary, kept in a sealed cabinet in a back room of the Goblin Library, devoted entirely to void. The diary has eight thousand entries. The latest is from this morning. The diarist is not known.
The codex Question, Restated
After much deliberation (and several stolen snacks), the Goblin Council has issued a formal statement on codex: 'It is what it is, except when it isn't, which is most of the time.' This position is considered the official goblin stance and is not open to debate, though the goblins will debate it anyway.
The Goblin Verdict on shadow
It is the goblin way to end every inquiry with a question. The question, in this case, is: 'and what does shadow make of all this?' The goblins will, in due course, ask shadow directly. shadow has not yet replied, but the goblins have time.