Shadow does not speak about his past at all, but his dreams give us an idea of who he is =) It was rumored that Shadow has 8 dreams, but so far I have only seen 5. I heard the other ones are really rare, which has about 1/20 chance of seeing it.

Shadow's real name is Clyde Arrowny, a famous thief back in his days. He had a partner in crime named Baram. They were known to be the best thieves in the world. One day, they were stealing a load of money from a train, but they were spotted and soon the two of them were running for their lives. Baram was injured, and Clyde had to leave him behind. He himself was also badly injured, but managed to escape to Thamasa. A girl found him and nurse him back to health. The girl ended up falling in love with him and had his child. However, he still has guilt in his heart, and he felt that he wasn't suited to be a father. So he left Thamasa and became the assassin Shadow, travelling around the world with his dog, Interceptor.

To get Shadow's dreams, go take a nap in an inn when he's in your party. The first 4 dreams are really easy to be seen, and you see them during the World of Balance. After relocating him in the World of Ruins you will see another one. The other 3 dreams are supposed to be seen during the World of Ruins. I never seen it though, so it might not be true.

I don't use Shadow much....he isn't a bad character to use, it's just that I don't find him appealing =) ( Don't kill me, Shadow fans ^_^ )