[@Reactionary]

The Dark Shadow was labeled as terrorists by The Guild, mostly after they attacked Guild HQ. Until then they were pericived as a bunch of angry Magi that had a grudge against the Guild. 

Without writing a whole lore document, the Dark Shadow was formed by Aloysius after his mother manipulated him into believing that Magi were superior to the Non-Magi, and that The Guild leadership were planning to have him killed. (Which wasn't the case.)

Since the Guild was the only authority of Magi on the planet, it has always been the view of it's The Guilds way, or prison. Maybe even death. Not everyone agrees, but for the common good everyone obeys. So when Dark Shadow formed it caused ripples through Magi world. Suddenly there was an alterative. If people had a grudge against the Guild there was now somewhere they could go without fearing Guild reprisement.

For a while things stayed quiet, with a odd cold War style peace existing between the two. That changed when Aloysius (Under his mother's influence) attacked the Guild and pulled of what many thought were impossible, and killed the Guild leader. Many thought that it could have been the end of The Guild, but instead once Salem rose to power she doubled down, and waged a rapid campaign that saw the Dark Shadow almost elimated. Many members were imprisoned or killed and Aloysius and his most senior aides who had survived (Currently only Ty and Emily) went underground.

That was approximately 4years ago, and now Aloysius has clmabered out of the woodwork and is making moves again. If you believe The Guild propoganda then the DARK Shadow is nothing more than a group of edge Lords who are trying to plunge the world into evil and chaos. However some Magi argue that Aloysius is actually showing an alterative to Guild leadership. Afterall, the existence of magic hasn't been revealed to the Non-magi since Aloysius has been around. And he seems rather charismatic. (They haven't actually met him at this point. Dark Shadow might not be perfect,  but neither is the Guild, especially since Salem took charge. 

I hope that helps clarify things a bit more.