Shar
Shar (pronounced: /ʃɑːr/ shahr pronounced: /ˈʃɑːr/ SHAHR), also known as Mistress of the Night and the Lady of Loss, is the goddess of darkness and the night in the Faerûnian pantheon and the malevolent twin sister and counterpart to the goddess of the moon, Selûne . In the 14th and 15th centuries DR, she held the portfolios of darkness, forgetfulness, loss, and night and after she slew the underground god Ibrandul she claimed the portfolios of caverns, dungeons, and the Underdark. In the time of ancient Netheril, Shar also held the portfolios of hatred, sleep, nightmares, illusions, lies, trickery, hiding places, betrayal, treachery, seduction, thieves, thievery, murder, winter, before she lost these to other deities. She was the goddess of darkness, not only as the absence of light but also as the metaphorical darkness that dwelled in one's heart, mind, and soul. The domain of the Mistress of the Night is not only that of dark places, but of deeds done under darkness, of secrets, loss, hidden pain, and wanting to forget. She is also the creator of the Shadow Weave, a dark counterpart and attack upon the Weave of Mystryl and her successors, before both of the Weaves fell into ruin during the Spellplague.
"Blessed Nightsinger, witness our adoration. See how we serve you, only you. We have emptied our hearts of falsehoods. We have vanquished your foes. In darkness, we see your truth. Embrace us, your loyal warriors. Cloak us in your shadow. Guide us to your victory. Shar's will shall be done. As sure as night will fall."
Titles | Adjectives | Aspects & Aliases | Portfolio | Domains |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mistress of the Night The Lady of Loss Nightsinger The Nightbringer - Singer of Eternal Night Dark Lady Dark Goddess Dark Deity, Goddess of Loss Mistress of Pain God of Thieves (in Netheril) The Unseen Lady (in Netheril) The Dark Traitor The Shadowy Seductress Our Lady of Loss | Sharran | Ibrandul Eshowdow | Darkness Forgetfulness Loss Night Secrets | Death Trickery |
Gender | Alignment | Symbol | Worshipers | Channel Divinity |
---|---|---|---|---|
Feminine | Neutral Evil | Black disk with a purple border | Blind (past or recently) Miners The mentally ill or insane Those seeking to forget | Touch of death Invoke duplicity Cloak of shadows |
Description
Shar is depicted as a darkly beautiful human woman with long raven-black hair and clad all in black, swirling attire. In Netheril, she has black- or purple-hued with a cowled cloak that flows into shadows. She has two favored avatars .
- Nightsinger, a figure standing 10-12 feet tall 4 shrouded entirely in a vast cowled cloak that flowed into all shadows and areas of darkness around her. She wore a mask of feathers of every kind to concealed her face disappearing into the dark depths of her cowl. Never speaking she sings every word with sounds of sorrow and loss compelled listeners to obey her or to stand helpless with despair.
- Dark Dancer, a human woman 7 feet in height with a lithe, dancer's build and divine beauty. She wears little showing off her jet black skin sparkling with starlight. Her dance, a sensual performance, is beguiling, even erotic.
Existence and Personality
A force of destruction and darkness, her very existence is paradoxical; the Nightbringer is the living embodiment of the void, the perfect nothing that existed before she was born. The depths of her evil are too extreme for words. She is deeply twisted and perverse, a being of ceaseless, petty hate and jealousy. She reigns over the darkness between the stars and where shadows are so deep even Mask fears to tread there. She's the patron of the Shadow Weave, a force of magic she created out of nothingness and disturbing secrets corrupting those that use it.
Worshipers
She corrupts those that worship her using use their feelings against them as they're consumed by bitterness, loss, and vengefulness. Her clergy are secretive as her churches are banned in most cities. Besides her clerics she maintains an elite order of sorcerer monks, the Order of the Dark Moon, who can tap her Shadow Weave.
Enemies
Her eternal enemy is Selûne and her creation of the Shadow Weave made an enemy out of Mystra .
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