Shar, Mistress of the Night

After Lord Ao created the universe, the swirling chaos coalesced to form twin deities: Selune, a being of light and creation, and Shar (shahr), a power of darkness and destruction. Shar’s existence, paradoxically, is tied to the shrouded nothingness that existed prior to Ao’s act of creation. Shar reflects the primal dark, the flawless void erased at the beginning of time by a distant, unconcerned over deity. Her heart longs for a return to the calm of nonexistence, and she schemes from the shadows to tear down establishments, destroy order, and undermine all creation. Religious art depicts Shar as a black sphere outlined in a magical purple flames or a beautiful human woman with long, raven-black hair dressed in swirling dark garb. In this guise, her haunting purple eyes have coal black pupils that reflect the primeval void.
Since her earliest battles with Selune (which continue to this day), Shar has gained dominion over pain hidden but not forgotten, carefully nurtured bitterness, and quiet revenge for old slights. Deeply twisted, the Lady of Loss favors secrets, underhanded dealings, and subterfuge. She uses her mortal worshipers as pawns in a perverse game against everything that has been, is, and will be. Patron of the Shadow Weave, a corrupting magical force based upon nothingness and mad secrets, the Mistress of the Night bolsters her impressive power with temptation and guile.

God of...

Caverns, dark, dungeons, forgetfulness, loss, night, secrets, the Underdark.

Divine Domains

Cavern, Darkness, Evil, Knowledge.

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Black disk with deep purple border.

Tenets of Faith

Reveal secrets only to fellow members of the faithful. Never follow hope or turn to promises of success. Quench the light of the moon (agents and items of Selune) whenever you find it, and hide from it when you cannot prevail. The dark is a time to act, not wait. It is forbidden to strive to better your lot in life or to plan ahead except when directly overseen by the faithful of the Dark Deity. Consorting with the faithful of good deities is a sin except in business dealings or to corrupt them from their beliefs. Obey ranking clergy unless it would result in your own death.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Shar’s ceaseless battles against her bright sister have caused the creation and destruction of several deities throughout history. Though Selune strikes openly and forcefully against her twin at every opportunity, Shar prefers subversion, using her mortal worshipers to attack Selune’s clergy and those things Selune holds dear, rather than at the deity herself. Still, she occasionally moves directly against minor enemies. During the Time of Troubles, Shar killed Ibrandul, a lesser deity of caverns, dungeons, and the Underdark, as an act of pure opportunism. She continues to grant spells to clerics in the name of Ibrandul, reveling in the deceit of the entire affair. Shar may attempt to consume Mask as well, for she nurses a cold anger for his dominion over shadow. Shar’s love of dark spaces bring her into frequent conflict with deities of light and fire, and her desire to dominate the concept of revenge sets her against the ancient, dwindling power of Hoar. Her only frequent ally is Talona, who may eventually serve Shar in return for the Dark Goddess’s aid in murdering her hated enemy Loviatar.

Divine Classification

God