![[Shar.png|300]] **Goddess of Darkness, Loss, and Secrets** **Alignment**: Neutral Evil --- ### Overview Shar, the _Mistress of the Night_ and _Lady of Loss_, is the goddess of darkness, secrets, and grief. She is the eternal counterpart to her sister Selûne, embodying the darkness that balances the light. Shar is revered by those who seek solace in shadows, guard their secrets fiercely, or harbour bitterness from loss. Her worshippers embrace her as the keeper of hidden truths and the comforter in sorrow. She is also a goddess of nihilism, promising oblivion as a reprieve from pain. Shar’s divine presence is felt in the empty spaces of the world the deep abyss, forgotten memories, and the loneliness of loss. Her relationship with Selûne is one of eternal rivalry, representing the cosmic struggle between light and dark, creation and destruction, hope and despair. --- ### Domain and Influence Shar governs shadows, secrecy, and the void. She is a goddess of contradictions, offering solace to those in grief while subtly encouraging them to hold onto their pain. Her influence often manifests in moments of despair, urging mortals to embrace darkness rather than fight it. Shar’s power is most potent in the absence of light. Her faithful believe that true strength comes from enduring hardship and that embracing loss is the path to wisdom and inner peace. She embodies the catharsis found in solitude and the mysteries hidden in the dark. --- ### Symbols and Icons ![[Shar_symbol.png]] Shar’s primary symbol is a black disk with a deep purple border, representing the void encased in the shadow of night. Other symbols include crescent shapes and eclipses, representing her dominance over light. Her sacred colours are black and deep purple, and her worshippers adorn themselves in these hues. Her shrines and temples are often concealed, featuring obsidian, onyx, and shadowy alcoves. --- ### Worship and Tributes Shar’s worshippers are often those who have suffered great loss or feel alienated from the world. Her followers include nihilists, assassins, shadow mages, and those who guard terrible secrets. Common practices include: - **Midnight Prayers**: Devotees offer prayers in complete darkness, seeking Shar’s guidance and protection. - **Offerings of Memory**: Worshippers sacrifice cherished memories or items tied to their past to gain favor or let go of pain. - **Acts of Secrecy**: Her followers protect secrets at all costs, often performing rituals to bind them in shadow. - **The Rite of Final Embrace**: A ritual where worshippers willingly let go of attachments to the mortal world, symbolizing the acceptance of darkness and despair. --- ### Clergy and Temples Shar’s clergy, known as the _Nightbringers_, are shadowy figures dedicated to spreading her influence. They often serve as keepers of forbidden knowledge and counselors to the grieving. While some act overtly, many Nightbringers operate in secrecy, infiltrating other temples or communities to further Shar’s agenda. Her temples are hidden sanctuaries of shadow and silence. They are designed to disorient visitors, with mazelike layouts and perpetual darkness. Priests of Shar often carry shadow-touched relics, such as black candles that emit no light or obsidian blades. --- ### Powers and Abilities Shar’s powers reflect her dominion over darkness and despair: - **Shadow Manipulation**: She controls shadows, shaping them into deadly forms or concealing her faithful. - **Memory Stealing**: Shar can extract and erase memories, offering oblivion to those seeking to escape their pain. - **Aura of Despair**: Her presence drains hope and courage, leaving mortals vulnerable to despair. - **The Eternal Night**: Shar can plunge regions into unnatural darkness, shielding her followers and unsettling her enemies. --- ### Treatment of the Chosen and Faithful Shar’s blessings are subtle, often disguised as trials or hardships to test the resolve of her followers: - **Veil of Secrecy**: Her faithful can shroud their actions and intentions, becoming undetectable to magic and mundane observation. - **Darkened Memories**: Shar may offer relief by numbing painful memories or outright erasing them, though the void left behind is not always comforting. - **Shadow’s Embrace**: Her followers feel at home in darkness, gaining enhanced abilities and protection in its presence. - **Night’s Resilience**: In moments of extreme pain or loss, her chosen are granted an unnatural calm and clarity, allowing them to act without hesitation. --- ### Myths and Legends Shar’s mythos is steeped in tragedy and her eternal rivalry with Selûne: - **The Creation of Shadow**: In the dawn of time, Shar and Selûne worked together to create the universe. When Selûne brought light into existence, Shar rebelled, tearing pieces of her own essence to form shadow, ensuring the light would never fully triumph. - **The Tearfall**: Legends say that Shar wept when she lost the celestial balance to Selûne, her tears forming the dark pools of shadow magic used by her faithful. - **The Eclipse Pact**: A story tells of Shar granting immense power to mortals during a rare solar eclipse, allowing them to overthrow tyrants—only to demand their despair in return. - **The Forgotten God**: It is whispered that Shar consumed a lesser deity who sought to reveal her secrets, obliterating them from history entirely. --- ### Encounters with Shar’s Influence Shar’s presence is felt in moments of overwhelming loss, grief, or secrecy: - **The Whispered Truth**: Those who keep terrible secrets often feel her presence, a shadow in their mind urging them to embrace the darkness. - **The Void’s Comfort**: In moments of despair, mortals may feel a cold yet strangely soothing presence, offering oblivion as a respite from pain. - **Shadows of the Forgotten**: Places steeped in tragedy or betrayal often manifest unnatural darkness, believed to be Shar’s influence. - **The Grieving Moon**: During eclipses, her faithful gather to invoke her power, and others may feel her aura as unease or despair. --- ### Conclusion Shar is a goddess of paradoxes, offering solace while encouraging despair, and guarding secrets while spreading shadow. To her faithful, she is a protector and liberator, granting strength through acceptance of pain and loss. To others, she is a harbinger of nihilism and destruction. Through Shar’s embrace, mortals are reminded that darkness is not merely an absence of light but a force of its own, offering both peril and promise.