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| “ | I am nothing. I am the empty room. The shadow's shadow. There was no pain before my sister set the sun aflame. Now you exist to suffer, until you find your way back to my embrace. | „ |
| ~ Shar in Baldur's Gate III |
Shar, also known as the Mistress of the Night, the Dark Lady and the Lady of Loss, is one of the main antagonists in the Forgotten Realms segment, a part of Dungeon and Dragons universe, and one of the overarching antagonists of Baldur's Gate III (alongside the Dead Three, Vlaakith and the Dark Urge), being the overarching antagonist of Shadowheart's storyline, the Daughter of Darkness.
Shar was the goddess of darkness and the caverns of Faerûn, who despised the life-bearing universe her twin sister, Selûne created and sought to wipe it out. She is also the patron deity of the Shadovar. Due to her actions, she serves as the arch-enemy of Selûne and her followers.
Overview[]
Shar, also known as the Mistress of the Night, is one of the oldest goddess in the world of Forgotten Realms. She is the raven-haired twin sister, archenemy and counterpart to her sister, the silver-haired Selûne, also known as Our Lady of Silver, with the twin goddesses being two of the oldest deities in Faerûnian pantheon born from the primordial essence.
Whilst Selûne governs over moonlight, starlight, tides, life and knowledge, Shar is quite the opposite, as she presides over the aspects of loss, forgetfulness, darkness and night, as well as (most importantly) Underdark.
Biography[]
Origin[]
Originally, Shar and Selûne were two personas of one being known as the Two-Faced Goddess, born from the primordial essence created by Lord Ao the Overgod, but their difference on aspect of life divided them once and for all.
The thing is, whilst sharing the same origin, the sisters are the polar opposite both in ability and personality. Shar is the representation of whatever her sister is not and whatever her sister hates to be, and vice versa.
Whilst Selûne took part in the creation of the world and tried to maintain the balance between light and darkness, Shar flat out despises the life and light her sister had created and intends to bring the whole world into a purely pitch black of void and darkness. Selûne wanted more life on Earth, whilst Shar tried to destroy them all.
That caused a long-time war between the sisters, and eventually, Selûne gained her victory with the help of Mystryl, the Lady of Mysteries, who was the goddess of magic's first incarnation.
Schemes[]
Shar was casted into the darkness for centuries upon her defeat, but that did not mean the end of her nihilistic agenda.
Shar disguised as her sister.
After only a temporarily alliance during the Dawn with her sister (due to the primodials), Shar finally unleashed her most heinous move before the Spellplague.
During the Time of Troubles, where old gods were cast out of godhood whilst new gods like Cyric rose to godhoods, Shar disguised as her sister and went to Waterdeep and lied to the faithful that she is Selûne, whilst confronting Luna (the avatar of real Selûne) and Vajra Valmeyjar by lying that they were unbelievers.
Under the disguise of Selûne, Shar trapped her sister's avatar in the House of Moon and threatened to drive her mad and then kill her. Shar also used Naneatha Suaril, Selûne's high priestess, and placed her under control to imprison Luna/Selûne, whilst keeping the latter's true identity secret.
Slowly, Luna's spirit was broken and was brainwashed into the leader of Lunatics, an aptly-named group that fanatically worshipped "Selûne". The only setback Shar had made was an event of her being mistook as Selûne by the Dark Army of the Night, ironically the own followers of Shar herself, an event that later sparked doubt over nobles after one of them, Kyriani, discovered Shar posing as her sister.
When Onyx the Invincible and Timoth arrived to rescue Luna, Shar ordered a brainwashed Luna and her group of Lunatics to attack them, until they were aided by Vajra and Kyriani, with the latter managed to escape from Shar's wrath.
Though they initially mistook the Lunatics' leader as Shar, the group eventually managed to rescued Luna as soon as they discovered her true identity and broke the brainwashing.
Meanwhile, Shar had her true identity exposed in front of Naneatha Suaril, resulting in a war between Shar and the real Selûne's force. Shar armed herself with her Rod of Oblivion and attempted to kill everyone in the Waterdeep, but Luna managed to restore her goddess power thanks to her friends, and became Selûne once more to defy Shar.
This final showdown eventually ended up with Selûne's victory, and Shar was banished once more after Selûne warned Shar about keeping the balance between themselves.
Nevertheless, Shar still doesn't know when to quit.
An Unholy Alliance[]
In the wake of Godswar, Shar continued to topple Selûne and the new goddess of magic, Mystra, even while making alliance with Bane and Cyric in the process, in order to wrest away Mystra's magic power.
Shar's plan was a failure, but she still killed her own son Mask, the Lord of Shadows and Master to All Thieves, in the process. Shar also created the Shadow Weave to attack the Weave, Mystra's realm.
Spellplague[]
Shar in Baldur's Gate 3.
Eleven years later, Mystra was killed by Cyric, and Shar combined the Plane of Shadow with the Negative Energy Plane to create her new realm, the Shadowfell, which was nothing but a bleak and desolate place full of decay and death.
As a result of Mystra's demise, with her death tore the Weave apart and unleashed the raw magic contained within it, Shar and Cyric are also responsible for the Spellplague. The year 1385 DR becomes known as the Year of Blue Fire ever since.
Shar's current plot is to use her followers to unleash the Shadow Storm and start the Cycle of Night, which would erase all creations and the whole existence into a lifeless emptiness had Shar succeeded.
Quotes[]
To & about Shar[]
| “ | This is the battle you and I must fight forever, Shar—night devouring the light of the moon, the moon replenishing itself. That is our place in the balance of nature. The fragile, eternal balance Lord Ao has charged us gods to uphold. | „ |
| ~ Selûne to Shar during their battle over Waterdeep |
| “ | In the twilight of battle, one sister falters, But Selûne hurls magic in desperate power. From two sisters, one child the balance alters— Mystryl's aid to Selûne ends Shar's dark hour! |
„ |
| ~ An excerpt from a ballad by Veseene the Lark |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Those who believed in the Dark Moon heresy held that Selûne and Shar were two faces of the same goddess.
External Links[]
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