The official GemStone IV encyclopedia.
God of Night, Nightmares, Insanity and Terror
Sheru is the god of night and nightmares. Truly the god of terror, and of unbridled fear, Sheru thrives on these emotions in lesser creatures. Only experiencing satisfaction when his efforts unseat a being's sanity, Sheru will use any means to achieve this end.
Because Luukos' undead minions tend to cause more terror than most of the other creatures of darkness, Sheru and Luukos are allied more often than any of the other Dark Gods.
The insane are often said to have received Sheru's Gift. Strangely, Sheru and Zelia cannot stand each other, despite serving each other's ends quite nicely.
Sheru's preferred humanoid manifestation is that of a large man with a black furred jackal's head. In manner, he is cold, emotionless, and cruel. His symbol is a black jackal's head on a field of gold, or alternately, a black jackal's head on a field of crimson and gold.
Shrines, Statuary, and Holy Places
Displayed in the Prayer Rooms of each Cleric Guild is a statue of Sheru. These prayer rooms are considered a holy shrine to multiple deities.
Unlike the other statues, the figure of Sheru is set in profile. He looks at you over his shoulder. Although his jackal's head is devoid of any recognizable emotion, there is an air of menace and cruelty in his look.
>touch Sheru
You reach out and touch the statue of Sheru.
A freezing cold grips your limbs. "What do you see when you close your eyes?" asks a deep male voice. "What do you ask for when you speak your nightly devotions? For peace, for health, for freedom from harm? Perhaps, little penitent, you should ask for protection from what dreams may come, as the mind holds dangers no living being can match." With a chilling laugh, the voice is gone.
Located in the Antechamber of Lornon is a table inset with fist-sized seals depicting all of the Lornon arkati, including one for Sheru. This area is not considered a holy shrine.
A black jackal's head on a field of crimson and gold is painted on the golden seal of Sheru.
Located just inside the main building of the River's Rest Cleric Guild is a pair of glaes statues depicting Ronan and Sheru. This room is not considered a holy shrine.
A tall, gaunt man fixes his heavy-lidded eyes on the figure opposite him, his gaze weary but his lips curved in a faint smile which might be mockery or pity. The lips of the jackal-headed man across from him are likewise pulled back slightly, but in a defiant snarl. Both figures stand rigid, each clearly vigilant against the other's encroachment on his domain.
In the Common language, it reads:
"It is in our dreams that we may touch the gods."
Additional information
Draezir Moltoniron, a high priest of Sheru, was active during the Griffin Sword Saga.
Messaging
- To add messaging, see deity messaging.
| Spell/Ability |
Messaging
|
| CHANT (verb)
|
- [1p cleric] You chant a reverent orison, asking Sheru for terror to grip all those touched by the night.
- [3p cleric] CLERIC chants a short but reverent orison, asking for terror to grip all those touched by the night.
- [1p paladin] You bow your head and chant a short prayer to Sheru, causing deep crimson and nightmare black light to momentarily coalesce in front of you.
- [3p paladin] PALADIN bows her head and chants a short prayer, causing deep crimson and nightmare black light to momentarily coalesce in front of her.
|
| Major Sanctuary (220)
|
- You hear a strange, haunting laughter echo around you as your vision blurs...
| [Nightmare's Sanctuary]
|
|
| Dark shadows dance across the walls of the sanguine room in a macabre parade of twisted limbs and haunting sounds. Ebon drapes flutter in an unfelt wind across the spindled limbs of a four-poster bed that rests beside an open window; its shutters sporadically bang against the glass panes. A figure, swaddled in darkness, lies in the gloomy confines of the bed and thrashes at odd intervals.
|
- Shadows separate from the wall and surge towards you moments before your vision and the world around you blurs...
|
| Well of Life (308)
|
- As you sense your souls have linked together, the cackle of a jackal echoes in your skull.
|
| Condemn (309)
|
- [Success] Darkness encroaches on TARGET, and numerous eyes gleam malevolently within it!
- [Failure] TARGET pauses, clearly uneasy, but nothing comes of it.
- [Damage] A gibbering wave of shadowy beasts surges from the dark and over TARGET, inflicting X points of damage!
- [Debuff end] The darkness surrounding TARGET withdraws and fades away.
|
| Blind (311)
|
- [1p] As your faith overcomes TARGET's weakened defenses, you sense the cruel, feral power of the Bringer of Terror flowing through you.
- [2p] CASTER's face shimmers and vanishes, and, in its place, you see a pair of feral amber eyes gleaming out of darkness. Faintly, you can discern the outline of a jackal's head, but the proportions are subtly distorted -- the muzzle is too large to properly fit the head, and needlelike teeth gleam menacingly behind black lips. Darkness wells forth to consume the image, and then you see nothing at all.
|
| Prayer (313)
|
- [1p] Turning your thoughts inward, you ask for the favor of your deity to protect you. Unbidden, your heartbeat quickens with fear, and you sense that your prayer has been granted.
- [3p] Amber light glows in CASTER's eyes.
|
| Censure (316)
|
- For your trangressions, the darkness shall surround you, and the amber-eyed spawn of your nightmares will join you there. Given flesh and given fangs, your nightmares shall come as you stumble helplessly through a night that knows no dawn....
|
| Raise Dead (318)
|
- [1p] Low and monotonous, you begin a chant to draw TARGET back to life and feel the deep shadows of the area rise to meet you. Falling upon you like a cloak of darkness, the twisting, inky blackness transforms into the visage of a jackal from a once forgotten nightmare. Sweeping from your body into TARGET's, the raw energy of your prayer transfers into her prone form. Slowly, the shadows recede back into the surrounding area.
- [2p] This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
- [3p] Low and monotonous, CASTER begins to chant and the deep shadows of the area seem to rise to meet him. Falling upon him like a mantle of darkness, the twisting, inky blackness transforms into the visage of a jackal from a once forgotten nightmare and sweeps from CASTER's body into TARGET. Slowly, the shadows recede back into the surrounding area.
|
| Intercession
|
- an iron-rimmed amber jackal talisman
- Darkness envelops you, an unrelieved blackness that is far from empty. Small, unsettling sounds tease at the edge of your hearing, unidentifiable but building in you an unnatural panic that rises with every breath. Nightmare images flicker at the corners of your eyes, though whether fabrications of your mind or true visions you cannot be sure.
- Wild, barking laughter breaks the spell and the blackness streams away in near-solid tendrils. You can sense it, though, the darkness, the madness, hovering at the edge of your mind... waiting.
|
| Divine Wrath (335)
|
- [1p]
- As you pour your soul into an appeal to Sheru, you know that you are heard. The world darkens around you, casting everything into a murky shadow.
- Visible only at the corner of your vision, you glimpse a pair of dark amber eyes watching from the shadows, and a low, deliberate growl seethes slowly through the air from no discernable source. The power of Sheru has answered you.
- TARGET looks distinctly nervous, shifting its weight and peering around.
- Suddenly, TARGET tries to bolt away, but instead smashes into a wall of spectral force hidden within the shadows!
- Your connection to Sheru lessens, and the murky shadows brought by your appeal fade away, yet the feeling of being watched does not. On any night, in any dream or nightmare, those amber eyes will follow you endlessly... but such is the prize and the price of your devotion.
- [3p]
- Darkness settles over the area, spreading outward from CASTER to cast everything into a murky shadow.
- A deep, low-pitched growl seethes slowly through the air, and you have the distinct feeling that something is watching you from the depths of the murky shadow.
- TARGET looks distinctly nervous, shifting its weight and peering around.
- Suddenly, TARGET tries to bolt away, but instead smashes into a wall of spectral force hidden within the shadows!
- The murky shadow slowly lifts from the area, and the feeling of being watched passes gradually away.
- [Look Caster]
- This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
- [Manifestation]
|
| Symbol of the Proselyte (340)
|
- [Cast] This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
- [Chant]
|
| Miracle (350)
|
- [1p] Shadows lengthen and grow around you until their edges are sharp and twisted. Macabre and ungraceful, they slink with jerky movements toward you as their depths are briefly illuminated by countless yellowed eyes set into the faces of a thousand horrors. They snarl as they writhe across your prone form, their maws snapping ineffectively at your flesh. One by one, they twist and squirm into your slack jaw and fill you with bitter madness.
- [3p] Shadows lengthen and grow around the body of CLERIC until their edges are sharp and twisted. Moving in a macabre dance of jerky, ungraceful movements, the shadows become briefly illuminated by countless yellowed eyes set into the faces of a thousand horrors. Snarling, the shadows move across CLERIC's prone form and begin to snap ineffectively at his lifeless flesh. One by one, the twisted nightmares writhe and squirm into CLERIC's slack jaw and disappear within him.
|
| Aid the Fallen (1613)
|
|
| Repentance (1615)
|
- [1p] A pillar of dark amber radiance manifests around TARGET.
- [2p] This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
- [3p] This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
|
| Judgment (1630)
|
- [1p]
- You briefly close your eyes, and a pair of luminous yellow eyes flash briefly behind you. A faint black light builds up and emanates from you before shadows coalesce and engulf your entire arm!
- A black jackal-shaped visage leaps from the shadows, striking TARGET!
- The shadows engulfing your arm fade away into thin tendrils of darkness.
- [3p]
- This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
|
| Divine Incarnation (1650)
|
- [Cast 1p] Snarling out the last of your spell, a shadow of black rises to enshroud your form, leaving your features obscured by the darkness.
- [Cast 3p]
- [Expiration 1p] You feel the influence of Sheru leaving you as the black pall enshrouding you begins to melt, pouring down your body to dissipate like smoke against the ground.
- [Expiration 3p]
- [Zeal 1p] You beseech your patron for combat prowess as dark amber radiance begins to take form, swirling violently around you.
- [Zeal 3p]
- [Armor 1p] Invoking Sheru's name to safeguard against harm, you feel a tremor ripple across your shoulders, like the rising of hackles, before it blankets your chest and back.
- [Armor 3p]
- [Smite 1p] As you cast your prayers for guidance to Sheru, you are answered by a howl torn from the depths of a nightmare. A pulse of lustrous black light suffuses your sword, and you unleash a violent strike upon a jungle troll chieftain, the wallop of your sword distorting the air.
- [Smite 3p]
- [Onslaught 1p] As you utter a laconic prayer to Sheru, you are suffused with a ruthlessness beyond comprehension as an ebony shroud settles on you. Your grip on your sword tightens painfully as you strike out at all that surrounds you in a barrage of cold and calculated fury.
- [Onslaught 3p]
|
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