Sheyruushk was the divine realm of Sekolah, patron god of the sahuagins.[1]
Description[]
In the realm of Sekolah, the horrors of the terribly cold ocean were considered beyond compare. It was a socially darwinistic place where endurance was a virtue and the weak were to be destroyed, as could be seen in how the waves would come and go while the ocean itself, and all the creatures in it, would remain. The sting of the briny sea was the taste of both victory and defeat.[3]
Geography[]
From the surface, Sheyruushk seemed rather small, consisting only of a valley between two icebergs.[3][4] It was under the surface, however, where Sheyruushk became far larger[3] and miles beneath the Stygian ice was where Sekolah's true, frigid, aquatic realm lay.[1]
The icy, practically freezing waters of Sheyruushk[3][4] were described variously as bright blue[1] or dark.[4] Coral speckled the sandy ocean floor, and currents swept past sandbars with such force that they could drag the unwary deep into the realm.[3]
Cosmology[]
The valley from which Sheyruusk was reached was actually hidden just a short distance from the city of Tantlin.[4][3] Sekolah was always seeking to expand Sheyruusk, even if that meant doing so at an archdevil's expense, although neither Geryon or Levistus ever had much to fear from the shark god during their periods of dominion given that there were several miles of ice between their domains.[3][5] There was no physical route by which Sheyruusk was accessible from the surface, so teleportation was required to get there at all.[1]
Sheyruushk's existence was at least partially to blame for why the depths of Stygia were so mysterious. That the realm of Sekolah was beneath the ice was enough reason for most to stay out.[6] Even the sahuagin petitioners avoided going too far from Sheyruushk's center because there were bigger and far more dangerous creatures outside a certain radius.[3] There were all manner of gigantic sea-beasts in the deeps of the oceans of Stygia, such as squids, whales and killer whales, that acted as predators and prey to varying degrees in their own ecosystem, (although Sekolah himself dined on all of those).[5]
Otherwise, Sheyruushk did not serve much of a purpose in the grand scheme of the cosmos. The River Styx had no power in Sheyruushk, although outside of it the tainted waters functioned as normal.[3] The sahuagin of the plane hunted and fed, but engaged in little commerce with the rest of the Nine Hells,[1] at best taking people on squid hunts or providing extra muscle (although some speculated the baatezu had plans on using them in aquatic layers of the Abyss for the Blood War).[3]
In the World Tree cosmology, Sheyruusk simply did not exist. Sekolah maintained no divine realm, ruling in whatever part of the Fated Depths he found himself in.[7]
Notable Locations[]
There were no cities in Sheyruushk, but at its center was the Coral Throne, the seat of Sekolah's power.[3] There he adopted sahuagin form and sat in the throne reviewing his realm and answering the requests of schools of petitioners seeking their god's guidance and blessing.[3]
Sahuagin cavorted in Sekolah's court,[4] his minions attending to the shark god as he silently and languidly floated through the waters of Sheyruushk. An eternal dance took place around him during his presence, a series of complex geometric movements that changed in accordance to a strict choreography. The dancers were justifiably nervous, for a single limb out of a place meant being swiftly eaten by their patron.[1]
Usually however, Sekolah was not at home, but hunting for worthy prey, and his realm remained in Stygia while he went on his frequent raids.[3] While the throne was vacated, he left his proxy to watch the realm. The last known proxy was Sythissal, a king of Toril and, curiously, a worshiper of Talos in life. Sekolah for whatever reason had prior claim to his soul and demanded it for himself, and had since given Sythissal his mortal memories so he could appreciate his status as personal vassal. Sythissal ruled well in Sekolah's absence, and fiercely at that, knowing well the undesirable fate of the his predecessor. However, Sekolah sometimes decided to bring his vassal with him on his hunts.[3]
Inhabitants[]
The sahuagin and sharks of Sheyruushk lived in schools of which only the strongest survived by feeding on the lesser schools. Schools might undergo various power struggles, and while some might be less brutal than others, display greater intelligence, and recognize the value of trade, there was nothing stopping them from also being treacherous. In general, visitors were advised to stay away from the petitioners and their schools.[3]
The petitioners of Sheyruushk did not seem to notice the negative aspects of Sekolah's home.[3][4] The dark did not bother them[4] and they were granted immunity to its cold temperatures (and ripped apart anyone complaining about it for their weakness)[3] and the memory-stealing powers of the Styx even outside the realm, as were those that traveled with them and other servitors of Sekolah.[2][3]
Sharks of every size and species constantly roamed the waters of Sheyruushk,[4] and (along with barracudas) were nearly as common as the realm's petitioners.[3] Sheyruushk was also the source of colossal sharks unlike anything ever seen on the Prime Material Plane by virtue of not really being animals at all. Instead these leviathans were really extensions of Sekolah's power, creatures with no need to consume but who might do so anyway out of curiosity or viciousness. They had interesting magical properties, such as negating the power of Styx water in their gullet and the ability to summon several dozen sahuagin within themselves if attacked from the inside (although they were smart enough to upchuck anything hurting them too much and then eviscerate rather than swallow it).[2]
Sekolah usually kept his hunts for himself, but he occasionally brought back prisoners for his subjects to hunt.[3] Captured devils featured prominently as sacrifices in Sheyruushk, and were used in awful rites to pay homage to Sekolah.[4]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Robin D. Laws, Robert J. Schwalb (December 2006). Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells. Edited by Chris Thomasson, Gary Sarli, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 59. ISBN 978-0-7869-3940-4.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Monte Cook (September 1998). A Paladin in Hell. Edited by Steve Winter. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 30–31. ISBN 0-7869-1210-3.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 Colin McComb (February 1995). “Baator”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Law (TSR, Inc), p. 22. ISBN 0-7869-0093-8.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Jeff Grubb, Bruce R. Cordell, David Noonan (September 2001). Manual of the Planes 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 119–120. ISBN 0-7869-1850-8.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Jeff Grubb (July 1987). Manual of the Planes 1st edition. (TSR), pp. 111–112. ISBN 0880383992.
- ↑ Chris Pramas (November 1999). Guide to Hell. Edited by Kim Mohan. (TSR, Inc.), p. 32. ISBN 978-0786914319.
- ↑ Richard Baker, James Wyatt (March 2004). Player's Guide to Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 153. ISBN 0-7869-3134-5.