Shevinu
Contents
Shevinu Sint
Shevinu is a Pathwalker, of the Seer path. He once claimed to be a Sarcosan channeler during his time as a member of the Scrollbearers.
It has since come to light that Shevinu is working for Izrador. He has betrayed the Scrollbearers and left them for unknown endeavors.
Shevinu the Scrollbearer
Shevinu first encountered the Scrollbearers Danning and Quarrion on a small hill overlooking Shadowdown. As luck would have it, an extremely powerful astirax named Sus, in possession of a large dire boar, happened to be in the area. As the Caransil fought this creature, Shevinu appeared to do his best to help keep these two elves alive, and so earned their tentative trust.
Shevinu continued on with the group after Nodin the dwarf, the previous Scrollbearer, passed on the duty to Danning and Quarrion. Shevinu’s claim was to a lofty mission to find the secret answer to the question of how to remove Izrador from the world of Aryth once and for all. He said that he believed that this quest given by the Witch Queen would likely lead him to this hidden answer.
During their travels together, Shevinu proved time and time again that his greatest goal was the longevity of his allies and their mission. This makes his betrayal unexpected - why did Shevinu betray his friends? Were they his friends? Was he always working for Izrador, or did something change in him on the way from Shadowdown to Shadowhold? Who was this mysterious figure?
The Identity of Shevinu
He claimed his name was Shevinu Sint. What others know of him is only what he’s told them. How much of a traitor’s word can be trusted? How much of what we know of Shevinu is fabrication?
This is what we know of who he claimed to be.
Sarcosan Roots
Shevinu Sint is an unremarkable Sarcosan name. His family was from Alvedara, on the lower Eren River. When the city was invaded by the minions of the Shadow, he was forced to flee and make his way as a nomad in the subjugated towns of Central Erenland. While he spoke Colonial fluently, and apparently knew how to write it quite well, he did not have the look of a typical Sarcosan. This was in part because of the harsh life he had lived as a wanderer, and in part because of the piercings and mystical symbols he tattooed on his face and hands, marking him as a student of Zarmeclithus.
The Fortune-Teller
Before becoming a Scrollbearer, Shevinu made a living as a traveling fortune-teller. (Similar to a gypsy) So many held under the boot of the armies of orcs and other minions of the Shadow are eager to hear of the future and of a possibility of hope. Shevinu fed this need with his particular talents, and others fed him in return. His mysterious demeanor and strange origins served to place a value on his words of caution and comfort that anyone else could have just as easily given. His claim to special knowledge of the future based on lost teachings of a distant cult earned his scrying practice some respect from sceptics.
The Sahi Apocrypha
In Alvedara, the last temple of the Cult of the Apocrypha stood as a beacon of learning for the Sarcosan people, but few gave it any credence. The Cult maintains that the pantheon of Sarcosan deities is incomplete. When Badura wrote The Book of Sahi he started with a series of notes that he gathered from a number of Sarcosan wise men. One of those wise men was Jumainag. He was the chosen priest in charge of maintaining the teachings and traditions of the god Zarmeclithus. Zarmeclithus was a part of the heavenly procession, until he was cast out for shunning the use of the horse. He instead chose to live in the mountains, where mounts were of little use. He maintained that horses should not be divine or elevated past the level of any other tool since they were only a part of Sarcosan life as long as the Sarcosans lived in the rolling plains.
Before Zarmeclithus was cast out, he was the keeper of the knowledge of Fate. Some other deities practiced his methods as well, but with Zarmeclithus cast out and his teachings shunned, the Sarcosan people lost their knowledge of all forms of divination, save astrology.
When Badura considered adding the information he had learned from Jumainag, he decided that because the other gods had rejected Zarmeclithus, so would the Sarcosan people. Badura assumed that knowledge of Zarmeclithus would die with Jumainag, but when the wise man noticed the Sarcosan people’s embrace of the Sorshef Sahi as a holy book, he redoubled his efforts to teach the lore of Zarmeclithus to any who would listen. He established a monastery high in the mountains, overlooking the Forest of the Sahi, where he taught his students the “Hidden Lore of the Heavens”.
This Cult of the Apocrypha specialized in divination techniques and methods of determining the paths of Fate. They neither forbade nor embraced the use of horses for their students, instead teaching that they were nothing more than useful animals that the rest of Sarcosan society foolishly elevates beyond the importance of even their fellow man.
Shevinu carries a small book entitled Sahi Apocrypha, which contains parables about lessons taught by the god Zarmeclithus. Jumainag wrote this book, but he claimed that Zarmeclithus sent a holy emissary to dictate the contents to him.
The Magic of Shevinu
The ways of a spiritual channeler are strange to most, and Shevinu was no exception. While casting spells, he mumbled softly to himself in a myriad of languages, flicking trinkets and baubles attached to his cloak, and grasping at mysterious trinkets hidden amongst the folds of his clothing. Though not common knowledge, he told the one person who asked him about this that he had special First-Age talismans of power that allowed him to cast spells as though he were a priest of old.
Scrollbearers Betrayed
Upon arriving at Shadowhold, Shevinu was noticeably nervous, agitated, and untrusting of the dwarves of the city. Through his conversations with Danning especially, Shevinu made it known that he thought the leadership here was corrupt and should not be trusted.
Once it became necessary for the group to leave the city, Shevinu made sure that he and his allies would have the means to find their way back into the city through the confusing and hidden passages they took outside of town. As they traveled, Shevinu seemed to open up more to the other Scrollbearers, revealing more of his thoughts on the state of things, and entrusting others with secrets he had not felt comfortable sharing in the past.
While the group slept, Shevinu disappeared. Only Danning saw him leave, but suffered an illusory mesmerization and didn’t realize what was happening. After the battle with Bashili and the dru-gal’s minions, the party came into possession of Shevinu’s Notes, which lead them to conclude that Shevinu was working for Izrador and had turned on them.
These assumptions were assured when the Scrollbearers returned to Shadowhold to find that the ruling council had been lead off by Shevinu, presumably to be sacrificed for the creation of a Pale Mirror.
Questions Raised
Why the sudden change in behavior for Shevinu prior to his betrayal? Was he trying to lead the group in misleading directions, as some have suggested; or was he trying to tell all he knew to those who needed the information, before he had to depart?
Did Shevinu betray the Scrollbearers who he had treated as a family for many months, or did he only betray the Witch Queen and her mission? Did Shevinu’s actions attempt to lead the Scrollbearers away from Shadowhold because he knew it would be a deadly siege, or did he ensure their destruction by leaving them in a doomed town?
Who was the trap at Black Rock Cavern really designed for? Did Shevinu think that the Scrollbearers would be the victors or the victims? Was it Shevinu who made the tracks in the tunnels that lead to Black Rock Cavern, or was someone else trying to betray Shevinu? What purpose do Shevinu’s Notes serve, and how did Bashili or the dru-gal drop the scrollcase after the battle? Was this an accident, or was there a reason they wanted the Scrollbearers to have the notes?
If Shevinu is a double agent, or an infiltrator, who is he betraying now? What is his ultimate goal and what price is he willing to pay?
Shevinu’s Journal Notes
While Shevinu was one of the Scrollbearers, he kept notes on his allies. Shevinu’s Notes were written as a dossier, or report, to his higher-ups. For an unknown reason, these ended up in the hands of the Scrollbearers. Perhaps they may shed some light on the mysteries surrounding Shevinu. Who was he, really? Why did he join the Scrollbearers? Why does he serve Izrador? What will he do next?
How can we kill him?
Shevinu Now
We now know that Shevinu was serving Izrador as an agent of the Shadow amongst the Shadow’s enemies. After betraying the Scrollbearers, Shevinu lead the council of Shadowhold to their doom. He is involved in the creation of a new temple, including a pale mirror, likely for the purposes of conquering Shadowhold permanently. He knows of the mission of the Scrollbearers, and he knows the prophecy of the Witch Queen (perhaps he even has a transcribed copy). Beyond that, it is hard to tell.
We also know that Shevinu was very deceptive. There are reasons to believe that he is an elf, rather than a Sarcosan, as he has made claims to be a member of both races. There are reasons to believe that he is a legate rather than a channeler. Most notably, Shevinu was able to cast spells while within range of a mirror, and his familiar Neega was most likely an astirax companion rather than a familiar being posessed by an astirax. However, there are some incongruous elements that point to Shevinu being neither a legate nor a channeler, and it may be some time before we find out who or what he really is.
67.42.83.153 19:37, 16 October 2005 (PDT)
