This installment of my column is dedicated to one of my best friends, who I also call brother, Eradica Khaan. Safe journeys, my brother.

Many stars and constellations have forms that are easy for us to understand. Bright shapes in the darkness that have meanings far beyond what their forms can describe alone. Legends and Lore ascribed and attributed to them throughout the ages.

Not all of these formations in the skies are stars, however, and not all of them have meanings we can easily understand.

What follows is the tale of one of the most mysterious and, some say, dangerous sights in our night sky.

Appearance:

Shar’s Kiss is a chaotic jumble of stars, surrounded by a translucent pink cloud. The exact number of stars within the cloud is not easily counted, because the cloud changes in opacity throughout the year. At some times, the cloud is nearly invisible; while at other times, the cloud is so thick as to almost conceal completely the stars within.

Some schools of thought say the cloud has no divine meaning. They call it a nebula and say that it is nothing more than a cloud of mysterious gases hanging in the sky, concealing the stars.

Location:

Shar’s Kiss holds a relatively stable position in the sky. In the winter, it sits high in the northeastern sky. In the summer, it sits slightly lower in the sky, and more to the east than north.

Lore:

Long before the Undead War, it is known that the Unlife existed. Isolated creatures of power and intelligence, liches, had a rare power to create and control lesser minions of the Unlife. These once living and immensely powerful beings had sacrificed their very souls for power and knowledge.

The source of their power is a matter of speculation. A natural force of entropy, perhaps? A dark, sinister being, perhaps a fallen Ur-Daemon, or even a rogue Arkati; the tales and rumors are endless.

One prominent tale regards a great book, penned by a mighty, fallen lich, containing all the secrets of Unlife. The secrets of lichdom, and of creating and controlling lesser Undead are all held within its pages. The book is an artifact of incredible evil and vast power. Its pages are supposedly formed from the flayed skin of elves and dwarves and penned with their blood. Its spine is the vertebra of a powerful elven wizard, and its covers two scales from a fallen Drake. The book is called The Book of Tormtor. Where this title comes from, no living creature knows.

Hidden within the dark and sinister formulae in this book are the secrets to summoning a great servant of Unlife, perhaps the manifestation of Unlife itself. Some whisper the name ‘Shar’. It appears with haunting regularity on the grisly pages of the book.

This book is the source of the entire Undead War. Despana a wizard of unknown origins, but immense power, found this book. Originally, she is said to have searched for the secrets of the Ur-Daemons. Deep in what is now Rhoska-Tor, she found the Book of Tormtor, and using its hideous power, she created her Horde.

Somehow, using The Book of Tormtor, Despana was able to summon one of the most powerful liches of that time, Dharthiir. Rumours vary, but it is also a common belief that the two became lovers. The lich became one of Despana’s most powerful and loyal generals, using his power and charisma to sway even the forces of the living to Despana’s cause.

With Dharthiir’s loyalty, also came centuries, possibly millennia, of experience and knowledge. Using the Book and their combined might, they summoned the being outlined in the secrets of the Book.

This being from beyond was Shar herself. Whether she was an Ur-Daemon trapped in this realm, with the Book binding her, or simply a rogue Arkati, banished by her fellows, is truly unknown. What is known is that she was a being of immense power, with complete and total control of the forces of Unlife.

She became the third lover in Despana’s odd circle, a being of immense power, aligned with one of the most sinister, resourceful beings ever known to man.

With a kiss, Shar could curse creatures with Unlife. Her mastery of the Undead was complete and they followed her commands to the letter. Despana’s Horde advanced, leaving a swathe of terrified, murdered, and shambling undead elves in their wake.

Finally, a great Vaalor elf, Taki Rassien, gathered around him the order of the Sabrar; knights of the Vaalor who had never known defeat. In a desperate charge at the fortress ShadowGuard, the Sabrar attacked, led by Taki and his veil iron blade, Aramier.

The battle was fierce, and there were no survivors who saw the final battle. Somehow, it is believed, Taki was able to kill the arch-lich Dharthiir. With her greatest general destroyed, Despana’s Horde was at a turning point. The Faendryl were able to turn the tide of the battle, and with their sacrifice, were able to destroy Despana’s fortress, Maelshyve.

Shar deserted her lover at the end of the battle. Perhaps she somehow sensed the inevitable defeat of Despana’s forces, or perhaps the time simply came for her to leave.

A brush of her reddened lips, a caress from her cold fingertips, all the hallmarks of the Lady of Unlife, and more than enough to damn her lovers to an eternity as a creature more dead than alive.

Long ago, the scholars of Illistim named the cloud of chaos in our night skies after her attentions; a touch of her madness and chaos in the skies, lingering for eternity.