Shavarath the Battleground is a region ever gripped in the throes of war as three groups vie for control of the plane, a host of celestial archons, an infernal regiment of devils and a swarming horde of demons.^[1] Some believe Shavarath to sit at the heart of Siberys, and that control of Shavarath means control of the powers of creation or destruction.^[2]

DescriptionEdit

Forever in a rough balance of power each of the three factions lay siege to one another's fortresses only to lose their own holdings on other fortresses in the process. Beyond these fortresses, the plain stretches infinitely, with low hills providing the only terrain feature. The plane is aligned by territory, with those areas held by the archons are mildly good and lawfully aligned while those areas held by devils are mildly evil and lawfully aligned and those held by the demons is mildly chaotic and evil aligned. Magic spells that mimic, create or enhance weapons as well as spells that excite hostile emotions are extended, while charms and pacifisms are impeded.^[1]

When spellcasters summon demon or devil servants, they summon them from their fight on Shavarath. During the Last War, many forces augmented their troops with creatures from Shavarath. In addition, many leaders summoned Shavarath's best strategists to aide their tactics during the war.^[1][3]

During the Last War, many factions also tried to tap into the powers of Shavarath using eldritch machines. For example, the Order of the Emerald Claw tried to build a machine in a manifest zone in Xen'drik, hoping to bring either a demonic horde or a swarm of flying blades from Shavarath and harness it under the command of Karrnath. They ultimately failed.^[3]

InhabitantsEdit

• To visitors, the most threatening of the "inhabitants" of Shavarath are the Whirling Blades. These blades travel like flocks of birds, flying across the plane instinctively attacking non-natives of Shavarath. Large congregations of Whirling Blades can become Shredstorms.^[1][2]
• The first of three major factions of Shavarath are the archons, including hound archons, justice archons, trumpet archons, and word archons. Their forces are supplemented by arcadian avengers from Daanvi.^[1][4][5][6]
• The second major faction are the demons. Known demons on Shavarath include arrow demons, babaus, carnage demons, dretchs, gadacros, glabrezu, hezrou, mariliths, nashrous, quasits, retrievers, and solamiths, as well as their mivilorn mounts.^[1][4][5]
• The final faction are the devils, which include barbed devils, bearded devils, bone devils, chain devils, erinyes, horned devils, imps, logokron devils, and whisper devils.^[1][4][6]
• Other creatures scour the Battleground, including bladelings, spikers, and vargouilles^[1][7]
• Corruptors of fate and Ragewalkers are also drawn to Shavarath and the lust of combat.^[1]
• Like most planes, Shavarath also has its share of undead, including deathshriekers.^[1]
• Shavarath also has its share of wrackspawn on the battlefield, though it is believed that the Battleground is not their plane of origin.^[4]
• For plant life, demonthorn mandrakes dot the plane.^[5]

Manifest ZonesEdit

• Ash Tower, a crumbling spire in the southwest of the Mournland, is at the center of a manifest zone.^[3]
• The Fields of Desolation on the Talenta Plains not far from Karrnath is the smallest of the manifest zones, only a hundred square yards.^[3]
• The Harvest of Pain on Argonnessen, where the dragons defeated Katashka the Gatekeeper became a manifest zone of both Dolurrh and Shavarath.^[8]
• The Jungle of Scimitars, or Ravar Orioth in Valenar, is used as a testing ground for the elven warriors.^[3]
• Tamor Gulch in northeast Thrane has been a ritual location for bloodsport for years.^[3]
• After the Day of Mourning, Valin Field in Cyre became a manifest zone with both Mabar and Shavarath. Those that enter leave forever tainted.^[3]
• A Shavarath manifest zone sits in the Valley of the Blades in the Bysehk Mountains, where Whirling Blade Swarms will pass through to Eberron.^[2][3]

Effects on the Material PlaneEdit

CoterminousEdit

In times of conflict, when Shavarath draws near to the Material Plane, the effects spill over into it. Magic spells are enhanced or impeded as they are on the Battleground and reports have even come of flocks of Whirling Blades seen on the battlefields.^[1]

Because of Shavarath's influence on Eberron, many scholars have tried to pinpoint its travels through the Astral Sea, to determine its influence on the Last War. One set of scholars believes the plane was coterminous in 894 YK, the year the war began, bringing it back into a coterminous phase in 930 YK and 966 YK. However, a second popular belief has it coterminous in the years 890 YK (before the war), 936 YK, 962 YK, and should appear again in the year 999 YK. These scholars have tried to use the Whirling Blade Swarms to pinpoint the phases of Shavarath; however, the Last War created new manifest zones to Shavarath, making evidence unreliable.^[3]

RemoteEdit

When Shavarath is remote, no known effects manifest on the Material Plane.^[1]

HistoricalEdit

• In 922 YK, King Kason of Breland brought forward a demon regiment from Shavarath to supplement his troops. However, during negotiation for their continued use, a marilith broke free and killed the king before being banished back to Shavarath.^[3]
• In 963 YK, the Order of the Emerald Claw created an eldritch machine, the reaper, in the manifest zone in the Fields of Desolation. This machine turned the tide of three or four Karrnathi battles before it was destroyed.^[3]
• In 983 YK, Thrane made arrangements with the archons, who spearheaded a large assault. The force, called the Great Eastern Campaign and led by these archons (the Messengers) crossed Scions Sound. By 984, they had taken Eston and Kalazart, taking a House Cannith Creation Forge. However, after retrieving large trunks laden with books, they withdrew to Flamekeep. After than advance, the Messengers disappeared back to Shavarath, and Thrane's true goal was never revealed.^[3]

ReferencesEdit