First Appearance: Heirs of Mâvarin, Chapter One

Trivia: Shela's horse is a grey filly named Seld.

Quote: “I am not certain I approve of this.”

Shela Cados is the only child of Lord Shari Cados, ruler of the selmûn stronghold of Odamas and cousin to the late Queen Genva of Mâvarin. Like many of the grey-haired, grey-eyed selmûnen, Shela is a Wanderer, a combination minstrel, lore-gatherer and diplomat. (Other popular selmûn occupations include healing, agriculture, and sheep herding.) Shela spends most of her time along the River Road between Thâlemar to the north and Mâshelamar to the south. A disproportionate amount of her time and attention is devoted to three teenagers in the village of Liftlabeth, to whom Shela is a mentor.

Like most of her people, Shela is formal and serious in manner, more analytical than effusive. 

The otherworld version of Shela (first seen in Mages of Mâvarin, Chapter 16) differs from her counterpart only slightly, chiefly in her experiences over the past year.

Shela and the Tengrem

The tengrem reached out and grabbed Shela’s sword hand by the wrist, its claws digging lightly into her flesh.  Shela!  Don’t!  The words sounded like Rani’s voice, but they came from inside Shela’s head instead of being carried by the afternoon breeze.  Shela looked around, even as the tengrem wrested the sword from her hand and tossed it into the river.  There was no sign of Rani.  Possibly she had only imagined his two word warning.  The tengrem was looking at her intently, so much so that it seemed to have forgotten the other villagers.  This time she was sure the creature’s eye color was different from before, almost more brown than yellow.   “Sheella!  Donnn!” it rumbled.   Had it heard Rani’s words as well?

In her peripheral vision, Shela could see Jord Baret circling in from the north.  She turned her head slightly the other way, just in time to see Clif Wipan and Suri Pelch approaching the tengrem from the other direction.

Perhaps alerted by Shela’s movements, the tengrem turned its head and saw Clif and Suri, now just a few steps away from it.  “Nno!” the tengrem roared.  It reared, kicking the sword out of Suri’s hand, causing the rancher to fall off his horse.  As it came down to earth the tengrem grabbed Clif’s sword as well, causing the miller to yelp with pain as he joined his friend Suri on the ground.  Both horses galloped away, back toward Liftlabeth.  Four lines of bright red blood appeared on Clif’s arm, souvenirs of the tengrem’s claws.  Suri was holding his wrist as if it was broken.  The tengrem threw their swords into the river near where Shela’s had landed, at least fifty feet from shore.

Now the other men and their horses were closing in on the tengrem, led by Jord and Jamek.  The monster backed away, puffing.  Its breath was smoky, and its yellow eyes had changed again.  Now there were flecks of red pigment along with the brown.   “Donn...donnt.  Sheella, heh…heh…hellp….”  It reared on its hind legs, breathing fire, but instead of attacking it turned and dashed into the river, plunging into water deep enough to cover its equine back.  It swam about fifty yards upstream, and splashed back to shore.  It turned to face the humans again, this time from a safer distance. “Lemmee go,” the tengrem whimpered, its words somewhat more distinct than before, and surprisingly loud given the distance.  “Shela, hellp....”

Even more than the fact that it had called her by name, four times now, there was something profoundly disturbing about the sound of that harsh young voice pronouncing those syllables.  Now that its speech was more understandable, Shela was certain that the voice did not match that of the tengrem they had hunted earlier, even allowing for changes in emotional state.  Why did this tengrem’s voice sound so familiar?

Otherworld Journal Entry: Shela Cados

from the travel diary of Shela Cados

Sabedu, 14th Day of Dortem, 896 MMY

We have arrived at Tengremay, a refuge several hours' travel north of Mâshelamar. It is owned and maintained by Meligor, who is both a mage and a tengrem.  Neither Lord Peli nor Albi knows of any tengrem mages other than our current host.

Within moments of our arrival, Meligor's divination talent compromised my current mission. Meligor publicly addressed my kinsman by his proper title, thus revealing his identity to anyone in our party who did not already know it. Lord Peli agrees with me that this is a dangerous turn of events, but Meligor seems unconcerned, as does Albi. Although he was initially discomfited, my kinsman rose to the situation, acknowledging Meligor's words with grace and honesty.  Already I see in him the person he will become, if he survives both the ongoing political situation and our current troubles.

My personal relationship with Lord Peli grows more cordial and intimate each day.  Charting our future together, if any, is problematic, both logistically and emotionally.  However, neither of us is inclined to turn away. We each know our responsibilities, and we will discharge them; yet we will allow our romance to proceed to the extent that it does not interfere with those duties.  It is a delicate balance to strike, especially at such a dangerous time.  To employ the informal vernacular that Peli occasionally uses in private, I hope this isn't a mistake!

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Introduction and Sample Scene from Heirs of Mâvarin

Introduction and Sample Scene from Mages of Mâvarin

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