Sherman

Sherman: The Shadow Puppeteer

    In the storm-lashed peaks of the Iron Edge Mountains, where ancient glaciers carve channels through stone older than mortal memory, Sherman and his twin Gherman were born into the Orog tribe during the Blood Moon of Talos. The tribe's brutal traditions, forged in the crucible of perpetual winter and divine wrath, shaped both brothers through rituals that would break lesser mortals. While Gherman sought escape from their harsh existence, Sherman appeared to embrace tribal life with fervor, rising through the ranks to become a respected warrior-shaman whose understanding of storm magic earned him a place among the tribe's elite.   Yet beneath this facade of devotion, Sherman harbored secrets that would reshape his destiny. His apparent loyalty masked a growing dissatisfaction with the tribe's rigid hierarchy and a hunger for knowledge that extended far beyond their mountain strongholds. This hidden ambition caught the attention of forces that moved through shadows cast by higher powers, setting in motion Events that would transform him from respected shaman into something far stranger.  

The Dark Compact

  During a covert expedition beyond Orog lands, ostensibly to gather rare storm crystals for tribal rituals, Sherman encountered Vah, the cunning dark fairy who commanded the Sinister Six. The creature's otherworldly presence and obvious power intrigued the ambitious goliath, while Vah recognized potential in Sherman's discontent and his position within the tribe's power structure.  

Your mountain gods whisper of storms, but I can teach you to command tempests that dwarf their petty thunder.

— Vah to Sherman

  What began as a chance encounter evolved into a carefully cultivated relationship. Vah offered Sherman knowledge beyond tribal limitations—forbidden magics that could reshape reality according to will rather than tradition. Intrigued by these possibilities, Sherman began a perilous double life, outwardly devoted to Orog ways while secretly feeding intelligence to the Sinister Six and learning sorceries that would have earned him exile or death had his tribe discovered them.  

The Puppet's Birth

  News of Gherman's death fighting the Mistwatch in the Kanonos Region jungles reached the Orog through traders who spoke of battles far from their mountain realm. Sherman volunteered to retrieve his brother's body, a gesture that seemed born of familial duty but was in fact orchestrated by the Sinister Six to extract their valuable agent from increasingly suspicious tribal elders.   In the Goliath village where Gherman's corpse lay, Sherman witnessed a macabre ritual that transformed death into servitude. The village shaman's necromantic arts had bound his brother's consciousness to reanimated flesh, creating a sentient "meat puppet" whose personality remained intact despite its horrific transformation. Fascinated by this dark magic and recognizing an opportunity to increase his value to the Sinister Six, Sherman attempted to steal the puppet.   His actions provoked his mother, Ursula Ironthews, the tribe's most powerful shaman whose mastery of binding magic was legendary even among the storm-touched peaks. Her response was swift and terrible—she cursed Sherman by binding Gherman's puppet to his right arm and adding Vorrin Shadowleaf, an elf puppet of unknown origin, to his left. This apparent punishment played perfectly into the Sinister Six's long-term plans, providing cover for Sherman's extraction while granting him unique abilities that would prove invaluable in the trials ahead.  

The Vandal's Ascension

  The Sinister Six staged an elaborate ruse, making it appear that Sherman had been banished by his mother's teleportation spell gone awry. In reality, they transported him to join their ranks officially, his sudden appearance in ancient ruins designed to infiltrate the party of adventurers they had been tasked to aid. His bizarre curse became both burden and blessing—while the constant bickering between Gherman and Vorrin Shadowleaf created complications, their opposing natures also provided insights and abilities that no single consciousness could match.   During the Greenglade Massacre, Sherman's transformation reached its apex. His elevation to Vandal—one who systematically destroys according to calculated design—reflected his evolution from tribal warrior to instrument of deliberate chaos. The puppet Gherman provided enthusiastic guidance for the brutal work, while Vorrin's moral objections created the internal conflict that added authenticity to his occasional failures.    

The Voyage of Shadows

  Aboard the Rustleech, Sherman's unique condition proved both fascinating and disturbing to Captain Malista Tinmaw's crew. His ability to consult with multiple perspectives—however grotesquely manifested—provided insights that single minds could not achieve. Gherman's memories of death and resurrection offered understanding of necromantic processes, while Vorrin's elven heritage provided knowledge of ancient magics and forgotten lore.   The toxic waters of the River Vo seemed to energize the meat puppets, their supernatural nature resonating with the necromantic corruption that flowed through the polluted currents. During encounters with Captain Grimharbor's skeletal marines, the puppets displayed disturbing familiarity with undead behavior, suggesting that Sherman's curse connected him to forces beyond mortal comprehension.  

The Puppeteer's Arsenal

  Sherman's combat prowess has evolved to incorporate his curse as a tactical advantage. In battle, he fights with the coordination of three minds, Gherman and Vorrin guiding his massive hands while his own consciousness maintains strategic oversight. This three-fold awareness allows him to perceive threats and opportunities that would escape normal observation, making him a formidable opponent despite the obvious disadvantages of his condition.   His connection to storm magic, inherited from his Orog heritage, has been corrupted and enhanced by his transformation. Lightning now crackles not just from his own will but seems to respond to the emotional states of his bound companions. When Gherman grows excited by violence, electrical energy surges through Sherman's right side, while Vorrin's distress manifests as crackling discharges from his left arm.  

The Constant Chorus

  The psychological burden of Sherman's curse cannot be understated. Gherman's personality, freed from the constraints of mortality, has become more extreme in its bloodthirsty enthusiasms. Meanwhile, Vorrin Shadowleaf retains the refined sensibilities of elven nobility, creating constant internal conflict that sometimes paralyzes Sherman at crucial moments.  

Listen, brother mine, these mortals deserve what's coming to them. Let me show you how to make them scream properly.

— Gherman during The Greenglade Massacre

 

This barbarism dishonors us all! We are not common butchers to delight in such crude work!

— Vorrin Shadowleaf in response

 

The Storm-Touched Vandal

  As they approach Grizburg's industrial nightmare, Sherman carries the weight of transformation from tribal warrior to Vandal—one whose systematic destruction serves purposes greater than mere violence. His role in the Greenglade Massacre proved that he possesses the will to embrace darkness when necessity demands, even when part of his consciousness rebels against such choices.   The Whispering Depths that await beneath Grizburg promise challenges that will test all three aspects of his divided nature. Gherman's understanding of death, Vorrin's knowledge of ancient magic, and Sherman's own storm-touched power may prove essential in navigating the corruption that seeps from Zothra-Khar's fallen realm.   His journey from respected Orog shaman to cursed puppeteer reflects the harsh truth that in Nolavor's poisoned realm, power often comes at prices that transform the seeker beyond recognition. Sherman the Vandal now stands as living proof that sometimes the most effective servants of chaos are those who carry their own internal wars, their divided nature making them perfect instruments for reshaping reality through calculated destruction.   The storm-touched goliath who once sought knowledge beyond tribal limitations has become something far stranger—a mortal whose very existence challenges the boundaries between individual and collective consciousness, between order and chaos, between the living and the bound dead who serve at his fingertips.