Sheltem

Sheltem
Sheltem as he appears in Might and Magic V.
Character information
Introduced	[[ Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum (1986)]]
Race	Guardian
Gender	Masculine
Affiliation	• The Ancients • Castle Alamar (VARN 4) • Castle Alamar (XEEN)
Occupation	• Guardian of Terra • Ruler of Castle Alamar (VARN 4) • Ruler of Castle Alamar (XEEN)
Aliases	• Sheltem the Dark • The Omnipotent King Alamar • The Imposter • The Supreme Law of Terra • Imposter XX21A7-3 • Alamar
Appearances
Mentioned in
Background
Native world	Terra
Status	Destroyed (as of the Unification Ceremony)
Birth	Unknown
Death	850 XEEN calendar (~ 1100s AS)

"I am Sheltem, Guardian of Terra. Twice now you have defeated my tests, thinking yourself worthy of invading my world. Walk carefully then through this third challenge, and take heed your final decision is truly what you desire - for the course of destiny cannot be turned once set in motion..."
—Sheltem

Sheltem the Dark (legacy official bio) acted as the main antagonist throughout the series from Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum up until Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen. He was a S.H.E.L.T.E.M. unit Guardian who was designed by the Ancients to act as the overseer and "Supreme Law" of the seeded world of Terra, but poorly-implemented directives and logical faculties caused him to turn renegade: resolutely convinced that the Ancients were working against his goal to protect Terra, he launched an interplanetary campaign against his creators, driving worlds into their suns and disrupting the destinies of numerous projects.

Sheltem's corruption became a force to be reckoned with when his counterpart, Corak, was dispatched to deactivate and retrieve him once the Ancients learned Sheltem had been engaging in "experiments in self-sufficiency". He outmaneuvered the Ancients' agents, escaped to VARN 4 and, armed with newfound heurism and emotion, masqueraded at the formerly-benevolent King Alamar for several years. Upon being unmasked, Sheltem fled VARN 4, and battled Corak on three successive worlds. His zealous plots in the name of Terra's defence would set the stage for the quandaries depicted in all of the series' early installments.

The malfunctioning Guardian's rebellion came to a head on the world of XEEN, when Corak, assisted by the Dragon Pharaoh and a band of native adventurers, successfully apprehended and cornered Sheltem in Castle Alamar. Their duel ended in a stalemate, and Corak was required to sacrifice himself to destroy his nemesis, thereby bringing the interstellar crisis to a bittersweet close. In spite of his destruction, Sheltem's actions had left a profound impact on the Ancients' colonies, and his name continued to be invoked long after his downfall.

Biography

Sheltem first makes his appearance on VARN as the escaped prisoner of 'aliens,' when he escapes the capture of Corak. When he is caught by the heroes to be impersonating the King and is pursued by Corak, he makes his escape through 'gates to another world' to CRON.

Sheltem escaped by a magic portal and has landed on CRON (Central Research Observational Nacelle). Sheltem has driven it off of its course and hurls it toward the sun. While the heroes are trying to stop CRON from being destroyed, Sheltem escapes again.

Sheltem has escaped back to Terra, where everything started. But the heroes find out what he's doing behind the scenes and they drive him off course. Sheltem escapes (again) in a space shuttle and Corak goes after Sheltem in another shuttle. Our eight adventurers take a third shuttle and follow Corak and Sheltem. Sheltem safely landed on XEEN (Xylonite Experimental Environment Nacelle), but Corak does not appear to land as safely. The heroes never land, and are 'never seen again,' reappearing in Might and Magic VII.

Log Entry XLDBA: The X.E.E.N. project looms ahead. All three ships will crash into it tomorrow. My stasis generator will protect me and my ship from the impact. Mostly. May the Gods smile upon me.

Log Entry XLDBB: Impact complete. Stasis passed in the blink of an eye. My sensors indicate that the main ship passed through the atmosphere of the other side of the world and burned up, but not before safely beaming the Terran natives to the surface. Corak's escape pod landed in lava and is stuck there. How sad.

A new party of adventurers is formed with a vision of peace to defeat a new undead calling himself Lord Xeen, dwelling in the Clouds of XEEN, a world in XEEN's sky. When the heroes defeat him, we see a vision from Sheltem saying "You may have defeated my lieutenant, but the Darkside of XEEN will always be mine. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!"

Sheltem is again masquerading as Alamar and is still driving planets into their suns. The Dragon Pharaoh summons the heroes, and they have to perform many tasks to set things with the planets right again. The adventurers find Corak's shuttle, in which they find a Soul Box. With this device, they can smuggle Corak's essence into Sheltem's castle without Sheltem knowing. When the heroes get there, they release Corak, and the two confront each other. Sheltem has grown much bigger and stronger over time, and it seems that Sheltem will win. But Corak grabs Sheltem and activates his self-destruct mechanism, destroying them both. This ends the original Might and Magic storyline.

Might and Magic VII manages to combine Might and Magic V and VI, which had completely different storylines. The eight heroes that were lost in the void from Might and Magic III make a reappearace and undergo a schism; four of the heroes are looking to rebuild the heavenly forge from the time of the Ancients, and the other four are looking to rebuild the portal that will reconnect them with the Ancients, post-dating the Silence.

Trivia

• Sheltem was one of twelve of the Might and Magic series' most prominent characters honoured in the first volume of Ubisoft's Might & Magic Chronicles, which are displayed on the Might & Magic: Heroes VI official website to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the series. He is one of four characters who was classified as a villain, alongside Archibald Ironfist, Sandro and Mutare Drake.

Appearances

• Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum
• Might and Magic Book Two: Gates to Another World
• Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars (mentioned only)
• Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra
• Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen
• Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen
• Might and Magic: World of Xeen (mentioned only)
• Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor (mentioned only)
• Might and Magic: Swords of Xeen (mentioned only)

References

Preceded by: Unknown

Guardian of Terra Sheltem the Dark ?- ~500 Terra calendar

Succeeded by: Corak the Mysterious/None Never assumed position

Preceded by: King Alamar

Ruler of Castle Alamar The Imposter ~ Four years, VARN calendar

Succeeded by: King Alamar

Preceded by: Dragon Pharaoh ?-850 XEEN calendar

Ruler of the Darkside of XEEN Sheltem the Dark/Alamar 850 XEEN calendar

Succeeded by: Dragon Pharaoh ~ 850-? XEEN calendar