Shiyama, the Spirit Dragon of the Underworld, is one of the Cathayan Dragons who rule the Human empire of Grand Cathay in the Far East, and the deceased eldest child of the Dragon Emperor and the Moon Empress. She was slain before any of her still-living siblings were born.[1]
It is said that she currently sleeps beneath the Dragon River, guiding the souls of the dead to the Ten Courts of Shyish under the stewardship of her Ancestral Monks.[1]
Appearance[]
Shiyama is described as wearing a porcelain mask divided between Yin and Yang, with an aqueous luminescence shining through the pale skin beneath. Her long hair flows strangely, like water through many stages of a river, and her eyes are cold, blue and utterly dead.[1]
Trivia[]
In the Chinese version of the short story Master of the Meteor Wind, Shiyama's name is rendered as Shi Yan Mo 诗阎摩, and it seems to be based on Yama (阎摩), the Ruler of the Buddhist hells. Some accounts in Chinese folklore state that there are ten Yama Kings presiding over Hell or Diyu, which matches the Ten Courts of Shyish.[2]
Sources[]
- 1: Master of the Meteor Wind (Short Story) by David Guymer
- 2: Reddit - we get a description of Shiyama the Spirit Dragon