Shefsepoken (singular: shefsepoke) are the voluminous, magical black robes worn by the Voroshk wizard family from their separate world. An outfit of shefsepoke could protect the wearer from great physical harm, especially if the wearer was mentally prepared for incoming danger. The fabric would protect wearers from physical projectiles, such as arrows and sword strikes, but were also effective against concussive blasts. The clothing was responsive to the thoughts of its owner, and switching outfits to a brand new person would result in the new wearer experiencing some difficulty in managing it.
The Voroshk family maintained tight control over their world, always wearing their shefsepoken robes and flying through the air aboard their flying posts, the rheitgeistiden, in public. The black robes and the flying posts were invaluable tools but also priceless status symbols.
Other sorcerers of very high magnitude from the homeworld, primarily the Howler and Blind Emon, used magical clothing to similar effect, although their different fabrics did not look like, and were not called, shefsepoken.
Soldiers Live[]
When several members of the Voroshk sought refuge with the Company, Croaker insisted that they turn over their shefsepoken along with their flying posts, the rheitgeistiden. These two objects were the most precious possessions of any Voroshk, so this ultimatum was a difficult one for each Voroshk family member to stomach. The Company inherited about 7 shefsepoken in this way; the robes were distributed to key Company members as needed.
Though shefsepoken afforded great protection, they were not invincible, and were particularly susceptible to heat and to nearby concussive blasts when the user was not expecting it. Croaker insisted that Sleepy's chief of staff (General Chu) and her young personal assistant (Mihlos Sedona) each wear a shefsepoke when they went to conduct aerial reconnaissance of the Palace of Taglios for the upcoming Siege of Taglios. Despite their shefsepoken, both General Chu and Sedona were utterly disintegrated when their highly explosive rheitgeistiden were blown up.
Croaker wore a shefsepoke during his and Goblin's assault on Kina in Soldiers Live. The attack involved detonating a rheitgeistide by Kina, which then resulted in a yet more powerful explosion caused by her death. Croaker's sheksepoke was stunned by the immensity of the resulting explosion, but he was at a relatively safe distance and he was able to "prepare" it via the mental link established by the magic fabric. It allowed Croaker to survive where he would have otherwise been incinerated.