dancing in the faerie ring

there is change and fluidity in every daedric prince , but none make this more clear than sheogorath - with madness as sphere , of course would be unpredictable and uncontrollable . right ?
between different games and lore books within those games , indeed sheogorath can be very different . daggerfall is extremely unstable , morrowind is complete inverse . base game oblivion quest is funny and random , but see serious side in shivering isles . and skyrim is ... skyrim ... yeah ...

point is , all of these equally sheogorath . dramatic changes , for sure ! so why and how ?
well ... hopefully simple enough , these various traits exist on scales . clarity of thought and memory , clarity of words and expressions . emotional control , impulse control , judgment and sense of logic . so on , and so forth . even in stability , sheogorath is unstable - that is nature . not just of madness - as sheogorath is sort of proto-madness from which all madness stem , and thus must encapsulate and express all - but also of daedric fluidity .

shivering isles was similarly unstable for quite some time . as very moods and expressions shift , so would entire realm - landmasses would break apart , shift , take new shapes , waters would rise and fall , flora , fungi , and fauna would mutate and evolve and go extinct . this was not ideal for anyone , most especially sheogorath .
after first true greymarch , lands corrupt by jyggalag , realm adapt under duress - half of realm exist in bright , and half in dark , as sheogorath oscillate too wildly for things to shift . things would remain this way , even in greymarches after , as sheogorath come to quite enjoy . people would come to know bright half as mania , and dark half as dementia , both equally alive and full of feeling .

in mania one can find colour , joy and laughter , drugs beyond compare . these very hills exist to inspire artistry and hope , whether waters flow up or down .
of course , mania can also be dangerous : creature inhabitants can be snappish , or not always understand consequences to actions . in most dangerous of times , one can attract attention of megafungi , to almost always fatal results .

in dementia one can find most dreary of sights , depths of despair , darkness which seem to never end . dementia is place to mourn , place which can look back at those awful horrendous feelings and understand .
dementia have reputation for danger , especially as creature inhabitants can be quite territorial - many grave sites here , for one - but not all is for worse . there can be spots of comfortable silence in dementia , which mania do not really know how to give .

as shivering isles find people inhabit again , people often feel more drawn to one side than other - and between people of either side , there can be overlap in madnesses , traits , and expressions .
some people would then try to put these into equivalent categories . but that is counterproductive - many madnesses do not have one single home , but depend on individual at hand . delusions and hallucinations vary in subjects and presentations , for example - delusion of grandeur is quite different from delusion of undeath . likewise , violences come from many different kinds of roots , not all of which can even call madness .

with all this in mind , mania and dementia can vaguely describe these feelings and madnesses , and in some cases - like that of sheogorath , and later haskill - this can be helpful , but there is no hard and fast rule which is which . where someone belong is down to inner feelings , which land draw attention and fill needs . some people will move between both , look for lands between , or simply settle even if not quite right .

---

back to thaliendir / sheogorath masterpost

figure shivering isles , as represent sheogorath's mind , would change to reflect whoever take current title . so …

• gnarls generally passive and stay away from people , unless those people attack . then , all near gnarls will become hostile . dementia gnarls often solitary , but mania gnarls come in groups . in either side , can sometimes see gnarls perform rituals at chosen trees .
• mania grummites safe only from distance - while these grummites mean no harm , just can not understand limits and pain of other creatures - will approach at random and play . dementia grummites live solitary , like gnarls , and will not approach like mania grummites do . when attack , these grummites will not defend selves or even run - just cry out until dead .
• baliwog passive unless attack , in both mania and dementia .
• scalon can be hostile , but usually only near territory in water , or if attack first - otherwise passive . but , if traveller attack grummite or baliwog and scalon is near , scalon will defend .
• elytra will also attack travellers in territory , and will defend solitary gnarls if near when traveller attack . often appear in at least pairs , in both mania and dementia .
• undead and daedric creatures do not behave different , for those who go far enough to see .
• thaliendir replace duchy with dolls , and entrust wide-eye and kithlan to understand what these dolls want . mania's doll get reputation as obsessive artist who will not stop even to sleep , and dementia's as depressive hermit who escape with near constant meditation and sleep . whether or not these dolls even alive and animate is debate that very few can answer for certain .