Shahra

"Did I change my destiny? Did I keep our promise?"

- Shahra to Sonic

Shahra, the Genie of the Ring (シャーラ) or simply Shahra, is a special, eager young genie(the proper name for this race is djinn) from the world of the Arabian Nights who enlists the help of Sonic in Sonic and the Secret Rings.

In the game, she grants Sonic special abilities and bonuses to aid Sonic in his quest. She appears as a ball of light in the stages (much as Tikal did in Sonic Adventure), and she appears to have a strong relationship with Erazor. She has a habit of calling Sonic "Master" (she's likely used to calling whoever possesses the ring her master like a genie normally would), even though he prefers her to just call him by name. While she does have high magic power, she seems to be unable to undo the works of any of the Erazor Djinn's magic, such as the cursed flaming arrow that he embeds in Sonic's chest. It is hinted that she and the Erazor Djinn were once in love or were friends, but when Shahra tells Sonic in the Last Chapter, "I just want to be back with him!", the former seems most likely.

In the end of the story, she is revealed as having a partnership of sorts with Erazor. However, she does not believe this is the "right path" when Sonic wishes for her to, "Do what you truly think is right!" When Erazor attempts to sacrifice Sonic, she saves him, sacrificing her own life. She is later brought back to life with Sonic's first wish on the Erazor Djinn's lamp. After Sonic's last wish (that Erazor spend eternity in his lamp) is granted, Shahra cries, overcome with grief at both her betrayal of Sonic and the loss of a possibly close friend. Sonic, in an act of compassion, wishes for a mountain of handkerchiefs so that she can cry as long as she needs to, which was a reference to the beginning of the story.

Powers and Abilities
As the genie of the ring, Shahra possesses magical abilites that allows her to grant the wishes of her master though she can only grant simple wishes, such as making a mountain of handkerchiefs appear, call forth magical carpets, or taking someone into the world of the Arabian Nights. She is also unable to undo the works of any of the Erazor Djinn's magic, which are on a completely different level, such as the cursed flaming arrow that he embeds in Sonic's chest.

Sonic the Hedgehog
In the beginning of the game, Shahra asks Sonic for help, so that he can save her world from the evil Erazor Djinn, Sonic agrees but he can only go in the book on one condition; he has to wear a ring so that she can grant his wishes. Throughout the game she constantly calls Sonic "Master", but Sonic with modesty, tells her to call him by his name. Shahra took herself as a slave towards Sonic; but modest and generous as ever, Sonic tries to keep her as a friend. In one of the cutscenes, Sonic tells her not to feel so glum about the whole situation and promises her that he will keep her smiling in the end of the situation not as her master but as a friend, so they both crossed their pinkies together as a symbol of "promise". But in the end of the cutscene Shahra shakily speaks to herself, "A promise..."because she was afraid if they could not retain their friendship because of Erazor. Then after that, Shahra felt sorry for Sonic when she found out that Sonic is supposed to be a sacrifice when utilizing the hidden power of the World Rings and apologized for getting him involved in it but Sonic makes her feel better saying that he'll accomplish the mission. However, after saving King Sharyar, Shahra was not able to remove the flame on Sonic chest which was a curse for his own life, however Sonic tried to cheer her up saying that an adventure is not fun for him if it's too easy.

Shahra also appears to be hiding from Sonic in several cutscenes. For unknown reasons Sonic is able to read any World Ring he receives, something which no one else can do. When Sonic explains the power he feels from the Ring and speculates what kind of emotions each contain, Shahra always replies with, "..."by making a worried look, perhaps knowing the secrets of the Rings but not telling Sonic or she was surprised on how is Sonic able to read and feel the World Rings. It is also noticeable that when Sonic explains the power, she backs away from him without him noticing and was not able to answer him when he asked what the Erazor Djinn wants to do with the World Rings. She also failed to answer Sonic when Sonic asked how did she know the Erazor Djinn.

In the end, she could not keep the promise and thought that she should go back to Erazor, Sonic with shock asked her why is she doing it, she told him that she has no other choice. Sonic commands her to choose what she thinks is truly right, but then Shahra faints. When Erazor got the chance to kill Sonic, Shahra came in the way causing her to die instead. In the end, after defeating Erazor, Sonic forces Erazor Djinn to grant a wish to bring Shahra back to life. When Sonic goes back to his world, Shahra speaks to herself and thanks Sonic for helping her world.

Erazor Djinn
In the game, it seems that Shahra and Erazor Djinn have known each other for a long time, though the nature of their relationship was not clearly known. In one scene, Sonic seems to find Shahra suspicious about her knowledge on Erazor Djinn, and asks her, "Uh, Shahra? How do you and the Erazor Djinn know each other?", Shahra, with hesitation, was unable to answer, but Sonic didn't mind and said, "Hey, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it.". Also, in one scene Erazor asks Shahra kindly, "Shahra, please. Let us rule the world together.", Shahra looks at Sonic and says, "Sorry, but I just want to be back with him!". Also in the end, when Sonic defeats Erazor Djinn, Shahra felt guilty that she couldn't help Erazor, and cries because she knew that he could never come back.

Trivia

 * Shahra's name suggests the 1001 Nights character Scheherazade
 * In Sonic Rivals 2, Shahra is referred as Shanhra, a possible typo.
 * Shahra's appearance seems to have passed on to Merlina the Sorceress from Sonic and the Black Knight. While they are both Sonic's friends, Sonic had to battle Merlina as the final boss when Sonic never fought Shahra at all (Sonic trying to talk Shahra out of giving Erazor Djinn the rings wasn't an actual "fight", more like a psychological struggle).
 * She is the sixth (fifth if events prior to the time reboot in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) count) Sonic character who has actually died. The first and second were E-101 Beta and E-102 Gamma in Sonic Adventure, the third was Maria Robotnik in Sonic Adventure 2 the forth was Gerald Robotnik in Sonic Adventure 2 and the fifth is Sonic himself in Sonic 06.
 * Shahra was brought back to life by Sonic's first wish on Erazor. According to the original Arabian Nights, the Genie of the Lamp can't do that. It is possible that Sonic wished that first because the Arabian Nights weren't restored yet, so he took the opportunity to make the wish for Shahra.
 * Shahra is currently the only Storybook Series character who has appeared in Sonic's world (Merlina was able to bring Sonic into her story with a spell).
 * The name Shahra is the Arabic word for "desert".
 * In the original story of Aladdin, the evil sorcerer who tricked Aladdin gives him a ring with a genie in it. This may be where the idea for Shahra came from.

Quotes

 * "Do not be alarmed, I am Shahra, the Genie of the Ring." - Shahra introducing herself to Sonic.
 * "What!? You've got to be kidding me! It's the best told story of the Arabian Nights...or at least the second best." - Shahra when Sonic tells her he's never read Aladdin and the Magic Lamp.
 * "Please, be serious!" - Shahra when Sonic wished for a handkerchief.
 * "O Master, what is thy wish?" - Shahra when Sonic calls her from her Ring.
 * "Sonic, can't you swim?" - Shahra teasing Sonic because he can't swim.
 * "You're gonna lose! Increase the Soul Gauge by moving the Wii Remote." - Shahra when Darkspine Sonic is not using enough power in his fight with Alf-Layla-wa-Layla.