"A long, long, time ago..."
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OGL Copyrights Part One Part Two | |
Part One: The Reign of Lloth
Lloth rules the Drow with an iron fist of fear, tolerating no one to act against her wishes
and pitting House against House among the Drow cities, encouraging the strongest to oppress
and enslave the weak. The females speak the Law and rule in her name, the males seen as lesser
beings purely due to their sex, even amongst the nobility. Few dare oppose Her will, and those
few soon find themselves enslaved, ensorcelled, or worse, by her loyal subjects.
Clerics of Lloth are always female, and nearly anyone who holds any rank or wish for power spends at least some time training in the ways of the Yathrine - the Priestesses of Lloth. Men turn their studies to the arcane, mastering a power seen as secondary to that granted by The Goddess, thus far better suited to the male portion of population... a second class power for second class citizens.
There were some that chafed under such chaotic, yet restrictive, rule, but fearing for their
lives and their sanity if they spoke out, many chose to simply... disappear. One by one,
dissenters would leave the cities controlled by Lloth, preferring to risk a fight against
other races of the Underdark or even against the surfacers, rather than lock themselves into
the living torment Lloth gave.
Those who journeyed to the surface found a world unforgiving to a repentant Drow, trapped by their distinctive traits into the role of villain. A few found the peace they searched for... most of them in Death's embrace. Those who journeyed deeper into the Underdark braved the horrors of the Illithids and worse, finding their end amongst strange and bizarre creatures too outlandish to describe properly. Here, as with the surface, most died... but some... a select few... some lived. Strangely enough, it was those who went the deepest who survived. Fear of the hidden dangers of the Deeper Underdark kept pursuers at bay and careful planning mixed with the use of the Arcane kept them safe. In their searches for more defensible caverns and safer places to settle, they came upon a remarkable discovery. Strange markings and constructs, built into the cavern walls themselves, words in a language none could recognize were carved upon crumbling stones, and other hints of a realm long since passed into dust were found. Curiosity and the security such shelter provided convinced these "forgotten" Drow to remain, and in doing so, they awoke the slumbering deities these forgotten people had worshiped. Far from being irate at the invasion, these deities welcomed the outcasts, taught them the ways of their former worshippers, and gave them a purpose to their lives, other than merely running from Lloth. In return, these Drow rebuilt the shrines and temples to their new patrons, serving them with the utter devotion and fervor that they had only seen amongst their Lloth serving brethren. Instead of Chaos and struggles amongst themselves, their new deities taught them how to trust and work together. Law, true Order, and Honor, concepts formerly entirely unknown and foreign to them, became the focus of their ways, and their thankfulness knew no bounds. Their small town began to thrive, the population growing as more of the Drow who agreed with their views began arriving, and growing yet more as a few dared to return to the cities of Lloth and recruit old friends, trusting in the protection of their patrons. Such trust was not misplaced, for all who left, invariably returned with at least one, often more, new members for the community. Such activities could not go unnoticed forever. Lloth discovered these Drow who dared desert her and her anger knew no bounds. Yet, to her utter shock and frustration, she could not find their lairs, the paths they traveled, nor even their names. Such things were hidden from her as surely as a hand covering the eyes of a mortal. Even her most trusted warriors and servants would come back empty handed and confused when sent out to bring the errant Drow home. Enraged, Lloth fell into silence rather than admit her failure. She slaughtered those servants she had sent out and covered up all evidence that her attempts had been thwarted. Her clergy was forbidden, upon pain worse than death, to speak of it to anyone, even amongst themselves, but Lloth knows, and she waits for her chance. The "forgotten" Drow are "forgotten" no longer. With the power of their deities, they hide, they plan, and they live. Part Two: The Forgotten Sisters
The actual history of The Three is lost in the depths of time, forgotten by the passing
centuries and destroyed by those who would have wished the Sisters themselves completely
removed from existence. Even the Sisters themselves find their early memories hazy and
incomplete, damaged by the uncountable eons they remained unaware of the world around them,
yet what few memories they do have are those of terrible tragedy and war. They know that once
they battled insurmountable odds, they and their people standing alone against their enemies,
fighting with all their strength, only to be outnumbered and over-run in the end. The Sisters
were banished to the deepest realms of the earth in a terrible curse of slumber, helpless to
protect their few surviving worshipers as their cities were reduced to ruin, every shred of
their existence wiped out so thoroughly that no one even remembers their names.
The eldest sister, Keyazu, is the natural leader of The Three and was the first to awaken after the "forgotten" Drow stumbled across their prison. She was able find and, despite the damage to her memories, awaken one of her sisters, Sydekale, though the third, youngest, sister remained lost. Keyazu saw to organizing the Drow themselves, while Sydekale tended to their surroundings, coaxing the underdark itself into a protective camouflage about their makeshift city, both deciding that the most important matter at hand was to ensure the survival of themselves and their new people. It was some time before the two sisters managed to find and awaken their youngest sibling, and of the three, she was the most traumatized by their enforced slumber. Her memories suffered the worst of all: she could no longer even remember her own name. Much to their dismay, neither Keyazu nor Sydekale could remember it either and any written record of it has been erased by the passage of time. More than slightly insane and obsessed with discovering any clue to her identity, the youngest sister adopted the pseudonym of "The Nameless One" and spent her time pursuing all shreds of possible knowledge about her, her sisters, or their old world with a fanatic's intense focus, using her mastery of various arcane and alchemical arts, a never- ending, and some believe fruitless, search. Shrines and temples were raised in honor of The Three, growing more ornate and sturdy as craftsman began to arrive in the slow trickles of newcomers to their small town, drawn there by dreams and rumors of a better life. Soon the Drow began to almost thrive, The Sisters able to hide all their people from detection by their new enemy, despite Her far reaching power. Even those who dared return to their former cities to recruit old friends were safe from divine detection, hidden under the protection The Sisters provided. Yet, despite the protection covering their identities, nothing could hide the disappearance of certain Drow, sometimes even entire houses, and the patron deity of the chaotic Drow was far from pleased. But despite Her anger, She still could not break through the mask covering Her perception, not even to discover the identities of The Sisters, though no doubt She suspects something more than mortal is assisting those mortals who flee from Her control. The Sisters do their best to ensure their newfound worshippers survival, carefully planning their approach and slowly but surely helping the Drow to overcome their isolationist, almost xenophobic, ways and gladly welcome those who come to them for aid, though such aid always comes with a price. Once, The Sisters failed those who followed them, and lost everything they held dear. Now, they are determined never to let such happen again. | ||
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