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 Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 6:22 pm
  5th Noble House The ancient house of Dalharil del Suliss'urn Vlos strikes an impressive figure, not through size, or power per say, but in the elegance of the architecture. Towering statues of the most honored Goddess, and the highest held matrons of the house's history can be seen clearly from across the city, while impossibly small carvings barely visible from a foot away adorn every inch of the stone walls. D'Alevall is a house of artisans, and sports one of the only academies of art in UnderGaia. For the last 6 centuries, D'Alevall artisans have been commissioned almost solely for the decoration of the other houses of the city, and even of some other cities, keeping a steady stream of gold filling the coffers of the refined household The house boasts 400 soldiers and slaves, a full hundred of which are trained with the chisel, and some even with paint. Commoners trained in that direction, cousins, and skilled slaves are all held within the academy of art along with skilled masters and skilled commoners from other houses, come to learn. The Physical attributes of the nobles:The bodies of the noble females are slight, and fragile-looking, possibly some of the smallest drow in the city. Pale on drow standards, in the light their skin appears to be a somber grey as opposed to the obsidian skin of their fellows. Females sport unusually rounded features, that complements the arching and elegant design of their house. Their hair has a pale pallor of stark-white, as is typical of the drow, but is kinky and curly, and notoriously difficult to calm. The eyes are usually a golden hue. Overall, the females of the house appear to be a small threat, but to underestimate them is a faulty idea. Though not overly physically strong, their mental and magical strength is formidable. Male nobles are rather different. Matrons have a tendancy to choose large patrons, and thusly the male offspring are as tell as the females are petite. Like the females, however, their features are strangely rounded. Their hair is starkly white, but straight. Eyes are gold. Both females and males have deep-set and strangely calm-looking eyes. In some occurances, it even appears that she may look perpetually sleepy...a mistake that has cost more than one life. Soldiers:The soldiers of House D'Alevall are rarely put to war, and are thusly not as skilled as soldiers of other houses. Their favored weapon is the hand-held crossbow, preferring distance and stealth to open warfare.
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 6:26 pm
  The main bragging point of House D'Alevall is the house itself. A wonder of archetectual design, it is notorious throughout UnderGaia. The main building itself is built from one massive column of made of a stalagmite and stalagtite that touch and combine into one towering structure. Tapering at the top is the Matron's chamber, where the matron mother and her daughters dwell. It is a cylindrical building, surrounded by a large balcony that is supported on eight magically-enhanced carved stone spider legs, that grip the lower level. The building itself has eight doors that connect to eight rooms going around. The largest central room is the sleeping chambers of the matron. This entire area is surrounded by a magical barrier, which is rumored to only allow access to the female nobles of the family. ABove this there stands three massive statues, sculpted from the weist up. They depict the three most influencial matrons in the house's history.....The matron who established the family itself, the matron who through tireless effort brought glory to the family and established it in it's current place, and the matron who comissioned the overall decoration of the house. There is little above these, though there is a long and seemingly endless staircase built directly in the middle of the statues that winds up into the cavern ceiling. These further lead into three stalactites. In these live the lookouts of the house. A noble could easily levitate up there, but commoners are stuck there, for the climb up and down is perilous and takes many days to surmount. They are generations long, and are like three families in among themselves. They Are on constant watch for attack, and are in an excellent place o do so. If such an attack comes, a signal is sent all around the house, and forces are assembled. Being that the families have not left the three buildings for such a long time, they have a specific look. They are truly diminutive in stature, but posses strangely long limbs in comparison to their form. Below the matron mother's and her daughter's quarters, there is the dwellings of the males of the family. This is not protected, but most of the structure is innerly built. There is a long and winding staircase circling around it, which also lead eventually to the female's quarters.
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 6:28 pm
HOuse hierarchy, character profiles
 Matron AlaunlaraPlayed By AdharraMatron Alaunlara is the second daughter of the deceased previous matron, who is never named. When the previous matron is poisoned, the eldest daughter attempts to take control. Unfortunately, both matron and eldest daughter are killed (by each other). ALaunlara then takes the throne of the house. WHile most females would be ecstatic at this chance, Alaunlara's position is precarious at best. An unusually weak-willed female, her past mistakes have altogether destroyed her chances at success and child-rearing abilities. A failed attempt at a barter for power with a low-level denizen of a far-away plain not only caused much destruction to her house, but made her late term pregnant mother to miscarry. An examination of the fetus showed that the future drow would have been female. Angered, the matron ritualistically tore out Alaunlara's womb to avenge the unborn female's death, making ALaunlara forever sterile. Lloth apparently looked fondly upon this display, because several years later the matron gave birth to her youngest, Alyune. Alyune
PLayed by Adharra The youngest daughter of the previous Matron, young Alyune is the baby of the family. A priestess of Lloth, a once accomplished sorceress, a misadventure on the surface during a raid-went wrong mysteriously sapped her of all her natural spell-casting abilities, though she is now trying to learn the "wizard method" of memorized spells. Her favored weapon is the rapier, though she rarely puts it to use. For many years, she was used as an emissary to discuss commissions and payments for her family's trade. She traveled for over fifty years from place to place, and even had an adventure or two on the curs'd surface world, when she was mistakenly thought dead and left behind by her party. But now, necessity has brought her back to her house. In lieu of the circumstances, Alyune has found herself in a position of possible power. It won't be long until Alyune takes her sister out of her misery.  DivroosPlayed By AdharraThe only son and oldest child of the previous Matron. Divroos holds a rare position of master artisan, leading the intentions of the house's source of income. His face and body are covered in web-like scars originating from the very incident that lost Alaunlara her fertility. He prefers Alyune to ALaunlara by far, and assists his youngest sister's strive for power in any way he can, excited for the day he will no doubt be rewarded.
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 10:23 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 12:16 am
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Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 1:02 pm
Alyune noisily clacked her feet against the flagstones of the chapel. She wanted to do so much more, to cause so much angry noise that the stained glass windows, which had been painstakingly crafted hundreds of years ago by surface elves, shattered into a million needle- sharp shards.
These panes were precious, a prize claimed by a long-ago surface raid of a despicable fairie kingdom. Seen in the light, the glass formed a history of sorts. It began with the two races of elves happily together, and then pane by pane, if viewed in the correct order, told of the wars and the eventual speration of the dark-skinned elves.
They were placed so that the first panes were nearest the entrance of the chapel, the story progressing until the end of the long chamber was reached. The panes of history, as they were called by the commoners of the house, cut off at the point where their ancestors were forced into the underdark for the first time.
At the end was a decorated alabaster alter, a ceremonial throne, and most importantly, a collosal, but hollow carving of The Spider Queen, carved from a single, massive piece of quartz. The statue of the goddess had her arms spread wide, and an uncharacteristic smile upon her lips, as if to continue the history panes by welcoming the b*****d-race within her arms.
During ceremonies, fairie fire was alighted on all of the windows, and a single, precious candle was lit inside of the statue of Lloth, so her entire body, which was draped in a gown of spider webs, seemed to glow. When this happened, the entire chapel took on an unreal feeling, as if the cold stone, crystal and glass pulsed with blood. The carvings, especially on the statue of Lloth, seemed all too real, as if a stray breeze would pull the carved webs off of her celestial body.
But, as wonderful as all this was, none of this could be seen. This was Under Gaia. Light meant nothing to the drow, only heat. And so, all of these beautiful things were nothing more than shapeless stone to the walking drow. Adharra did not take any of this into consideration. She had been summoned from her travels for a reason, and that was not to gawk at the decorations.
After several tense minutes of walking up the staircases of the chapel, Adharra finally made it to the central room. What she saw did not please her.
"Alaunlara!" she shouted in, her voice sounding like the squeak of an angry mouse within the folds of her surprise. "Get out of that throne! That is for the matron mother only, you little b***h."
Alaunlara shifted uneasily in her seat. She straitened up, and gave her best impersonation of someone with confidence. Alyune did not like this. "Where is the Matron. I must know why I have been summoned. My time is not to be wasted, unlike yours, sister."
Alaunlara lost her nerve at her sister's ferocity. Though Alyune was significantly smaller that Alaunlara, she knew that her younger sister was much less reserved in punishment. She muttered her answer, quietly but firmly. Alyune did not hear her, but understood fully what was going on. She did not want to believe it however.
Still, she plowed on, more carefully this time. "Where is our mother, dear sister?" she said acidly.
"Dead." Alaunlara said. "I am the new Matron of our house."
Alyune furrowed her brow. "You are not the oldest sister." she remarked.
"No..."
"Where is Hounjra? It is her rightful place as eldest." Alyune thought she already knew, but for the sake of courtesy, continued.
"Dead as well." Alaunlara responded. "The matron became ill some time ago,"
Illness...what a fine word for poison, thought Alyune.
"And, Hounjra sought her place. She attempted to take it, but Mother was not yet dead enough. They killed each other. Now I am the Matron."
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 9:49 pm
Alyune scowled as a sudden fear swept over her. She had known the matron had been ill. The drama that had been absolving between House D'Alevall and their most recent customer. It was a low ranked noble house, far below the ruling houses. They had commissioned a piece for their alter, and the late matron Fritia, wanting to lord her house's status, demanded twice the payment that they had origionally agreed upon. In order to pay off the massive commision, they were forced to pay with soldiers, and even a few minor priestess's.
When Matron Fritia came up ill, there was no question of where the poison might have come from. THe venom spread slowly, however, for the Matron was in high favor of the Goddess. Had she been left alone, she would have recovered.
No doubt, Hounjra was lax to wait that long. Whisperings and rumors flew around the city like carrion flies. The sister knew that these were much more dangerous than any poison. An illing matron mother was sure to create a very seductive opportunity to the lower houses. She did what she thought was correct, and killed her mother.
"She gave her to Lloth, with an offered prayer." Alaunlara said. "I was there. The moment the blade pulled out her heart, spiders flew from the wound. I don't know if it was Fritia casting a final spell, or Lloth herself. Most likely it was the doing of the matron, a final spell to attempt to save her life, for the spiders did not kill her instantly. They filled her with poison as Fritia was. It took her several cycles to pass"
"IT was my place then. The matron and first daughter were dead. I am the second born daughter, so it is that I have taken the place as Matron mother.You must know why I summoned you, now sister. The house is weak. There are only three nobles of this house alive, you, I, and Divroos. I.... have no children."
Alyune felt as if she could be sick, but she was too insulted. Alaunlara was sterile. The only way she would have children is if she took anothers. THAT is one of the reasons she summoned me. Alaunlara was weak, in body and mind. She was too soft, and her hand was not confortable with punishment. Left under her rule, the ancient house of Dalharil del Suliss'urn Vlos would come to am abrupt and bloody end.
Alyune would take it no more. She was exhausted. Her eyes cast on the form of Divroos. "Tell the commoners to bring my things to my room. Then come with me." she commanded. Without saying another word, she turned face and headed to the stair-case that led to the female's chambers. Her feet no longer clacked on the floor. She was too deep in thought to make such an effort.
Her things were in her quarters once she had arrived. She had gone the long way, walking for that purpose. Divroos was waiting respectively at the entrance, having not stepped inside, as was ordered. As Alyune passed through the door, she cast a nod at the male, who followed two paces behind her.
"Brother, is this news true?" she asked once she had found her old room. With satisfaction she had noticed nothing had been touched, other than to be dusted. She collapsed in a heavy stone chair that was set infront of a table, carved directly out of the wall. Sitting on the table was the half-sculpted form of a long-legged spider that she had been making when she had left the house fifty years ago. She had not bothered with it the last time she had been here, for her stay had only been a brief coincidence. She had been going throough the city anyway, and stayed for one cycle before leaving again.
The statuette was hard now, the clay long dried and brittle. It was the only thing that had been neglected to be dusted, most likely out of fear that it would break. She tried to move it, but found that it was dried to the table.
Divroos noted the severe look she cast the sculpture. "Yes." he said.
Alyune stood up,leaning on her chair. "Under Alaunlara's rule, this house will quickly fall out of favor. Prehaps there will be war. If she remains, this house has seen it's last days." The last words seemed to catch in her throught, and crumpled on the floor, vomiting. When she had studied to be a priestess in her youth, a Yochol had made a personal appearance with a matron who had scorned Lloth for personal gains. In front of the studying females, the handmaiden showed them first hand how just how merciful Lloth could be. This thought was burned into her mind, and prodded her stomach.
With one stride of his long legs, Divroos was beside his sister. He stepped out of the way of the steam of bile pooling on the floor, then cautiously, he placed a hand on her back, patting lightly to try to relieve her retching. He knew on any other occasion, he would have been beated for it. But at that moment, the female was no more than his little sister again, following around her only brother, and begging him to teach her how to shape clay, while dodging Hounjra's demands that she focus on memorizing her prayers instead of playing with mud.
"What will you do?" he asked, his haughty voice taking on a failed attempt at gentle.
Pulling herself back into her chair once she had finished gagging, she wiped her mouth. "Well, we have to get rid of Alaunlara, don't we?" She said.
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Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 8:17 pm
"You plan to become Matron?" Divroos asked.
"Alunlara is weak. You know this just as well as I. If she is allowed to rule, it will be only a matter of time before this" here she opened her arms wide. "All of this, is gone forever. You piddle with your clay and your stone, setting jewels, Master artisan...you can never understand this, even if you were not a male.
"Most houses rely on their numbers of soldiers and defenses to keep their status. We have piddlers. Yes, our house is beautiful, but what does that get us in war? Will the invading armies pause to notice our architecture? No! Will they respect the thousand years of work put into this place? No! They will be focused on only our soldiers, which I needen't remind you are pitiful compared to the other houses.
"The only fear we command, is that of our chapel. Lloth's smiling continence has deterred many from attack, but if the stories are true that she does indeed reflect her favor, how long will it take until she frowns? Then we will be nothing but a beacon! The signal to strike will be brighter than the burn of an infection. How else am I to keep this house in power?"
Divroos considered quietly, respectively, while his youngest sister simmered. It was not wise to prod an angered female. Especially a priestess....especially one in the reach of matron-hood.
"Once you kill her, we will be the only nobles left, and I am male, and your brother. You have no other priestesses to assist you. You have no daughters to take over the throne once you fall, and you have no patron to make those daughters. I will assume you have something in mind." Divroos said.
"A patron is simple to come by." Alyune reasoned, more to herself than the obnoxiously true male. "Daughters, not so much. That will take much time, And an even longer until they rise to become priestesses.That will leave us exposed for at least fifty years, in the luckiest circumstances. "
"Indeed." Divroos mindlessly agreed. He offered his bare arm, which was caked with clay, Alyune disdainfully noticed, and brought her from the ground and led her to her cot.
Alyune sighed, allowing herself to be steered. "We will have to wait...... I will find a male. " at this she scowled. "I will become a mother before I become a matron. Until then, we must keep Alaunlara in line."
Divroos nodded and headed towards the door. "That is very wise, my future matron." He said. Then with a deep, stiff-legged bow, he took his departure.
Though Alyune did not see this, he grinned on his way out. His youngest sister had always had a fondness for him, more so than any of the other family members. With Alyune's ascension, Divroos suspected his worth would grow as well.
As Divroos turned tail, Alyune grinned despite herself. There was much to do before she could ascend, but all that mattered to her was that indeed, she could ascend. With this thought, Alyune fell into a deep and pleasant sleep.
***
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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 7:15 pm
Divroos strode confidently away from the female's quarters. He knew his youngest sister would become matron....of that he had no doubt. His only concern was what damage Alaunlara's incompetence would do to the house in the meantime, and if Alyune would take after her in the inability to produce children.
But these were none of his business. He was a male, afterall. Alyune was a wily female, clever, even on drow standards. She may not be much of a fighter, or sorceress....not since...well, but she knows how to direct the world in her direction. Afterall...the goddess would help her.
Vaguely, Divroos wondered if Alaunlara would disgrace the house in Lloth's eyes, and if that disfavor would funnel into the rest of the family. This thought flew from his head however, when he entered his workshop.
Slowing down, and letting his eyes adjust to the light, Divroos let his eyes wander.
Most houses had a weapon master, and that weapon master had a gym. While D'Alevall had a weapon master, his gym was a general one. It was Divroos, master artisan who had his own studio!
During some hours of the cycle, the studio was filled with the most skilled of the workers and slaves, which included at least 2 low-level wizards at all times. Divroos thought of his sister's comment of "piddlers" made the male audibly snort with laughter. Piddling? No.
Occasionally, clay statuettes were made. Here, they were shaped, and fired in the stove of real fire that the wizards kept hot without wood. Using a ball of darkness, they would also hide the burning light from the sensitive eyes of their fellows.
Once a statue is finished, it is imbued carefully with different and varied hues of fairie fire, making the image stand out, much like the scars that spread like spiderwebs across his face and left shoulder. These scars were directly the fault of Alaunlara....unhealable, with nerve damage that perpetually caused the scars to be a slightly lower temperature than the rest of his body so that they shone out dully, as if they were erratic and clumbsy tattoos.
Divroos strode towards a large shelf of partially finished blades. He lifted one in his callused and scarred hands- hands that disgusted most of his fellow drow, both female and male alike. He did not care.
The blade was a rather thin-bladed b*****d sword. Usually a heavy weapon for elven folk, but the weight on this one was more akin to a long sword than that of a hand-and-a-half. The blade itself had been wrought perfectly by the skilled slaves in the forges "downstairs". Druegar, mostly. Occasionally in the history of the house there had been a surface dwelling dwarf within their ranks, if they had captured a particularly skilled one. There were none such prisoners now.
The balance of the blade favored the hilt, but only slightly. This satisfied the male. This was exactly as he had ordered the slaves to weight it, so that he had enough to work with. The other main duty of the "Master artisan" was to direct the talented rabble "downstairs". Divroos did this better than many of his predecessors, and as a result, many fantastic crafts had been created under his short rule.
Females cares nothing for the finer points of his work however. Not even Alyune, who had shown interest in creating for herself. Especially not now, thought Divroos.
His face and emotions showed nothing of his stress, slim though it was. His hands however, usually calm, sure and exact, betrayed the thoughts and emotions he did not even realize he had.
With a clang, the ruined blade fell to the ground. Divroos cursed the loss of the blade, as much as he cursed his hand, which had been slit at the knuckles. He sunk down the the cold floor, slowing his erratic and pained breathing so it hissed from his lips like the protest of an angry viper. He clutched his wounded hand, and sighed. He was glad that the studio was abandoned.
***
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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 7:27 pm
In her chambers, Alaunlara was faring little better than her brother in his studio.
She laid on her back, trying to force herself to sleep, but the pain kept her awake. She slowly sat up, cringing as her abdomen muscles contracted. She placed a slender hand over her lower stomach, where inside her her womb once was.
Years ago, before Alyune was born, Alaunlara had an accident. A deal with a denizen of the lower planes went astray, and caused extensive damage to the house. It also caused her mother to miscarry the late term baby female inside her. As punishment, the matron had torn the very womb from Alaunlara's body as punishment.
Left only to her own healing, the wound had not healed well, and often hurt her still, as it did now. She knew she would never sleep with the pain tonight, so she rose from her bed, and retreated to the private alter connected to the matron's room.
She selected the stub of a red candle and lit it. After letting the painful glow switch her infrasion to to world of shadows and light, she burned incense. It was the proper kind, smelling sickly sweet, like decaying flowers. Alaunlaura had never seen a flower, nonetheless smelled one. To her the scent was of lightly rotting flesh.
She chanted awhile, and sent her prayers to the Goddess. The feint light and the sweet smoke made her dizzy and sick. She could not feel the pain in her torso, however, and this increased her fervor.
"Goddess, I call for your ears" she pleaded, sweating. "My sister will take my place soon...I know this. I am weak, but Alyune is strong. Lend me your grace to keep the house safe until she feels it fit to take my place.....she will serve you well! Better than any of her sisters ever could! Give your grace to me for this time, and when Alyune makes her move, I will go willingly as a sacrifice to your GLORY!"
Alaunlara screamed out the last syllable, and continued, froth-lipped until the candle burned out, and the incense was spent. She fell on the floor, asleep.
When she awoke, she found a small spider spinning a web in the small space between her finger and the floor. She blew it gently, so it knew she was awake, then with her nail, coaxed it to some higher and safer place.
A promising omen.
****
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 4:15 am
Divroos awoke with a bucket on his head, compliments of Alyune.
"Today, we are finding a patron. To be more exact, you are."
Rubbing his head, Divroos scowled. He was sure to cast this glace down instead at his sister, but even this warranted another smack with the metal bucket.
He stifled a groan, and instead forced his face and posture into one of submissive attendance.
"Right. Specifics? Would it not be better if you were to chose him?" Divroos asked, wary of another hit with the bucket. He was happy it was not the whip.
"I have to keep an eye on the house and Alaunlara. That is all you need to know, other than I have many other things to do that do not concern a male."
"Right." Divroos mumbled again. "Do you have any requests on you future mate?"
"As long as he can copulate, I don't care." Alyune said hastily. AFter a moment, she added. "Don't take one from out commoners. Find a rogue, a mercenary if you can. They last longer, and are more useful. See if you can find one proficient in weapons....we are in great need of a new weapons master. "
"Is that all?"
"No. If you bring one I don't like, I WILL send you back."
"Of course." Divroos said.
"What are you waiting for? Go!" Alyune snipped. She smiled as Divroos jumped up and hastened out the door. She always liked lording her status over males, especially her brother, who she had an unpleasant friend-like fondness for. Such nonsense would not do.
***
Divroos went as quickly as he could to his lizard mount. A quick hop onto it''s back, and he was off into the city to find his sister a patron.
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 9:55 pm
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Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 7:23 pm
Loooooks like I have to keep going on my own then.
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Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 8:03 pm
****
Alaunlara hugged her knees and curled up on her throne. This was not a very matronly position, but she was alone. Her guards were outside of the door, and nothing could get in. Noone but Lloth could see her now.
The matron had three throne rooms, one was in the chapel, where she could show herself to all of the house. The second was in the very center of the main stalactite column, where she would call the family together. The last was a private one, just above the female's sleeping quarters. It was for the matron and the first daughter to pray to Lloth and scheme in greatest privacy.
This last room was where Alaunlara was now, scrunched up and breathing slowly through a cramp in her scarred abdomen. It was a circular room, that peaked and tipped upwards, like a tear drop. Small alcoves in the wall hid all manners of effigies of Lloth and all things imaginable that could be used to praise her. This was a sort of storage room as well.
A table was set in front of a carved throne. This table was filled with drawers, filled with all manners of precious items, candles, dragon's blood, shining and magical gems, and even a precious mirror.
A scrying bowl was the only thing on top of the table, however. A device that allowed the matron to see all that went on with her House, while
A special spell ensured that nothing the matron wanted secret could be heard outside the room.
It was at this scrying bowl that Alaunlara was focused on. She was watching her sister, as she had been almost constantly since she had ascended to the throne.
She figured that Alyune would try to kill her, in fact, she expected it. She was pleased that she was preparing first, but disappointed in the fact that she had not thought to ward herself against scrying.
But then again, thought Alaunlara, it must be hard for her.
Before Alyune had left to be an emmissary to the house, she often went of surface raids. One fateful raid, when Alyune was still in training to be a full priestess, a terrible thing had happened.
The raid itself went fine. Then, Alyune had been a budding sorceress and priestess in training. They claimed every life of the targeted village, and captured many valuable artifacts. As they turned to go home, however, they found that their entrance/exit had been closed by a lumbering giantess.
Three weeks meandering on the surface in the middle of the surface summer in the desert where there was no shelter to be found, searching for a way home, then another month trying to find their way through the winding chambers of the underdark finally led them home, half their number dead, and the magic users damaged for good.
Out of the nine magic users that went, only five priestesses and wizards total returned to the underdark. One wizard was rendered blind, and had to be killed once they found safety in the tunnels. The other wizard lost most of his ability, and was made a slave when he returned. One priestess lost her ability to control magic completely. Alyune lost the control of most but the most simple spells, and the other priestess turned out little better.
When they finally returned home, they were all mostly naked, because the strong sun had burned all of their clothing. Their skin was raw and painful to the touch, and none of them would speak of the experience.
To this day, no one knows for sure what happened, not even the survivors. That route to the surface has never been used again.
ALaunlara sighed. She wondered how her sister dealt with the inability to to magics, and how that would affect her inevitable rise to matron mother, much like her own handicap has affected hers.
****
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Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 8:21 pm
Divroos patted his lizard, and sighed. He turned around, listining to make sure he was safe. He knew he was surrounded, but they knew he knew as well.
"Today, we are finding a patron. To be more exact, you are." he then whispered to himself in a high-pitched voice, mocking his sister.
He liked his sister, but this was insanity. She should pick her own damn mate!
"Ok, Mercenary group....eh....whatever you are!" he said, not being able to remember this particular group's name. It was a relatively minor group, from a far-away place, passing through the city. "I need one of you for a patron. Permanent housing in a noble family, free food, etcetera, etcetera."
"I am having trouble understanding what YOU would need a patron for!" someone murmured. Some un-drowish laughter burst around Divroos. This is what Divroos hated about mercenaries. They never adhered to any social rules. But he could understand why his sister wanted a patron from their ranks....possibly of noble blood, experience in fighting, and no allegiances to any of the other families.
He just had to be careful not to pick one who had angered Lloth.
"Not for me, you idiots. I am a messenger boy. "
More laughter. They were free to do so...this was their element....Divroos was far outside the city limits.
"Well, if any of you are interested, bring yourself and your stuff to that rock shaped like a vomiting bugbear outside of the west side of the city. No reinforcements. I will take you to my house from there.
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