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Background

The first born daughter of Sinn'driida Del'Anogard, Matron Mother of House Del'Anogard of Ched Nesad, Adinae was born, raised, and steeped in the traditions of Lloth. However much to her mother's dismay, Adi had a much different path in mind for herself. She trained with her father in the arts of stealth and deception after cutting a bargain with him to keep the whispers of his affair with a rival priestess from reaching her mother's jealous ears, and for a time the arrangement worked out to both of their benefits. Adinae was able to use cunning and wit to fake her way through her clerical training and the trials that every young female drow must face and overcome to be worthy in the eyes of their society. At least, every trial except one. From her birth, Adinae's sister Fellanah was a thorn in her side, her biggest competition. Fellanah was a faithful priestess and the jewel of her mother's eye, in so much as the Ilharess showed any favor at all. On top of that, Fellanah had the support of their youngest and quietest sibling, Chazid'ka, as well. Adi was able to avoid attempt after attempt by Fellanah to have her killed or humiliated and defamed until her scheming sister found out about their father's continued dalliances with the priestesses of rival houses. Using their mother's jealous and possessive nature to its fullest, Fellanah wove a clever tale in her mother's ear mixing the truth of her father's adultery with insinuations that her elder sister was suspiciously vanishing around the same time. The Ilharess needed no more encouragement. Already furious with her eldest daughter, she had them tracked down and brought before her for punishment. Adinintar, their father, was tortured and sacrificed on the Spider Queen's altar. Adinae, on the other hand, was deemed an unworthy sacrifice for Lloth for her sacrilege and was instead tortured, beaten, and left for dead in the tunnels outside Ched Nesad without even the clothes on her back.

How she survived and cheated death then, even she couldn't say, but when she awoke she found herself bandaged and healing in the care of a party of surfacers. Though a couple of them were wary of her, and with good reason, she was able to play on the pity of her caretaker and lull her into a sense of false security. Security which she shattered by leading them into an ambush in the old dwarven halls which she knew the Scoured Legion occupied. She salvaged some much needed provisions and weaponry from their remains and then set off into the underdark where she wandered the labyrinthine tunnels and carved her own path. Eventually she arrived in Sschindylryn and from there found a gate to the world of Oerth where her life would change forever. It was there she met Sativus thinking that she would swipe some coins from him. Instead she found herself a meal for the strange drow who was a hybrid of weretiger and vampire and found herself in turn bound to him by both curses which he passed to her.

Such was her induction into the House of Sril've Cress. She joined as one of Sativus' retinue and in time was given the chance to test for the ring and become a full member. Free of the strictures of Lloth, she was introduced to the faith of the goddess Shar, the Lady of Shadows whom she had heard of before (generally accompanied by outcries of blasphemy against the sacred Spider Queen). Favoring the shadows and secrets herself, induction into the religion of Shar came easily and was a far more fitting replacement to what little faith she had ever held in Lloth. Adinae found she was settling into her new unlife with Sril've Cress with ease, but it was not to last. Through whatever means, her sire and mentor, Sativus, lost his vampirism which in turn left her sired to Re'shak, and from there the sparks started flying. Adinae's short temper and rebellious nature led her into more unwinnable confrontations with the then weapons master than she would care to admit, finally culminating in a heated battle in which Re'shak removed both of their house rings and subsequently killed Adi in a fiery inferno. Her punishment for her rebellion didn't end there with her death, though. She was offered another chance at life through resurrection by one of the house clerics, but what she didn't know was that the cleric was under Re'shak's employ. She found herself alive again only to face months of unimaginable and maddening hell at Re'shak's hands. When she finally managed to escape (for she refuses to believe she was simply let go), she returned to the house a weak, broken mess, no longer the proud, confidant young drowess she had been.

Perhaps it was sheer determination or sheer hatred and refusal to let Re'shak win, but Adi chose to stay with the house and worked through the nightmares left by the experience. She vowed never to let such weakness plague her again, redoubling her training efforts and her studies of the path Sativus had set her on in Shar's religion. It took time, but eventually the old spark of pride and confidence began to peek back out from the shadows she had hid it in.

Then came Vel'andis.

The First Son threw her world into a tailspin of rivalry and competitive hatred the likes of which Adi hadn't felt since her days in House Del'Anogard, and brought her scheming sister tumbling back into the story of her life. Thanks to Fellanah's scheming and with the help of the First Son, Adinae's younger sister had finally managed to end their mother's regime and take the place of Ilharess of House Del'Anogard for herself. Competing against Vel for Sativus' approval only fueled the sparks of their rivalry until soon there had to be an intervention before things got out of hand. Lilyanna was the one to intervene by binding the two with magic that would serve to help them better understand each other. It wasn't long after that when Vel'andis began to show up at Adi's door at odd times of the day and she would find little trinkets left in his wake. She believed it was some trick, some attempt to gain the upper hand so when the First Son once again vanished like a ghost in the shadows, Adi felt relieved.

Soon after the war with the ancient house of the Or'lathi struck down upon them and the entirety of the house was forced to band together to stand against them. Adinae led a group of her fellow Watchers into the fray striking as hard and fast as they could and moving from one target to the next in any attempt to make a dent in the Or'lathi's seemingly unending forces. Adinae found herself teamed up with Carthamus for much of the battle and the little drow surprised her more than once with the skill behind that child-like insanity he displayed. By the end of the war she had gained some respect and even a slight comraderie and fondness for the little insane drow. The war with the Or'lathi also served to temper the steely determination that had always carried Adi's pride and confidence, breaking away the last clinging shroud of brokenness she had lived with since her return to life. The losses were great, but like most of the house Adi emerged from the war stronger and more determined than ever to rid herself of her weaknesses.

Not long after the war, Vel'andis returned to the news of his mother's death. Many in the house feared a renewal of the old bitter rivalry that the two had shared for so long, but though the two of then strove to outdo each other at every turn, there was a spark of something else in their relationship. Adinae kept it under wraps for as long as she could fearing the worst if others found out that she had grown to admire Vel as more than just her rival, but the truth of the matter would only stay hidden for so long. Especially when Jaehral announced to them that they would each be taking a group of students and competing for the seat of spymaster, a position left vacant by Sativus when he chose to take leave from the house. The two remained close to equal over the course of the contest, but when it came time for the winner to be decided the decision was practically made for them. With the threat of the Or'lathi looming on the horizon, the house would become a city and the government would be restructured. In that process Sev'anar stepped down and Vel'andis took his place as the rightful heir and new Ilharn. It was only natural, then, that Adi take the seat of spymaster under the shadow of the city's new Ward of Watchers. Sativus would remain the public face for the house, but Adi would take on the duties of spymaster behind the scenes. As if adjusting to the responsibilities inherent in that position weren't enough, word has slowly spread among the city that Adinae and Vel'andis are engaged and soon to be married as evidenced by the second ring Adinae wears as well as her subsequent move into House Draconis. Adi has tried to keep this under wraps for as long as possible to make the transition more smooth all around, but her love for her 'beloved shade', as she is often heard to call him, is no longer a thing of whispers and shadows. Now she has found she must set her determination to a new goal in figuring out how best to juggle the responsibilities she already bears with those she will bear soon.