Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Masque 02-28-04, 08:09 PM	***Howdy. This is the back story for me and my best friend's character. I spent some time writing this up and just wanted to put it out there and get some feedback/critisim. Enjoy.*** The History of Initz'Ieourda The drow have a reputation. This reputation has bestowed upon them such titles as Thieves, Demons, and Murderers. They have ruled the Underdark with an iron fist, and regardless of their banishment, they continue to seek conquests on the surface. Numbers mean nothing to their ruthless tactics, as a scouting party of 6 have easily dispatched of 30 well trained warriors. Their magiks strike down as quickly their blades, and thier hatred crushes hope like maces to a skull. But of all the fears people have of these Dark Elves, the greatest fear is held in thier own vile hearts, for a question persists amoung their race that many have asked and few have answered: can one drow ever truely trust another? Unfortuneately for the drow, two of their own kind shall answer this question with a firm resolve. Few have heard of the noble house-hold Initz'Ieourda. This name used to be the most revered on the lips of the drow, but is all but forgotten in these troubled days. After the 4th Crown War, when the drow were banished to the Underdark, they were unorganized, lost, without direction, and for the first time, frightened. It was the noble house of Initz'Ieourda who first ventured forth into the unexplored caverns of darkness, and their pride alone set the standard that Lolth would force the future generations to adhere to. Their hands slew the first Illithid, their eyes found the site of the first drow city, and their dedication errected the first temple of the Spider Queen. These actions, above their others, could be considered the seed of their fate. Thousands of winters passed on the surface above, but the drow continued to establish themselves throughout the Underdark. Initz'Ieourda held favor with Lolth above all other houses, and this favor gave them a choke hold of fear on all other drow, for none dared to contest their power. But as Lolth continued her endless plotting, an unknown force, seeming more ancient then a dead god, presented her with a vision... "Vile hands did you give your children. Hands whose thoughts are not their own. But vile your children already were, And your hand, their hands did not need. Selfish you were, and prideful were they. Pride they still have. In eternal night your children live, Yet one star's death will yield two suns, And as this passes, so shall your house. Darkness shall bleed darkness, As a sword bleeds a heart. Your children will kill you..." Shaken, Lolth turned her hundred eyes upon her children. She encouraged rivalry amoung her houses more then ever, and her children turned their attention from all matters on the surface to face each other. The noble house of Initz'Ieourda spear-headed this revolution with a ferocity unheard of, even amoung other drow. They slaughtered other drow without remorce, anyone who Lolth turned her eyes to, their swords and spells fell not far behind. Celiria Initz'Ieourda was a cleric of Lolth, and her dedication to the Queen of Spider's was impecable. As she watched her house slaughter their other kin, an odd feeling began crawling through her skin. She didn't know how to describe it, and even as she crumbled to her knees wretching, she couldn't comprehend this passionate emotion that had taken control of her. The feeling crept up her face and revealed itself through her eyes... and it was there that figure-head of the most powerful drow house-hold felt sorrow for the first time. Tears rolled down Celiria's face in such quanities that they formed a mirror-like puddle at her knees. Celiria studied her own face in the puddle, watching herself cry as though all the tears she should have shed in her 1,000 years of life were gathering around her. And as she cried, a low, almost silent, yet clear sounding noise began to well up inside her. Every tear that fell seem to amplfy the wailing sound, and those around her, from all houses, stopped their fighting and stared. The wailing sound increased in volume, every second it continued, another drow would turn it's head in wonder towards the once resolute cleric. Celiria tried to hold this new sorrow inside of her, for she knew it could mean the destruction of her entire family, but the more she tried, the louder her noise became. All of a sudden she paused with a loud gasp, as if someone had stabbed her through her lungs, yet no one had dared to approach her. In this one second, all was silent. She looked at her family around her, her dead kin strew about her, and the faces of all the drow that resided in her city. And after that one second had passed, she tossed her head to the stone sky of the black city and screamed. Her scream echoed through the streets and blood-soaked tunnels of her city, and they continued into the caverns of the Underdark itself. Crystals shattered, glass splintered, stone-work cracked. The webs of the Demon Pits themselves became unravelled as the super natural scream seem to explode from Celiria's whole being. As she screamed, her fingers clentched the morning star which had long been a relic of her house-hold. Legend has it that Lolth herself had forged the great weapon as a gift after the First Temple was raised, but this did not concern Celiria. As her scream continued to raise itself in volume, she raised the morning star high above her head, and as the drow stared on, she brought the relic down upon the ground with all of her strength, shattering it in her own puddle of tears. So ended the Schisim of the Drow. Lolth became disgusted with Celiria's apparent weakness, stripping her and her house of all clerical powers, yet leaving them alive so that they maybe ridiculed forever by the newly forged noble houses. Celiria kept to herself from that day forth, confiding only in her family. She stayed mostly in her personal study, where-in she would write stories of the greatest drow her family had ever produced. A few weeks had passed since the final battle of the schisim, and Celiria was shocked to find herself pregnant. Months later she gave birth to a healthy son. Lolth snickered, finding it amusing that Celiria had given birth to a male drow... a true sign of weakness. Celiria was ridiculed and mocked by every noble house, and the name Initz'Ieorda soon became nothing more then a target of abuse from other drow. But all of this changed 11 years later... While shunned from all of drow society, Celiria turn her full attention to remaining a secret inside of her own house. Exactly 11 years after the birth of her son, Celiria gave birth to a second child... another son. Celiria knew that giving birth to two sons would surely enrage Lolth to the point of ending her house, so she sought to keep her second child a secret. But one can hide from the Spider Queen for only so long. As her children neared adulthood, Celiria knew that their presence had been made known to Lolth, and she awaited the Spider Queen's response. As Celiria had guessed, Lolth became enraged that her former cleric had become so weak as to give birth to a male drow twice. But Lolth's hatred soon gave way to horror as she realized what had happened beneath her very nose. The riddle of the vision became ever so clear the Lolth.... "one star's death shall yield two suns"... and her fear rippled throughout the Underdark into the minds of the drow. Instantly the noble houses united and assulted the house of Initz'Ieourda. Within moments Celiria's entire house-hold was slaughtered before her and her two sons. As the hundreds of drow closed in on her, she smiled... not a smirk, or a sneer, but a smile. Even as the arrows and knieves closed in to her throat, she raised her arms and a powerful gust of wind lifted her two sons through a small opening. The two drow children continued their levitated ascent of the small tunnel, and all they could do was stare back down as their mother was rent asunder from the drows' weapons. This is where Drow History ends, and current reality begins... Rumors have been circulating of two male drow who walk the surface. They have been seen near ancient, unexplored ruins, great caves of mighty beasts, and forests that have been untroden by men. Some say they are hiding from something. Others say they are building power. Some call them crazy. Some call them killers. They call each other Sevik and Nilrick, and they are the last of the first noble house Initz'Ieourda.
CursedMoredhel 02-28-04, 11:05 PM	if i ever play another drow campaign it will be one very much like this... i enjoyed the read, very good story/history thingo, best of luck in ur campaign to kill Lolth. 1 question tho wot are ur character classes etc any templates added, can i see some stats or any plans for npc's etc. u've got me facinated with the drow again, i always liked the drow but now i'm more or a moredhel fan, anyway i'm hooked on both versions of the dark elf again
Masque 02-29-04, 03:13 AM	I don't have any of the offical stats on me right now, but we started this campaign at level 1, and we are currently at level 8. The two dark elf brothers did what they could to survive, and so they naturally balanced out each others weaknesses. My character is a fighter, while my friend's is a wizard. I have been entertaining the idea of taking on the Bladesinger PrC, simply because that would tie into his mother's bardic tendencies that she showed towards the end of her days. My friend is staying pure wizard until he can qualify for Archmage. My character uses a family relic, a +2 Icy Burst Longsword, and my friend uses the family's hand crossbow with sleeping darts. -M
CursedMoredhel 02-29-04, 08:48 AM	ok cool, post the stats etc when u can, and wot bout thier personalitys etc... ?