Dark Seldarine

The Dark Seldarine was the drow pantheon of gods.

Members
The pantheon consisted of:


 * Eilistraee : Goddess of song, beauty, dance, swordwork, hunting, and moonlight . After being supposedly killed by the Lady Penitent (Halisstra Melarn) in 1379 DR, Eilistraee managed to return to life during the event known as the Sundering in Flamerule 1489 DR, as a separate goddess from her brother Vhaeraun   (with whom she had formerly merged, becoming the Masked Lady). The Dark Maiden was one of the deities with whom the returned Mystra was sharing the Weave after the Sundering.


 * Kiaransalee : Goddess of undead, vengeance . Faded from existence when her name was deleted from the minds of all Torilians in 1377 DR, by a High Magic spell cast by Q'arlynd Melarn . Her name came back to her followers' memory during the Sundering, and she was thus restored to life.


 * Ghaunadaur :God of oozes, slimes, jellies, outcasts, ropers, rebels. Left the Demonweb Pits (and presumably the drow pantheon itself) in 1379 DR
 * Lolth (formerly Araushnee) : Goddess of spiders, evil, darkness, chaos, assassins, drow.


 * Selvetarm : God of drow warriors . Killed by a follower of Eilistraee in 1375 DR, but restored to life during the Sundering.


 * Vhaeraun : God of thievery, drow males, evil activity on the surface . Supposedly killed by Eilistraee in 1375 DR. He too, like his sister, managed to return to life during the Sundering, and was fully restored in Flamerule 1489 DR.

Recent Events
The following documents a series of events which took place following the Silence of Lolth and ending shortly after her rebirth.

The drow of the Underdark, highly dependent upon the powerful clerical magic of their dark goddess, were greatly weakened by Lolth's failure to answer prayers (for reasons then unknown to them). The other organized races of the Underdark, seeking to exact revenge upon the drow and to usurp their power, began to make threatening moves towards the drow cities of the Underdark. Powerful organizations, such as the Jaezred Chaulssin, the Scourged Legion and the churches of Kiaransalee and Vhaeraun did the same.

Lolth's silence threatened to rip apart the very fabric of matriarchal society, with females (of whom the greater part were clerics) left magically bereft, and males (of whom the greater part were wizards) were left in a position of power. The drow of Menzoberranzan, through Triel Baenre, sent a group of powerful adventurers (initially Quenthel Baenre, Pharaun Mizzrym, Ryld Argith, Valas Hune and the Draegloth Jeggred Baenre) to discover the cause of Lolth's silence (or, as was then suspected, disfavor).

1372 DR

 * Eleasias: Lolth stopped granting spells to her clerics. She did not answer prayers or give any signs. Many sacrifices were made in an attempt to 'atone' for whatever misdeeds the priesthood were believed to have performed.


 * Several noble houses of the Drow city of Maerimydra immediately began an awful bloodletting.


 * Eleint: Kurgoth Hellspawn attacked Maerimydra outright with the aid of the city's archmage Duneth Wharreil and an army of humanoids, giants and demons.


 * Irae T'sarran took over Castle Maerimydra during the chaos.


 * Marpenoth: Many males of Menzoberrazan vanished without explanation. Matron Mothers suspected that they knew something about Lolth.


 * Against Triel's wishes, Gromph Baenre ordered Pharaun to investigate. Pharaun recruited Ryld to help.


 * Gromph sent demonic assassins to kill Quenthel.


 * Pharaun and Ryld discovered the missing males to be working with an alhoon, who planned to cause a slave rebellion in order to weaken the city. They killed the alhoon and the rebellion was crushed mercilessly.


 * Irae killed Duneth and conquered Maerimydra, while her daughter Dorina took over Szith Morcane to the west. Irae summoned Kiaransalee's Undying Temple to the Material Plane and Dorina launched raids on Daggerdale.


 * Quenthel's company set out for Ched Nasad.


 * Uktar: Ched Nasad was destroyed in a failed coup attempt. Quenthel's company escaped through a portal and began searching for priests of Vhaeraun.


 * Menzoberranzan comes under siege from the Duergar of Gracklstugh, the Tanarukks of Hellgate Keep and Menzoberranzan's own House Agrach Dyrr.


 * Quenthel's company finally reached the Demonweb Pits but, they were betrayed by their Vhaeraunite guide, who summoned his god to attack the defenseless Lolth. Selvetarm appeared to battle Vhaeraun but both fell off the web and plummeted into the darkness below.

1373 DR

 * Ches: Lolth's silence ended and she ascended to greater deity Halisstra Melarn was transformed into the Lady Penitent, condemned by Loth to eternal suffering and to hunt all drow heretics and followers of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun.


 * The Jaezred Chaulssin moved to cement their hold in the ruins of Ched Nasad.


 * The Scoured Legion withdrew their troops from Menzoberranzan.

1375 DR

 * Nightal: Lolth and Eilistraee elected to play a game of sava of divine proportions.


 * Selvetarm was slain by a mortal follower of Eilistraee wielding the Crescent Blade.


 * Vhaeraun's followers used Elven High Magic to open a portal to Eilistraee's realm that Vhaeraun used to attempt to assassinate his sister . His plan backfired, and Vhaeraun was killed, while Eilistraee took his portfolio and the alias of Masked Lady.

1377 DR
Kiaransalee joined in the game of sava and her followers tried and alter the Underdark's natural faerzress magic to affect the ability for Drow to use teleportation or divination magic. After being assaulted by the forces of Kiaransalee, the followers of the Masked Lady retaliated by sieging the Acropolis of Thanatos and killing Kiaransalee's high priestesses. At the same time, other followers invoked Elven High Magic discovered in the ruins of Miyeritar to remove Kiaransalee's name from the memory of all Torilians, leading to the death of the goddess.

1379 DR

 * Flamerule Halisstra Melarn killed Qilué while the Masked Lady was inhabiting her chosen's body (supposedly killing the goddess as well), while under the influence of Lolth's champion Wendonai.


 * Another High Magic ritual performed by Q'arlynd Melarn transformed those drow not tainted by Wendonai's blood and the followers of Eilistraee back into their original dark elven form, and Corellon Larethian thus permitted the souls of Eilistraee's faithful and the newly transformed dark elves to enter Arvandor.


 * Lolth attempted to remove her last rival in the Dark Seldarine, Ghaunadaur. Ghaunadaur proved to be much more powerful than Lolth expected. Ghaunadaur left the Demonweb and created his new divine realm in the Deep Caverns.

1489 DR (post Sundering)

 * Flamerule: Eilistraee and Vhaeraun managed to return to life after the Sundering, as separate entities. However, after the time spent as the Masked Lady, they reached a deep reciprocal understanding (even friendship), and the enmity between them was no more. . Both deities personally let their return be known, manifesting through their avatars to their followers, who enthusiastically spread the word.


 * Kiaransalee and Selvetarm are also restored to life during the Sundering