Valsharess

For the word as a generic term, see Drow dictionary.

The Valsharess (meaning "queen" or "empress") was the name adopted by a female drow who gained great power and influence after finding out the true name of Mephistopheles, one of the Archdukes of Hell, and using it to bind the devil in her service. She was originally just another matron mother, and it is not known how she came in possession of the true name. With the help of the devil, she managed to conquer much of the Underdark during the Silence of Lolth. After this, she even went on to imprison Halaster Blackcloak and start attacking Waterdeep through Undermountain.

Meanwhile, Mephistopheles planned to get free by using a famous adventurer, a student of Drogan Droganson, who had acquired an artifact of Mephistopheles. The adventurer did not know the nature of the artifact, but it was in fact meant for the leader of a cult of Mephistopheles, and bound its carrier to the archdevil. When the adventurer came to Waterdeep to help stop the drow attacks, the Valsharess was led to believe - likely by Mephistopheles - that they would be her doom if she did not act in time. However, they survived her assassination attempt (due to being awakened by a vision that could also have been sent by Mephistopheles), and proceeded to descend through Undermountain and free Halaster Blackcloak. Halaster had in fact been waiting to set up a trap for the Valsharess when she would come to gloat at him, and now had to settle for putting a geas on the adventurer that bound them to kill the Valsharess, before sending to the Underdark, to Lith My'athar.

Lith My'athar was at this point the seat of the resistance against the Valsharess in the area, housing both the Seer and her Eilistraee-worshipping group and house Mae'Vir, more typical drow but still aligned against the Valsharess. The adventurer was sent out on missions to weaken the Valsharess's forces by depriving her of her allies, which included Zorvak'Mur, a settlement of illithids; beholders; and a number of undead being created by the vampire worshippers of Vixthra, a dracolich. Before her final attack the Valsharess appeared to the adventurer in a dream and attempted to seduce them to join her, betraying the defenders of Lith My'athar.

The ultimate result of the final battle was in any case that the adventurer was brought into Mephistopheles' presence, imprisoned by his powers, at which point the archdevil was finally able to break partly free from the Valsharess's power. She ordered him to kill the adventurer, not knowing they carried his relic and that this was against the rules of true names, as the two were in a way one. Instead, he let the adventurer free, and they duelled and killed the Valsharess. Her death left Mephistopheles himself loose upon Toril.

Described as exceptional even among the drow, the Valsharess possessed much the same traits as most drow with great power; extreme arrogance and an an inflated sense of her own importance. She was very powerful even by herself, without Mephistopheles backing her up. Among her more dangerous servants were the Red Sisters, an elite band of assassins.