Selvetarm

Selvetarm, known also as The Spider that Waits, (self-appointed) Champion of Lolth or, despite being Vhaeraun's son and thus her grandson, Son of Lolth was a demigod of battle prowess of the Dark Seldarine whose church could hardly count as to be existent, essentially consisting of the

His most notable feature was his ruthlessness and obsession with war, but that wasn't always the case. After having spurned both his parents Vhaeraun and Zandilar, he walked his own path, neither evil nor good, until he was befriended by Eilistraee. The Dark Dancer took care of him and tried to turn it to the ways of light, but Lolth's trickery would later turn him into a war-crazed servant of her.

He was practically forgotten outside of his cult in Eryndlyn, and the name assoicated with its members--Selvetargtlin--could be applied without problems to his entire clergy.

Manifestations
When sending his avatar, Selvetarm appeared as a large spider, sometimes with the head of a male drow. He was known to wield a heavy mace--Venomace-- his favored weapon in his right hand, and a longsword--Thalack'velve--in his left hand. He could cast spells from any sphere.

Selvetarm's manifestations were rare because he either ignored pleas or simply sent an avatar. Rare manifestations consisted of tiny sphere of utter darkness, that gradually grew to explode into a blade barrier. Selvetarm expressed his pleasure through the finding of rogue stones, dried silverbark or webstones. His servants included myrlochars, retrievers and other spiders.

Worshipers
His followers were divided in two branches, divided along the followers' racial membership.

Among the drow, as mentioned before, Selvetarm was practically forgotten, and his faith was essentially part of Lolth's church armed wing. His followers in his main center of worship--Eryndlyn--weren't even allowed to worship him as a god on his own (rather than Lolth's servant), as the church of Lolth persecuted anyone who did as a heretic. As a general rule, Selvetargtlins trained in martial combat. Practicing Selvetarm's believes was somewhat of a career-killer in drow society, for these believes didn't put any meaningful emphasis on the intellectual part of combat (like strategy), and thus followers of Selvetarm were rarely put into commanding positions. The drow branch had a gender ratio of about 10:1 in favor of male drow.

His aranea followers were a different deal. When they talked about Selvetarm, they however referred to his aspect Zanassu. They put emphasis on craftiness, patience and subtlety.

Relationships
Selvetarm hated Lolth like everything else. He was bound to her will, and while some of his followers put efforts into freeing him from her, Selvetarm himself felt quite comfortable in his subservient role.

He was Vhaeraun's and Zandilar the Dancer's son but he spurned both his parents, for his mind at that time was too uncertain to commit himself to one direction.

After he became Lolth's servant, father and son became enemies. For example, when Vhaeraun tried to bring the draegloths under his faith, Selvetarm's reaction was to compete with the Masked Lord in that regard, with the goal to subsequently give his draegloths followers to Lolth, because he wanted to hinder his father's goal to unseat his grandmother. During the Silence of Lolth, he also saved Lolth's from Vhaeraun, thus botching his chance for freedom. Vhaeraun deemed his son an idiot and his submissiveness was a source of rage for the Masked Lord.

He was known to protect Garagos, who was thought to be opting to steal his powers.

After he was found by Eilistraee, they grew close to each other, until Lolth turned him in a bloodthirsty servant.

Birth
Selvetarm was the child between Vhaeraun and Zandilar the Dancer. The latter was a demigoddess of the elves in Yuirwood. When Lolth's forces attacked the Yuirwood, Zandilar tried to seduce Vhaeraun into helping her, but was instead imprisoned to be drained of her strength. Bast saved Zandilar, who willingly merged with her savior (originating a new goddess; Sharess), giving birth to Selvetarm during the process.

Becoming Lolth's servant
Selvetarm rejected both parents for he was too uncertain to commit himself to one or the other philosophical direction. He wandered for a number centuries, until he met Eilistraee and learnt to appreciate her goodness and to admire the Dark Dancer herself. Eilistraee's teachings made him start to embrace the ways of good, and the she hoped that his redemption could improve the relationships between the drow and the Seldarine and their followers.

During that time, Lolth had two problems. She saw a rival in the demon lord Zanassu, for he challeged her dominion over spiders, and she was not pleased with Eilistraee getting a friend within the Dark Seldarine. In order to solve her issues, she approached Selvetarm and tricked him into believing that killing Zanassu would have won him the gratitude of Eilistraee.

That promise was enough to lead Selvetarm to kill Zanassu, but he also absorbed the the defeated demon lord's essence in the process. That influence proved too strong for his personality, corrupting him and weakening him enough for Lolth to bound him to her will. The Spider Queen was therefore successful in her plan, and in creating a new enemy for her daughter.

Time of Troubles
During the Time of Troubles, Selvetarm's avatar appeared in Eryndlyn. The city was divided among followers of Vhaeraun, Ghaunadaur and Lolth in a ratio of 1:1:2 in favor of the last group. The avatar raged through the city and was driven back by a colalition of drow who didn't follow Lolth there, while the church of the Spider Queen hailed him as the swordarm of their goddess. This action gave him a small following in the city, but mostly as a military order belonging.

War of the Spider Queen
During the Silence of Lolth, Vhaeraun brought a number of draegloths under to his church. Selvetarm tried to get the draegloths himself to give them to Lolth.

His father also heavily injured Lolth and Selvetarm saved her life. The battle between the two gods caused some planar turmoils, as the edges of the various planes started to fray and bleed together.

On Nightal 20, 1375 DR, Selvetarm was killed by Cavatina Xarann, a priestess of Eilistraee, an event that caused his church to be completely absorbed into Lolth's. The Spider Queen claimed that Selvetarm's loss was part of her plan, and Eilistraee too was led to believe it.

Second Sundering and rebirth
During the 1480s DR, the Overgod Ao separated the twin worlds Abeir and Toril once again and rewrote the Tablets of Fate (an artifact which contained the name of every deity of the pantheon and their portfolio), in an event known as the Second Sundering. Because of that, many deities of Toril who were considered dead or lost managed to return to life, Selvetarm among them.

Dogma
"War is the ultimate expression of individual power, and only through battle and death can you realize the respect of your comrades. Hone your fighting skills constantly and teach those who will follow into the fray. Never give or receive quarter, and hope to die amid the bloodlust of battle against overwhelming odds."