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.   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.

History
The Dark Seldarine was rather young as a pantheon, having formed only after the Corellon's Descent, that cursed the dark elves and turned them into drow in -10,000 DR.

Origins
The history of how the drow pantheon came into being ran as follows.

Originally, Lolth (as Araushnee) and her two children--Eilistraee and Vhaeraun--were dark elven deities part of the Seldarine. Ghaunadaur was a very ancient deity, rumored to have emerged from the primordial ooze itself. In that age, it was worshiped by the largest of slimes and other crawling creatures, many of which contained an alien intelligence.

In -30,000 DR, Araushnee, with the help of her son Vhaeraun, gathered a host of evil deities enemy of the Seldarine (including Ghaunadaur), and convinced them to attack Arvandor, in an attempt to overthrow Corellon. She had planned for the assult to ultimately fail, as her actual goal was for his consort to be killed during the battle and to replace him as Coronal of Arvandor. She was almost successful in tricking Eilistraee into slaying her own father with a stray arrow, but the Weaver's conspiracy was ultimately thwarted by Sehanine Moonbow, and Corellon's life was saved. After her betrayal was revealed, Araushnee was banished by Corellon and turned into a tanar'ri, while Vhaeraun was simply exiled. Even though she was cleared from any guilt, Eilistraee chose to share her mother's and brother's punishment, because she knew that the drow would need her light and in the times to come.

Araushnee took the name of Lolth, and made the 66th layer of the Abyss, the Demonweb Pits, her new home. As a Demon Lord, no longer worshiped by the elves, she had to struggle to gain control of the layer, fighting the power of both Ghaunadaur and of Kiaransalee. The latter was a dark elven lich from the world of Threnody. After being banished by her consort, the king of Threnody, for her experiment on undeath, she fled with a group of loyal followers to continue with her research elsewhere. Eventually, Kiaransalee managed to raise an army of undead and exact revenge upon the inhabitants of her former world, rendering it lifeless, and to find home in the Abyss, where she ascended to divinity as a demipower. She wasn't however able to prevent Lolth from gaining control of the plane, and was subdued by the Spider Queen, reduced to an unwilling vassal. Ghaunadaur, on the other hand, became the author of his own defeat, as his failure to destroy Lolth drove him to steal the intelligence from all the oozes that worshiped him in a fit of rage, leading to a great loss of followers, and therefore of power.

Meanwhile, Eilistraee and Vhaeraun chose to wander on Toril, home of the dark elves (and of many other elven kins, later). With time, Vhaeraun gained a strong influence in the southern Faerun, among the drow of Ilythiir, despite Eilistraee's striving against his and Ghaunadaur's corruption of the Ilythiiri. The Dark Maiden herself was patroness of the dark and green elves of Miyeritar, which became one of the greatest centers of magic and art of Faerun.

Lolth's attention turned to Toril only when the moon elf Kethryllia Amarillis (founder of the house that brings her name) intruded into the Demonweb, reminding Lolth of a way to regain more of her divinity by having the surface elves worship her once more. During a battle in defense of her city--Sharlarion--while wielding the dagger (imbued with a scrying magic) that Ka'Narlist had given to Cornaith Moonflower long before (and that had become part of the treasures of Sharlarion), Kathryllia chased a demon to the Abyss. Lolth noticed the dagger and followed the magic to Ka'Narlist, deciding that he would make a fine consort, through whom she could have gained the worship of the dark elves and exact revenge on Corellon through his own people.

After Lolth started moving her first steps to establish an influence in Toril, a series of events caused Eilistraee's and Vhaeraun's power to ebb, and Lolth to fill in the void. The Ever'Sakkatien, the first Sundering, caused the destruction of great part of Ilythiir (including its capital, Atorrnash), and the death of many followers of Vhaeraun (one of the main patrons of the reign) with it, and the Crown Wars would later follow dealt blow after blow to Eilistraee and her faith. In −10,500 DR, the Dark Disaster—a magical cataclysm unleashed by the elves of Aryvandaar—caused the death of many of her people in Miyeritar, severely weakening the goddess' power. Meanwhile, Lolth and Ghaunadaur gained great influence among the dark elves, culminating in -10,000 DR, when the Seldarine and the elves gathered at the Elven Court cursed and exiled all dark elves (including Eilistraee's followers), turning them into drow. This harsh punishment was motivated by the corruption that Lolth and the Balor Wendonai were spreading among the noble houses of Ilythiir, and by the worship of Lolth that had begun to spread among the Ilythiiri. Ultimately, Eilistraee, Vhaeraun and Ghaunandaur could not rival Lolth's power, and the Spider Queen became the major deity of the dark elves. After this event, Lolth and Ghaunadaur started to persecute worshipers of rival deities, something that particularly impacted the Dark Maiden (and her already decimated followers), further marginalizing her influence for millennia.

After the descent of the drow, Lolth began to turn the drow into the instruments of her vengeance against Corellon, leading them to the Underdark, turning them against each other in an endless infighting, and demanding utter submission. Vhaeraun strove to contrast her mother's influence and tyranny over the drow. He worked to shatter the order that she was trying to impose on them, and to make his people united again, so that they could take back all that they had lost after the Crown Wars and reclaim their rightful place in the Night Above.

Eilistraee tried to be a mother goddess to her people and bring them the hope of a new life. She too fought to lead them back to the lands of light, but her goal was to help them to flourish and prosper in harmony with other races, free from Lolth's tyranny and the conflicts that dominated their lives. Hers was an uphill battle, however, as her power was little and she was opposed by all the gods of the Dark Seldarine. But, despite having to overcome many hardships and setbacks, Eilistraee never gave up fighting for her people (although it was only in the centuries after Dalereckoning that her faith regained a degree of prominence in Faerûn).

Ghaunadaur's worship ebbed too until the Age of Humanity, when more drow started to grew tired of Lolth's tyranny, and sought other deities, Ghaunadaur among them.

Selvetarm, son of Vhaeraun and Zandilar the Dancer (an elven goddess worshiped by the elves of the Yuirwood), became part of the Dark Seldarine long after the Crown Wars. Seeing her people attacked by Lolth's minions, Zandilar sought out Vhaeraun and tried to seduce him, in order to gain his help against the Spider Queen. The Masked Lord however betrayed and imprisoned the elven goddess, who in turn would later manage to escape thanks to the help of Bast, a Mulhorandi demigoddess, but not before having conceived Selvetarm. Zandilar gave birth to Selvetarm shortly after having gained her freedom, and after having merged with Bast (forming Sharess) in order to save both herself and her son. Selvetarm walked alone for centuries, after having spurned both his parents, until he was found and befriended by his aunt Eilistraee, to whom her grew very close. Selvetarm came to admire her goodness and appreciate her teachings, and the goddess hoped that, by teaching him her ways and redeeming him, he could become an exemplar that would aid her in healing the rift between the dark elves and the Seldarine. However, said hope and friendship ended in the late 3rd century after Dalereckoning, when Lolth tricked Selvetarm into slaying Zanassu (a demon lord whom Lolth considered her rival, as he claimed to have power over spiders), by promising him that doing so would gain him the appreciation of the Dark Maiden. Selvetarm killed the demon, but was overwhelmed by the demonic essence and he fell wholly to evil, ending up as Lolth's champion. Spiteful Lolth did this to prevent her daughter gaining an ally among the Dark Seldarine.

War of the Spider Queen
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 during her Silence(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.

The Second Sundering
1489 DR
 * Flamerule: Eilistraee and Vhaeraun managed to return to life after the Sundering, as separate entities, with the same power and portfolio that they had before 1375 DR. 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