The Lords of Dust was a secret organization of fiends and mortals in the world of Eberron. It sought to find and release god-like fiends known as the Overlords, which had been imprisoned within Eberron's underworld of Khyber.[1][note 1]
We have battled these malefactors for centuries, and we will not rest until they are destroyed!
Organization[]
The upper echelons of the Lords of Dust were dominated by rakshasas, and the lower ranks were made up of more disposable local humans and other pawns. They were supported by creatures like hezrou, jariliths, hellhounds, death knights, and fire reavers.[1]
History[]
The Lords of Dust's temple to the Spinner of Shadows.
Though well separated, connections between Eberron and foreign worlds did exist. The Overlord known as the Spinner of Shadows, long trapped in her prison, was actually an independent fragment of the demon-goddess Lolth. The capricious and ambitious Queen of Spiders set forth a plot that would increase her power, albeit at the expense of Eberron's existence.[1]
The cult devoted to the Spinner of Shadows had a safehouse in the harbor of the city of Stormreach. Within, they gathered their forces and performed sacrifices to their dark mistress, commanded by the rakshasa Gnomon and the drow Karas. Their activities drew the attention of the Silver Flame's forces, who had been infiltrated by Gnomon in the guise of a trusted inquisitor. He personally led a team of local adventurers and the novice Corin Dryden into the hideout and betrayed them, but his victims managed to fight their way out of the trap and destroyed much of the cult. Gnomon and Karas met the interlopers at their shrine to the Spinner of Shadows, only to be cut down as well.[1]
The Spinner was freed by overly-optimistic rakshasas.
Come now. Do not look so grim. It is not respectful!
Karas's death proved to be the final sacrifice needed to activate the great ritual that they had been working towards—a long tunnel into the depths of Khyber was blasted open in the nearby harbor, allowing nearly direct access to the Spinner's Prison. Even as the Silver Flame began their investigation into this new problem, the Lords of Dust had charged in en-masse and were at work undoing the wards and protections laid upon the Prison. In the process, they also began harvesting the dragonshards that lined the caverns, intent on delivering them to the Spinner. While the prison was protected by Brother Aurelius and the Silver Flame Guardian, they were unable to stop the concerted assault.[1]
By the time the Silver Flame forces caught up with the Lords of Dust, they had already breached the Prison and were at work freeing the Spinner of Shadows. They used the captured dragonshards that they had looted to weaken the bonds upon the demonic lord, with only the Silver Flame Guardian of the Prison barely containing her. At the moment that they loosened the bindings, the rakshasas implored the Spinner to turn its power to freeing the other Overlords, but the Spinner simply laughed and slew them, announcing her allegiance to Lolth alone.[1]
As her portal to Eberron grew, the Lords of Dust would be devoured or enslaved by Lolth.
After a lengthy battle between the Silver Flame's forces and the Spinner of Shadows, Lolth tore a hole from the Demonweb Pits and called for her sister to depart with her. The Rift Between Worlds remained, however, and began expanding. It threatened to consume all of Eberron—Lords of Dust included—and add it to Lolth's tapestry of looted and conquered treasures. While the Silver Flame, Gatekeepers, and the Twelve tried to slow the consumption of Eberron, the adventurers that had faced the Spinner of Shadows were sent into the Demonweb Pits to find a solution there, ultimately coming across Elminster, Faerûn, and Lolth's hunt for the Thread of the Weave.[1]
Members[]
Fiends made up the heavy-hitters of the Lords of Dust.
Around the time of the Spinner of Shadows' escape, the Lords of Dust included the following:[1]
- Gnomon, a rakshasa lord.[1]
- Karas, a drow commander.[1]
- Marideth, a senior human cultist.[1]
- Sabriz Rinzyn Kho, a drow priestess.[1]
- Tahmael, a rakshasa lord.[1]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Menace of the Underdark (including Web of Chaos) is dated to the period of 1484–1485 DR, as it references the ongoing Darkening. Shadowfell Conspiracy (including Disciples of Shadow, Shadow Under Thunderholme, The Druid's Deep, and The High Road of Shadows) are dated to the same period, as they are stated to take place at roughly the same time as Menace of the Underdark.
Appearances[]
Video Games
Gallery[]
External Links[]
Lords of Dust article at the Eberron Wiki, a wiki for the Eberron campaign setting.
