The writing of the mage Von’gleas with his take on things in the fantastical world.
The astute observer will notice that most surface folk only interact with the top or bottom of the drow social orders. You are either the enemy of a matron mother and find out that unfortunate fact when you lay bleeding to death at her feet after a string of misfortunes that have left you depressed and destitute. –or– You fall prey to the lower class dark elf where you are left in a filthy alleyway dying and penniless not really sure how you arrived in such a sorry state of affairs.
In either case goodly races see the same results from interacting with high or low society drow and wind up avoiding them altogether. While the implementor of such a stratagem is often longer lived for it they do miss out on a broader understanding of the dark elf in the middle, the so called middle class. Truly there are many classes in this social strata: merchants, crafts people, functionaries, minor houses, ecumenicals, and military. One cannot people an entire city with nobles and beggars and expect it to last as long as Menzoberranzan. Who trades with others to get goodies for the nobles? Who patrols the city streets looking for troublemakers? Who craves Sava pieces? Who ensures there’s enough poison to buy on a Friday night? Who ensures the slavers get paid for their latest batch of bugbear captives?
Yes there is a population of nobles who fill some of these roles and there are the unfortunates who are enslaved by the dark elves who provide unskilled and minor skilled labor. One could argue that sufficient magical power could replace some of the goods and services provided by commoners, but then from whom would a powerful house demand respect? After all the drow are refined in their social structures and culture. Unlike bugbear culture, which is much more brutal and based primarily on physical power and instincts the drow have a need for respect, fear, and even adoration from their fellows.
The whole swath of unseen and under appreciated citizens never make it into the history books or epic poems. There is a restaurant in Eastmyr with the best roasted rothé in a mushroom sauce. It’s run by a woman named Keba’ryn and her consort Bertarl. Any night of the week you will find the place packed with other commoners laughing, drinking, and remarking about how delicious the roasted rothé is on this particular evening. The waitstaff changes every few years. Keba’ryn has a keen eye and a quick dagger throwing arm so those staff members who skim checks or spend too much time sampling food and drink wind up terminated from the establishment’s employ as well as their lives in some cases. The local constabulary (such as it is in a drow city) shant bother with a dead lower middle class waiter. The stray flying dagger is a hazard anyone needs to guard against when traveling in the cities of the Spider Queen’s children. Paradello’s (the name of Keba’ryn’s fantastic eatery) is just one example out of hundreds of the mundane, boring, and pedestrian locales where the astute traveller can find these common folk.
All these establishments, businesses, and homes are crammed into the cities common areas (Eastmyr being the highest concentration) and peopled with thousands of common folk like Bertarl who go about their lives day in/day out reveling in minor triumphs and chagrined by lesser inconveniences. None of them important enough to be documented along side the Do’Urdens or the Banres, but there nonetheless.
Most of these citizens have modest lifestyles and some small measure of wealth. They start in family units that are not quite houses with a mother and one or more consorts. The doctrine of infant sacrifice is not practiced in the middle class so male children are more prevalent here than in the nobility. Education is conducted in the home or the child is apprenticed out to another common family if there are too many children in the household already. Apprentices who prove too clumsy or too distracted to learn tradecraft can find work in the barracks of the city guard. Not quite squires or pages these errand boys (nearly all are male) are used to ferry message, clean, mend clothing, sharpen weapons and other tasks that are viewed as unworthy of a solider. Eventually the page achieves the appropriate age to become a solider or guard and they continue on serving in the same unit where they were apprenticed.
Commoner females have a similar entry into religious life serving in the same chamber-maid modality for priestesses or other clergy. Eventually they grow into roles as functionaries, managers, or bureaucrats.
Whether apprenticed or home schooled the commoner drow learns a set of skills commensurate with their position in the mundane machine of middle class life. Females eventually take consorts and may decide to reproduce to either fill an open position in their enterprise or carry on their legacy. While commoners are not driven by goals of world domination they still do have an urge to see their bloodline persist and thrive in the future.
Elder care is not a service found in dark elf society and thus elder commoners are a rarity. Some forward thinking drow will save a portion of their wealth to use when they decide to stop working. More likely the elder drow will have amassed enough secrets or connections to live off extortion or graft until the victims rise up and end the commoners retirement permanently.
Often these bloodlines are focused around the establishments more than the concept of family. Keba’ryn has no official surname, but is known as Keba’ryn Paradello. Keba’ryn’s aunt, the previous owner was also known by that surname until Keba’ryn killed her to inherit the place. While they are commoners and separated from the intriques of the noble houses and famous individuals, they are still drow.
More pages from Of Drow and Lolth.
As abhorent and disgusting as one may find the rituals of Lolth’s preistesses there is a macbre spirituality to the practices. The author in no way, shape, means, or forms condones live sacrifices, torture, or lustful debauchary. Well the later may be acceptible within a group of concenting adults, but I digress…
When one observes the theology of the demon queen of spiders there is a profound albeit dark spirituality. The central tenant presented by Lolth to her followers is the amassing and exercising of personal power. This is the ultimate goal of Lolth’s faithful, be seen by the goddess as being a powerful individual. This is true for both genders. Many casual observers see Lolth worship as a purely female pursuit. This is untrue. Males also are counted amoung the faithful. It is simply that drow males are second class citizens and viewed by their goddess as second class souls. One can see opposite but parallel cultural models in surface races, especially patriachical human societies. Drow men are not quite property.
A theology built on the pursuit and demonstration of personal power would vilify certain acts that most goodly races consider virtuous. Charity is a sin in the eyes of Lolth. Giving aid or comfort removes the possibility that the recipient could use power, guile, or deceit to acquire the gifted resouces. A hungry beggar should find a way to take food from those weaker than himself. Weakness here is not simple strength, but also cunning. Visitors to Menzoberranzan or other drow cities will see beggars and you should be very wary of them; they are some of the most skilled theives and assassins you will encounter in public.
Conversely evil acts in the eyes of the goodly races are sacred and spiritual for the worshipers of Lolth. What better way to demonstrate personal power than to imprison and torture the less powerful. A cleric of Lolth would feel connection with her goddess and joy scourging a less race or even a drow of lesser power, much the same way a cleric of Muradin would feel joy healing the sick or those dwarves wounded in battle.
The torture pits in a drow temple are an affirmation of power as much as the orgies where females take males as consorts and play things. Quite often temple ceremonies involve acts of bonage or sadomasichism that leave worshipers (often the male faithful) bloodied and bruised at best and dead in the most unfortunate circumstances.
Building personal power generates chaos, which is a goal of the goddess. As individuals vie for power using violence and deceit the world becomes more chaotic. The natural order of things is twisted by Lolth’s faithful to meet their goals of forging advantage over her enemies.
Of couse the faithful see nothing wrong with their religion. The traditions and actions are in keeping with the theology. The revulsion by the goodly race is misinterpreted as xenophobia, naievetee, or just plain sinful thinking. A drow murdering a drow to bring about an increase in personal power is a blessed act not something to generate remorse or shame. Leaving this life with more power than when you started will please Lolth, even if you were murdered for your power, proving you were worthy of the goddess’ attention.
Pages from Of Drow and Lolth
The writings of the wandering Mage Von’gleas are rare and special. His academic works may be found in secret stashes of the Harpers or in restricted sections of the library at Silverymoon. Often referred to as the “mad mage” or the “vagabond vizer” Von’gleas seems to be able to learn much and documents it; whether the subject of the work cares to be documented or not. Rumor posits that his head in a burlap sack will fetch a king’s ransom in many courts and lairs across and under Toril. The only problem is that no one has ever laid eyes on Von’gleas. his race, his homeland, his very description are all unknown. Some senior mages speculate that he is dead or not one man but many all recording under the same nom de guer
After several encounters and one too many trips below ground I started to wonder about these evil dark elves who populate the middle Underdark. I started to ponder their religious traditions and the social norms that must have evolved over thousands of years underground and in the shadow of the Spider Queen.
Only a great fool misbehaves in front of a matron mother and since I am not a fool (great or small) when I had chance to treat with one, I minded my manners and my tongue. I have chosen to start my work with the matron mother. They will no doubt feel this is the correct way to start as they are the core of polite drow society.
Yes, for those reading this who feel drow could be neither social nor polite I wrote the words polite drow society and I assure you I have a straight face and mean no slight or sarcasm. Perhaps the future reader will view this work and myself as a drow apologist. Such views are the exclusive domain of history and the reader. I simply am a vehicle for my own observations.
Returning the to matron mother, she is the center of a family and the family unit or house is the building block of the middle and upper class. The house name carries great importance affording the members of the house status and privilege. Houses compete for resources, territory, prestige, and the all important favor of the goddess Lolth.
Since the female of the species is physically more powerful than the male and their chief deity identifies as female and a spider one can easily see how the matriarchal social structure developed and is held in place by force and religion. The word of the matron mother is law in her house and woe to those who openly oppose her. Such opposition is met with corrective actions that are always extremely painful and oft times fatal.
The non-drow observer may ponder at the behavior of these strong female leaders and question why a matron mother does not have more maternal qualities. It is easy to understand how goblin mothers with near animal instincts can devour a portion of their own litter to maintain her own health and thus insure the survival of her strongest offspring. One may become confused by the grace, sophistication, and eloquence of the drow and feel that such an evolved species should be more humane.
The matron is responsible for the house and the house is what offers status and privilege. We need only look to the spider and her web. It is her web. She designed the patterns. She spun the stands and connected them. It offers protection and food for her and those of her brood she sees fit to allow to live upon it.
The motherly instinct of other species (human, dwarf, gnome, surface elf, et al.) seem more closely aligned with mammals of the surface realms. Individual females protecting offspring; especially when the offspring is unable to protect itself. This early dependent state may be a source of connection and emotion. Such is not the way of the drow. Later in this work I explore the religious traditions and moral compass of these creatures. For now I will observe that Lolth worshiping drow strive for individual strength and power and not allowing a creature to fend for itself to demonstrate its capacity to gain power is sinful and wrong.
Such an attitude can be viewed as cold and unfeeling. I do not believe this is so. The matron mother affords her house the leeway to gain their own power so long as it does not disrupt her own. As the individual members gain power so does the house and therefore the matron mother benefits.
Of course, female children are desired and only two male children will exist within a house. The religion demands the third son of any matron mother be sacrificed to the goddess as an infant. Small children are trained in the means to gain power either by: combat, magic, religious devotion, or a combination thereof. Most cities include boarding school style accommodations where primary and secondary education continues beyond the safety of the house. This gives the children more opportunity to develop skills is seeking and maintaining personal power or failing to integrate into drow social norms. Failed students meet lethal punishments at school or relatively soon after returning to the house. Failure is a akin to weakness and weakness diminishes the house.
There is no concept of marriage for these elves. The matron takes consorts as she sees fit and reproduces when most advantageous for her house. Sexual promiscuity is normal among females and does not carry negative social stigma as it does for certain surface species. The drow word nek has a male connotation and literally translates to gigolo or slut. It probably is more closer in meaning to the phrase “gold digger” when referring to someone willing to trade sexual favors for personal gain.
Amorous love is viewed as a weakness for most drow and that includes the matron mother. Being emotionally bound to another is allowing the object of affection to hold sway over you. The drow have the word che for this feeling. The connotation is negative and accusatory. Only fools and simpletons would hand over power to another person. Often the spoken context of love is that a drow is “suffering from a bout of che.” It conjures the same feeling to the listener as “suffering from a bout of rock joint” or “ill with bloodly bowels”
A matron mother will live a long productive life in her house until one of her daughters takes the house away from her in a coup that leave the mother dead or banished. This tradition of succession insures that the house will be lead with the most powerful daughter. These contests are usually a combination of guile, perfidy, murder, and brinkmanship (brinksdrowship if you will) that last decades. Again the non drow reader may find this matricide or filicide repugnant. I witnessed one episode of such a contest in my travels and with great tact and humility asked the matron mother about this very topic. Her response, given to me as she cleaned her daughter’s blood from a razor sharp hair clip is recorded below.
This child was weak. She is undeserving of the helm of my house. If I took pity on her and let her kill me I’d meet the Queen of Spiders as a failure. When I have a daughter who can slay me as an equal or better yet as my superior then and only then will the house change hands and my reign will end. I will meet Lolth with my head high, powerful in my own right, and the source of a legacy to further our house. Fret not my pet, she is not quite dead, perhaps three years in the dungeons will give her time to find the error in her plot and in a decade or two she may try again. Of course, her sister may kill her first if she continues to insist on being clumsy.