House Vaerixas

House Vaerixas is one of the two major powers that holds dominion over the Deep Spire, alongside the Tideborne Tribe. They are an exhiled drow house from the city of Vlyn'darastyl, forced to flee when their leader Ysri Vaerixas attempted to forcibly impose worship of Eilistraee, the Dark Dancer, onto the rest of the city. This did not sit well with the worshippers of Lolth, the Spider Queen, who united against House Vaerixas and forced those that survived the onslaught to flee the city.
In time, they made their way to the Deep Spire and formed an alliance with the Tideborne Tribe that has allowed both sides to prosper for centuries. But in the centuries since then, Ysri Vaerixas has never given up on her desire to return to Vlyn'darastyl and reclaim the city in the name of Eilistraee (as well as revenge). Ysri herself is the only one who truly knows how close House Vaerixas is to this goal.

Early History

Exile from Vlyn'darastyl

Far from the Black Loch sat the drow city of Vlyn'darastyl, one of the largest drow settlements on Nexus. Worship in Vlyn'darastyl was centered on Lolth, as is the drow custom, yet Vlyn'darastyl's ruling family did not place the Spider Queen as their chief deity. House Vaerixas worshipped Eilistraee, the Dark Dancer, as their chief patron, much to the ire of Vlyn'darastyl's lesser noble houses. It was tolerated only because House Vaerixas did not attempt to force their beliefs onto the other houses. That changed when the previous matron mother died.
Whereas the old matron mother was a believer, her daughter and the new matron mother, Ysri Vaerixas, was a zealot. She decreed that so long as she ruled, Eilistraee's rule would not be denied. Her first decree was the abolishment of forced labor and that was all it took to unite the Lolth-loyal houses against House Vaerixas. Ysri and those of her house who managed to survive were forced to flee Vlyn'darastyl, eventually making their way to the Black Loch. While zealous, Ysri was no fool and had her remaining troops seize fishing vessels to ferry them to the Deep Spire.

An Alliance Formed

Ysri approached the orog docks seeking to speak with their leader, Lord Harlorn, speaking in a calm manner and with none of the arrogance the orogs associated with drow. This news intrigued Lord Harlorn of the Tideborne Tribe, who agreed to meet with Ysri. The matron mother's offer was a simple one: her people would assist the Tideborne Tribe with whatever the orogs required in exchange for certain allowances. This was fortuitous timing for Lord Harlorn, for an attack by duergar raiders from Brazenthrone was imminent, the orogs and duergar having become rivals over the ore needed for their smelters over the years since the Deep Spire's founding.
Lord Harlorn was upfront with Ysri about the situation, a fact that Ysri both appreciated and valued after spending much of her life surrounded by backstabbing Lolth worshippers. Ysri proposed a detailed plan for partnership, an alliance of co-rulership between House Vaerixas and the Tideborne Tribe over the Deep Spire. Knowing his people would likely die to the last soldier without aid, Lord Harlorn had no choice but to accept. The duergar assault came a week later and the dwarves were quite surprised to find the orogs they had expected to outnumber reinforced by the renowned and feared Sword Dancers of Eilistraee. When they realized a drow matron mother was also backing the defense, the duergar turned around for home before the battle even began.

Settling a New Home

Sensing an opportunity to advance Eilistraee's agenda while simultaneously caring for her people, Ysri came to Lord Harlorn in the days that followed with another proposal. The first stage of which would involve expanding the Deep Spire's facilities, which the orogs could do with their great strength now that the drow were there to watch for attackers. But instead of shoring up their defenses with military might, Ysri suggested they could buy safety by turning the Deep Spire into a center of trade. All races in the Underdark traded with each other to various degrees, but this was always a difficult processes due to the mistrust between communities. By providing a place for the different peoples to mingle and trade safely, they could create a new economy.
While many of the orogs were reluctant at best to give up their piracy, Lord Harlorn among them, Ysri convinced them by pointing out that such a trading hub would allow Tideborne Tribe a way to finally convert all those looted goods into gold. Lord Harlorn agreed to a two-year trial period for this idea, in which time business quickly boomed and the orogs began to make even more gold through trade than they had through years of successful piracy. The two-year trial was quickly adopted into a permanent policy that continues to this day, centuries after the initial establishment of the Deep Spire.

House Vaerixas Today

While the Deep Spire is still a successful trade hub, things have soured somewhat for House Vaerixas in recent years. Ysri Vaerixas enjoyed a good relationship with Lord Harlorn to the old orog's dying day and fostered similar relationships with his son and grandson. His great-grandson and the current leader of the Tideborne Tribe, Lord Varl, is another issue. Lord Varl is young and ambitious, seeking to spread his tribe's influence beyond the the Deep Spire.
Ysri (as well as many other members of House Vaerixas) believes the young orog will at best sour relations with their trade partners and at worst cause his tribe's downfall by overreaching. She is fully aware that the fate of House Vaerixas is linked to the Tideborne Tribe as long as their alliance stands and has tried (thus far unsuccessfully) to sway Lord Varl away from this course of action. Though it cannot be said that Ysri has given this her best effort.
In the years following House Vaerixas exile, Ysri has never given up on her dream of returning to Vlyn'darastyl and reclaiming the city in the name of Eilistraee. She has spent centuries accumulating money, weapons, resources, and alliances aimed at achieving this goal, though none save Ysri herself know how close this goal is to potentially becoming a reality.

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