Eilistraee

the Dark Maiden

Eilistraee (AISLE-iss-tra-hee) is the Dark Seldarine's goddess of beauty and light. Originally one of the Seldarine, Eilistraee was their goddess of twilight, and of things that happened during that time. As such, she was seen as a volatile goddess, one who straddles the borders between light and dark. As she was adopted by the Drow, and therefore changed with them, she retained her dominion over the shadowy light, which quickly became the only sort of light the Shadowfell-altered Drow could withstand, but also came to rule over beauty as the Drow rejected the elves' traditional view of beauty, which was largely based on illusion. Eilistraee is also known as the Masked Lady, as she is believed to have hidden her face from view so as not to affect what her followers believe to be beautiful; she encourages them to seek out their own truthful beauty instead.
As a liminal goddess, Eilistraee's wheelhouse also includes song, dance, and swordwork; song and dance being beautiful things that straddle the imagination and reality, and swordwork straddling the line between life and death. As most Drow, she is highly concerned with honesty, and therefore rewards bards and dancers who speak harsh truths through their art.

Divine Domains

Beauty, Light

Tenets of Faith

Live doing what makes life beautiful

Divine Classification

Goddess

Honorary & Occupational Titles

the Lady of the Dance
the Masked Lady