Drow
Basic Information
Biological Cycle
Blood Elves have a variety of ages, depending on their living circumstances. With all factors removed, a Drow would live a life comparable to that of the rest of the Elven race. For a Drow living in the Underdark, there was more variability. Many Drow had shorter lifespans, on average dying before 800 years of age, usually due to violent attacks; this is such a frequent cause of death, that it pulls the overall average down for the entire race. Accounting for violence as a factor, Drow generally live around 600 years on average. Those who are religious, practice unregulated magics, or are in high positions of power can often live much longer. Matron Mothers could often live beyond 800, even beyond 100 years old, although the tempering of time would take its toll on them.
Surface-dwelling Drow had a different set of circumstances. A Drow struggles upon the surface if they have not been accustomed to the Sun. It robs many Drow of energy, making them lethargic and more prone to migraines. For this reason, many Drow on the surface prefer traveling at night time. If a Drow were able to acclimate to the conditions on the surface world, they may eventually reach a period of good health by their 300th year spent on the surface. However, after 3-4 generations of families are spent on the surface, regardless of condition, a Drow child can be acclimated to the surface conditions and experience no ill effects from the sun or weather. They also do not suffer the same problems with vision that many under-dwellers struggle with upon the surface.
Nevertheless, surface dwelling Drow who are acclimated have significantly shorter lifespans than their peers, ranging between 250-500 years on average. For this reason, those who seek surface dwellings will tend to do so near easy access to the Underdark, and simply commuting to the surface rather than attempting to form a life there permanently. It is said that the more generations that pass with a Drow on the surface, the more likely it is that this Drow will fully acclimate over many generations, and may have similar lifespans to normal Elves.
A sign a Drow is reaching the end of their lifespan is when their hair begins to yellow, either to that of a platinum blonde or dusty blonde. Great wrinkles would also develop on an Elder drow, particularly on the forehead and face.
Additional Information
Social Structure
All Drow culture is Matriarchal. Women are seen as dominant and given prominent roles in society. Drow men were almost never allowed to occupy spaces of high authority, and were expected to be servants to women.
A Drow community would be led by its Matron Mother, usually a religious figure, arcane mage, or otherwise a politically influential figure. They would be accompanied by a retinue of powerful women, and chosen men as guards in their coterie. This same structure would exist throughout the society until it came to the merchant class. At this stage, merchants, peasants, and civilians had more lateral ability; men and women are generally equal, but with strong discrimination towards men who occupy positions such as managers or caretakers of establishments.
Slaves occupy the bottom rung of the social hierachy. These slaves are of a multitude of races, and were considered chattel, with no rights whatsoever. Some "ethical" slave owners would offer positions of domestic servitude or indentured servitude, but this was seen as unbecoming of the slave owner, and that slaves should be treated appropriate to their station as property and tools.
Because of the aggressive, harsh nature of Drow society, life in Underdark communities was tense. Cutthroat murders were common, and squabbles among common folk often ended in blood. Grand conspiracies would happen at every stage of society, from rival tavern owners to rival Queens. Thieves Guilds were exceptionally common and accepted as part of society; these would allow the contracting of bounty hunters and assassins who were not beholden to any values or beliefs. Contracting killers was seen as more appropriate than attempting murder oneself, because it was more polite. The use of bounty hunters and assassins aided in maintaining the harmony of the society, without flaring tensions between various houses; instead, it was the guilds who often fought rival mafia and cartels for business, isolating the violence between career adventurers who were already looking for platinum and violence.
Surface dwelling Drow communities were far more civil, largely due in part to these Drow fleeing the harsh conditions of the Underdark. These communities usually operated on a small scale, with a Matron Mother and her court in an authoritarian structure, but with an official guild to oversee the affairs of the city as a third-party mediator. This guild was given the authority to act with impunity without the Matron Mother's input, allowing them to deal with threats or unruly individuals without affecting the reputation of the Matron Mother, thus reducing tensions. Generally, these surface dwelling communities were peaceful and resembled a normal Elf village, and most threats came from outsiders.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Largely in the Underdark, with small pockets of communities on the surface, scattered around through minor Drow communities or throughout major population centers.
Civilization and Culture
Beauty Ideals
For upper class women in Drow society, dresses were the peak of beauty. Thin, slim, and generally less revealing that typical elf fashion, dresses were more focused on the detailed embroidery and austere designs. Long hair was prized by Drow, especially those who were older, however younger generations of women tended to prefer shorter and more masculine or androgynous hairstyles, sometimes with elaborate dyes, highlights, and colors.
Men, regardless of their station, are usually subject to the women in their life, and fashion decisions are not their choice to make. Most women prefer their men to dress stylishly, in a slim tailored tunic and trousers, or sometimes suits for those of a higher station. Men who are given more freedom trend toward sleek and austere Nehru jackets and trousers, or Zhongshan suits, for their practicality and aesthetic. For the most prominent men, pinstripe suits are the height of male fashion. Heeled shoes are also exceptionally popular among men. Male hairstyles ranged from short with bangs to medium length and draped down above the shoulders. Longer hair was uncommon, but still sometimes worn, although buns were popular with men. Because of the preponderance of androgynous hair styles among women, men also take on more androgynous styles, such as side-fades; the most esteemed men could sometimes be seen with pompadours.
Gender Ideals
The strict structure of Drow society meant that gender tends to be binary. Females were seen as superior in nearly every way, and males were a lesser beast. Transgender individuals had random fates, depending on where they were born and raised. Sometimes they would be greatly revered as unique, similar to normal Elven culture's beliefs around Third Gender, and brought into the Matron Mother's royal court either as platonic playmates, pedagogues, or concubines, which was seen as a great honor. Other instances would see transgender individuals completely shunned from society, and violence was a very high probability.
Courtship Ideals
Polyamory was seen as the norm. Polygamous marriages were more of a formal affair, and usually seen as unnecessary in Drow culture. Usually these marriages happened for political convenience, and no offense was taken if the couple (or multiples of couples in a marriage) had multiple other sexual and romantic partners.
Courtship between Drow was strained, to say the least. Seduction is the preferred method throughout Drow culture, usually with the clear intention of vapid sex. Men were usually expected to woo a woman, as this was seen as a thrilling act of cunning to be able to win someone above a man's station. However, it was not uncommon in the slightest to see women forcefully accosting men for their romantic pleasures. If a dominant Drow woman approaches a man, he was socially expected to reciprocate the advances out of courtesy; denying an invitation for more was as difficult process for men, and had to be taken delicately.
Gay relationships are especially common throughout culture. It is often seen as easier to romance the same gender than the opposite; men do not have to jockey for position against other men, and women don't have to make any presumptions or effort when speaking to someone of a similar place of respect in society, as they could correlate as equals. Brothels were certainly a commonplace need in these cultures, as the transitionary nature of a whore was easier for most to stomach. Geisha were also available for the higher socialites, who would be more focused on entertainment of their paid host, rather than carnal desirse. Without little further detail, relations with slaves were exceptionally common, and society turned a blind eye to any discontent a slave might have; improprietious incidents between Drow and their slaves occurred more often when one Drow courted a slave that was not their property.
As a result of the tense nature of dating while Drow, matchmaking guilds were a common sight in Underdark communities. These would generally facilitate the interactions between individuals in a way that eliminated the vying for dominance and supremacy. This is seen as particularly effective when facilitating interactions between males and females, as the goal of the guild is to find ideal matches. An Elven writer commentated on the use of one of these guids:
It was all very formal. You were expected to provide proper documentation on your life, family, and station to the guild. You must also provide your intents; if your only goal is a role in a tapestried bed, that must be stated outright. It was all very Dwarvish, really. Once I met with my mate, it was frankly exceptionally awkward! I had the due pleasure of meeting with a prominent lady of the House under the Matron Mother. You could see the rage in those beautiful red eyes, and yet she knew the strictness of the guild's mandated playdate. Instead of a cutthroat mistress, she was a blushing buffoon, desperate for conversation, and having to bite her time every time she found her station to be above mind. It is clear to me that Drow women are incapable of being put in a place of equals among men, and it is truly a humorous affair indeed."
History
The Drow have experienced hardship throughout their history, and it has rightfully hardened their character over time. Their history is fraught with those disapprove of them and their decisions, and they have now built a society that frequently scorns the affairs of even their closest peers for the sake of pure, isolated dominance.
During the First Halcyon, the Ilythiir were a group of Elves that formed a vast kingdom after the defeat of the dragons. The Cult of Ilythiir originally were a collection of former Paragons who worshiped Haumea as a god, and they were instrumental in the creation of the Primals in the War of Rakuen due to their unique perspective on the Weave and celestial magic. However, they were also the last of the Paragons to reject their immortal forms during the transition away from Paragons and into Elves.
The Ilythiir argued that the real threat was not the Dragons ruling the world of mortals, but The Vestiges ruling the world of immortals. They suggested that the Paragons who choose to give up their immortal forms should be used as pawns against The Vestiges to draw them into a fight which the Ilythiir would win. Offended by this, the other cults of Elves forcibly drew them from their immortality. The Ilythiir scorned the Paragons treachery, and the Paragons scorned the Ilythiir for being distracted. But soon, old deeds were forgotten, and the wars of dragons were fought and won.
As Elves spread across the land, the Ilythiir founded a great kingdom. They dedicated themselves to Haumea, and performed magnificent feats of magic with reckless abandon, a sign of their newfound freedom. But their power led them to malice, as they enslaved the lesser races and rejected the democracy pushed for by the other races. After a terrible war that lasted millennia, the Elves enacted a High Elven curse on the Ilythiir, stripping them of much of their magical prowess. Weak without their magic, the Ilythiir could not resist the whims of the rest of their brethren. They were labeled as Dhaerow, the Elven word for traitor, and slowly forced to abandon their culture and religious devotion to the Celestial Dragon.
When the Elves began to embark upon their bid to summon Elysium Fields, they conscripted many Dhaerow to act, something that the Dhaerow thought was heretical. They were told that if their people would not aid the Elves in their great project, then they could leave. And so they chose to, abandoning their "slave names" of Dhaerow, and taking that of the Drow, fleeing as refugees into the dangerous Underdark.
Finally alone with themselves, they sought to build a new future. The curse put upon them was severe. They lost their connection to the Reverie; death became sudden and chaotic, and they could not dream of past, present, or future lives. They had to plan their society carefully and accordingly, so as not to strain themselves beyond their means, and succumb to population collapse. Eventually, they built a strong society all its own, reclaiming their arcane arts, and even experimenting in forsaken magical arts. Then, when The Dirge was summoned, more tragedy befell them. A large portion of their people killed in seconds, and their ability to reincarnate robbed from them. The Drow hated the Elves for their impudence, blaming them for everything; they became violent and bloodthirsty, tyrranical toward surface dwellers, and isolationist deep below.
At the coming of the War in Heaven and the opening of The Dirge, things changed again. Although the curses placed on them eons ago had not been lifted, their ability to reincarnate was returned. They also took hold of a rudimentary form of Reverie, able to gain some of their ancient power. Some Drow took this as a sign to rebuff their power, and use this good fortune to grow their civilizations, which were severely impacted by the War in Heaven. They took on their new god, Joro, who would lead them to totalitarian independence. Other Drow saw the warmongering as dangerous, and saw the return of ancient birthrights such as the Reverie and their reincarnation as a sign to amend old ties with their brethren, resulting in many communities of Drow heading to the surface and attempting to rebuild the world with the rest of mortals.
Comments