Nocturnam Dominion

The Nocturnam Dominion is the Drow Faction's attempt to nullify their vows to the Oni and reset the power scale between these two long-time allies. Now, shrouded in darkness and with the embrace of Lolth, the once tense but loyal alliance is in shambles, but the drows can only ascend in position, as they were already at the bottom.

Early History

A long, long time ago, the Drows joined forces with the Oni Commonwealth in an attempt to back their god-chosen to ascension during the Thundarian Plague epidemic. They believed only the Oni Vitiate had the adequate knowledge to outright stop the plague that brought their magnificent cities to ruin, so they fought against the other pretenders. The war was completely one-sided. Whatever disadvantage the Oni had with their low numbers but extremely advanced technology, the Drows supplemented. One by one, the factions of men and elves alike started to bend the knee. Several God-woken had died, and right when Vitiate was besieging the Academy and their Magical pools, several Drow detachments were sent to the Bareback mountains of the 'New world'. The dwarfs had a stronghold on the lands, and their God-woken was still at large. So, the Drow did what they did best; they slaughtered and raided. They tortured and burned everything along the way until the Dwarves were no more. Little did they know, their God-woken had succumbed to the plague a year before the whole debacle. But that was a highly kept secret among the dwarves' lordship.

At Vitiate's ascension, the Gods came together in assembly. It was undeniable that the Onis now had the strongest claim to ascension, but the horrendous crimes of their allies, the genocide of dwarves perpetrated by the Drows, made them move towards the rejection of Vitiate. A fight erupted in the Assembly, with Vitiate bathing in the magicka pools without their approval. It was only then that he discovered that the plague itself was nothing but a punishment from the Gods themselves, so tightly related to the existence of magicka that the only cure possible would need the cooperation of the entire Pantheon. He realized that wasn't possible now, not with them bickering over rights and wrongs. So, with his newfound powers, Vitiate cast his race into the Hall of Echoes, a plane where time doesn't pass, and people do not die. He migrated his whole race to the plane of the Gods themselves, but he also brought with them the Drows, for a price. They were to be their servants, ever-loyal, ever-lasting, eternal servants. And so it was for millennia.

The Foundations

In response, the Gods decided to place a Titan at the entrance of the plane, guarding the only entrance, as well as the only exit. The dominion the Onis and drow had over the terrestrial plane all but disappeared overnight. This led the Realms of man and other entities to band together and rebuild. As we know, this didn't last for long as the Federation shattered only 3 years after its conception, leading to civil war, strife, and the foundation of the contemporary countries: 'The Kingdom of Swadia,' composed of Humans, Orcs, Halflings, and elves. 'The High Dhunmar State,' composed of Humans, high-elves, tieflings, Genasi, and others. The Merchant Congregation, as a splinter remnants faction of the Oni commonwealth and the Drows, composed of former slave owners and non-native Royalty. And lastly, The Menawi Lands, an untouched hellscape jungle where all the animalfolk resided; more than a unified country, there were several tribe-states and city-states warring for power and dominion over the other races.

The Drows had little to no say in the lives they carried, granted most of the mortal necessities weren't an issue now that they resided in the Hall of Echoes. But the Onis still had their ambition; the drows served as industry, developing a multitude of new technologies devised by the Onis in preparation for a conflict. 'None were to harm the Titan,' The Onis said, 'But we shall prepare, as soon enough we will return home, and we will conquer, and we will raid. We will teach them that we are the masters of their life.' And so, the Drows worked, and prepared, and conceived the notion of rebellion. But most were afraid; The Oni had an Ascended among them; they promised security and riches, so why bother? The Leaders of the drow quelled their people's yearnings for freedom, for just a little bit longer.

The Breach

One day, if such measures of time still hold true in the Hall of Echoes, Vitiate rallied his forces and dispatched messengers to regroup all of the Drow's forces at the gate. It wasn't but two hours after the last battalion assembled that there was a disturbance, something was traversing the planes and entering the Hall for the first time in millennia. Godwokens! It was time; the Reckoning was upon us. If the Gods dared to send them here, it must be for annihilation, but as the Drows prepared their spears, rapiers, and bolts, Vitiate told them to hold, as the arrival of such a party had weakened the Titan's grasp. Instead, Vitiate ordered a march through the gates themselves, and so we did, and so we were home.

We crossed on Legasa, the Swadian Capital; there was no resistance. They weren't expecting an army at their doorsteps, not when they were busy fighting their own battle on the other side of the continent; their home defense regiment was just a bad joke, kids armed with sharp sticks and nothing more. All afflicted by the plague, all in shambles. But the Oni didn't hesitate; they gave the order, and so we climbed the walls, and killed their populace, enslaved half the city, raped a quarter of that. And even when most expected heavenly retribution, this never came. The Gods were all silent. It didn't take long for us to take more of their puny cities. And after that, the Onis stretched themselves too thinly, so here came the Lords and the Barons; our family was one of the lucky ones.

The Second Assembly

I was there, you know? The second Assembly. We Drows were never invited to the first, where the fate of our world was decided. But this time was different. We had discovered how weak the Gods were—so weak, in fact, that there were still several dozens of Godwokens roaming the earth when it was called. We took position outside of The Academy. No cease-fire was called by the Onis despite our pleas. We didn't want this Assembly to be soiled like the first, but we had no choice. The Divitum were still fighting, so we answered in kind, keeping them at bay from the entrance.

Vitiate entered along with the other Godwokens. That was the last time I saw him. I don't know what happened inside, but we sure as hell felt it—one god after the other, dead. Our magicka engines fluttered and skipped beats. We saw how our ships, as well as theirs, started to stall; spells had wild effects, almost as wild as those of the Wild Magic sorcerers. And then we saw him. The Ancient one, they called him—mighty, colossal, and then the Vortex. My ship, along with two others, glided through the sky unto the water, unscathed. The Oni design didn't fare as well as ours. We collected as many survivors while we fended off the hellish creatures. Rumbles and earthquakes destroyed the earth beneath the ocean, but we made it back. Legasa was in ruins. Everything we had accomplished was destroyed. We sought to rebuild, erase the caste law that prevented those of other races from being our equals, and started to look down to our ancestral home.

Aftermath

The Onis didn't look kindly on our meddling with their laws and traditions, but there was little they could do; we were many. The ex-slaves, faced with the certainty of being brought back to serfdom, understood that we held the power to support. To be completely honest, the years of campaigning might have taken a toll on all of us. It also helped that most of our elders finally passed in their sleep, whether the product of an assassination or not, it makes no difference. We were able to assert ourselves and make the changes we thought were required to move forward after the Calamity. We were still allies, but strained ones at that. We supported the Onis with resources where we could but stayed away from their conflicts. For them, this was a war of vengeance. I like to think we took a path of redemption. But the fields keep withering away, and diseases abound. I think we are going to abandon Legasa and go underground, where we belong.

The Betrayal

I have to admit, writing in my father's documents feels wrong, but this must be documented. My name is Zelless of House T'sym, daughter of Durryn T'sym, and sole heir of the Legasa Fiefdom. The Oni leadership called upon our bannermen and city leaders to meet in The Frozen Maiden Peaks and discuss the future of our alliance and how to proceed regarding the Vortex, or so they told us. Only one scout returned; he said we had been betrayed, that they wanted us to bend the knee once again, that they had manipulated our leaders, charmed them, all but my father. They killed him for it, but not before dispelling the charm from his brothers and sisters. They were slaughtered. We haven't received any official communication regarding the incident, but I'm tired of waiting, and it seems the vortex ended up resolving itself. I heard the voice of the Matron, and by Lolth, I'll have my revenge.