A/N: Wow, I actually put something on the internet! Ok, Danifae and Halisstra are 2 of my favorite characters, though I have to say Quenthel is my absolute favorite, so I just had to write about them. Sorry, but I had to blather just now. Danifae, Halisstra, and anything else Forgotten Realms/ War of the Spider Queen doesn't belong to me, sadly, it's owned by Wizards of the Coast. (I think?). Please read and review!

Part One: Danifae

Chapter One

Crack! Her mace smashed violently into the face of another Drow, killing him instantly. Danifae whirled, searching for another intruder. She was furious, as was apparent from the carnage around her. She had cut a violent and deadly swath through her enemies. They dare to attack House Yauntyrr? The fools. She smiled through her anger, partially at the sight of the death about her. She murmured a quick prayer to Lloth, offering her the souls of her victims, then moved on.

Some time earlier, the first wave of the attack on House Yauntyrr had begun. It was a desperate fool's move, indeed, on behalf of the attacking house, House Irzyln. A lesser noble house of the city of Eryndlyn should not have even considered the attack. But they had another trick up their collective sleeves. They had allied themselves with a high ranking noble house of another Drow city, the name of which was as yet unknown to Danifae Yauntyrr, third daughter of her house.

Sounds of battle echoed from down the corridor, interrupting Danifae's contemplation. Her lips curved into a smile. Like most dark elves, she enjoyed slaughter. She hefted her morning star, and moving carefully to avoid jangling her chain mail, she stepped into the shadows. The source of the noise rounded the bend in the hall. Two males, one wielding a rapier and the other a hand cross bow. He must be a wizard, Danifae thought, I'll have to be wary of him. They were pursuing one of her sisters, younger and lower ranked. She sported several wounds and was breathing raggedly as she attempted to work a spell and still fight off her pursuers. She was clearly losing.

The males continued to advance, and Danifae's sister was running out of time. The male with the rapier slashed lightly as the other priestess and blinded her, nearly taking out her eye. She screamed and swung at him furiously with her hammer. He evaded it easily, and she stumbled, off balance from her clumsy swing. In that brief moment, the male's companion fired his crossbow, and an arrow buried itself into her heart, and she collapsed, blood flowing from her mouth. Good riddance, Danifae thought, you were weak and useless.

Danifae remained quiet during the spectacle. She did not want to reveal her position, not yet, and certainly not for the likes of her sister. The wizard frowned and spoke a spell. She sensed a pulling, seeking sensation brushing at the edges of her consciousness. She sighed lightly as she found herself lined in faerie fire. Clutching her morning star in one hand and her holy symbol, a red spider encased in a chunk of amber, in the other, she stepped from the shadows, chanting. The mage fired another bolt from his crossbow, but it deflected off her piwafwi. She frowned, finishing her chant, but did not advance. Instead she waited, and soon a familiar clicking and hissing sound filled the hall. Hundreds of spiders scurried down the walls and started encroaching on the two males.

The wizard pulled out a wand and fired it at the advancing wave, singeing a few of the spiders. Stupid male. You have just sealed not only your death but the fate of your soul. To harm a spider was punishable by death. You would have died anyway, but… now it will only be worse. She smiled as she saw that the spiders had circled around behind them and were quickly making their way to their prey. They swarmed the males, biting them and eating at their skin. The males screamed, but the venom from the bites was already coursing through their veins. The wizard toppled over first, shortly followed by his companion, their faces blackening. When Danifae was certain they were dead, she dispelled the wave of spiders, offering token thanks. She stalked past her sister's body, stopping to give her a brief, vengeful kick in the head, and continued on her chosen path.

Danifae was going to find her two elder sisters, and if they still lived, kill them in the fray. That would leave her as first daughter, provided the house survived the attack. Danifae knew it would, House Yauntyrr had fought off every attack made upon them, and had destroyed a number of noble houses during their climb for power. They were strong and favored.

She walked quickly through the blood spattered halls. She was pleased to note that while there was more Irzyln blood on the floor than Yauntyrr, a number of her rivals had been wiped out in the battle. That would make things easier for her once they fought off the Irzyln. Her ascent to power would not be so fought against when no one was left to fight. She wanted some of the younger priestesses to survive, certainly, she would need underlings, and they were young enough to be intimidated by her. They were necessary to run a house. What would truly be perfect was if her mother also perished. Danifae would not delude herself, however, into thinking that Matron Ilphae would be so easily dispatched. There will be plenty of time to kill her when I am first daughter.

A soft sound behind her stirred her from her bloody ruminations. She whirled, hand going for the haft of her morning star. A familiar face greeted her.

"Kelhirr." She tried not to sound startled. Her brother ran his eyes over her form, as though calculating something. She unconsciously altered her poise to a slightly coy posture. She had long since stopped thinking about using her striking form to her advantage; it came naturally now, and had a disarming affect on almost anyone. The only downside was that people generally became possessive of her. It was around then, that if she had gotten what she wanted, she killed them.

" Hello, 'Fae." She grimaced at the nickname but let it slide. He might tell me where they are, and the condition of the house, if I play things right.

"Kelhirr," She smiled at him. "What's the situation? Are we fighting them off? I've been trying to find others for hours now." That was a lie, and he knew it. She had been busy killing off people who were inconvenient, or the invading Irzyln. He had most likely been doing the same.

He smiled right back, teeth gleaming whitely in his dark face. " Rather well, actually. Irzyln doesn't have a chance, you know that. Or did you know it was Irzyln that was attacking?" he said it with some concern, but it was an insult nonetheless. Kelhirr was a mage, and considered himself to be smarter than Danifae. Others had made the mistake of assuming she was less intelligent because she preferred to seduce and kill her way to power. What they did not see was the subtlest manipulations hidden behind her seemingly clumsy attempts at deceit. Kelhirr underestimated her, just like the others. And like the others, he was dead wrong. Time to push him a little off balance, she thought. She glared at him, appearing to be seething, but internally she was calm, if irritated at his nerve.

"Don't play games with me, Kelhirr, I can read house insignia as well as you. What about that foreign house they're supposedly allied with?" A brief shadow passed over his face and her eyes narrowed slightly, scarcely perceptible.

"Well, my dear sister…" he paused and she saw one of his hands move slightly. She tensed, preparing to leap to the side if need be. "There's a problem with that." He drew his hand up sharply and fired a cross bow just as she leapt to the side.

" I suppose the problem is that you're a traitor." She said in between breaths. He pulled a wand out of one of the pockets of his piwafwi.

"That could be part of it, of course, but at the same time, you're soon to be a houseless priestess with no where to go but down, so where does that leave us?" He fired a series of rapid streaks of something blue that crackled like lightning but did nothing to the stone walls they hit.

" Is that just for show?" Danifae asked contemptuously. She rushed him and took a swing with her mace, which struck the air around Kelhirr and bounced off. She cursed furiously.

"You never did have any subtlety, did you 'Fae? It's a pity I couldn't have enjoyed your other attributes, but business is business, after all." He leered at her and she began a short chant, calling on the divine magic of her goddess, the mark of her superiority I will show this foolish male. "I don't think you want to do that," he called loudly over her chanting. She ignored him. "You might not want to find out what my wand does."

Danifae finished her chant, and called the flame strike down upon him. The holy inferno blazed, and for several moments she could not see him. She laughed. There was no way he could have survived. "What exactly where you thinking you could gain from this, hmm? Did the Irzyln promise you a place in their house? As what, a servant boy?" She spat at the flames just as they where lowering. She looked up quickly, and saw Kelhirr's face grinning at her, she gasped in shock as a jet of blue light hit her straight in the chest. Her knees gave way and she collapsed, the world swiftly blackening. "Nau…" she murmured, denying her defeat, as her vision left her, fading quickly, but not so quickly that she didn't see Kelhirr grinning at her, or hear him whisper into her ear.

"What did I gain, my beautiful Danifae? Everything."