Heroes
21
All creatures have their place, and all are fit to wield power. Those who hunt weed out the weak and strengthen the stock of all. Those who rebel or who walk apart find new ways and new things and do the most to advance their races. Creatures of power best house the energy of life, which Ghaunadaur reveres and represents. Make sacrifices to The Eye. Persuade others to sacrifice themselves to Ghaunadaur or in service of The Eye. Further knowledge and fear of Ghaunadaur, and, in the end, give yourself to Ghaunadaur in unresisting self-sacrifice. Convert all beings to the worship of Ghaunadaur. Slay all clergy of other faiths, plundering their temples or holdings for wealth to better your own lot and to further the worship of Ghaunadaur.
The Creed of Ghaunadaur.
"There is a swamp beneath Skullport called The Slitherswamp," Amal'Gloth said, "but it is a perilous land filled with serpents of all kinds and ruled by Dark Nagas."
Rizzen shook his head, "I don't mean deeper, I mean on the surface."
"You don't understand, boy, our kind are not meant to live on the surface, that is Correlon's curse upon us, the sunlight burns our eyes, literally damages them." Amal'Gloth replied, " Even the relative darkness of a swamp would be intolerably bright."
"What about a cave... He could sleep in day come out at night?" Gristle suggested.
"Yes, a cave, or a troll lair, would provide protection from the sun, but..." He put an arm around Rizzen's shoulder, "I'm an old Drow, Rizzen, and my time is coming, soon. Xaxcixlitl will become High Priest, but he is no evangelizer, no great speaker. You have charisma, presence..."
"You're dying?" Rizzen replied, shocked.
"Yes, I am. To avoid the... Consequences of my disease, I shall give myself to Ghaunadaur."
Rizzen arched a slender brow, "Give yourself..."
"As a willing sacrifice, yes. Ghaunadaur enjoys a willing sacrifice more than all others. By my death I shall please my god and bring his blessing upon this temple."
Gristle thought again of the tapestries that adorned the temple, tapestries depicting crawling people being devoured by slimes and monsters.
He shuddered.
Amal'Gloth smiled, "It is not something I fear, and, compared to the death this slow disease will inflict upon me, it is even more to be desired. My usefulness has ended, I am old and weak and wracked with pain, why should I continue to live in this way when I can serve The Elder Eye anew in his realm?" His wrinkled face smiled softly, "I have no children, none that I know of, anyway, as since my escape from Lolth I have devoted my entire life to Ghaunadaur. I want you to have my name, Rizzen. You would no longer be Rizzen the Houseless, you would be Rizzen Ken'Ghaunadaur."
Rizzen was stunned, he would have a name, not a name of a noble house, yet a name still, the name of a priest of a mighty god! "Thank you, my lord." He said humbly, "But, who will teach me in the way of The Elder Eye?"
Amal'Gloth shook his head, "I do not know, Rizzen, but I do know that Ghaunadaur will find a way."
...
Uru scanned the Drow quarter with keen eyes, still clinging to his perch atop the temple of Mask, the god of shadows. His eyes quickly settled upon another temple, the temple of Lolth. It was beautiful, in a way, much like the Drow themselves, beautiful on the outside, filled with evil within. He considered ways that he could harass The Spider Queen; He could set fire to the temple, a futile act that would assuredly end in his death. It was also cowardly, he preferred to face his foes directly, arson, like poisoning, was not the way of a true warrior. He dearly wanted to enter that cursed place, kill the priestesses, and defile the altar, but he knew that was impossible. Selvetarm was enslaved to Lolth, he could neither aid nor protect his servant in such an audacious attack upon his mistress, indeed, once past the threshold, Uru would be in her web, and might fall under her power. It might have been worth it, if death was the only price he'd have to pay, but Lolth would have his soul as well...
The soul of a mortal, (If not unnaturally imprisoned in the rotting cadaver by vile necromancy), either passed into the plane of the dead or joined the god it had worshiped in life. Not for the first time, Uru Drowbiter worried about his own soul. Selvetarm dwelled with Lolth at the heart of the Demonweb Pits. If he joined his lord after death, he would face Lolth herself. He wanted to kill the whore, but he knew that was impossible, there was no way he could stand before her. His afterlife would be one of eternal torment if he joined The Spider Who Waits. Selvetarm, himself a slave, could not protect him, even if he wanted to, which was an unsure proposition at best. He and his god, bound together in endless agony.
Well, if he was already damned, why not be double-damned?
He swiftly climbed down to the street, and made rapid pace toward the Drow quarter of Skullport.
...
With Amal'Gloth Ken'Ghaunadaur's impending demise, Xaxcixlitl stood to inherit impressive power and prestige among the followers of The Elder Eye. The only obstacle he could see was Rizzen, as he was viewed by many as Chosen of Ghaunadaur. But, as if a gift from Ghaunadaur himself, Rizzen wanted to go to the surface and live among the trolls. Madness, surely, but it effectively eliminated a potential rival for the position of High Priest. He would likely not survive such an endeavor, and even if he did, it would be many years before Xaxcixlitl would have to deal with the charismatic Drow. His misbegotten loyalty to that troll all but assured the Beholder's position. The Many-Eyed Scourge of The Underdark blessed that stupid brute for convincing Rizzen to leave Skullport. He could even manipulate the young Drow into believing that it was his special mission to spread the faith among the heathen upworlders. That would keep him away for a long, long time...
...
The entire cult had gathered, as well as Rizzen and Gristle, to watch their ancient priest present the ultimate sacrifice in the name of his lord...
Amal'Gloth Ken'Ghaunadaur walked toward the altar, chanting loudly. As he approached a purple mist shrouded the sanctuary, taking the shape of a giant eye. From the pupil of this eye stepped a handsome male Drow, draped in fine purple armor, who smiled wickedly at the assembled worshipers. The deity opened his arms, as if to embrace the aged priest, then suddenly twisted and warped, stretched and expanded into a massive, purple ooze with a single, shining purple eye. Amal'Gloth walked forward, steadfast, into the amorphous mass of his god, and vanished. Guttural sounds came from the monstrous deity, and then it, too, vanished.
Amal'Gloth Ken'Ghaunadaur had sacrificed himself to The Elder Eye.
To be continued...
Notes:
Thus Ghaunadaur appears...
I am, of course, not advocating suicide, I merely meant to show another, darker part of the worship of The Eye.
I've read that Ghaunadaur does not communicate in any known language, speaking only in guttural noises. When he does need to communicate, he does so telepathically, and only in simple phrases, like 'Yes', 'No' etc... Or a mental image of what he wants.
He is also a mortal enemy of Eilistraee. The Promenade was built atop a site holy to Ghaunadaur, and one of his avatars was imprisoned by The Chosen beneath it. The Elder Eye is understandably unhappy about this situation and, in canon, sent an army of slimes, oozes, Ghaunadauns, etc..., freed the avatar, destroyed the Promenade and all but wiped out the Chosen of Eilistraee.
I once again have to look at the problem of Alignment, namely, whether or not I need to revise the character's alignments. Gristle was listed as Neutral, but his loyalty and faithfulness to Rizzen would seem to make that inaccurate. He may be Chaotic Good.
Present Alignments
Uru Drowbiter- Chaotic Neutral
Rizzen- Chaotic Neutral
Gristle- Neutral
Ilix'Ith- Chaotic Neutral
To LadyofShadow
I don't like Keptolo either, from what little I know of him. He's the 'Just be a good little bitch and the Matron will throw you a bone every now and then' type. I suppose one could argue that's the 'best' way for a male Drow to live under Lolth, but even being a high-ranking slave is still being a slave.
I'll state his Creed as found on the Obsidian Portal
Feed the vanity of your mistress, and all her treasures shall be yours. Be careful whom you offend, and keep an expendable companion nearby to hold culpable for your crimes. Gossip can be as deadly as the venom on an assassin's blade. Use the poison of words to destroy your rivals, that you may claim for yourself all they once presumed was theirs.
In other words; Do what the mistress says, and she'll reward you. If you screw up, always have someone else to take the blame. Use gossip and lies to ruin others who might threaten your position or who have something you want.
I like Uru too, of course. It looks like his future is pretty bleak, though, doesn't it?