A mysterious figure who helped to train Enclave when she first came into Vhaeraun’s church.

Year of Birth: 686 Race: Drow Gender: Context Dependent. Note: Iimvyll uses both she/her pronouns and he/him pronouns throughout the course of the story, and has intentional in-character thoughts on the fluidity of gender presentation. For the sake of the metatext, the gender neutral pronoun "they" will mostly be used, save for some parts in the backstory Languages spoken: Low Drow, Drow Sign, Common, Elvish, Goblin. City of Origin: Guallidurth…? Allegiance: Church of Vhaeraun Notable Classes: Masked Priestess, Cloaked Dancer, Dark Mask Important Links: Reference Sheet, [Other Tags To Be Added]

Personality: 

As a stage-dancer, Iimvyll is quiet and careful about how they present themself. They are someone who intentionally carries themself with cold poise when moving around as a masked traitor, attempting to purposefully keep up the image of a mysterious and enigmatic figure amongst the ranks of Lolth. They are well aware that Lolth’s ranks don’t take kindly to outsiders - But that, in turn, there is an appeal to those that fear them, and they aim to play the fine line between where those wires cross. They can appear rather ruthless at times, acting strictly on the rules they keep and giving little regard for those who test their time and patience. 

However, as time goes on and Enclave grows closer to them, it quickly becomes self-evident that their icy demeanor shields a deeply compassionate heart, their prim and proper stylings doing well to hide their otherwise fussy nature. They hold an incredible amount of care and empathy towards those that they allow close. They are someone who has strong personal values, and will stick to them where and when they can even within the entrappings of the underdarks larger dangers.

At their best, they are someone who holds a deep amount of empathy within their heart. It is rare that they act rashly - each action they take and each thought they give is one that has been given a considerable amount of time to be shaped and presented exactly as they intent for it to be. They are an incredible judgement of character, and (amongst the Vhaeraunites they’re allowed to lead properly) are known to be fair and objective in their guidance. 

At their worst, they can be disconnected from any one individual. They sometimes have an almost objectified sense of self, struggling to fully separate their experiences as someone existing as someone enslaved even centuries after they escaped it. This is something that they have admittedly to very few people, and they claim to view this through an otherwise neutral lens. They do not feel a particularly strong desire to grow close to others, and have no problem engaging in manipulation towards those that they think little of. They expect respect and dignity, but if they do not receive it, then they will not act fairly in turn.

Bio: 

Name

Iimvyll isn’t their birthname, but rather the stage name that they’d taken when they moved to began moving around and working as a traitor. This is a name they decided to keep, to help fully disassociate with their past identity. They refuse to give their past name, and become irritable when anything regarding it is pushed. 

Self-care:

They take decent care of themself when it comes to the standard self-care routine of feeding, washing, and keeping their space tidy. However, while hypervigilant of when other people are doing so, they have an absolutely horrible habit of pushing their body far past its acceptable limitations. This has lead to them damaging it in the past - By the time Iimvyll leaves the underdark, they suffer from a drastically shortened Achilles tendon - have destroyed their feet and struggle to stand on them properly without pain if they lack to the structural support.

 They have to move in slow, small steps, and can no longer fight in a meaningful way. This is one of the motivating factors for their retirement, though they quickly find themselves boring of a banal and mundane life in the Vault. 

Iimvyll, both as a result of having lived as a performer as long as they have and as a result of the damage to their body, has a pretty distinctive walk/stride. They’re taking small steps and moving rather slowly, despite the fact they once were able to move with a massive amount of elegance. 

Hobbies

They are an artistic person by nature. Dance and song were their main profession of choice for the longest time, however they were also an architect by trade and sincerely considered it as much of a meaningful art as their dance. Likewise, when their movement became limited, they turned their attention towards painting and sculpting in addition to their music. 

They play the forgotten realms version of the erhu. Iimvyll's performance is based on a few things - But most importantly, takes from the different stylings of real world traditional chinese opera - Specifically, peking and sichuan. In-universe, it plays heavily on drow societal ideas on violence, gender, and sexuality (Something I would argue is also, within the real world, found in drag performances in the west.) 

Personal Worship

Iimvyll’s has a faux whip of fangs given to them by Vhaeraun - Where their performances namesake comes from. Instead of the traditional 5 constructs, they have a single construct. The snakes head is based on that of a eastern rat snake, and sits at about 8 feet long when fully laid out. It is neither venomous nor particularly adept at biting out the throats of those that Iimvyll attacks - However, it can easily restrict and restrain those that they are fighting, and Iimvyll can see through the eyes of the whip. Theoretically, it could be wielded by those of any alignment, however it is attuned strictly to Iimvyll. Those that Iimvyll are close to have used the whip successfully in the past.

Like a regular whip of fangs, the snake head reflects Iimvyll’s emotions. The bulk of the whip’s body wraps around their hip, and the head sits over their shoulder and moves around like a normal snakes would. 

Iimvyll is deeply devoted to Vhaeraun, serving both as a Masked Traitor for him within the underdark and as a Dark Mask once they retire for the surface. On the surface, they attempted to put what of their wealth they collected towards establishing a settlement, however only get so far as building the temple before the settlement falls through. Their now abandoned temple can still be found within the Forest of Tethir, though nature has reclaimed much of the structure in the 200-odd years since their death.

Gender

Iimvyll has reasoned and considerate thoughts on their gender presentation, of which they would be able to articulate in-character. They understand intimately how intertwined gender is within the social-politics of the Drow spaces, even amongst those who have left the ranks of Lolth’s church - Or were never never existed there to begin with. 

In public within the underdark, they present fully effeminately, and in public on the surface, they present masculinely. They refuse to admit to which gender they were born and raised as even to their closest companions, and (especially once on the surface) swap between the two sexes when within the privacy of those companions. Even without the ability to swap as freely as Vhaeraun provides, they understand how to carry themself and speak in such a way that reads to the other drow within their community as one gender over the other - Something they’re willing to explain to those few who are willing to listen. 

Iimvyll, truthfully, has a deeply disconnected sense of gender identity, and feels neither strongly about presenting as a man nor a woman. To them, their body, their gender, and their identity is a tool that can be used to better connect with those within their community (Be it with the Lolth worshipping drow of the underdark, or those Vhaeraun worshipping drow on the surface.) Their view on this is pragmatic and objective, and something they find a lot of comfort in being able to fully take advantage of. 

Romance and Sex

Part of Iimvyll’s mystique and performance within the underdark was the androgynous way they carried themself - At a glance, most drow could not tell their gender when they were fully wrapped up in their costuming. Most Priestesses, believing Iimvyll had Lolth’s approval and attention, simply believed that they were a woman styling themself down for the sake of their performance. 

To keep this image alive, it was rare that Iimvyll fully engaged with sex within the underdark. When they did they generally refused to remove their costuming (much to many of the individual priestesses dissatisfaction). It is only once they trusted the individual - Rare to be found in the underdark, both amongst Lolth and Vhaeraun’s type, that they shed their mask and garb and allowed themself to fully enjoy someone else's time. 

Within the privacy of those they are closest to, they will freely swap between bodies to “Explore the pleasures of both.” This is a sign of true trust from them, as they expect anyone they share this with to keep secret their want to do so. 

Otherwise, they are largely not a particularly jealous person. Even once Enclave took the title of their consort, they did not really care to demand her full time and attention, as the title she took stemmed more-so from their shared emotional connection. Sex, in Iimvyll’s eyes, meant very little in the face of their lovers time. (Though, they won’t deny that they also quite enjoyed sharing the time of a few trusted others as well. In many ways, their view on the matter and Enclave’s coincided quite smoothly.)

On Violence and fighting:

Even before they left the underdark, they disliked the fighting and discourse sown by those matrons that control Lolth-run cities; They view it as something distasteful, and those who indulge in it in abundance as pathetic - even amongst their own. 

They are, however, careful with who they share this opinion with, as they know better than to indulge their thoughts in just anyone. Likewise, they were trained in melee before they took on the role of Masked Traitor, and

Children

They enjoy the idea of children, and when in positions where they are able to without it grabbing attention onto them will shed their otherwise cold and distant demeanor to offer them care. They understand that children are the future, and how little drow children are often treated with respect and care. 

They were actively attempting to have a child with Enclave at the time of their death. Unfortunately, there were complications regarding this, and this is something that never came to pass.

Backstory 

[They purposely keep much of their personal history vague, and get irritated when it’s pried into as such, little is known about Iimvyll up until they meet Enclave.]

Early Years

Iimvyll spends their earliest years enslaved to a matron, who later sells them off to a human.

Iimvyll personally view this as a largely irrelevant part of their life. They see what they went through as being no different to the various torments most drow men face at the hands of their mistress, and no reason to focus on this as a meaningful event within their life in isolation. If anything, they try and see what little positive they can find in their otherwise dour circumstances - Being the target of it, they never had the same expectations of cruelty and brutality placed on them, and so they were allowed to keep the kind of emotions that most drow long learn to wipe away and deny themself of.

The reality is that these formative years did a large part in shaping the person they would end up becoming, and has undeniably informed both their own personal feelings on slavery and in the larger state of many Lolth-worshipping cities. It is something that they feel deep hatred towards, and have little patience for the permissive nature of it many within their own religion have.

Underdark

In the underdark, Iimvyll acts as a Mid-level priestess to Lolth, but a high priestess-traitor priestess to Vhaeraun. She owns a dance hall that is popular amongst Lolth priestesses, as she performs both elegant and brutal performances both as ritual to Lolth and entertainment to the public. Her establishment is known to be a neutral ground to Lolth Priestesses looking to work out the specifics of both alliances and future betrayals, as Iimvyll has little patience for her dance hall falling into “rowdy and disorderly behavior.” Any patron threatening to fall into a “shrieking, impatient rage,” is one who the staff has full permission to “swiftly deal with.” 

And so, the hall is an unusually quiet and peaceful place amongst the otherwise bustling metropolis, where lounging around and pleasure is both offered and easily received. 

In reality, Iimvyll is using this as an opportunity to keep an ear to the ground, especially using the various workers that entertain the priestesses throughout the night. 

Enclave is assigned to her when she returns to Guallidurth, as (unknown to the Lolth priestesses) Iimvyll acts as the connecting point of multiple points of information amongst traitor priestesses, and the main connecting vein to the Vault of the Cloaked Midnight. Iimvyll, taking a liking to her due to Enclave’s mild-mannered nature and quiet disposition (rare even amongst traitors, and something Iimvyll finds to be deeply charming) takes it upon herself to keep an particularly strong eye on Enclave and her kin.

Throughout her time as a traitor, Iimvyll manages to capture Enclave’s trust by staying true to her values, even when she does not fully explain her motivations for doing so. The two share a close bond, and eventually Iimvyll helps Lymrith leave the Underdark at Enclave's request. 

Iimvyll, knowing that their age was beginning to catch up to them and that it would soon impact their ability to work as a traitor, was already beginning to make plans to take herself and the wealth that she’d earned through the dealings of her dancehall to the forest of Mir and Vault of Cloaked Midnight. However, upon learning of Sabdra discovering that Enclave was a traitor, Iimvyll decides to stay around. 

When Enclave puts out the distress call through Vhaeraun, Iimvyll is there to collect her. With Iimvyll’s help, Enclave leaves the underdark. However, everyone involved knows and understands that Sabdra will not allow her to go willingly, and at the Masked Lords order, brings Enclave to a mountain instead of the vault.

Surface

Iimvyll, though they have retired from their role of Masked Traitor, takes it upon themself to begin Forging their identity as a Dark Mask. They set out to create a settlement in the midst of the Forest of Tethir, bringing Enclave and the (then named) Iph’ven with them. In doing so, they begin to present themself in a way they reads to the drow they’re working with as more masculine. Though they do not change their namesake (As they allow it to exist as a reminder of the years they spent in service to the Masked Lord in the underdark) they petition the Masked Lord to change their body, and begin to present themself as a man to those in their ranks. 

    They find an appropriate spot within the middle of Tethir, and Iimvyll sets out to use their background in architecture and acquired wealth and resources to craft a temple to the Masked Lord, and a new settlement surrounding it. In doing so, his group succeeds in working with the local wood elves and kobolds to settle both the corner of the forests and the upper underdark of the area on (while deeply apprehensive) otherwise neutral grounds, with the drow group agreeing to act as a defense point between the more dangerous groups within the forests and the elves. Iimvyll is not unaware of how conditional their neutrality is, but also understands that it is the best they’re going to be able to do for the immediate future.

At some point between the temple being started and finished, Enclave falls pregnant with his child. 

    While she miscarriages comparatively pretty early into the pregnancy, the incident leads to her agreeing to properly take the title of his consort, and (though they agree to wait both until Enclave heals up from the miscarriage and the main structure of the temple is done to truly set out to attempt to have them) the two agree that even with Iimvyll’s age, neither are particularly opposed the idea of having children with one another.

The two end up struggling to have children (With Enclave miscarrying a second time, though so early within the pregnancy that she’d not even known she was pregnant) both figure that there is no particular hurry or concern in doing so. 

Iimvyll is killed by one of the local elves, as the elves (not knowing that the time of troubles had begun) had been convinced by the then-active members of the Eldreth Veluuthra that their gods silence was a sign of disapproval from their gods for working with the drow. Their death succeeds in destabilizing the settlement that they’d worked to establish, and it is left to rot to the sands of time. 

AGHHHHH. Yeah now that it's been a few days even since I put out request's, I'm fully up and functional.

Anyway. This came out to be more than a drabble. I succumb to my demon of fleshing out character.

Enclave & Iimvyll interaction (On Surface)

They don't have individual rooms.

It was more-so a matter of practicality, than something any of them wanted. There were more important things to prioritize with the resources that they had access to, and they'd mostly just wanted to get something permanent up that would get them out of the shallow caverns and onto the surface properly.

Most of those that had come to travel with them had come from the slums of underdark cities, and were more accustom to sleeping in the bare-bones conditions that had come with it.

Still…. The room that was built to account for them was better than most barracks that Enclave had slept within. They've done a few things to make the room more bearable - laying down soft mats to make the ground kinder on them, and propping up dividers to give some amount of privacy amongst themselves. At some point, one of the soldiers had taken the time to paint intricate designs across each one, capturing the mild familiarity of the wilds of the underdark that almost all of them were more accustom to seeing. Some days, on particularly uncomfortable ones, they'll light some heavy smelling incense that Enclave has still not learned the name of.

(Tags from this post)

You know I'm always interested in lore-dumping a little bit.

I've actually introduced them in passing before! However, I've been thinking about this character more recently, so let's re-introduce them to the people.

Enclave has two mentors within the church. The first one is an old man Dark Mask figure from Waterdeep, of whome she spends her very early years within the church with and (for the short time he's alive, the guy is Old) acts as a sincere parental figure to her. For lack of a better word. The second, however, is Iimvyll - Who works to train her as a Masked Traitor within the very city Enclave grew up within.

Iimvyll is a character who is introduced early in Enclave's story and appears only sparingly for a while, and then returns with force down the line, as the context of their relationship changes with time.

Iimvyll isn't a particularly high ranking priestess, especially by Lolth's sensitive standards - However, they're a rather well connected one due to their training as an architect in a city who's main thing is temple building. And so their role within Vhaeraun's church is subtle rather than direct. They're meant to be someone who keeps their ear to the ground, and connects the other traitors they have with those they actually need to get information from. This is something they're rather fine with, and the skill's they're more immediately meant to pass onto Enclave.

At the early point in their relationship, Enclave doesn't really know what to do about Iimvyll. She isn't entirely sure how to read them as a person - while they're playing their role as traitor, they're purposefully (and perhaps understandably) very guarded. In my head, you never know what kind of personality you're going to get training traitors - The type of woman who was once worshiping Lolth and then moved into worshiping Vhaeraun is a mixed character bag, and even if your god has told you that you can trust them, it's only natural to be apprehensive, no?

This is something unhelped by the fact that, for a very long time, Enclave doesn't actually see Iimvyll outside of their performance gear of which (gestures up to the linked character sheet) doesn't offer much in the way of being able to proper insight checks. Or personal recognizably. On the other hand, Enclave is a little enthralled by that. I believe I've mentioned it in the past, but she's someone who is not only naturally very curious, but very easy to get wrapped up in larger personalities. And Iimvyll, particularly near the beginning of their relationship, has this personality and appearance that's purposefully built around being playful, and denying people information about them. It makes all the information Enclave gets from them, be it from being told or observing, feel ""earned"" to her.

(As an aside, it is very important to me that you know this didn't stop Enclave from hooking up with them at all. She was kissing their mask and everything. Annnnyway.)

There's a few cracks in Iimvyll's mask that finally gets Enclave's guard down, however. The main is that, despite their own performance sometimes involving sacrifice, Iimvyll seems vocally and sincerely judgement of the gratuitous violence that can be found in the underdark. Mind you, they're not entirely opposed to being violent. It's just part of the nature of things with the position they're in. But they don't find much entertainment in it, and it's something that catches Enclave's attention. Because I think a lot of people still uphold this idea of violence as a necessity within Vhaeraun's church, and I think she'd find someone who views it as being as tasteless as Iimvyll does while still having as strong a presence as they manage to be something fascinating.

Also. Enclave is a sucker for outward affection and pda. She was being called sweet girl and getting a gentle touch to her shoulder, and it snaps her attention onto them with big sad eyes. Taking advantage of the same tactics Sabdra used to manipulate her, but with sincerety and for less evil means... of course she was going to get wrapped up in them. She's so so easy.

Despite these things (and perhaps because of how guarded they as a personal are), it does take Enclave a very long time to recognize that Iimvyll is someone that sincerely enjoys her company and holds a lot of concern for her well being (And they do, they actually grow to be pretty fond of Enclave rather quickly, especially being privy to the way the fumbles through entering Vhaeraun's church at first.) The reason that lphaer is eventually there to kill Sabdra is because Iimvyll is aware enough and concerned for Enclave's circumstance to keep an eye on it in the background and send out that distress message when things go ""weird"" over in House Torndar.

(and you know. It's a larger statement of Vhaeraunite's, on the whole, being more mindful of eachothers circumstance and keeping an eye on eachother even when they forget that they're doing that. It's especially surprising to Enclave that Iimvyll was keeping an eye on things in her direction, because their communication after Enclave got really into Sabdra's house was incredibly passive and touch and go. Sometimes they ran into eachother, but unless she was purposefully showing her off or sending her off to do something Sabdra kept Enclave pretty isolated. Which is. Lmao. Part of why Iimvyll kept one eye in that direction. No different then keeping an eye out on a man who suddenly dropped off the face of the earth after being taken in by a matron.)

So. Around the time Enclave needs to "retire," Iimvyll does as well. Mostly, the timing is coincidental. Enclave can't work as a traitor after having dealt with Sabdra (For a multitude of reasons - Having been marked as a traitor by Lolth in a way Vhaeraun can't remove, not having the same focus she had before Sabdra did all of that to her...). But for Iimvyll, it's far less dramatic - the strain of the kind of performances Iimvyll was doing for Lolth had been putting a lot of strain on their body. And while the Cleric magic both Lolth and Vhaeraun gave them worked to prolong their ability to work in the role they were in, centuries of abuse on their body eventually caught up to them - Not unlike the damage ballerina's do to their body. In Lolth's society, that is a death sentence. It's something someone younger than you would come in and take advantage of to take your position.

However, for a worshiper of Vhaeraun their retirement is otherwise uneventful. They leave the city of Gaullidurth as quietly as they came, and in one as large as Gaullidurth is, their old temple becomes one of the many forgotten to the cities history.

Their goal coming out of the underdark properly is to fulfill one of the lesser-spoken for goals of the church. They want to head the creation of a new settlement within the Wealdath. Their goal in creating a settlement is two-fold. They want to create one, while connected to Holldaybim through magic, separate enough from the infighting and raids that come with living so close to a Lolth settlement. However, they're also mildly interested in using the small fortune they've gathered to create another temple to Vhaeraun that's "More worthwhile then the small bedroom shrines he's forced into having." - And they, as an architect who views their work akin to that of an art, needs that location to be perfect.

And so, in the decades between Sabdra dying and the Time of Troubles, this is who Enclave spends her time with, and what she ends up doing. She lives a quiet, mundane life with a small group of people she cares about, trying to establish a community on the surface and navigate the immediate grief that comes after the worst of it all. This is the era she actually gets to know and understand Iimvyll for who they are as a person, as neither of them are forced into the roles their stations made them play in the underdark.

As an author, I think there's a bit of purposeful irony in the role that Iimvyll play's in Enclave's story. I think, given they're introduced as Enclave's mentor and (While Enclave is well into adulthood by the time she joins Vhaeraun's church, like reaching 200) have a notable age-gap on her, you might believe the power dynamic is one that's going to get more taken advantage of then it is. Likewise, Iimvyll (despite being someone who does sincerely care about Enclave) is someone not particularly in the business of opening themself up to her. Enclave never learns where they're from, or even what gender they're born as, or if they have like. Family... people, outside of their immediate circle. Iimvyll could be a noble or come from the poor for all Enclave knows. Iimvyll mentioned having a kid?? Once?? Maybe??

(Enclave also... doesn't care, and it's something that brings Iimvyll a lot of relief. Enclave isn't there to push on anything regarding their identity.)

And undeniably, I think Iimvyll is someone who has a massive amount of influence on Enclave, and that influence is one that deeply shaped Enclave's world view. Especially in regards to her views on violence, gender, and community - Iimvyll's approach to it is the core of Enclave's approach, and all that Enclave does in trying to find her own is an echo of what she was taught was possible through them.

However, of all the people Enclave get's together with, I truly believe that the relationship Enclave has with Iimvyll is one of the healthiest she keeps (even including Ilphaer, who she has a tendency to cycle through). For the time that she was working with Iimvyll, she was on tract to lead a more stable, quiet life. Iimvyll was very good at giving her direction and purpose and making her feel as though even the smaller things she was doing had meaning. They were also very good at tweening thoughts out of Enclave, even when she got particularly caught up in them.

Now. Their relationship wasn't perfect by any stretch of the means. The same things that made them good at cultivating a community were also traits that kinda stepped on Enclave's toes at times. Iimvyll is very stubborn and could be very particular. And lets be clear, they could be patronizing at times, being someone with both high expectations and a low tolerance for things they viewed as particularly tasteless behavior. Enclave and Iimvyll both believe they're the smartest people in the room at any given moment, and I do think sometimes treaded over boundaries where they very much shouldn't have. They could be very pushy, and sometimes took "no" in the sameway your windows computer takes "no" when it asks you to update (That is, "We'll come back to that in 3-5 business days.")

But those aren't the traits that Enclave focuses on when looking back on that relationship, because they were ultimately minuscule in the larger scheme of it. It was the closest thing Enclave experienced to romance with another drow (Something I'm doing intentionally, mind you.)

Unfortunately ❤️ as implied throughout this, it's also not a relationship meant to last. Iimvyll dies when everything goes wrong during the Avatar Crisis/Time of Troubles, and it's one of the main points of which drives Enclave to believe that she's truly not meant for a peaceful life. Because these relationships are just going to keep being taken from her, aren't they? I could have everything safe and be kept away from the underdark, and it will STILL go wrong.

As such, in my head this is one if the core divergent paths for Enclave. If Iimvyll had managed to stay alive, or at least have died a natural death of like. Old age, Enclave would have grown content to just work as a head Cleric in a far off temple who's largest concern is helping others to deconstruct the vicious, cannibalistic mindset that Drow stemming out of the underdark are often stuck with. But because it was so needless and violent and unfair, Enclave struggles to really come to terms with the fact that she could not control it. It's notable that, within the future, Iimvyll, despite being someone that had as large of an influence as they did on Enclave, is not someone she thinks about frequently. She thinks about Beltrin and Sabdra more than she does Iimvyll. This is because Iimvyll's death is a sore spot that will never quite heal, and so instead of lingering on it she is avoiding that grief.

But I think, personally, she still largely considers the temple that Iimvyll built to be the closest thing she has to a home, even centuries past it's abandonment. Afterall. One of the rooms in it was built specifically for her, wasn't it..?

Other trivia:

Iimvyll is not a fighter in the slightest - Their skills are strictly in diplomacy and charisma. Design wise, this is something meant to be cued in by the "Whip of fangs" that they use - Instead of being multiple snakes, it is only one, and the snake it is based around is an Eastern Rat Snake - It's an otherwise non-venomous constrictor, rather than something like a Viper.

In-universe, this is a gimmick they use for their performance. The Priestesses of Lolth are intimately familiar with the concept of a whip of fangs, but a whip made only of a single one incorporated into performance is implied to be a novelty.

Now, something I haven't spoken about at length is with how I'm interpreting Gaullidurth. In my head, Gaullidurth is a massive entertainment and festivities center - It's just that a lot of that entertainment and festivities is done in the supposed name of Lolth. Be it in lip service to her, or sincere massive shows of worship. A lot of houses and families are getting away with exploring and performing a lot of things so long as they argue that it's their way of showcasing their worship to Lolth. And with over 200 houses in just the scaling of nobility alone, I think that they're getting creative about it. Opening their ceremonies to the public isn't just about making even more money to put on better ceremonies, it's about the peacocking and displaying to other houses how much more you love Lolth through the extravagance of what you're not only willing, but able to put on.

This is a part of Gaullidurth Enclave largely, in her youth, avoids. By nature of being sent to wilderness training and immediately being positioned at like outposts and in military and all that. However, this is the backdrop of the society she comes from, and something explored more-so in characters like (To a lesser degree) Nymryn and Beltrin and, to the largest degree, Iimvyll. The routine, rule-heavy way of worshiping Lolth that comes in from Menzo with Sabdra is deeply jarring in the face of a city who's worship is so scattered, and of which the competitive individuality of it is the point of it.

(The competitive individuality of it also, of course, letting far more slide. There's a reason Menzo is Lolth's favorite puppet)

Anyway. Iimvyll's performance is based on a few things - But most importantly, takes from the different stylings of real world traditional chinese opera - Specifically, peking and sichuan. In-universe, it plays heavily on drow societal idea's on violence, gender, and sexuality (Something I would argue is also, within the real world, found in drag performances in the west.)

Ask is part of the WIP folder Game

Tab 21 (And, to get rid of some of the humor, most of the other unlabeled tabs) are the writing equivalent of sketchboards to me. Anytime I have a thought that doesn't immediately fit somewhere, I'll throw open a new tab, and when it gets too cluttered I'll create another one. This is an evil little habit and something I should PROBABLY organize at some point, But, have you considered: oengrjkgn;gkjernlgkergnerkg

Anyway. Two scraps that have drastically different tones to them:

“So uh-” Enclave doesn’t look up at him, preoccupying herself with her blade, “How’s Sabdra doing?” “... She is dead.” “Oh!” because she’s lying and studying him out of the corner of her eye, the sincerity of the surprise on Nymryn’s face catches her off guard, “Then you and Beltrin …” He trails off. “.... He’s dead too,” Enclave shoulders slacken as she admits that one, and she gives up the little act that she’d taken to. Nymryn has continued to stares at her throughout, and she’s having trouble placing what the emotion on his face is supposed to be. He almost looks… upset? “But he-” Nymryn begins to say, then stops himself. His brows furrow, “Oh,” he says, again. To her surprise, Nymryn moves to sit closer to her. “... Why are you upset?” she’d been under the impression he hadn’t even really liked Sabdra or Beltrin all that much - not that she could even really blame him. Beltrin had been rather vocal about considering him an annoyance, and Sabdra was…. “I - I don’t know,” He admits. He shifts his posture so that he can look at her, propping his chin on his hand and his elbow on his knee. He tries to flash a smile at her, but it sits rather weakly on his face.

And then, in contrast