Maerimydra Maerimydra was a large drow city located below the Dalelands in the Deep Wastes . Geography . Maerimydra was situated in the Middledark , roughly ten miles below the southern border of Mistledale . It resided in a cavern roughly three quarters of a mile from north to south and half a mile from east to west with many smaller caverns surrounding the city itself . Numerous plateaus separated the city , with the highest level being in the north - west corner . Connections to the Surface . Winding away from the city were Underdark passages , some of which led to the surface . There are noted connections to the surface that connect to Maerimydra ; one within the Dordrien crypts in Daggerdale ; one near the Elven Court in Cormanthor ; one beneath Haptooth Hill in Battledale ; and one that leads into the sewers of Zhentil Keep . It should also be noted there are underdark connections to the Shadowdark beneath the Twisted Tower of Ashaba in Shadowdale , though since 1367 DR this entrance has been sealed off by Mourngrym Amcathra . Trade . Prior to its fall , Maerimydra was still actively trading with duergar in the Underdark near Zhentil Keep . The drow were buying dwarven slaves from these duergar and using subterranean rivers that connect from the Moonsea to the Shadowdark beneath The Old Skull Tor to ferry them . Defences . The city itself only had three main points of entrance from the rest of the Underdark . Each was guarded by enormous iron gates and barred by a metal bolt . The northernmost gate was destroyed in the assault by Kurgoth Hellspawn . History . Early History . Shortly after the founding of Maerimydra , a group of rebels staged a coup of the city . This uprising was stopped but not after many casualties . The bodies of the dead rebels were thrown into the large lake in the city , forever tinging it red and polluting it , this lake became known as the Lake of Blood . In −2600 DR the Matron mother s of Maerimydra commissioned the building of the Twisted Tower as a beachhead in the Realms Above . Despite repeated attacks and attempts to stop them by the elves , the drow completed the Twisted Tower in −2549 DR and claimed the surrounding surface territory , which became known as the Land Under Shadow and as a base for Underdark - based slavery . In −331 DR , the Land Under Shadow was freed by the forces of Cormanthor , which included the armies of Cormanthyr and Rystall Wood and a group of Eilistraee - worshiping drow . The latter were then given the permission to occupy the Twisted Tower , which they turned into a temple of the Dark Dancer ( the Tower of the Dark Moon ) . Before retreating however , the drow of Maerimydra stole the " Warblade " from Lord Orym Hawksong and ferried it from the Twisted Tower to a secret vault beneath the Courtyard of Lolth . In the Wake of the Weeping War . By 714 DR , in the wake of the fall of Myth Drannor , Maerimydra reconquered the Land Under Shadow once more . During this period , Maerimydra expanded in other directions . Notably in 800 DR , a champion of the city defeated the nearby lich , Vournoth , to establish an well - patrolled campsite in Vournoth ' s Mire . This also laid the groundwork for the establishment of Szith Morcane in 804 DR . This expansion continued many years until 906 DR when the water wizard Ashaba led an army of dalesmen and cormytes to drive the drow out of the Twisted Tower . Interim Years . At some point around 1136 DR , the Jaezred Chaulssin , a group of vhaeraunite assassin s with the goal of freeing the drow race from their slavery to Lolth , founded one of its major fosterages in Maerimydra . Silence of Lolth . When the Silence of Lolth began in 1372 DR on Eleasis 28 , it caused growing unrest among the drow , until the city ' s archmage , Duneth Wharreil , used the confusion to launch a coup on the remaining houses through an alliance with the half - fiend Kurgoth Hellspawn and his army of goblin s , ogre s , fire giant s , and demon s . On Eleint 23 , the city was sacked by Kurgoth . Most of the drow inhabitants of the city were killed or enslaved , with some escaping into the surrounding Deep Wastes . The single drow house to survive with any assets was House Dhuurniv , because most of them lay outside Maerimydra . The Jaezred Chaulssin in the city under Vesz ' zt Auvryana also put their plan into action , aiming to destroy Lolth ' s matriarchy and then to take Maerimydra to restructure its society . However , the plan backfired and allowed Kiaransalee ' s followers to prevail . While the mage and Kurgoth ' s army were destroying the city ' s strongholds , the local cult of the Revenancer took over Castle Maerimydra , the home of House Chûmavh , which at the time was the ruling house . The leader of the cult , an albino drow named Irae T ' sarran , killed Duneth and , under her god ' s direction summoned Kiaransalee ' s Undying Temple to the Prime Material Plane . She then focused on using the temple ' s negative energy to research a new spell that would raise all of the corpses in and around the city simultaneously as a singular horde of powerful undead , all under her command . Unrelated to the Jaezred Chaulssin , Hamadh — a follower of Vhaeraun — led a resistance group called the Hidden , with the goal to defeat both Irae and Kurgoth . Together with adventurers , they kill both . They killed Irae , ( although not before she could tear a hole in the Weave , leaving many pockets of corrupted magic dotting the Dales above , ) and later Kurgoth , but the city was eventually lost to the giants , who eagerly sacked it . Despite that , Hamadh and the Hidden continued their resistance work , as did the Jaezred Chaulssin . A few small bands of drow refugees fled the sacking of the city . One party managed to travel the 100 miles to Szith Morcane , ( an old outpost of Maerimydra , ) whose Lolth - worshiping leaders were slain by Irae ' s two children . Other bands tried to find shelter among the duergar who lived under Zhentil Keep , but they ended up being killed by the grey dwarves . The drow of Maerimydra — who used to oppose the Vhaeraunites of Cormanthor , especially those of House Jaelre and Clan Auzkovyn — lost much of their threat potential against their enemies . At some point in 1373 DR , after the Silence of Lolth had ended , members of House Dhuurniv tried to resettle Maerimydra , but after a few failed attempts they returned to the Skull Subterranes beneath Azmaer ' s Folly . Despite their failure , they still managed to recover the Ary ' Velahar ' Kerym from the secret vault beneath the Courtyard of Lolth . By 1377 DR , the city was reportedly home to hordes of undead while a small number of Maerimydran survivors had been aided by the Church of Eilistraee to rise to the surface . About 2000 commoners managed to flee and tried to build a new settlement under House Dhuurniv . Post - Spellplague . By 1479 DR Maerimydra was firmly under the control of the fire giants , led by the fire titan , Queen Hledh Hellspawn , Graz ' zt ' s granddaughter . Enormous amounts of rebuilding had turned most of the city into a domain fit for its larger residents by expanding much of the existing cavern . Hundreds of drow still remained in the city , albeit as slaves to their new fire giant masters . Post - Second Sundering . During the 1480s DR , after the event known as the Second Sundering , the archmage Gromph Baenre of Menzoberranzan , tricked by Lolth , used a powerful summoning ritual which allowed many Demon Lords from the Abyss to walk the Underdark of Faerûn , starting the Rage of Demons crisis . Graz ' zt was among the summoned entities , and he quickly decided to use the opportunity to extend his influence on the Material Plane . Knowing of the drow wizard Vizeran DeVir ' s plan to put an end to the Rage of Demons , ( a plan which consisted of summoning all the Demon Lords together to force them to battle each other , therefore banishing each other into the Abyss , ) Graz ' zt worked to protect himself by using the magic still lingering in the abandoned Undying Temple , ( which was designed to research undeath and planar travel ) . Counting on the support of his granddaughter and on his own power , the Demon Lord revived the Temple by creating a new heart for it — one fueled by the power of the Abyss , rather than necrotic energy . In doing so , he not only obtained protection from being forcefully summoned , he also gained the possibility to travel from the Material Plane to the Abyss — and vice - versa — through the Ethereal plane that the Temple overlapped . His spreading influence took a heavy toll on the drow of Szith Morcane and on the people of Elventree and Hillsfar , leading many organizations active in the Moonsea region and unlikely allies to band together to face demons and giants . Agents of the Harpers , the Zhentarim , the Emerald Enclave , the Lords ' Alliance and the Order of the Gauntlet came to offer help to the local forces , which included : the drow of Szith Morcane , led by archmage Solom Ned ' razak , the warriors following Elanil Elassidil of the Hillsfar rebellion , the Red Plumes guided by First Lord Vuhm Yestral , the myconid s of Sporedome , and the illithid s of Ryxyg . A group of Sword Dancers , led by high priestess Saradreza Oussmtor , also saw this as a good opportunity to lend their help and to spread the message of their returned goddess Eilistraee among the other drow . The alliance would eventually succeed , banishing Graz ' zt and freeing Maerimydra from its former occupants . After the victory , the drow of Szith Morcane and the followers of Eilistraee settled within the city , ( the latter hoping to establish a good relationship between the drow of the Moonsea and other inhabitants of the region , ) while the myconids of Sporedome and the illithids of Ryxyg — along with the above - mentioned factions — joined the rebuilding operations and established small trading outposts . Culture & Society . Religion . Worship of Lolth had been the preeminent religion for millennia in Maerimydra , though followers of both Kiaransalee and Vhaeraun were also secretly active in the city . After the conquering of the city by fire giants in 1372 DR , worship of Kossuth became common . Starting in the 1480s DR , after the liberation of Maerimydra during the Rage of Demons crisis , the drow of Szith Morcane settled again within the city and started to rebuild it . They were mainly followers of Vhaeraun , Kiaransalee , and Lolth , while the Sword Dancers led by Saradreza Oussmotor brought the faith of Eilistraee to the city . Food and Drink . Local food was primarily produced in the fields around the city from herds of Rothé and fungus farms . Clean water was mostly drawn from two small streams in the southern end of the city that fed the murky Lake of Blood . Cuisine that could be found in Maerimydra , especially among the nobility , included : dried Rothé sausages , wheels of strong Rothé cheese ( sometimes laced with green mold ) , pickled mushrooms and biscuits made from mushroom - spore flour . Entertainment . The drow of Maerimydra built a Coliseum to entertain themselves with battles between , exotic beasts , prisoners , and slaves . The building was considered , by the drow , to be the crowning achievement of Maerimydran culture .