Triel Baenre Triel Baenre was a drow priestess and the matron mother of House Baenre , first house of Menzoberranzan until 1383 DR . As the matron mother of the first house , Triel was the most influential drow in the city , and as such could be seen as the unofficial leader of Menzoberranzan ; however , due to the nature of the drow , no other matron mother would ever willingly accept her dominance publicly - - they were a far too envious and power hungry of a race to concede power to a single figurehead . As a powerful matron mother , Triel was addressed by a number of titles . Some of them were " Exalted Mother " and " Sacred Mother . " Description . Triel was less than 5 feet tall , short - - even by drow standards - - but broad and strong . She was not particularly attractive compared to many other drow elves , either , but made up for this with her ferocity and ambition ( which are often seen as attractive traits in drow society ) . She typically wore her white hair braided in a crown around her head . Triel often wore a tunic with five black spiders embroiled in silver to proclaim her rank . Personality . Despite her cruel and aspiring nature , Triel was patient , a character trait that allows her to carefully maneuver situations to her advantage . Paranoid about her height , Triel filled her mother ' s role but not her throne ( literally ; she even added a foot pedestal to the Baenre throne ) . However , Triel was shrewd and calculating , and a powerful vessel for Lolth ' s will , despite her often flippant attitude toward her goddess . She guided Menzoberranzan through tough times and continues to do so in the presence of looming catastrophe , continually proving herself to be a capable drow politician - - just as her mother was . Triel was a powerful high priestess of Lolth , but during the Silence of Lolth even she doubted her goddess . History . Triel was Yvonnel Baenre ' s first and most powerful daughter . She came to power in 1358 DR when her mother , Yvonnel Baenre , was killed during the drow assault on Mithral Hall . Triel was a potent cleric of Lolth , and prior to ( and immediately after ) her succession to the throne of House Baenre she served as Mistress Mother of Arach - Tinilith in the Academy of Menzoberranzan . Shrewd and ambitious though she was , Triel did not expect to be landed with the role of House Matron so early , and she slightly resented the position at first due to the precarious position House Baenre was in at the time ( Yvonnel Baenre had just been killed , which caused mounting unrest and political change in the city ) . As the eldest daughter of house Baenre , however , Triel was trained in preparation for becoming Matron Mother by Yvonnel Baenre herself ; she was well qualified for the position by the time she ascended to it . In 1361 DR , Triel announced the " Peace of Lolth " , a decree from the goddess for the drow of Menzoberranzan to stop shedding each other ' s blood until Lolth instructs otherwise . In essence , that truly meant that only priestesses were forbidden from slaying one another . In 1372 DR began the Silence of Lolth , when Lolth failed to communicate with her priestesses or grant them spells . Fearing that threats to the city and the matriarchy would use it to their advantage , Triel forbade any priestess to speak of it . After a slave revolt , the city was weakened and unprepared for the following Siege of Menzoberranzan , so Triel was forced to seek allies among the other drow houses . During the Siege of Menzoberranzan in 1373 DR , Triel was subject to an assassination attempt by the Jaezred Chaulssin . In fact , there were two attempts : an obvious one involving an assassin , who was captured and brought to Triel , revealing the true attempt , which was a delayed - blast fireball embedded in the assassin ' s body . Triel survived the fireball because of the protective magic of her mother ' s throne . Soon after , when House Agrach Dyrr surrendered following their betrayal of the city , Triel accepted them as vassals of House Baenre for the foreseeable future . Possessions . Triel possessed a magical diamond that could be used to summon Bregan D ' aerthe . Like her mother , she continued to utilize the band ' s skills . Triel wore an earring that could detect lies . She also had a five - headed viper whip , like her sister Quenthel . She had several wands , including a a wand of torture that appeared as braided iron with white feather at the tip and an iron wand of polymorph topped with a moth trapped in amber , which she once used it to turn a jade spider into an umber hulk . Relationships . Triel ' s mother was Yvonnel Baenre , the ancient and powerful matron mother of House Baenre who had ruled for as long as anyone could remember . Triel had a number of siblings , but the most notable was her brother Gromph , Archmage of Menzoberranzan and probably the most powerful male in the city , as well as the rogue Jarlaxle , leader of Bregan D ' aerthe . Quenthel Baenre , her younger sister , became the next the Mistress of Arach - Tinilith after her return from death . Triel considered Gromph and Quenthel her most trusted advisors ( which prompted Gromph to attempt to assassinate Quenthel a number of times ) . She once had a draegloth ( half - drow , half - demon ) son , Jeggred , who served as her personal bodyguard until he was presumed slain in Lolth ' s realm , the Demonweb Pits . He was considered a sign of Lolth ' s favor upon her . Appendix . Appearances . War of the Spider Queen series :