Selvetarm Selvetarm , known also as The Spider that Waits , ( self - appointed ) Champion of Lolth or , despite being Vhaeraun ' s son and thus her grandson , Son of Lolth was the drow demigod of warriors and battle prowes . His church basically consisted of a military sub - division of Lolth ' s church , and was practically forgotten outside of his cult in Eryndlyn . In fact , the name assoicated with those followers of the Spider that Waits - - Selvetargtlin - - could be applied without problems to his entire clergy . Personality . Selvetarm was a ruthless and violent deity , whose only interests consisted of war and spreading destruction . He could ' t find beauty in anything but lethal and efficient combat styles . He hated everything , including Lolth , to whom he was practically enslaved . Despite this hatred , he was quite dutiful , to the point of passing up on chances to gain additional worshippers to preserve her power , as well as his freedom to protect her life . Despite his aggressive traits , he had the capability to be patient to conduct functional ambushes , but frontal wild clashes were his clear preference over anything that required planning and restraint . He had once a rather uncertain personality , and embraced neither evil nor good . When he met his aunt , Eilistraee , he learned to appreciate her teachings , thus embracing goodness and beauty , but in the end Lolth ' s trickery turned him into his war - crazed self . ( see History ) Manifestations . When sending his avatar , Selvetarm appeared as a large spider , sometimes with the head of a male drow . He was known to wield a heavy mace - - " Venomace " - - his favored weaponin his right hand , and a longsword - - " Thalack ' velve " - - in his left hand . He could cast spells from any sphere . Selvetarm ' s manifestations were rare because he either ignored pleas or simply sent an avatar . Rare manifestations consisted of tiny sphere of utter darkness , that gradually grew to explode into a " blade barrier " . Selvetarm expressed his pleasure through the finding of rogue stone s , dried silverbark or webstone s . His servants included myrlochar s , retriever s and other spider s . Worshipers . His followers consisted of drow and aranea . Among the drow , as mentioned before , Selvetarm was practically forgotten , and his faith was essentially part of Lolth ' s church armed wing . His followers in his main center of worship - - Eryndlyn - - weren ' t even allowed to worship him as a god on his own ( rather than Lolth ' s servant ) , as the church of Lolth persecuted anyone who did as a heretic . As a general rule , Selvetargtlins trained in martial combat . Practicing Selvetarm ' s believes was somewhat of a career - killer in drow society , for these believes didn ' t put any meaningful emphasis on the intellectual part of combat ( like strategy ) , and thus followers of Selvetarm were rarely put into commanding positions . The drow branch had a gender ratio of about 10 : 1 in favor of male drow . His aranea followers were a different deal . When they talked about Selvetarm , they however referred to his aspect Zanassu . They put emphasis on craftiness , patience and subtlety . Relationships . Lolth . Selvetarm hated Lolth like everything else . He was bound to her will , and while some of his followers put efforts into freeing him from her , Selvetarm himself felt quite comfortable in his subservient role . Vhaeraun . He was Vhaeraun ' s and Zandilar the Dancer ' s son but he spurned both his parents , for his mind at that time was too uncertain to commit himself to one direction . After he became Lolth ' s servant , father and son became enemies . For example , when Vhaeraun tried to bring the draegloth s under his faith , Selvetarm ' s reaction was to compete with the Masked Lord in that regard , with the goal to subsequently give his draegloths followers to Lolth , because he wanted to hinder his father ' s goal to unseat his grandmother . During the Silence of Lolth , he also saved Lolth ' s from Vhaeraun , thus botching his chance for freedom . Vhaeraun deemed his son an idiot and his submissiveness was a source of rage for the Masked Lord . Other . He was known to protect Garagos , who was thought to be opting to steal his powers . He was also an ally of Kiaransalee , who was also in a subservient position to Lolth , in her case out of fear from the Spier Queen ' s power . He was also an enemy of Sharess , the goddess who absorbed Zandilar the Dancer , and thus was in a sense , his mother . After he was found by Eilistraee , they grew close to each other , until he turned into a bloodthirsty monster under Lolth ' s command and her enemy . History . Birth . Selvetarm was the child between Vhaeraun and Zandilar the Dancer . The latter was a demigod dess of the elves in Yuirwood . When Lolth ' s forces attacked the Yuirwood , Zandilar tried to seduce Vhaeraun into helping her , but was instead imprisoned to be drained of her strength . Bast saved Zandilar , who willingly merged with her savior ( originating a new goddess ; Sharess ) , giving birth to Selvetarm during the process . Becoming Lolth ' s servant . Selvetarm rejected both parents for he was too uncertain to commit himself to one or the other philosophical direction . He wandered for a number centuries , until he met Eilistraee and learnt to appreciate her goodness and to admire the Dark Dancer herself . Eilistraee ' s teachings made him start to embrace the ways of good , and the she hoped that his redemption could improve the relationships between the drow and the Seldarine and their followers . During that time , Lolth had two problems . She saw a rival in the demon lord Zanassu , for he challeged her dominion over spider s , and she was not pleased with Eilistraee getting a friend within the Dark Seldarine . In order to solve her issues , she approached Selvetarm and tricked him into believing that killing Zanassu would have won him the gratitude of Eilistraee . That promise was enough to lead Selvetarm to kill Zanassu , but he also absorbed the the defeated demon lord ' s essence in the process . That influence proved too strong for his personality , corrupting him and weakening him enough for Lolth to bound him to her will . The Spider Queen was therefore successful in her plan , and in creating a new enemy for her daughter . Time of Troubles . During the Time of Troubles , Selvetarm ' s avatar appeared in Eryndlyn . The city was divided among followers of Vhaeraun , Ghaunadaur and Lolth in a ratio of 1 : 1 : 2 in favor of the last group . The avatar raged through the city and was driven back by a colalition of drow who didn ' t follow Lolth there , while the church of the Spider Queen hailed him as the swordarm of their goddess . This action gave him a small following in the city , but mostly as a military order belonging . War of the Spider Queen . In the Year of Wild Magic , 1372 DR , Lolth went into a state of hibernation , a period called the Silence of Lolth , for about a year . The goal was to transform herself into a greater deity and turn the Demonweb Pits into a realm independent from the Abyss . Selvetarm took the duty of protecting her while she was vulnerable : while Vhaeraun nearly managed to kill his mother , the Champion of Lolth managed to save her life . The battle between the two gods caused some planar turmoils , as the edges of the various planes started to fray and bleed together . During the Silence , Vhaeraun also brought a number of draegloth s under to his church . Selvetarm tried to get the draegloths himself to give them to Lolth . After Lolth ' s awakening , Selvetarm took part to the ongoing conflict between Lolth and Eilistraee as the Spider Queen ' s champion , ordering his Judicators to initiate a series of attacks against shrines and communities faithful to Eilistraee . On Nightal 20 , 1375 DR , Selvetarm tried to strike at the heart of his aunt ' s forces , as his followers attacked the Promenade of the Dark Maiden . However , his attempts ultimately failed : on Nightal 20 of the Year of Risen Elfkin , 1375 DR , the defenders of the Promenade bested the assailants , while Selvetarm himself was killed by Cavatina Xarann , a priestess of Eilistraee . This event later caused his church to be completely absorbed into Lolth ' s . The Spider Queen claimed that Selvetarm ' s loss was part of her plan , and Eilistraee too was led to believe it . Second Sundering and rebirth . During the 1480s DR , the Overgod Ao separated the twin worlds Abeir and Toril once again and rewrote the Tablets of Fate ( an artifact which contained the name of every deity of the pantheon and their portfolio ) , in an event known as " the Second Sundering " . Because of that , many deities of Toril who were considered dead or lost managed to return to life , Selvetarm among them . Relics . The " Sword of Selvetarm " was a holy sword , which Selvetarm created for his followers . Further Reading .