The Dens in the Dark

The Dens in the Dark is a book recovered from the Tower of Vorn.

## Description

Detailing the eight main dens of the Underdark, the Dens in the Dark is a guide to the varying factions vying for control of much of the Middledark - as discovered by the author's own interests and inquiries.

## Research

### Completed by Arnica

#### **The Duzktlar Den**

* **Territories:** Uncontested control of the Upperdark beneath the southern coastline of the Ahlusian continent, contested territories with a shared border with the Hunzrach Den in the Middledark. One of few Dens to have a small presence with the Lowerdark by means of a few minor settlements.
* **Matriarch:** Zesstra Duzktlar
* **City-State:** Goxxurtulur, The City of Stars
* **Additional Notes:** The Duzktlar Den are particularly acclaimed for their use of coiling, spinning or otherwise somehow mobile weaponry. Of notable usage are multi-bladed metal whips with a slender knucklebow featuring sharpened edges that can stretch as far as ten feet to lacerate their foes.

#### **The Helvlani Den**

* **Territories:** Moderate presence in the Upperdark, feuding for control with that of the Kenarnvar and Nossz Dens from the northern edge of the Ironfangs northward beneath the Hoarfrost Expanse. Wide-stretching territory throughout the central Middledark, bordering extensively with that of the Duzktlar, Hunzrach, Kenarnvar and Nossz Dens, as well as a small shared border with the Hyluan'tar Den to the south.
* **Matriarch:** Chaliryn Helvlani
* **City-State:** Morrhelvgix Khos, The City of Souls
* **Additional Notes:** Necromancy is acclaimed highly in the territories of the Helvlani Den, initially brought about due to competition with the multiple surrounding dens and the relative sparsely populated lands of the World Above resulting in limited stock of slaves - and thus sparking the use of reanimated remains to fill in the deficit. All but the highest nobility were liable to have their bodies claimed by the Den after their demise for use to bolster the labouring and martial forces of the region.

#### **The Hunzrach Den**

* **Territories:** Isolated presence in the Upperdark tunnels beneath the lands of the western lands of the World Above, extensive shared borders with that of the the Helvlani and Duzktlar Dens in the Middledark, along which frequent skirmishes and battles are known to occur.
* **Matriarch:** Sabdril Hunzrach
* **City-State:** Melelon, The City of Thorns
* **Additional Notes:** The Hunzrach Den and their subordinates are known for their ritual scarification across their brows and ears, most commonly through use of organic materials to do so, whether kruthik spikes, cave fisher claws, cloaker fangs or any other manner of prizes from hunts in the dark and gloom.

#### **The Hyluan'tar Den**

* **Territories:** Patrols through the Upperdark often clash with the Kenarnvar Den in the lands beneath the lands of Tourmalini'i, suggestive of contested territories in this region. Moderate holdings deep beneath the Cobalt Sea in the Middledark.
* **Matriarch:** Akorae Hyluan'tar
* **City-State:** Algaxluan, The City of Mazes
* **Additional Notes:** Woe be unto any slave that ends up in the chains of the Hyluan'tar Den, for their fate is undeniably more sealed than it would be for any other Den. Delighting in complexity, they carve intricate carved tunnels systems featuring false and hidden entrances, trapped dead-ends and enchanted labyrinths to baffle and entrap their playthings. Many of the other Dens accuse the Hyluan'tar Den of blasphemy, citing claims of the influence of Baphomet in their priestesses, and their use of Goristros as generals in their armies seems to only confirm these assertions.

#### **The Kenarnvar Den**

* **Territories:** Dominates control of the central Upperdark and Middledark territories, with contested borders with the Hyluan'tar, Helvlani and Nossz Dens at both depths, as well as the presence of the Yrul'Lysune Den in the latter. Controls the largest number routes to the World Above out of any major Den, most of which wind through the Ironfangs above.
* **Matriarch:** Ilmra Kenarnvar
* **City-State:** Imlegroth, The City of Agate
* **Additional Notes:** Wealthiest and arguably most infamous amongst the residents of the World Above given their frequent raids throughout the lands of the Empire of Raq, Gawylthlan, Halholm and Tulis, the Kenarnvar Den sits upon a wealth of metals, gemstones and other precious substances. Relying heavily on slave labour made up of surface-dwellers, orcs, other drow, duergar and svirfneblin, these resources have forged Imlegroth into arguably the greatest city in the Underdark. These riches are present throughout the city's buildings, with semi-precious and precious gemstones woven into the stone constructions throughout, but none more so than towers of the nobility, carved into huge stalactites and stalagmites lining the cavern in which it is found.

#### **The Nossz Den**

* **Territories:** Modest holdings in the Upperdark bordered with that of the Helvlani, Kenarnvar and Yrul'Lysune Dens. Also controls much of the Gloomdredge Sea in the Middledark, although the Kenarnvar Den also claims dominion over its southern stretches.
* **Matriarch:** Miz'nida Nossz
* **City-State:** Nossz Khos, The City of Scales
* **Additional Notes:** Commanders of the largest fleet in the Underdark, the Nossz Den relies heavily on the dark waters of the Gloomdredge Sea for its infrastructure, having charted the waters - in some patches said to be so deep that they flood vast stretches of the Lowerdark - better than any other Den. Their fleets are augmented by enthralled Kuo-Toa Leviathans which the Nossz Den have also learned to farm through use of trickery and influence over the colonies of Kuo-Toa found in the region. The huge scales of these leviathans are also commonly used to produce armour and shields for the armies of the Den.

#### **The Xiltyth Den**

* **Territories:** Historically, the Xiltyth Den held territories beneath southwestern Ahlus, before being eradicated through war and slavery by the Duzktlar and Hunzrach Dens.
* **Matriarch:** Lyza Xiltyth
* **City-State:** Vozzacruxoth, The City of Toil
* **Additional Notes:** Before their extinction, the Xiltyth Den were said to be master artisans, as skilful and detail-orientated as the numerous duergar colonies that they cycled between periods of strained alliances and all-out war with, and so even now Xiltyth-forged weaponry remains in high demand, and are commonly mimicked by finesmiths throughout the Underdark.

#### **The Yrul'Lysune Den**

* **Territories:** Controls only one known route the World Above through the Upperdark, holding only modest territories in this region. In the Middledark commands vast swathes of land under the eastern lands and seas of the continent, clashing frequently with the Helvlani, Nossz and Yrul'Lysune Dens over territory. The Yrul'Lysune Den holds the most territory in the Lowerdark, split across two deep reaching sets of tunnels and caverns.
* **Matriarch:** Ilhabrina Yrul'Lysune
* **City-State:** Mephiraashez, The City of Miasma
* **Additional Notes:** Near all drow possess some kind of innate magical talent, the individuals of the Yrul'Lysune Den seem to possess this at a heightened level, a fact that further inflates sentimentalities of superiority. Nonetheless, it is undeniable that the Mephiraashez is a settlement in which magical research and talent seems to thrive, in spite of the heavy faerzress that lingers thick at its borders.