Irandé

**Irandé** is the city of the dark elves that sits deep within the underdark, with only a thin, well-guarded entrance. Since the city's construction, no armies have ever penetrated its gate due to the thin passage and the countless arrow slits for the dark elves to fire upon their assailants through.

## History

Irandé was the first settlement built by the dark elves when they decided to abandon the surface in favour of the underdark. It has always stood, and likely always will stand, due to the cultural significance the city holds to the drow, as well as the numerous defences it holds.

Since its construction, numerous other drow settlements were also constructed, though they fell after both the great plague hit the drow and after the war with the high elves, many of the surviving drow abandoned the major cities, heading for Irandé. As such, Irandé is the only remaining major settlement that the drow hold.

## Houses

### House Darezuzannen

House Dar'en is the ruling house of Irandé, lead by the young yet powerful Zara Dar'en. They have ruled Irandé for thousands of years, with a few rough patches here and there where another house takes over after winning a house war.

As the ruling house, the matron cannot hold positions of power within the schools of the city, given her status as ruler of the city.

Notable members of this house include: Zara Dar'en, Tago Dar'en, Nydal Dar'en and Alaya Dar'en.

Exiled members of this house include: Ilrith Darkflame, Sehra Dar'en and Sammar Dar'en.

### House Celassyaenor

As the second house of the city, House Cel'aenor's influence extends far, having two of their nobles as the Matron and Patron of the Torre Acadae and Torre Stygae respectively. Their house is deemed by some as impure, given their familial trait of having black hair as opposed to white.

Notable members of this house include: Qaelith Cel'aenor, Hazah Cel'aenor and Dunlun Cel'aenor.

### House Tioseleran

House Tios'n is currently the city's third house, though they have only kept their status due to it's matron's percivierance and that the matron of the Torre Divinae is a member of this house. They have been hard pressed by House Dar'en as Vicsiara Tios'n took over the city, exiling Zara Dar'en. Zara, however, fought back, retaking her throne and in turn exiling the traitor.

Notable members of this house include: Vena Tios'n, Dierlon Tios'n and Syala Tios'n.

Exiled members of this house include: Vicsiara Tios'n.

### House Syrainni

House Syr'i is the fourth house of Irandé, and like House Cel'aenor, are deemed as impure by some, but for having red hair, rather than black. House Syr'i is the fourth house due to the matron of the Torre Sorcae being a member of the house.

Notable members of this house include: Jhini Syr'i and Halli Syr'i.

### House Byzanaar

House By'naar is the fifth house of Irandé, with one of their number being the patron of the Torre Guer'ae. This house is renowned four their martial prowess, often fighting their wars without spellcasters. Some reports say they have some blessing that renders them all but immune to magic.

Notable members of this house include: Khalan By'naar and Dirak By'naar.

### House Déspana

House Dé'anna is the sixth house of Irandé, with no members of their house being the leader of a school. However, due to the actions of House Dé'anna while Zara Dar'en was reclaiming her throne, the house has gained the favour of House Dar'en.

Notable members of this house include: Alyress Dé'anna and Emerald Dé'anna.

Exiled members of this house include: Sapphire Dé'anna.

### House Vilirinn

House V'rinn is currently the seventh house of Irandé. With no prominent figures in the schools, House V'rinn has had to survive by licking the boots of House Dar'en. While this does tactic does not normally work within dark elf culture for long, House V'rinn have managed to get one of their best warriors to be the personal bodyguard of Matriarch Zara Dar'en.

Notable members of this house include: Helles V'rinn and Talyn V'rinn.

### House Ilisalael

The title of eighth house of Irandé currently belongs to House Il'lael, a house that constantly wars with House Majh'ol for its spot, though it seems like they will be staying ahead of their rivals for the foreseeable future, as House Il'lael doesn't have as bad a reputation as House Majh'ol does now.

Notable members of this house include: Sszagos Il'lael and Nedylene Il'lael.

### House Majhanarol

The blue-eyed drow of House Majh'ol make up the ninth house of Irandé. It used to be a new up-and-coming house for individuals of all walks of life within the underground city. However, due to the actions of Daniis Majh'ol in making the dark elf rebels, the house quickly fell from favour and is now barely holding on to its postion as a noble house, especially after those rebels managed to sabotage House Dar'en enough that Vicsiara Tios'n could take control.

Notable members of this house include: Valorah Majh'ol.

Exiled members of this house include: Daniis Majh'ol.

## Schools

### Torre Acadae

When noble dark elf children reach the age of six they are sent off to the Torre Acadae to begin their education. During the first four years at this school, they are taught drow ideals and simple knowledge needed to survive. After these four years they can choose whether to enroll at any of the other schools, save for the Torre Divinae for the males. No one can apply to the Torre Stygae; if they want you, they will find you.

The child will continue to study at the Torre Acadae alongside any other schools they are accepted into for another two years, when they can then choose whether they want to finish their studies at the Torre Acadae. Should they choose to continue, they will be put through intensive training to see if they unlock psionic potential. If they do not, they can study as a scholar, studying sciences or engineering and other such important topics. However, should they show psionic potential, they are given the option to hone it further, joining a powerful branch of the dark elf military, especially if combined with training from the Torre Guer'ae or Torre Styg'ae.

Matron: Hazah Cel'aenor.

Heir: Dunlun Cel'aenor.

### Torre Divinae

The Torre Divinae is the school that all priestesses of the dark elves attend. All applicants to this school must be female, and not all of the applicants have to study at the Torre Sorcae; not all dark elf priestesses can cast spells. Students of the Torre Divinae can worship any of the dark elf pantheon, but they study all of the gods, as well as ancestors, demons and devils so they can strike bargains that suit them.

Matron: Vena Tios'n.

Heir: Alyress Dé'anna.

### Torre Guer'ae

The Torre Guer'ae is the school of warfare, ensuring that the warriors of the dark elves are in peak form. The top performers become leaders or house weaponmasters, while the less powerful become foot soldiers in the noble houses' armies. The students of the Torre Guer'ae are often put through a variety of different challenges, varying from year to year, that teach not only the value of personal prowess, but also about the use of having allies and working as a team. During these challenges, they often use creatures brought in for the arena, and occassionaly if the class has many high performers, the arena will let others watch. For a fee, of course.

Patron: Khalan By'naar.

Heir: Tago Dar'en.

### Torre Sorcae

When a drow student has no interest in the sciences and isn't gifted martially, they always have the choice to study at the Torre Sorcae. The Torre Sorcae is the school that accepts the most applicants, though its mortality rate is also the highest, due to many of the less gifted of the classes either blowing up or being used in experiments by the teachers. However, there is always a push on Sorcae students to be the best they can; afterall, the dark elves have been in an eon long competition to take the high elves' spot as masters of magic.

Matron: Jhini Syr'i.

Heir: Halli Syr'i.

### Torre Stygae

The Torre Stygae is the school for those that practice the art of remaining unseen, of being the blade in the dark. The school trains assassins and spies, and only the most gifted are invited to the school. Students are forbidden from talking about their training inside the school, so what happens within is largely a mystery. However, the fact that not a single drop-out has leaked information either shows that the Torre Stygae's teaching techniques inspire loyalty, or that the Torre Stygae is extremely good at covering up after themselves.

Patron: Qaelith Cel'aenor.

Heir: Unknown outside of the Torre Stygae, and the existance of this knowledge inside the Torre is debatable.

## Notable Areas

### Arena

The arena of Irandé is the largest building in the entire city, being molded out of the stone that forms the cavern that the city resides in. The arena holds several events per week, where gladiator slaves fight each other or various nasty denizens of the underdark that have been captured. Every so often, the Torre Guer'ae will stage an event there, which many pay to see. Often it is a graduation match, or a fight with a master of the Torre Guer'ae, but occasionally the arena opens its gates to any that want to try the fights, often offering a reward to be split between those that survive several brutal rounds. The arena is run by a shifty, swindling sorcerer named Darius La'ral, accompanied by the alitiration adoring and amazingly accomplished analyst, Baeloth Barit'yl.

### Beldraein d'Ssinss

Literally "House of Allure", this establishment holds 'professional entertainment' for the dark elves too poor to afford their own specialised slaves. The building seems rather small for the amount of business they get, but they know that if demand is high, they can demand higher prices for more immediate appointments. Also, as the only establishment of its kind within the city, their staff know exactly how to treat any of their customer's desires, and are often paid a hefty sum to do so. The establishment does also deal in the trading of specialised slaves to the noble houses, after having trained them up and given them experience.

### The Hellish Rebuke

The Hellish Rebuke is the largest tavern in Irandé, even owning its own small arena on its lower floors, allowing anyone who wants to a chance to fight with one condition: no weapons allowed. It attracts all sorts of people from across the city, from priestesses to storytellers, and is often packed with those who want to drink after a (not-so-)honest day's work. It's drinks a cheap, and it's staff can be more than friendly to some customers, though they often point the more needy customers across the square to the Beldraein d'Ssinss.

### L'Maligore Mua

L'maligore Mua translated to Imperial is "The Crafty Foe." This is a shop that sells all sorts of weaponry and magical trinkets, to those that can afford it. It's owner, a devious drow by the name of Firak Do'neld, is a generally reserved individual who rarely speaks other than when talking business, upon which his personality completely changes. He will gladly talk about the enchantments on a particular item or weapon, and is always interested in collecting, and is known to offer ludicrous sums for some items if he doesn't already have them.

### L'Krrjat Kivvin

When translated into Imperial, L'Krrjat Kivvin literally means "The Puzzled Surfacer." This store, owned by a Vhondess H'lar, sells several items not often appreciated by many drow, often being items from the surface or from other cultures. Vhondess knows she will not get many customers, however those that do show at her door are often collectors or want to brag about things they have supposedly killed. So long as she gets paid, Vhondess has no care of what happens to the item. Every so often, however, she gets a customer looking for information rather than a trinket, and information is what Vhondess is truly a master of trading with.