House Pyrostar

House Pyrostar's Family Seal

House Pyrostar is a house of Surface Drow located in Vor Rukoth. Known for their secrecy and rivalry with the Eladrin House Arcticstar.

## History

The greatest arrival of drow to the surface world occurred some 3000 years before the establishment of the Nerathian Empire. It was around this time that the Ancient Dvergr and Eladrin longstanding Age of Peace was beginning to crumble. As a result neither directly opposed the arrival of these newcomers, despite longstanding rivalries with the drow. The catalyst for drow migration is not fully understood by modern scholars, but is linked to an series of events in the Underdark known as the Blood Catastrophe. This apparently included three separate events, the Spellplague, The Stoneplague, and the Blood War. Detailed records of the events do exist, but have been kept secret by House Pyrostar, the largest Drow House on the surface world.

House Pyrostar is very secretive, they were first mentioned in early reports as a major Drow Raiding Band that operated from an entrance to the Underdark in Vor Rukoth. For this time they would only emerge for a few weeks at a time before returning to the Underdark with slaves and loot. Due to the Dvergr-Eladrin Conflict of the time subsequent events are fuzzy but the drow seemed to develop a small outpost settlement on the surface under the leadership of one contemporary called Elerya the Odd.

Elerya the Odd's true name or house are unknown, she was given that name from the fact the spent her entire time in the surface world and did not return to the Underdark. One source indicated her title to have been called Elerya of Fan Magmae, giving rise to a belief her original house was associated with some magma pools in the Underdark. Elerya the Odd's followers would come to be known as House Pyrostar, perhaps a reference to the origins of Elerya's family and the stars of the surface world as this was something not many drow were privy to.

Much of what is known of House Pyrostar comes from two sources: House Arcticstar, an Eladrin House located in Vor Rukoth, and Nerathain Military Records from their conquering of the Drow House.

House Arcticstar is said to have arrived in Vor Rukoth around the same time as House Pyrostar, causing the two to fall into conflict. House Arcticstar succeeded in closing the portal to the Underdark operated by House Pyrostar but was unable to entirely defeat the drow. An High Priestess of Loth, believed to be Elerya the Odd's successor, was also slain by the Eladrin. As a result of this the House fractured with little centralized control. Conflict between the two houses would last inconclusively until they were absorbed by the Nerathian Empire.

Nerathian Military Records give some insight to House Pyrostar's workings, thought it is notable the the drow hid many of their secrets before the Nerathians arrived and they were never recorded. House Pyrostar maintains fervent worship of Loth, unlike many other surface drow who foresook Loth when they migrated and assimilated with surface society. Fiercely isolationist and with a deep rooted hatred for House Arcticstar, the constant infighting of the various power-hungry drow lords is what primarily prevented them from building a more powerful domain. It is noted that by the time the Nerathian subjugated House Pyrostar they were in possession of a large number of slaves. These were freed by the Nerathians and House Pyrostar has been want for them ever since. Yearly records of activities achieved include in formation of a special type of mushroom grown by House Pyrostar that can survive in almost any environment. During this time there was also a shift from the traditional matriarchy to a patriarchy as a result of Nerathian cultural interference.

During the slow collapse of the Nerathian Empire the achieved records of House Pyrotstar became less frequent. Many of these appear incomplete or vague, giving indication the house was obscuring their activities before detaching themselves from the empire as a whole. Renewed conflict with House Arcticstar was erratic at best. Though Arcticstar reports indicate the evils of the drow were still in full force other sources claim the drow mostly keep to their isolation and do spark much conflict with outsiders.