Taxe

## Taxe Empire

Race(s): Drow

Status: Active

Population: 2.5 million, all underground except for a few guard posts and spies)

Values: Stimulation, Stimulation, Conformity

Excels at or Interested in: Unknown

Bad at or Disinterested in: Espionage, Leatherworking, Espionage

Known Political Factions: Unknown

Active Regions: Region below Wyselle

#### Happiness

Empowerment and Engagement: Unknown

Meaning, Exploration, and Celebration: Unknown

Security and Hope: Unknown

Trust, Humanitarianism, and Belonging: Unknown

### Description

The dark elves of Taxe (like "takes") are a spiritual people. Until recently they had been trapped deep underground, below the domain of the Griën. They tried and failed several times to invade the beholders' realm, but once the Griën empire fell they quickly took back the lands closest to their old enemies, the elves of Wyselle. There is an old complaint about an ancient slight that they still remember, and for that they came up into the cursed sunlight for revenge. Using the arrogance of the Wyselle against them, they set a plan in motion that utterly destroyed their enemies. Uncomfortable on the bright surface, they did not colonize their conquest but left it to become wilderness. A fitting end to Wyselle, to give the towns, cities, and roads back over to the nature spirits they loved so much that they would exile their brothers and sisters into the darkness for them.

The drow were once exiles in search of a home underground, and they carry that tradition forward in the Explorer Corps, a highly trained squad of rangers who map the underworld. There are those who argue they should also explore the surface world, as after the Griën the next threat would come from there, but others insist that limiting the entrances and guarding them should be sufficient. Still, food supplies underground are limited and they rely on trade to fulfill all their population's dietary needs. This means that those who support more interaction with the surface also call for stronger trading relationships, while those who oppose it want to explore more and find more exotic food sources or trading relationships underground.

As a result of all of this, few surface dwellers see the expansive markets and shops of the Taxe Empire, though most merchants have heard of them. Their mysterious character has no doubt exaggerated the reality, but there is no doubt the Taxe engage in brisk trade underground, exchanging metals, ores, weapons, and armor for food, wood, and plant-based textiles. They eat meat, but are confused about why people preserve dead animals and use their remains as tools and clothing. They do not keep animals, so making things from wool or leather seems related to such caretaking and it seems clingy. "It's dead, move on."

The Taxe surface outposts are all easily identifiable from a distance because they all carry the same style, which shows clear influence from Wyselle but has changed over the centuries. Their construction style is open at the sides with large canopies or roofs to block out the sun. In discussions they are almost ridiculously open about their situation, needs, advantages, and challenges, which seems to put them at a disadvantage in negotiations. However, they would tell you that all that dancing around just delays the final agreement. None of this openness reduces their cruelty and almost sociopathic lack of compassion-indeed, for some it makes it even more disturbing that they'll casually admit that they're going to slaughter your village later with or without the deal you're making.