The Veildark

## History

Before the beginning, there were the Cosmic Spheres. Finite in surface area but infinite in volume, the Cosmic Spheres floated through the Aether. Creation began, properly, when two of the Cosmic Spheres (known as the Void and the Abyss) collided in a glancing blow, becoming fused together at the point of contact.

Reality as is understood by the majority of mortals only exists within that point of contact. If you go up, you enter the Void: the realm of the Aboleths, the Illithids, the Beholders. If you go down, you enter the Abyss, where dwell the Demons. Of course, these spheres contribute more than Demons and Aberrations. They contribute Form and Thought, infusing creation with the potential for life and souls.

At the dawn of creation, first born were the Primordials: beings of incredible elemental power, who did battle with the Aberrations and the Demons, before properly sealing their world from most outside influences. However, magic was a part of the world now, and from Magic came the Gods, who did battle with the Primordials for dominion over the world. Ultimately neither triumphed: the Gods were immortal, and destroying the Primordials endangered the world, so when the dust settled, the Gods left for the Outer Planes, while the Primordials entered a great slumber… but not all agreed to that.

One God, Torog, had been cast beneath the world. Sealed within, mutilated and blinded, Torog crawled beneath the earth for centuries, scrabbling blindly to escape. His passage beneath the earth shattered the stone and rent the foundations of the world, forming part of the networks of caves, crevasses, and tunnels that would, eventually, become the Underdark. No myth records Torog escaping to the Outer Planes with his divine kin… and whispered voices speak of a wailing, raging thing that burrows in the darkness beneath the world.

## Societal Norms; Cultural

On their persons, most Drow carry some simple tools. Complex and articulate windup music boxes provide for portable musical needs, allowing simple creature comforts. Almost every Drow possesses a pocket watch, reliable for the time and the coordination of assassination attempts. Many laborers include auto-braces in their toolkits: a form of wearable aid for the movement of heavy-objects, an auto-brace allows for individuals to shunt some of the physical work they have to do to  brass and steam. Auto-braces, and a nonfunctional cousin called Auto-wear, is something of as fashion decision for common Drow, though soldiers prefer their own muscle: currently, only the most advanced type of Auto-brace is reliable and responsive enough for combat.

#### Keptolo

The ideal of what a male drow can become, Keptolo is handsome, stylish, witty, hedonistic, an outrageous flatterer, and sought after as a lover. He is also dangerous in his aspects as a subtle assassin and a whisperer of rumors. For those attributes, he is worshiped by ambitious males who hope to emulate him. Some succeed admirably and achieve great things beyond the reach of most males, but many more succumb to excesses of the flesh, dissipation, and disease, or they are ruined or murdered by a rival, who is also a true disciple of Keptolo. In most myths, Keptolo resides in the Demonweb Pits alongside Lolth, whom he serves as consort, more than a plaything but much less than an equal. Keptolo is a bitter enemy of Zinzerena, who deceives and uses him as a tool in many of the stories about the Dark Seldarine.

#### Malkyk

Malyk embodies rebellion and chaos. Drow know of his influence from the appearance of wild mages among their number. Such an individual, possessed ofsorcer- ous powers seemingly bestowed at random, is often seen as a threat to the established order. Many drow, especially males and even females of low station, try to attract Malyk's attention by secretly making sacrifices to him. Meanwhile, house matrons and others steeped in the faith of Lolth attempt to purge Malyk's worship from drow society- at the same time that some of them pray to him for power.

Malyk is associated with rebellion because when a wild mage's true nature is revealed, the individual often has no recourse but to openly attack others and create chaos. Most other drow vie to receive Lolth's blessing by being the one to bring such a blasphemer to justice. In order to survive, a wild mage must defeat or elude all attackers and forge an alliance with those who can be threatened or bribed to provide a safe haven. Most wild mages who are discovered are put to death, some survive as outcasts, and a rare few rise to positions of status, declaring their allegiance to Lolth- or at least pretending to.