Val

## Summary

Val'e is a male Drow that has great talent in the clerical arts and shadow magics.  He is of average height and physique for a Drow.  Having spent most of his recent time in Frostmoor around humans, he has gotten into a habit of hiding his features beneath a cloak.  It is almost second nature and he doesn't realize he is doing it most of the time.

His time hiding has also had him develop his abilities of observance and perception.  Very careful, calculating and extremely self reliant.  He is not one to let anyone know what he is truly thinking.  Although, he does tend to lose control of his temper at times, causing him to not only let loose his emotions, but also his shadow powers.

## Drow History

After the cataclysm that left general magic using impossible, large parts of the Underdark collapsing, parts from the surface of Faerûn falling into the Underdark, and contact or knowledge of Lolths current status being impossible, the Drow were thrown into chaos.  Not the normal, controlled chaos that their Spider Queen loved and expected and they had perfected over millennia, but true chaos and destruction.  Whole cities were destroyed due to their affinity of using magics to decorate and adorn their structures as status symbols.

The Drow population was severely decimated.  And without the usual misguided guidance of their Evil deity, they were left to find their own way.  Most female Drow would never admit to their families or anyone else that this was the case.  Mainly due to fear of losing their power base and position.  Matron mothers would lie and say that Lolth was consolidating and preserving her powers in these trying times to strengthen herself and spread her influence when the time was right.  This allowed them to regain control of their own families, but without the manipulations of Lolth to bring a semblance of order to the chaos, any real community could never work.  Families formed their own small communities, and would war with any others they would come across.

## Personal History

He was the second born son to House Noquervs.  Being a male, he was always looked down upon and taught how inferior he was by his sisters and mother.  He was being prepared by his family to be the weapons master of their house.  In secret though, he became aware of and practiced his abilities with clerical and shadow powers.  He knew of the consequences of being caught doing this, and so was also forced to get very good at sneaking, lying and blocking off parts of his mind to prevent discovery.

Unfortunately his mother still became suspicious at some point and spent quite a bit of time torturing him to get the truth she wanted.  After getting the information that her son was using powers that even she had problems accessing at times, she became frightened and furious all at once.  After all, why should a lowly male be able to gain such power, and what would happen to her and the rest of her family should Lolth return unexpectedly to find this situation.  To help her feel better, she continued to torture her former son for quite some time and then tossed him out to die of his wounds after becoming bored and feeling she had surpassed the necessary punishment required by her missing god.

Things from this point become a bit lost to Val'e.  Through anger and hatred, he somehow managed to survive.  His powers feeding off of these emotions that he kept controlled at all times, knowing that they blurred all other senses and weakened his ability to think clearly.

The clearest things he remembers are of his times in Frostmoor.  Using his abilities to hide, and gain a bit of trust and privacy within the community, he was able to go about with little difficulty most of the time.  As long as he didn't do anything to obvious or suspicious, the townsfolk would normally dismiss any problems because of his necessity within the community.  A doctor was severely needed.  Especially one that, over time, seemed to be able to handle the complications and oddities that came with the Affliction.

Spending any spare time getting his hands on any information that could help explain his powers and where they could be originating from.  With most information about magic, or any knowledge from before the cataclysm, being lost, restricted, or extremely expensive, it was slow going.  He eventually came across some lore on broken scrolls about Shar and felt a connection.  He now looks to get any information on Shar he can.

## The campaign so far

Within Frostmoor, Val'e had become conspirators with Adorena and Aeryn.  They had goals to help the magically adept within Frostmoor to prevent persecution and punishment for just being what they were.  Val'e used this alliance to help get any additional information he could that related to himself, the current situation within the drow communities, or Shar.  In return he would provide alchemical supplies, healing and any insight he was willing to share.

Things escalated pretty quickly with Adorena being caught as a magic user and then being prosecuted.  This chain of events led to Val'e being pulled along so that he could make sure that they didn't expose anyting about him.  In the end, he was outed to the group as a Drow, but due to the circumstances of larger problems, it was received with relative calm.

The events proceeded within Frostmoor and had the end results of the quarantine area being destroyed to prevent an afflicted outbreak, and some of the shadow operatives escaping towards Deadsnows.

## Relationships

Val'e continued to be brought along throughout the events within Frostmoor and beyond.  His healing abilities, insight, experience with the affliction, and strategical thinking have kept him and the group alive through numerous encounters.  Although, his relationship with Aeryn and Adorena seemed to be deteriorating.  This was caused by his defense of Zheldara at some points of major contention, and Aeryns dislike of the shadow magics that Val'e used to heal people.

This has also been the source of friction with the princess of Frostmoor, Amelie Carrington. Amelie has an extreme dislike for anyone involved with Zheldara or her patron, Sacresangre. Amelie also chooses to make rash decisions based on how she feels in the moment, and without thought to how it could effect the group or her people. These moments seem to happen more and more frequently and are becoming something that Val'e is less inclined to tolerate.

The party members that he does get along with tend to be more pragmatic in their dealings.