Trist'oth
Recent Events
May 2023
DROW HOUSES FALL, UNDEAD OVERRUN TRIST'OTH
The Drow Houses of Trist'oth have fallen to the relentless onslaught of the undead. Reports indicate that the once-proud Queendom is now overrun by hordes of Alithyk Caluss' undead army, leaving only rubble and decay in its wake.
Survivors are fleeing the city, with many seeking refuge in nearby caves and other underground shelters. The streets are choked with panicked Drow, their faces etched with fear as they flee from the advancing hordes of undead. The stench of death and decay hangs heavy in the air, a constant reminder of the horrors that have befallen Trist'oth.
Eyewitnesses report that the undead seem to multiply with each victory, making it seem as if they are an unstoppable force, hell-bent on turning all life into their own kind of twisted undeath. The situation is dire, with the fate of the entire Drow race hanging in the balance.
It is not yet clear if any of the noble Houses have survived the attack, or if any leadership remains to coordinate a response. The only thing that is certain is that time is running out, and the undead army shows no sign of slowing down.
The fate of Trist'oth, and possibly the entire continent of Lithrydel, hangs in the balance.
Maps of Trist'oth
Settlements in the Underdark
| Settlement Name | Main Race |
|---|---|
| Trist'oth | Drow |
Shops in Trist'oth
(All directions from Kelay Tavern, unless otherwise indicated)
| Shop Name | Goods Sold |
|---|---|
| Del'Kerraz's Magic Shop | Magical Weapons & Armor |
| Outsider's Shop | Various Clothing |
| The Black Shadow's Armory | Armor |
| The Dark Intentions Weaponry | Weapons |
| Trist'oth Tavern | Food & Drinks |
| Gloomy Hole | Mining Supplies |
| Trist'oth Arena | Food & Drinks (and death) |
| War Chambers | Armor (drow access only) |
Clans with HQs in Trist'oth
- none
Training Areas in Trist'oth
- none
Economic Areas in the Trist'oth
| Economic Area | Economic Activity |
|---|---|
| Mine Of Misery | Mining |
Information About the Underdark
Trist'oth, once a proud and feared Queendom beneath the continent of Lithrydel, now lies in ruins. Its noble Houses, once organized into a hierarchy based on strength, have crumbled under the relentless onslaught of the God of Undeath, Alithyk Caluss.
Before the attack, Trist'oth was a high society, divided into noble Houses, each led by a Matron or Patron. The strongest five Houses made up the Drow Council, which governed foreign affairs, protected Trist'oth, and oversaw trade. To become the leader of the Council, a House had to be the strongest in Trist'oth, often achieved through the complete annihilation of the First House.
However, all of that has changed. After the brutal attack by Alithyk Caluss and his army of undeath, Trist'oth is nothing more than a desolate wasteland. The once grand and powerful Houses are no more, reduced to rubble and decay. The stench of undeath hangs heavy in the air, a constant reminder of the devastating loss suffered by the Drow people.
Those who survived the attack have scattered, hiding in the shadows and living in constant fear of Alithyk Caluss and his army. The once proud and feared Queendom is now a place of darkness and despair, haunted by the memory of what it once was.
Despite the bleakness of the situation, however, there are whispers of hope. Rumors circulate that there are those who seek to rebuild Trist'oth, to restore it to its former glory and rid it of the taint of undeath. Whether these rumors are true or not remains to be seen, but for the Drow people, the possibility of reclaiming their lost homeland is a glimmer of light in the darkness.
Allies of Trist'oth
The relationship between Trist'oth and other governing bodies in Lithrydel is currently unknown.
Other places of interest in the Underdark
| Area of Note | Function |
|---|---|
| Temple of the Endless Death | Temple of the death God, Vakmatharas. After the Matrons lost control of Trist'oth, the temple to The Spider Goddess was altered over many years to instead worship the Patron of Trist'oth's chosen deity, Vakmatharas. |
| The Dead Caves | Ominous caves in the wild lands of the Underdark, home to some of the most deadly creatures within Hollow. |
| Start of the Underdark | Most publicly known entrance to the Underdark from the surface; emerges in the dark forest of Vailkrin. |
| Steep Climb | Secret Drow entrance to the Underdark from the Drow Embassy in Craughmoyle. |
| Trist'oth Arena | Large cavernous arena where denizens of the Underdark may watch gladiators battle to the death. |
| Andon d'Chath | Magical Clock tower of the Trist'oth, glows with infrared only visible to Underdark creatures that marks the time. |
| Arcania | Drow school of magic where all Drow noble males are assessed for arcane ability. Those who prove themselves as unusually gifted will stay, some being destined to serve as House Wizards or Mages. |
| Magthere d'Malarin | Drow school of melee combat where most Drow males end up. Those who perform extraordinarily well here will eventually become the generals and weapons masters of their respective Houses. |
| Magthere whol onhir d'Aphyon | Drow school of priesthood for the god Vakmatharas. Those who prove themselves particularly powerful often find themselves working as high priests to the God of Death, being his chosen hand within their Houses. |
Personally Owned Homes within Trist'oth
- House D'Artes
- Delavian Chamber
- House Tyr'Anea
History Regarding Trist'oth
The Before Times
For centuries, the Underdark was largely run by the Drow Matriarchy, the Matron Mother serving as a monarch above all others. Drow males were forced into a subservient role, taught from an early age to honor, protect, and most of all obey the females in their society. The highest ranking Drow male was still viewed as lower than the most modest of female citizens by both the government and society as a whole. That is not to say all Drow males were weak, many of them were skilled in the ways of magic and combat, but lived in constant fear of wrath from the Spider Goddess, whom most subterranean Drow worshipped.
In the not-so-distant past, the Archmosian Empire, led by Emperor Vuryal, had invaded and captured Trist'oth within the grasp of its Kingdom. Emperor Vuryal gave control over Trist'oth to Morganza of the Kiss of Death, naming her Provincial Governor as part of a treaty between the KOD and Empire of Archmosia.
Upon the universal collapse of the Archmosian Empire, Matron Malice attempted to rekindle Drow ownership of the Underdark by reclaiming Trist'oth for the Matriarchy. Her attempt at rule lasted nearly a year before the males started to revolt. The Matriarchy, rendered even weaker by the Archmosian invasion and the Ascendii Astrala's apparent abandonment of their cause, was no longer in possession of the strength needed to retain its power. The resistance eventually defeated all Drow challengers and, led by Keter of House D'Artes, took control of the Underdark in the name of all Drow males.
Keter took control of Trist'oth, banned worship of The Spider Goddess and forced worship of Vakmatharas instead. The ban of Spider Goddess worship and the tangent worship of the Ascendi Astrala was assisted by the death of Priestess Ginger by the hands of Patron Kuzial, as her lone copy of the temple’s key was not found on her corpse. He also instituted a patriarchy and patrons, though some drow houses led by women who bent the knee to Keter and worshipped Vakmatharas were permitted to keep their houses. Keter was eventually driven mad and killed by his own sentient, possessed blade, E’et Nilah. Upon his death, Patron Kuzial stole the former ruler’s blade in hopes that he would be blessed with its power.
Archmage Tiphareth’s Rule
Upon Keter’s passing, leadership of Trist’oth remained in House D'Artes and was succeeded by Eldermage Tiphareth. Males became free to assume whatever positions they could earn through force, no longer giving automatic regard to females without challenge. The remaining Royal Houses fell into their own Hierarchy to fill out the rest of the Drow Council.
Drow had always been aggressive towards their elven counterparts. War was inevitable, and it occured again during Archmage Tiphareth’s rule. Drow aggression toward the elves of Sage escalated to full-on war, resulting in the eventual exile of the Sage Elves from their homeland. Only a contingent of fighters led by the vampire Rikailin and elf Liana remained to defend the forest. Liana seemed to disappear into the shadows and Rikailin was defeated, marked and banished from the forest, effectively ending any meaningful rebellion to the exile. With no one left to stop the advance of the drow, Tiphareth, alongside his apprentice Daath from the Mage's Guild, planted a ticking time bomb in the Southernmost Sage Forest trees: a slow necrotic rot from the inside out that would take years for others to discover.
When Gevurah, daughter of former Patron Keter and his pixie wife Thea, came of age years later, she served as First Daughter and High Priestess to Archmage Tiphareth.
To the shock of all, Tiphareth was killed by his own student Svilfon in a death match. Even death could not stop the Archmage’s rule, however, as he became resurrected as a lich due to his preparations done long before. As Tiphareth’s body was destroyed in the battle, he gained new life in the corpse of Keter D’Artes. As Archmage of the Mage’s Guild and Patron of House D’Artes, Tiphareth devoted himself to fervent study of the Forsaken Book of the Dead and worked to increase favor with his dark patron, Vakmatharas. It is unknown what the Lichdrow learned in his studies, as he disappeared into the astral plane without a word to anyone, leaving Gevurah to rule in his place until what she believed would be his inevitable return.
The Rise of Gevurah
First Daughter of House D’Artes Gevurah, suspecting that the elves are becoming too bold in attempting to reclaim Sage, recruits loyal allies in Trist’oth, including Vakko and Styx, who she assigns on stealth missions. Gevurah becomes ambitious from the intelligence received, sees an opportunity to take over Southern Sage Forest in its entirety, and launches a war to make the area the Drow’s first official surface expansion.
The war cost many casualties on both sides, but it appeared that Trist’oth would be victorious until Frostmawian reinforcements entered the battle at the behest of the Sage elves. With the aid of the Lithrydel military superpower, the elves successfully beat the drow back into the dark caves they came from. When analyzing why their takeover was unsuccessful, it was discovered that part of why Frostmaw was able to so successfully defeat Gevurah was due to a complicated game of espionage. Matron Laezila of the Second House, House D’l’sel D’issan trusted Nymh, a former House D’Artes slave who later betrayed Gevurah using information given to him by Laezila. Feeling foolish, Laezila willingly confessed her mistake to Gevurah, who in turn punished the Second Matron by stealing Laezila’s most prized possession, her pyromancy. The punishment was too severe, and Laezila then betrayed Gevurah by joining Frostmaw’s side as a double agent. There, Laezila betrayed Gevurah spectacularly, and conceals the death of Gevurah’s own spy, Zendor, within Frostmaw’s ranks.
Pushing the Drow front back into the Underdark was not enough for Emrith and Laezila who wanted to exact a more personal revenge on Gevurah. Together, they incited a populist rebellion in Trist’oth to overthrow House D’Artes. In a maniacal defense of her power, Gevurah used the pyromancy she stole from Laezila to kill the former Second Matron, roasting her alive and setting ablaze a fire that burns the entire city for a day. The populist riot endured for three days, but Gevurah clung to power. Laezila was later resurrected and brought back as a vampire by the necromancer Larewen Dragana.
D’l’sel D’issan House Wizard Lanlan brutally seized power in the second house and became Second Patron Lanlan.
After the riot, Gevurah assumed the role of Matron of House D’Artes and Leader of Trist’oth. Some years later, The Razurath, sentient lizard race, invade and occupy Trist’oth. Through her allegiance with Daath and Lanlan, both ranking members of the Mage’s Guild, Gevurah enlists the Mage’s Guild to eradicate the Razurath from the Underdark, then later carry out a successful genocide of the Razurath on the surface. During the battle against the Razurath in Trist’oth, Daath betrays his own House, the Fourth House Orbb Quar'Valsharess and makes it look like a casualty of the battle. Soon after, he marries Gevurah and joins House D’Artes as House Wizard. During the short-lived, turbulent and violent marriage, Daath destroys the Second House D’l’sel D’issan while Lanlan was indisposed. After a hasty divorce, Daath comes and goes from the D’Artes estate and Trist’oth politics on the capricious whims peculiar to the Drow.
Related Pages