#sword dancer of eilistraee

[blighted-elf]

Baldur's Gate 3 - Ry'on as a Sword Dancer of Eilistraee

[goldenhallas]

˚⭒. ☽ Meet my Tav ☾ .⭒˚

Name: Vierae Nicknames: Vi Age: 83 Gender: Female Race: Drow (formerly Lolth Sworn) Background: Urchin Class: Palabard with 1 Cleric for deity Subclass: Swords Bard, Ancients Paladin, Light Cleric Birthplace: Menzoberranzan Occupation: Sword Dancer of Eilistraee, former Lolthite assassin Deity: Eilistraee Alignment: Chaotic Good Romancing: Astarion Song: Get Free by Lana Del Rey

Vierae was a drow orphan who grew up on the streets of Eastmyr, Menzoberranzan. A former assassin and Underdark escapee, she is now a sword dancer of Eilistraee. She was headed to the Dancing Haven in Waterdeep with a group of fellow Eilistraeean's when she was kidnapped by mindflayers and had a tadpole forced into her brain. When she abruptly becomes the leader of a group of six similarly tadpoled misfits who are all seeking a healer as well as grappling with their own secrets and chequered pasts, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to a handsome pale elf who is in a similar place to where she herself was a few years ago – finally free of his master, of a lifetime spent in the dark, and learning how to live for the first time. Vierae and Astarion get off to a rough start, but unexpectedly find themselves growing closer over time, slowly falling in love as they help each other open up and reclaim parts of themselves that were buried under a lifetime of cruelty and fear.

full backstory under read more bc it's looong (if you read all of it i owe you a cookie <3)

Full Backstory

Vierae was a drow orphan who grew up on the streets of Eastmyr, Menzoberranzan. She was a vicious little thing who clawed her way through childhood with bloody hands and a feral gleam in her eye, and at the age of ten, her ferocity caught the attention of the Church of Lolth. The priestesses allowed her to train with The Spider Fangs, an elite group of assassins commanded by the Church.

The Spider Fangs conditioned her not to think of herself as a person with her own will and wants, but as a weapon of Lolth; honed to carry out Lolth's will and show devotion through cruelty and bloodshed. She was to think of nothing beyond how she may best serve Lolth at any given moment, act only in the interest of the Dark Mother and her Church, and never question the wisdom of Lolth's priestesses. Wielding dual blades and poisons, she eliminated many, many enemies of Lolth's Church, and for 78 years, kill or be killed was all she knew of life.

Even so, there was a defiant, dissatisfied part of her that asked, why? She and her peers tore each other apart for any scrap of power, yet it ultimately changed nothing about their lives. She had seen how the nobles of Menzoberranzan lived, knew the gilded gates would never be open to the likes of her - to anyone from Eastmyr - no matter how many drow she sacrificed in Lolth's name. And the nobility, while they had their luxuries and lived comparably better lives, were still caught in Lolth's twisted, bloodsoaked web just the same. What is all this for? resounded in her mind often. She could never come up with a satisfactory answer and it ate at her, but she buried her dissatisfaction down deep and kept going, for what else could she do? What else was there? She was Lolth’s weapon, and if she did not obey her orders, she would be subject to an even worse fate: not just punished by the priestesses, but eternally cursed by Lolth, most likely by being turned into a drider.

Then, during her nightly 4 hour trances in which she usually experienced only a deep nothingness, she began to dream; vivid dreams about male and female drow living in harmony with each other on the surface, dancing under the moonlight, and a beautiful, ethereal drow goddess who promised to guide her way out of the dark. The visions terrified and angered her at first – they were blasphemous, fanciful lies – and yet, she found she couldn't stop thinking of them no matter what she did, or rid herself of the sharp pang of longing they made her feel.

She tried harder to prove her loyalty to Lolth and silence her blasphemous thoughts for a time, until a certain mission she was sent on changed everything. She didn't so much as blink at cutting down political rivals of Lolth or taking out one noble or another, but being forced to personally hand over an infant to be sacrificed in a dark ritual was too much. Watching the priestess kill the babe - a male third child of one of the noble houses - broke her heart and shook her to her core. It cemented the realisation that the drow of Lolthite society, all of them, were just pawns in the goddess’ bloody, never ending game, existing only to serve the Spider Queen's whims and be discarded when they were no longer of use. The drow people endured cruelty, unfairness, pain, and misery on the daily…and it was all for nothing.

Vierae felt an intense, searing anger roiling within, and for the first time in her life, she chose her own path. She began to plot her revenge against the Church – for moulding children to follow an evil goddess who inflicted nothing but pain and suffering on her followers, for creating a society built on predation and fear and suffering, and for turning her into this monster who handed over babes to be slaughtered. She vowed she would get her retribution even if it killed her. The strength of her conviction was such that she became a paladin of vengeance.

She kept up appearances, outwardly appearing to be the devoted Spider Fang she had always been, while in secret she plotted against Lolth and her Church. She slowly began taking out members of the Church's clergy, one at a time with months in between, so as not to draw attention to herself. A knife in a dark alley here, a poisoned goblet there... she was careful to leave nothing to trace the murders back to her. Until she made it personal.

She killed Mother Sabiira, the High Priestess who had found and recruited her as a child, and given her the distinctive, ragged scar across her cheek when she was fourteen. Caught up in the the thrill and fury of vengeance, Vierae couldn't resist carving the priestess a matching scar, which branded the kill as hers. It felt good, for a moment, getting her revenge, until the cold realisation set in that it didn't really change anything. Drow society kept on the way it always had; priestesses continued raising children in Lolth's image and sacrificing others at her altar. Vierae alone was not powerful enough to change it in any meaningful way, and after killing Mother Sabiira, she knew she couldn't keep this up. Before long, the eyes of Lolth and her chosen would be upon her.

The dreams of the ethereal moonlit goddess and her spirited followers had become even more vivid and frequent at this point. She even began to have visions while she was awake, and each one featured a thread of moonlight guiding her out of the Underdark to the World Above. The thought of leaving the Underdark terrified her – it was the only home she had ever known, harsh and cruel as it was – but if she stayed, she would be slaughtered by the priestesses or turned into a drider by Lolth herself. No, staying was no longer an option, she had only one choice: escape the Underdark through the vast, unmapped twists and turns of the cave networks, or die trying.

Dying was pretty much a certainty if she tried to navigate the tunnels alone, though, so she decided to call on some connections she had to Black Balaeryn's Band; a gang of orphaned young drow led by the warrior-mage Balaeryn. Vierae had known them since she was an orphan herself, they were the ones who taught her how to pick locks and pockets, as well as showed her some discrete, little-known exits out of the city. They also had connections to Bregan D'Aerthe, an infamous mercenary and mercantile band who traded goods from the surface; it stood to reason that if anyone knew a sure path out of the Underdark, it would be a member of Bregan D'Aerthe.

Vierae had done enough jobs for Balaeryn over the years to earn his respect, so securing a meeting with him wasn't difficult; getting him to introduce her to a member of Bregan D'Aerthe was the problem. She and Balaeryn had a business relationship, but they did not have trust - whatever that even meant in the Underdark - so she had to convince him why it would benefit him. And she had to do so without overplaying her hand, because she couldn't be sure he wouldn't stab her in the back and turn her over to the High Priestesses. Whoever stood to gain from her downfall would more than likely take the opportunity; that was the way of the Underdark.

Vierae told Balaeryn that if he introduced her to a surface trader from Bregan D'Aerthe, she would run a series of jobs for him - any jobs he wanted. Balaeryn accepted. He gave her the most strenuous, perilous jobs he had, ones that pretty much nobody would be foolish enough to attempt; including stealing a priceless Netherese artifact from the noble house Baenre, which very nearly got Vierae killed. She almost had her throat slit but narrowly managed to escape with a ragged cut across her neck, and returned to Balaeryn wounded but triumphant. Balaeryn kept to his word, setting up a meeting with a Bregan D'Aerthe surface trader due to take place in a tenday.

The surface trader was a drow female named Erellin. Vierae knocked on the door of her temporary room using the special knock she had been taught by Balaeryn, and Erellin opened the door just a crack to see who was there. The surfacer had violet eyes, dark cobalt skin and white hair, but those typical drow features were accompanied by a very atypical smile, warm and genuine, which was such a rare sight in the Underdark that Vierae had had to fight the instinctual urge to attack - usually, if a drow smiled at you, it meant you were about to die - but the moment the other woman drew near, the visions of the moon goddess she’d been having for months now flashed into her mind, staying her hand. Over the years she had become a master of deception, hiding her true feelings and thoughts from everyone – the cutthroat drow she lived among, the priestesses of Lolth, even from the Spider Queen herself – and she was used to putting on whatever face she needed for the moment, so she easily kept her expression neutral, but she thought she saw a flicker in Erellin’s own eyes for a brief moment, gone before she could get a proper read. Erellin smiled again, offering to negotiate trade over wine and cheese, and Vierae found herself accepting, curiosity and desperation getting the better of her. She followed Erellin into her room, wondering why the other drow continued to return to the Underdark to trade; sure, it was possible to make decent coin by selling rare goods from the surface, but it hardly seemed worth venturing into a pit of vipers just to do so. She suspected there was more to the story than that - was she a spy? A secret assassin? - but a calm, steady feeling deep within told her Erellin could help, so she decided to risk it. Hells, what did she have to lose at this point?

Erellin poured two glasses of wine and served a platter of cheeses, and the two drow sat down at a little wooden table, covered by a tablecloth made of shimmery purple fabric that caught Vierae's eye. Vierae subtly sniffed the wine, not detecting any poisons, but that didn't mean it was clean - it could be laced with something from the World Above that Vierae had never even heard of. She pretended to take a sip, ignoring the cheese, then got right to the point; offering to give Erellin everything she owned in exchange for safe passage to the surface. Vierae travelled lightly, with a backpack containing a change of clothes, food, mess kit, lockpicks, trap disarming tools, a ragged blanket, some alchemical ingredients, and a few potions and poisons. What little of value she did have was kept in a secret hideaway in the caverns of Eastmyr; scant savings and a few trinkets and baubles she'd found during various jobs over the years, including some precious and semi-precious gemstones, and the one item that might be valuable enough to get her out of this place: a silver circlet with a moon in the centre that let off a subtle, magical glow. She had found the circlet when she was a child, and though she never wore it or showed it to anyone, she held onto it for a long time, as it had always felt inexplicably significant; perhaps this was what she'd been saving it for. Vierae couldn't think of a better time to use it, though part of her didn't want to let it go. The other things - gems, coins - she could replace, but this was rare; she had never seen its like before. Hopefully, it was worth the price of her freedom.

This caught Erellin’s attention just as she'd hoped; the other woman studied Vierae for a while, considering, then said giving up her possessions would not be necessary. Erellin reached beneath her collar, and Vierae tensed, preparing for a fight, but she just pulled out a delicate silver chain, dangling from which was a faintly glowing silver moon pendant; the exact same as the one on the circlet.

Vierae felt her heart begin to sink - perhaps the moon circlet was just a common trinket on the surface after all? - but then Erellin revealed that the moon pendant was the symbol of her goddess Eilistraee, and that she was one of her specialty priestesses; a Sword Dancer. It turned out that being a rare goods trader was a front for the real reason Erellin came to the Underdark; to help other drow escape from Lolth's twisted web, just as another Eilistraeean had once helped her many years ago. Vierae stared at Erellin with wide, half hopeful, half disbelieving eyes, all pretences dropped. If this was true, she had really done it; she had found her way out of the darkness, for there was no one better to guide her to the surface than a Sword Dancer.

As she explained the beliefs of her goddess, Vierae noted the similarities between her description and the dreams she had been having - had the goddess herself sent those dreams? Song, dance, beauty, freedom, and joy were the heart and soul of Eilistraeean worship, in complete contradiction to Lolth, who revelled in betrayal, bloodshed, torture, destruction and death. Erellin was an Underdark escapee, and she was sitting in front of Vierae, living, breathing, smiling proof that there was a life outside this cursed place for drow.

Vierae knew that going to the surface meant entering a whole new world, both physically and mentally. The sunlight would be blinding and painful; surfacers were terrified of her kind; and in truth, there was a lot more she didn't know about the World Above than what she did. And, while she had never had so much hope for her future as she did in that moment, there was a little, nagging part of her that said it was too good to be true, it had to be a trap. Still, unless she wanted to risk finding her own way out, going with Erellin was her best and only option. Vierae found it impossible to believe that nothing was expected of her in return for Erellin's help, and the idea of owing the other drow was distressing, so she demanded a deal be made. Erellin agreed, and her offer was this: she would guide Vierae to the surface, if Vierae would promise to stick around for a while, meet her fellow Eilistraeean's, and give reasonable thought to joining them. Not being the sociable sort, Vierae reluctantly agreed, though privately she had already decided she would absolutely not be joining them. She was better off alone; it was safer that way for everyone. Besides, a goddess who truly loved and cared for her people seemed too good to be true.

Vierae spent most of the trek out of the city fighting the paranoia that Erellin had set up an ambush, that Lolth’s spiders would crawl out of the dark at any moment and pounce. It didn't take long before they were attacked by a former peer of Vierae's. They were just outside the city limits when G'eldavin and her spider companion struck from the shadows. G'eldavin was a mercenary ranger, and ran in similar circles to Vierae; the two had despised each other at first sight. For a brief moment Vierae thought she had been betrayed, that this was a set up by Erellin, but the moment G'eldavin and the spiders attacked, Erellin cast a Shield of Faith spell on her and fought tooth and nail to protect her, putting those fears to rest. Vierae had always been an excellent fighter, and Erellin was something else, each movement fluid and graceful, as though she were dancing; their combined talents made short work of G'eldavin, though the giant spider was more of a challenge. Vierae was bitten during the battle, the spider's poison coursing through her veins, but she fought through it; once the spider had fallen, Vierae fell as well, exhausted. Erellin cast Protection from Poison followed by Healing Touch on Vierae, and then the two hurried on their way, not wanting to be surprised by any more of Vierae’s old “friends”. Vierae felt a rush of satisfaction at finally being able to kill one of Lolth's beloved spiders - a grievous offence Lolth deemed punishable by death. She'd always hated them, disgusting things that they were.

The Spider Queen's eyes seemed to be occupied elsewhere - perhaps they were blessed by Eilistraee, perhaps it was sheer luck - for they made it to the surface without being attacked again. Vierae followed Erellin's winding path through the labyrinth of caverns, trying, and failing, to remember each turn, until finally, they saw a soft blue glow just up ahead. She had never seen it in person before, but recognised it from her dreams; moonlight.

Leaving the Underdark felt like the weight of the world being abruptly lifted off her shoulders, the newfound freedom and possibility more than Vierae had ever dreamed of. The euphoria and relief she felt upon stepping into the moonlight for the first time was unlike anything she'd ever felt before; she was completely overcome by it, such that at first she couldn't stop laughing, and then she couldn't stop crying. Erellin let her express her feelings, telling her she'd felt exactly the same when she first came to the surface as well. Once Vierae had calmed down and gotten her cool, nonchalant mask back into place, Erellin brought her to a small settlement of Eilistraee worshippers who lived in an enclave in the woods, just a few miles from where they exited the Underdark.

Vierae planned to stay with the Eilistraeean's for just a few days, while she recovered and adjusted to life on the surface. But unexpectedly, she found herself growing fond of the place, the company, and even more surprisingly, Eilistraee herself. She never thought she would put her trust in another deity after what life had been like under Lolth, but Eilistraee was different. Markedly so. Vierae had always avoided drawing Lolth's attention as much as possible, because whenever she had it, all she felt was a deep, cold dread and the sensation of phantom spiders crawling on her skin, even when the Spider Queen was pleased with her; but all she felt when Eilistraee's light touched her was warm, safe, and loved. She had never felt those things before in her whole life, and it was like finding water after almost dying of thirst in the desert; she wanted to guzzle down as much of it as she could before it was gone. So she basked in Eilistraee's light, dreading the moment when it would be taken from her, but weeks passed, and then months, and that moment never came. Thus, Vierae devoted herself to The Dark Dancer, learning her rituals, the art of sword dancing, how to play the flute, and how to sing. She danced under the moonlight for a whole month to honour Eilistraee and become a fully fledged Sword Dancer, vowing to spread light and joy wherever she went henceforth (the strength of her conviction changed her Paladin oath from Vengeance to Ancients). She worked with the other Eilistraeean's to provide protection, healing, shelter and food to those who needed it, especially drow, as well as spreading joy through song and dance. It was after her first Run ritual that she truly felt like she was beginning to understand life on the surface, and it only strengthened her resolve to work hard to prove herself worthy of Eilistraee's light.

Four years passed, easily the best four years of Vierae's life thus far, but that didn't mean it was all sunshine and rainbows. No matter how healing those years were, they could not erase 78 years of being an assassin of Lolth in the predatory depths of the Underdark. Vierae struggled with the darkness of her past, with the guilt at all she had done, and her use of Ziran – a drug from the Underdark – became a nightly ritual. She also kept her heart closed off, kept people at a distance, because she was used to it and didn't know how to let anyone in. After all, if you never let anyone get too close, they can't stab you in the heart while you're sleeping...

At the beginning of her fifth year with the Eilistraeean's, she and a few of her fellow Sword Dancers, including Erellin and her wife Zilvra, embarked on another Run. They were just outside the city limits of Waterdeep, on their way to see the Dancing Haven temple of Eilistraee, when they were set upon by mindflayers; Erellin and Zilvra died during the attack, but Vierae was kidnapped and taken aboard a mindflayer ship. Upon waking up on the beach after the ship crashed with a mindflayer tadpole wriggling around in her brain, she set out to find someone who could extract the parasite, banding together with 6 other survivors who all needed their parasites removed as well. She found herself naturally stepping into the role of leader, doing her best to follow the teachings of the community of Eilistraeean's who saved her and taught her how to live.

Along the way, Vierae finds herself growing closer to a certain pale elf, who she didn't trust as far as she could throw him at first - he did hold a knife to her throat on their first meeting, after all - but then they discover they have a surprising amount in common. Astarion is in a similar place to where Vierae was herself only a few years ago; finally free of a cruel master after a lifetime spent in the dark, and learning who he is and how to live again. So Vierae guides him through it, the way Erellin and the other Eilistraeean's did for her, guiding him toward the light, and they slowly fall in love as they help each other open up and reclaim parts of themselves that were buried under a lifetime of cruelty and fear. 

Notes

Vierae means "dark dancer"

Sabiira means "void herald"

Erellin means "moon armour"

G'eldavin means "spider guardian"

Dividers

[violadesdragons]

Silver maiden

[thats-a-lot-of-cortisol]

I made more memes last night while I was making myself do laundry. you're welcome

[medusapphic]

My Tav in Baldur’s Gate 3, if I ever get to play DnD I’d love to play as her ☺️

[saberwitch]

I decided I didn't want Xyllrae and Xaellyr to be twins any more. This is Xaellyr now, my new Sword Dancer.

(Xyllrae is now a Light Domain Cleric.)

[night-wanderer-art]

‘Longing’

Soundtrack:

ink + watercolour + coloured pencils

[waddleblog]

OMG I love her so much!!!! Thank you for taking my suggestion, Eilistraee is my favourite goddess from The Forgotten Realms! For those who don't know about her, she is the patron goddess of drow who have left the underdark to seek a new life above ground. Since most drow have little contact with the world above, Eilistraee (also known as The Dark Maiden) acts as a guiding beacon for them, usually appearing as a brilliant white flame or a nude female drow with long flowing silver hair and wielding a sword, silhouetted by a full moon. Her followers are mostly women and worship her with acts of charity, musical performances and dances in the moonlight. Most of her followers are all musically proficient and will sing and dance in combat, even through pain. She wants to give her people a bright future, encourages them to be bringers of light and joy to others and genuinely cares for her followers. She'll even personally accept invitations to private dances, which can cause her partner's hair to burn with harmless white fire!

Thank you again for drawing her, she is my favourite D&D god/goddess by far!

daily drow #8

eilistraee for @waddleblog

[bloody-kissezz]

The sword dancer of Eilistraee dancing in a ring of faerie fire

[mogruith]

Sword Dancer of Eilistraee

[elfyourmother]

Hi Aurora! Can you elaborate on what Gisele's dynamic is like with Wyll? He's my fav and I wish more people liked him. Also, do you have ship names for your BG3 ships? I love your ship names for your FFXIV ships. 🥰

Oh absolutely 🥰 I adore him too and I feel the same way. Thank you!

Gisèle and Wyll are madly, madly in love. It was pretty much on sight for both of them, as Wyll seems like something out of the swashbuckling adventure tales she devoured as a child. And Gisèle is beautiful and dashing herself, as a sword dancer of Eilistraee who was also a wandering hero type. In my Realms, Wyll was training as a College of Swords bard when Mizora got her claws into him (which is how he’s able to disguise his warlock abilities as the Blade of Frontiers), and so they very much relate to each other in that sense. They sing and play music together often at camp (Wyll plays the lute in my Realms). And dance, ofc. They also both grew up in gilded cages as nobles, though very different in nature, and relate to each other in that way. There’s a very deep mutual admiration for each other, and a feeling of genuine partnership beneath the gushing and heady swooning and romance of it all (though that is very much present; Astarion always jokes that they’re going to rot his fangs out).

But that’s not to say their relationship isn’t fraught in its own way. Gisèle’s religious devotion is something he respects, as Eilistraee’s ethos is one he finds very admirable, but there’s also a lot of Phèdre/Joscelin in their relationship, in the sense that her calling as an anguissette frightens him. While he doesn’t judge (he’s not a prude!) and he understands that it’s an important part of who she is—what makes her the woman he loves so much—he fundamentally doesn’t understand it and he fears for her.

Those fears are quite valid to a degree too, because her nature led her to get killed by Astarion the first time he fed from her (they both got lost in it). Withers obviously revived her but it’s proof to Wyll that the gods are cruel, especially as time goes on and the symbiotic relationship between Bane’s and Loviatar’s chosen becomes clear, that Gisèle was chosen by Loviatar entirely to undo Gort.

Wyll does come that older Joscelin level of acceptance about it, largely with the help of Halsin; Gisèle has a large polycule in the Realms as well, and they’re both part of it. He doesn’t have to understand her calling to know it makes her happy. But when the pact with Mizora was broken he pledged an oath of devotion to protect Gisèle and became a paladin, vowing to protect her even from herself if need be. And on some level he does worry about not being “enough” for her, because he could never bring himself to hurt her (in the beginning he was afraid of scratching her with his claws, even 🥺). But she reassures him constantly, she doesn’t need him to hurt her to love being with him, and she gets those needs fulfilled by their other loves.

I am still mulling over what happens with him after the end, but regardless he does end up helping her with the mission she was initially trying to complete when she was abducted by the nautiloid, which is to reclaim the ruined Promenade of the Dark Maiden in Skullport, beneath Waterdeep. Beyond that I’m still sort of cooking, and a lot of it has to do with Gort’s ultimate fate which is also up in the air.

[mistercrowbar]

very curious what aldiirns general thoughts on eilistraee’s sword dancers with be. maybe even just his thoughts on her clergy in general? there used to be some historical issues with sexism against males within the clergy just as in regular drow society, despite eilistraee being the Good Goddess and i cant imagine thatd feel great

Aldiirn doesn’t mind Eilistraeeans or cooperating with them but he thinks their tenets of generosity are foolish and ineffective in the campaign against Lolth. Either they’re going to be viewed with extreme suspicion by would-be converts or taken advantage of until their resources are gone. But, Aldiirn respects EIlistraee for her time as the Masked Lady and his worship of Vhaeraun is influenced by her, eg being more cooperative with non-drow.

EIlistraeeans being matriarchal-leaning is a big reason Aldiirn feels alienated from that faith despite it otherwise being a decent fit for him. I don’t know the timeline in detail but I headcanon that men weren’t allowed into upper clergy roles without doing the Changedance until Eilistraee returned a few years before BG3. So of course Aldiirn gravitated to the god who said men are as good as women, and whose followers he’d find camaraderie with.

This is also a bit of headcanon since I think both siblings want their followers on the surface, but I see EIlistraee as having the ultimate goal of abandoning the Underdark for everyone to live on the surface, while Vhaeraun would take both. Aldiirn hates surface life. He only goes there for business. He thinks the Underdark is wild and beautiful and to abandon it would be a tragedy. He likes to sleep and wake up on his own terms and not be beholden to the sun. 

[ignistigator]

Hi!!! For the tav ask game: 3, 6, 9, 18, 21, 23

Sorry this is so many, answer as many as you'd like no pressure! And for either (or both) of your OC's!!! Whatever inspires you!

never apologize for asking so many questions, this is the shit that gives me Life !!!! and i love your question choices they give me so much to think about!!!

3. What would their character quest be titled? Why?

I answered for Badb in a lil fun facts post but their character quest would be called Crow and Arrow because Badb is Irish for crow and they are an archer, also i just think its cute!

Mahtab’s would be Elk of the Underdark because she is a wildheart barbarian who uses the elk beastial heart and i think it sounds nice out loud.

Zilvurra’s quest name would simply be what her name means in Drow: The Forgotten Renegade. She and her father’s name share the same meaning.

9. What’s the significance behind your Tav’s name?

I found Badb when i was looking for crow related named for my swarmkeeper kobold because their swarm is a murder of crows. I ended up naming her something else but i still really liked Badb as a name and i think it really fits the character i created.

For Mahtab i was looking up names related to the moon or night and found the Persian name meaning moonlight. I think it’s so perfect for her and just as gorgeous as she deserves.

I pulled Zilvurra’s name from this reddit post of a Drow name table by putting elements of names together on paper until I found ones I liked! from the list i made i also pulled names for her siblings: her older sister Talolin (wounded lover) and her younger sister Solae (spiderlike dancer.) their surname, Do’iryn, means walkers of history.

18. Where/with whom do they feel safest?

Zilvurra feels safest when with her sisters, father, and Gale. The first time they are all in one place together she realizes that she is no longer searching for anyone or worrying about someone she can’t see. Everything alive that she loves is near.

Mahtab feels safest with a giant hammer to swing and a sexy Gith to kiss.

21. Describe a defining moment from their past, which makes them who they are today!

It’s been mentioned before that Mahtab has an extremely guard dog-like mentality, one that makes her valuable when accompanying Drow to the surface in service of Eilistraee’s teachings. She’d been above a handful of times before she became a protector of the such surface-bound groups. Before which she had never witnessed those traveling to require defense from other humanoids.

Her first round trip as muscle went as expected at first: distracting and knocking down hook horrors in the Underdark, making it to witness the night’s navy sky and stars with none of the flock sustaining so much as a scraped knee. With everyone above, they all set about making up their camp for the next few weeks of dancing, worshipping, and diplomacy. Mahtab and her girlfriend, a cleric named Erellara who served as the guide, took the first shift of watching over while the ten other Drow settled in, exhausted by their own merriment. Only after the majority of the camp fell asleep did the problems begin.

Mahtab never learned exactly why or how it happened, she simply recalled that the attackers were human. Her shock at the ambush became rage the instant it landed like lead within her chest, the events of the fight draining from her consciousness as they occurred. She managed - Eilistraee knows how - to confirm the amount of dead, usher those remaining back where they emerged, and swing at the assailants as they pursued, all with a short sword gnash across her face. Even more miraculously, Mahtab directed all nine survivors safely back to the village without their guide.

23. How does your Tav act in situations of stress? In moments of peace?

Badb’s responses to moments of stress have changed throughout their life. Up to their young adulthood, they would feel the heat in their head raise by the moment, the anger pumping their adrenaline pushing them to charge at the issue. Only it became apparent that their bow cannot be utilized at such a near distance. It took practice and constant attention to drill into their own head that for their skillset, a bit of flight was more effective than a head on fight. Especially if it means even the slightest chance to get the high ground.

In peace, Badb snores. Sometimes endearing snores that might be relieved with a change of position, sure. But more often they omit a tent-filling, partner-bothering rumble that - by some unfortunate coincidence - does not wake Badb themself. This phenomena is made a guarantee by deep sleep after near exhaustion - which makes it basically constant. As a leader of the party, sometimes Shadowheart takes pity on the poor half-orc by straddling their back and pressing her palms into their broad and aching shoulders. This, unfortunately, backfires on her kindness within minutes as the grateful hums that came from her partner were replaced by deep rattling snore.

Hey i got really into this can you tell

[violadesdragons]

The détail and physics on this armor have me obsessed

[the-banished-one]

outfit design for one of my drow OCs, a sword dancer of eilistraee!

[charmedcleric]

Get to know your tav!

I was tagged by the lovely @auspex-author Thank you so much for the tag!

Her name is Athena and she is my war domain cleric of eilistraee. Her character sheet is here and this post is very long so I’ll put most of it under the cut! Once I start talking about my tavs I literally can’t stop, also I talk about her relationship with rolan a little bit so that’s why he’s tagged <3

What is your tav’s….

favorite weapon?

- Athena’s favourite weapon is a longsword you find in act 1 called the Phalar Aluve

style of combat?

- She is usually in the frontline swinging her singing sword while casting spirit guardians. She also loves ambushing, as it’s a great way to get advantage over others

most prized possession?

- Athena has two lockets that she wears 24/7. One locket was a gift to her from her mother. The other locket belonged to her sister. Athena’s mother had a tradition to get each of her children a matching locket with a photo of the family in it to remind them that no matter what happens they are with them all the time. As Athena’s parents and sister had passed away she had both the lockets on her at all times to feel close to her family

deepest desire?

- To have a family of her own. She was orphaned at the age of 14 and became her little sisters full time carer. 4 years later her sister got very ill, so Athena became a cleric to help look after and heal her.

Her healing magic helped her sister stay alive for 5 years until her sister Rose succumbed to her illness and passed away. Athena felt empty as she now had no family left and she felt as if she had failed as a cleric. She would love nothing more than to have a family to call her own, yet it’s one of the things she fears most as she doesn’t want to let anyone else down

guilty pleasure?

- Athena’s guilty pleasure is gossiping, she knows she shouldn’t but she loves listening in on others business. Her, astarion and shadowheart basically have a gossiping club at this point where they tell each other all the juicy stuff

best-kept secret?

- That she is a sword dancer of eilistraee. A sword dancer is a specialized priestess (cleric) of Eilistraee. Athena had been a follower of eilistraee since she was little but once her sister died leaving her to be the last in her family, she felt as if the only thing she had left was her religion. She decided that she wanted to become a sword dancer. As she already lived on the surface becoming a sword dancer was slightly easier as to become one you must spend at least a month on the surface dancing each moonlit night for eilistraee and you had to witness dawn at least once.

She also went and offered her services at the Promenade of the Dark Maiden, she wasn’t there for long before she was taken by the nautiloid.

greatest strength?

- Her dedication, when she puts her mind to something or she wants something she will get it

fatal flaw?

- She blames herself a bit to much and she shuts down while doing it. This is seen when rolan yelled at her in the shadow lands and even after saving the tieflings from moonrise she still wasn’t herself and became very quiet for some time although she didn’t let that stop her from her task of infiltrating moonrise towers

favorite smell?

- She loves the smell of freshly baked bread, it reminds her of home when her mother would bake bread for the family in the mornings

*bit of post game lore of Athena x rolan hehe* when Rolan found this out he always made sure that there was bread being freshly baked in the kitchen each morning, nothing made him happier than seeing the smile on Athena’s face each and every morning. Of course when Athena would ask him if he was doing it for her and if he would ask them to also make some of her other fav bakery goods, he would of course deny what she said and tell her to not be greedy lmao

favorite spell or cantrip?

- She loves AOE spells such as glyph of warding and flame strike

pet peeve?

- She hates lying, she can usually see through people when it comes to lying and she makes sure that they know she isn’t happy especially if it’s someone she considers a friend or someone she has more intimate feelings for

bad habit?

- When she is nervous or stewing over something she plays with her hair and pulls out strands of her hair. The only companion that called her out on it was karlach, but as this was a habit Athena wasn’t actually aware she was doing she dismissed karlach’s worry

She was then called out by rolan which made her kinda pull back, shocked he would notice something like that (she thought he hated her) she was now well aware she was doing it and actively tries to avoid doing it. She also went and apologized to karlach for dismissing her worry

hidden talent?

- She is really good at lock picking , she likes to joke that she could give astarion a run for his money which he doesn’t agree with of course. She never lets him forget about when he was struggling to open a chest and after like 100 goes Athena had a go and immediately lock-picked it lmao (based on when astarion failed lock-picking like 20 times and then when i got Athena to have a go she got a NAT 20 lol)

leisure activity?

- Painting/drawing and singing. Before she became a cleric she would paint and sell her artwork on the city streets of waterdeep that’s how she made money to keep her and her sister alive. Now whenever she gets a free chance she will sit down and draw/paint landscapes until the sun goes down. And while she is painting she will be singing or humming along to one of her favourite songs

favorite drink?

- She loves a plain cup of coffee, she has a lot on her mind and she feels coffee helps her to relax, although some people might beg to differ

comfort food?

- Her comfort food is her mums homemade soup, whenever she has the time and ingredients she will make it as it reminds her of home and brings her immense comfort

favorite person(s)?

- Athena has multiple favourite people and all for different reasons. Her most favourite person though would have to be rolan. Even though they had a rocky relationship when they first met, Athena was nothing but nice to rolan, she admired the love he had for his family (a value she thinks is very important). They ended up getting together after the fall of the absolute.

After the fall of the brain, Athena went to rolan to catch up and to tell him that she was going back to waterdeep and well Rolan kinda lost it and confessed his feelings for her right then and there.

-Jaheira is another one of her favourite people. Athena views jaheria as a mother figure and was on the verge of tears when Jaheira first started calling her cub. Anyone around could see that Jaheira was very important to Athena and that she was the mother figure Athena wished she still had in her life

*more Athena x Rolan lore cause I’m obsessed with them lol* when Rolan was thinking of asking Athena to marry him, he went and asked Jaheira for her blessing as he knew the importance of their relationship

favored display of affection (platonic and/or romantic)?

- platonic: she loves hugs, especially giving them,

-romantic: hugs, hand holding and kisses on the cheek

fondest childhood memory?

- Playing at the local park with her family just before her parents passed away, it was one of the last times as a family and the last time she truly felt carefree and happy

free-response! Is there anything else about your Tav you'd like to share?

- She LOVES reading, once she opens a book it’s all over, you’ve lost her lol you won’t hear from her until she’s finished said book (that’s mainly cause she actually struggles to read and takes forever to finish) it’s one thing that she missed most while traveling to baldur’s gate as she had no time to just sit down and read for hours

Tagging: @esolean @lanabenikosdoormat @commander-krios @orangekittyenergy and anyone else who’d like to do it! I love reading about people’s tavs