Mysteries of the Dark Maiden
Daughter of the Drow, Windwalker, Chapter 17 wrote:
Liriel spread the tapestry out on the ground. She tipped her head to the rising moon and listened for the song of distant places.
She heard first the faint music of Ysolde's drow, singing a welcome to the coming stars. Farther away was Qilué, and still farther other drow whose names she did not know. Even in the depths of her magical trance, Liriel was stunned by the number of drow who walked beneath the stars. They were not many, certainly not enough to fill an Underdark city of any size, but it was amazing that even a handful survived.
then there's Ed Greenwood on the matter...
Ed Greenwood , December 24, 2006 wrote:
December 24, 2006: Hail, fellow scribes of the Realms! This time, Ed responds to Kentinal, re. this: "The number of followers of Eilistraee was rather stunning. You said "I'd say a little more than 22% or so of all drow in Faerûn worship Eilistraee" and "Drow who ONLY worship Eilistraee are almost entirely her clergy, and are probably between 10 and 12 percent of all drow."
There was some discussion about this in some other threads and some were wondering if the percentages perhaps over stated?
It would also be interesting to know percentages of worshipers of other races if you have an estimate. Something along the lines Eilistraee worshipers are percent Drow, percent fair elf (perhaps seperated into the sub surface races), and so on.
The overall percentages of Drow would appear to make Eilistraee Drow a powerful force in that they would not war amongst themselves and do have at least some surface allies. Is it your vision that in time that Eilistraee will become the primary Drow religion any time in the future?"
That last question prompted Zanan to post: "What a shocking thought. And pretty unlikely, as I doubt that numbers alone make a deity, even though you may get this notion relying solely on the info in F&P. Yet, we'll wait and see. The drow scrolls from further above have yet to caught the archmage's attention."
Ed replies:
Please, everyone: ALWAYS remember that except for fanatics, clergy, or the oppressed (such as, in this case, many drow in cities dominated by Lolth-worship), all intelligent beings in the Realms worship - - if only in appeasement - - many deities. In other words, that 22 percent (or so) includes drow who also worship other gods (as is obvious from the second percentage I gave).
Now, if some were wondering if I overstated the percentages: Nope. Don't think that because Lolth-worshipping drow are the "sexiest" to readers, and therefore almost the only sort of drow that feature in WotC fiction and game lore, that they are "the only" drow. They ARE the most aggressive, and ambitious, and successful, yes, and that's why I think it's more likely that Lolth will end up as the 'last drow deity standing,' not Eilistraee. (In the Underdark, of course, Lolth-worshippers are by far the most numerous and dominant drow.)
The percentages of Eilistraee are high because there are so many surface-dwelling, Eilistraee-worshipping drow. And why not? They don't suffer the heavy daily losses due to constant warfare, the perils of the Underdark, and so on that the Lolth-worshippers do. Just because published Realmslore neglects them (and don't forget, gnomes are very numerous but also VERY neglected in Realmslore, as are pixies, sprites, etc. etc.), it doesn't mean they aren't numerous and flourishing. I always try to think of the Realms in terms of ecosystems, life cycles, and constantly shifting population strengths. To someone who just reads fiction and sourcebooks, it might seem that "all drow worship Lolth except a few fringe crazies," but that's far from the case. If Lolth ever issued strict orders that her followers must never kill any fellow Lolth-worshippers, the numbers of Lolth-worshippers would soar, because right now, they slaughter each other so enthusiastically that they must breed like bunnies to have anyone left alive at all in cities like Menzoberranzan except members of just one surviving house. Think about it.
Yes, surface-dwelling Eilistraee-worshipping drow face attacks from other woodland creatures, Lolth-worshippers, Vhaeraun-worshipping drow, and humans, just to top the list of their foes - - but as you say, they're not busily daily wiping out each other! So they are numerous, and rapidly growing more so.
However, Kentinal, it's wrong to think of them as a "powerful force." Eilistraee-worshiping drow dwell in small, scattered woodland bands all over the temperate Realms and well down into "warm forest" regions, they almost never work together or even communicate with each other all that often, and they have no interest in dominating, growing militarily or politically, and so on. Wargamers tend to think of "like" populations as large, closely-allied or even single-minded conglomerates, but that's rarely the case.
I'd say Eilistraee's worshippers are around 88 percent drow, 8 percent half-elf, 3 percent other-than-drow elf, and 1 percent human and other - - but that's a VERY rough estimate, with the half-elf, elf, and human worshippers all rising in numbers.
So let me state it again: no, the percentages I gave earlier are NOT overstated.
Try to bear in mind that Lolth-worshipping drow daily do either dangerous drudge-work (males) or scheme and train (females), or go on armed patrols in the Underdark - - and often engage in all-out war. Eilistraee-worshipping drow daily go hunting in the woods, patrol woodlands in a stealthy avoid-the-foe manner, gather nuts and berries and other wild edibles, and - - dance. Now I've heard of deaths from heart attacks and falls during dancing, but in general it's gotta be safer than engaging in pitched battle with either monsters or with other drow who have poisons, hand crossbows, spells, and extensive fighting training!
So saith Ed.
Demonstrating once again the "long view" of the Realms he takes so effortlessly. For what it's worth, I agree with him.
And you don't want to rile me... do you?
love to all,
THO
Ed Greenwood, February 11, 2007 wrote:
http://www.candlekeep.com/library/artic ... 203-07.htm
On February 11, 2007 THO said:
I passed this thread to Ed, and he verbally responded to me with some points:
The percentage figures he gave are for ALL drow, so it would be incorrect in the extreme to look for 10 percent or more of drow IN MENZO to worship Eilistraee.
Almost all Eilistraean worshippers are on the surface (and no, the Promenade is not the surface; it, BTW, is of course NDA because of the forthcoming Undermountain book).
Ed still holds the opinion that Lolth is the "strongest" and most dominant drow deity, and always will be (at least underground). He just chuckled at all of this debate, saying drow and the gods are the topics that always seem to get Realms fans in such an uproar. He finds it especially ridiculous when gamers try to portray him as the champion of Eilistraee, pitted against Bob Salvatore as the champion of Lolth.
Yes, everything Ed says is canon until or unless contradicted by WotC-published lore. He IS the CREATOR of the Realms, folks (and the principal designer of the Menzo boxed set and the writer of DROW OF THE UNDERDARK, too).
All of which leads me to be very puzzled when anyone takes issue with Ed's opinions or statements regarding the drow. I don't recall any great rush of people telling Tolkien he got the Nazgul wrong, or telling McCaffrey she just doesn't understand the dragons of Pern...
love to all,
THO
Demi-human Deities, Eilistraee: The Church wrote:Temples [sic: shrines] of the Dark Maiden are typically established in the mouths of dark caverns and in dim forests on the surface world from which her priests can venture forth at night to brave the moonlight. It is rare for clergy of Eilistraee to found a temple[sic] below the surface, even one so close to the world above as the Promenade (see below). Eilistraee's places of worship are chosen and developed in a manner similar to those of the surface elves dedicated to the Seldarine. The Dark Maiden's clergy seek out pristine, natural sites that need little modification. Temple[sic] complexes typically include a glade in which to dance and from which the view of the moon is unobstructed, a dark place removed from the light of day, a thick tree canopy, a lively fresh water stream that playfully dances and sings, a forge and smithy for Grafting swords, an access tunnel to the Underdark, and a vein of iron or some other metal suitable for the Crafting of swords. However, the simplest shrine of the Dark Maiden requires naught but a moonlit glade and a song (audible or imagined) that draws one into a dance.
Demihumans of the Realms, p. 6 wrote:
Dark (Drow, Night) Elf
Major Homelands: Drow inhabit many Underdark regions and hold the following major "undercities": Menzoberranzan (in the North), Eryndlyn (under the High Moor), Sshamath (under the Far Hills), and Llurth Dreier (under the Shaar). Small drow communities lie under Tethyr, Amn, Waterdeep (Undermountain and Skullport), and elsewhere.
Good-aligned drow are reported in the North around Silverymoon, in the Dales and Cormanthor, in the Forest of Tethir, in Waterdeep, and elsewhere.
Demi-human Deities, Eilistraee: Major Centers of Worship wrote:
Before the elven Crown Wars, Eilistraee's faith was strong in Miyeritar, and she had small numbers of faithful in Ilythiir and the other elven realms of the time. The Dark Disaster, unleashed during the Third Crown War, transformed Miyeritar into the blasted wasteland now known as the High Moor and dealt a devastating blow to the ranks of the Dark Maiden's followers. When the Ilythiiri were transformed into the drow and banished from the sunlit lands at the end of the Fourth Crown War some five hundred years later, Eilistraee's church effectively collapsed and was not reformed for millennia. A few ancient, sacred sites of power built before the Crown Wars survive in the Misty Forest, along the borders of the High Moor, and in the Shar, scattered across the once verdant savannah.
Demi-human Deities, Eilistraee wrote:
Eilistraee's power ebbed with the death of many of her faithful in the Dark Disaster, and the rise of Lolth and Ghaunadaur among the dark elves marginalized the influence of the Lady of the Dance for millennia. Only in recent centuries has Eilistraee's faith regained a small amount of prominence in Faerun, as the Dark Maiden seeks to lead the fallen drow back to the long-forsaken light.
Demi-human Deities, Eilistraee: Major Centers of Worship wrote:
Aboveground temples of Eilistraee are known to exist in the Moonwood north of the village of Quaervarr and at the northern end of the Velarwood in Harrowdale. The Mouth of Song, as the former temple is known, is located in a cavemouth beneath a treeless hill-atop which the dark elven priests and a few halfelven and elven faithful from Silverymoon dance in a great ring on moonlit nights-a day's travel north of Quaervarr. The Shadowtop Glade, as the latter temple is known, is located in a series of caves that line both sides of a steep-sided overgrown gully dominated by a grove of towering shadowtop trees. Dark elven priests of the temple armed with enchanted silver swords and moon-worshiping lycanthropes from the nearby Howling Hill join together to conduct sacred hunts to Eilistraee and Selune when the moon is full. Smaller shrines of the Dark Maiden have been spotted in the Misty Forest, the High Forest (where the Dark Ladies are led by Ysolde Veladorn, daughter of Qilue), the Forest of Shadows, the Lake Sember region, the Grey Forest, the Forest of Lethyr, the Yuirwood, and the Chondalwood. Hidden temples of Eilistraee may exist in the hearts of such forests as well. Temples of the Dark Maiden are conspicuously absent on Evermeet, the Green Isle, despite the recent rapprochement engendered by the dark elven ambassador, Lady Karsel'lyn Lylyl-Lytherraias.
Sacrifice of the Widow, Chapter 4 wrote:Q'arlynd followed Leliana and Rowaan across the open, rocky ground, Flinderspeld trudging dutifully in his master's wake. This was the fourth night they'd spent walking across the High Moor toward the spot where the moon set, but they had yet to reach the shrine. Though the moon was getting slightly thinner each night—waning— and the sparkling points of light that followed it through the sky were dimming, their light still forced Q'arlynd to squint.
The days had been worse, intolerably bright yellow light from a burning orb in the sky. They had stopped to make camp whenever the sun rose, a concession to his "sun-weak eyes." The priestesses had chuckled when Q'arlynd, sheltering under his piwafwi and fanning himself, had complained of the heat.
"It's winter," Rowaan had said. "If you think the sun's hot now, just wait until summer."
Winter. Summer. Q'arlynd knew the terms, but until that they'd had little meaning for him. Rowaan had patiently explained to him what "seasons" were, but even that didn't help. She said he would understand, once he'd spent a full year upon the surface.
A full year up here? He found it hard to imagine.
"Leliana," he said, catching her attention. "Forgive my ignorance, but I still don't see any temple."
"You wouldn't," she answered dryly, "not unless you were capable of seeing over many leagues, and through stone."
"Lady?"
Rowaan chuckled. "What she means is there's only one temple: the Promenade. It's in the Underdark. The lesser places of worship are all called shrines."
"I see," Q'arlynd said. He glanced around. "And the shrine we're going to is ... ?"
Rowaan pointed across the flat ground at a spot up ahead, where the moon was setting against what looked like a row of jagged stalagmites. "There, in the Misty Forest."
Sacrifice of the Widow, Chapter 6 wrote:Q'arlynd led him to a section of the forest that was littered with broken chunks of stone, the ruins of buildings that had fallen long ago. Eventually, they came to an odd-looking structure that must have been a shrine to the drow sword goddess. It consisted of a dozen sword-shaped columns of black obsidian, set point-first into a circular platform of white stone. The hilts of the column-swords were flattened, and supported a circular roof, also of white stone, that had a hole at its center. The shrine looked ancient, its moon-shaped roof weathered until its edges were softly rounded.
Flinderspeld admired the columns as they approached the shrine through the ground-hugging mist. Obsidian was a difficult stone to work with, its brittle edges constantly flaking and splitting. Whoever had carved the rounded contours of those sword hilts was a master, and they'd also known how to use magic. Even after centuries of exposure to the elements, the edges of those swords still looked sharp. There was dried blood on one of them—blood shed, presumably, by driders.
A priestess, still in blood-splattered chain mail and with the fresh scars of magically healed wounds visible against her black skin, waited at the center of the shrine. As Q'arlynd and Flinderspeld approached, she beckoned them to join her. Q'arlynd stepped into the shrine without hesitation. Flinderspeld was more wary. He could sense the haze of magic that surrounded the shrine. It was accompanied by a sound like the high-pitched voices of women distantly singing. Flinderspeld tested the space between two of the sword-columns with a finger, half expecting to encounter some sort of magical barrier. Then, cautiously, he stepped into the shrine.
As the priestess drew her sword, Flinderspeld edged behind his master. He watched warily as she handed the weapon to Q'arlynd, wondering what his own part was to be.
His master "swore on his sword," cutting a nick in his palm as he spoke. Prompted by the priestess, Q'arlynd vowed that he did, indeed, want to honor Eilistraee above all other deities, by joining her faith as a lay worshiper. He promised to use his magic to aid the weak and to battle Eilistraee's enemies, and to obey her priestesses— something that would probably come naturally to Q'arlynd after a lifetime spent in subservience to the women of Ched Nasad. The final oath was a vow to work selflessly to "bring other drow into the light" and treat everyone he met with kindness, until they should prove themselves unworthy of receiving it.
Sacrifice of the Widow, Chapter 8 wrote:
Q'arlynd approached the tree that housed the priestesses. It was still covered in leaves, despite the recent snowfall. Sustained by ancient magic, its branches sparkled against the night sky with a shimmer of green that reminded Q'arlynd of the faerie fire that had decorated the buildings and roads back home.
The trunk was massive, thick as any of the streets of Ched Nasad had been. Its bark bulged in several places, enormous knots of wood that were called burls. Hollowed into each of these was a room, its entrance a round wooden door. Leading up to the doors were ladders made of individual sticks that floated in mid air. These sticks appeared benign, but glyphs carved into them would activate if anyone of evil intent touched them, instantly making them as sharp as steel. Enemies of Eilistraee who were foolish enough to use a magical ladder would lose their fingers at the very least..
Sacrifice of the Widow, Chapter 9 wrote:Qilue was in the Cavern of Song, lending her voice to those of the other priestesses, when Iljrene's urgent message came. The Nightshadows have struck again. The Misty Forest this time. They've stolen another soul. Her body has just been brought to the Hall of Healing.
I'll be there at once, Qilue replied. She hurried out of the cavern, gathering up her clothes from the floor as she went.
As she strode down the passageways that led to the Hall of Healing, Qilue's expression was grim. It was the third soul Vhaeraun's assassins had claimed: one from a priestess at the Gray Forest shrine, another from a priestess of the Chondalwood, and the third, from the Misty Forest.
Storm of the Dead wrote:He cleared his throat. "Greetings, Lady."
As the priestess turned, he briefly touched his forefingers and thumbs together—in front of his body, where the other customers wouldn't see his gesture—to form the sign of Eilistraee's moon.
The priestess's eyes widened slightly. Then a hint of suspicion clouded them, "Who took your sword oath, and where?"
"Lady Karizra, at the shrine in the Misty Forest." Q'arlynd turned his right palm up, revealing the tiny, crescent-shaped scar the sword had left in his hand.
The priestess smiled, satisfied. She tipped her head in the direction of the shelves. "Slaves," she said in a low voice, the corners of her mouth curling in disapproval.
Q'arlynd gave a somber nod. He sighed, as though he agreed with her but was powerless to change such an institution. "What brings you to Sshamath, Lady? Can I be of assistance?"
Ascendancy of the Last, Chapter 7 wrote:He heard a crackling sound: the darkfire flames, flickering. A breeze down the chimney must have disturbed them. He was so deep in Reverie that he paid the noise no heed at first. He was reliving a night in the World Above, when he'd used a spell to spy on Eilistraee's priestesses as they danced with swords in hand around the goddess's sacred stone in the Misty Forest. It had been windy that night, with snow blowing through the trees. Yet the priestesses had danced naked.
Ascendancy of the Last, Chapter 8 wrote:For several moments, all she could do was lie there. Slowly, with blood-slick hands, she forced herself up. It took a moment before she stopped trembling. She was bleeding from mote than a dozen lacerations, yet she didn't care. The pale white fog hugging the ground was a sign she'd arrived at her destination: the Misty Forest shrine.
"Praise Eilistraee," she gasped. "It worked!" If she ever saw Q'arlynd again, it would be something to brag about. He wasn't the only one capable of "impossible" teleports.
She stood and sang a hymn to close her wounds. She was pleased with her night's work. She'd sealed the portal that led to the Promenade from below, preventing any more of Ghaunadaur's foul minions from oozing through it. That should buy the temple's defenders some time.
Now she needed to get back to the Promenade and continue the fight. Fortunately, the moon was above the horizon. She could use the sacred shrine and return through the Moonspring Portal.
She walked through the woods to the sacred pool. As she approached it, she heard singing. Peering through the trees, she spotted a dozen or so priestesses. They jabbed the air with their holy daggers, their voices rising and falling in an urgent harmony. Leliana heard wet, popping noises, and saw that the surface of the sacred pool was rippling.
The priestess directing the song was a younger version of Leliana: lean and graceful, but with yellow-shaded instead of~jce white hair—her daughter. Rowaan's eyes widened as Leliana entered the clearing. She ran forward and clasped Leliana's arms. "Have you come from the Promenade? What's happening there?"
"It's under attack. By Ghaunadaur's fanatics—and a host of oozes. We have to get there, and quickly. Join the battle."
Rowaan's face paled in the moonlight. She gestured at the pool, a stricken expression on her face. "We can't reach it. The portal's blocked."
Leliana moved closer. She saw, to her horror, that the pool was dappled with tiny oozes, each shaped like a pan-fried egg with a blood red center. The priestesses' magic had destroyed scores of them already, but for each one their magic ruptured, two more bubbled to the surface.
Leliana clenched her empty fists—a reminder that her singing sword was gone. The sacred sword had been one of those carried into battle by Qilue's companions, centuries ago, during their victory over Ghauandaur's avatar. Now, it was lost.
Short of a miracle, the Promenade would be lost too.
Rowaan guessed her mother's thoughts. "The Promenade won't fall," she said determinedly. "Eilistraee won't allow it." She turned back to the pool, and to the hopeless task of trying to clear the blood-slimed water.
Leliana nodded, without conviction. She wanted to cling to hope, but couldn't. Rowaan was denying the patently obvious. The oozes had reached the Moonspring Portal and were passing through it—something that would only have been possible if one of Eilistraee's faithful had sung a hymn to open it. Leliana could guess whose deed that had been. Someone who was using her magic for ill, now that a demon rode her.
Qilue.
Leliana looked up at the sky. The moon would set soon. When it did, the portal in the Moonspring would close. Until the next moonrise, the Misty Forest would be secure from attack from the Promenade.
That should have offered a shred of hope.
It didn't.
Not at all.
), unless there is either a raid, which would happen at night time, of there is a religious ritual (in case of Eilistrae) that demands the moon aspect. Daylight adaptation makes the drow able to sustain exposure to sunlight, though that doesn't mean they're comfortable with it... And not every night has a moon on the sky either.
If you were an optimist and even have 1% of them being so and none would be NPC's (which would cross out any DM events having a DM ranger in place) in the city concentrated over wizardry - good luck finding your ranger there lorewise. 
If you brain a little, you will see where I'm going with that.
