Revision as of 18:02, 2 December 2021

Author: Princess May'riina Xun'viir - AR 163

Chapter 1: Before Xun'viir

Andunor first founded in the twilight of AR 96 as the battered refugees of Udos Drox'un filtered up through the dampened caverns of the deeper dark led by the remnants of Noble Houses Freth and Claddath.

It was Illithid Mind Flayers that had tunneled the foundations of the old city and collapsed it into the waters over which it was built. The casualties were uncountable.

Having been forced ever higher in the twisting caverns of Arelith it was decided that a new city would need to be founded, a trade city, from which relations with the surface could be tempered enough to prevent an immediate climax of total war as the city grew its roots.

Before long it had become a mecca for human outcasts. Just as the drow had found it impossible to live within the depths of the crust as Illithid Flayers consumed the last survivors left behind in the retreat, so too had a minority of humans and demi humans from the surface found themselves unwelcome and cast out from their societies - both had arrived in Andunor, and both had no idea how to mix with one another.

The tensions were extreme.

For months the city was plunged into strife, murder, and the vying of power typified of a sudden vacuum in influence. Opportunistic Houses such as Vh'larra, whose swift rise precipitated themselves as one of the first influential Petty Houses, were engaged with a back and forth with the refugee Houses from Udos Drox'un such as Houses Fuma'vhid, Drak'aa, Zarr'roc and more.

Meanwhile notable humans such as Merovech, Roland Asen, Ann Thrule, and Azuilah had formed an anchor head in the Sharps. Backed into a corner by Drow expansionism and violence, the outcasts were forced to band together and match the Drow in their aggression. The streets often ran red as each party satisfied their bloodlust.

It was in these early cycles of intrigue and struggle that the story of what would become one of Andunor's most noteworthy Petty Houses had begun to form.

Chapter 2: Shadowed Beginnings

Talyrrae Xun'viir had arrived by boat from T'lindhet sometime in AR 97 in answer to a mysterious proposal made by a so-called prophetess newly settled in Andunor.

Young, headstrong, and alone - Talyrrae was the first Xun'viir to be on the isle.

Talyrrae, without a Matron and without a History, lived as many do when they first arrive to Andunor from its boats. The young Priestess engaged in the politics of the fledgling Temple of the Devil's Table, faced the dangers outside the city to scratch out a living above the masses, and vied for position in the pecking order that defines the struggle of every citizen of Andunor.

It is understood that Talyrrae's initial arrival did not mark what most scholars consider the official beginning of Xun'viir as a House, but it is also agreed by all that, had she never arrived in the first place, the House would not have ultimately formed.

Much of what is known about these earliest cycles is shrouded in mystery, but the single unifying fact remains that what came of the meeting between Talyrrae and this mysterious prophetess shook Arelith's Underdark to the core for years to come.

Chapter 3: First Matron Va'sarra Xun'viir

Precious little is known about Va'sarra Xun'viir, and what is known is often a subject of debate among scholars. Where did she come from, how did she and Talyrrae meet, and who was this strange and sudden Goddess La'laskra?

There is a great divergence on exactly who she was. Many sources claim Va'sarra was a Crinti from Dambrath sent on a holy mission as a Prophetess to Andunor to spread her strange and completely unknown faith. Others mention that she was once a slave by another name, owned by House Vh'larra, who somehow managed her freedom and rose to prominence.

Fouler rumors said she was an outcast, a fallen paladin, whose only real Goddess was blood and pain.

Va'sarra was often described as an albino Crinti or Human with pure white hair, and whitened eyes that may have suggested a possibility of blindness. She was also considered of limited physical stature, but carried with her a divine connection to her purported Goddess La'laskra that gave her exceptional strength and power when it was called upon.

Matron Va'sarra often claimed that she was inflicted with an ailment that would cause her pain when making any skin-to-skin contact with others. This would be a condition that she would purposefully pursue as extreme masochism had been a defining characteristic of hers.

Her reign as Matron seemed to start some months after Talyrrae's arrival to the city as both had won a majority of seats in the Devil's Table enough to lock out the third contender and establish total control over the District's functions under the scrutiny of House Freth.

Va'sarra, who apparently already had a reputation in the city as a brutal torturer and social manipulator, came to be often referred to as the Blood Queen, the Painmaiden, and others. It is likely that she used this reputation as an initial platform to solidify her hold on the district.

What is most important at this moment in History is her repeated overtures to Drow Unity through the lense of her 'Savior Goddess' La'laskra. During the tumultuous years of strife, as humans rapidly populated the Sharps eager to carve out their own brutal legacy, this was seen as a rallying call that was swiftly embraced by multiple Houses, including the Fuma'vhid, in the city at the time.

House Vira'san, a Petty House of notable martial skill, counted themselves as the first House to become militant in Xun'viir support. Though they had chosen to remain true to the teachings of Lloth it was reported that Va'sarra's message of Unity terminated any strife between the two groups as enemies closed in from all sides.

The First Matron had recruited notable figures from the old city to stand by her side including the infamous and ancient warrior Strythio who became the first Weaponmaster to claim the title in the House. Others had come to her simply to offer their assistance or knowledge as her message began to reach far and wide.

Va'sarra was often overheard saying that without House Vira'san she could never have maintained her power under the extreme upheaval and violence of city politics at the time.

Such pressure was almost entirely due to the nature of Xun'viir's official Goddess La'laskra. Va'sarra had taken over the Temple and filled it with La'laskra iconography. Talyrrae had also long since embraced the new religion, and any drow that took the name Xun'viir was inducted into the Savior's faith.

There were endless public calls for Va'sarra's death. Traitor, Apostate, Liar - every cycle featured renewed outrage from citizens everywhere. The Outcasts under Roland Asen had become concerned over the sudden rise in Drow that had consolidated under her banner, and treated her as a threat to be dealt with.

Despite the harrowing early cycles of the House's existence, when it all seemed it could come crashing down at any moment, Va'sarra's iron grip had remained for years to come.

It was not a time of peace.

The Blood Queen had enemies in every direction, and went to extreme lengths to maintain her power. Assassins and death squads dealt with the loudest and most threatening enemies to the House while she forged alliances with those who wished not to be in her way.

In the apex of her power it was said she never left the manor for an entire year as petitioners were literally made to stand in line before each finding place before her throne. Her soldiers, messengers, and dignitaries performed a majority of the ground work while she ruled from within.

It was somewhere in these months that Andunor's first Great Battle took place.

While it is unknown exactly how it started it comes as little surprise due to the tensions between human and drow at the time. It is thought that the Banite Church under the leadership of Vistigor Torkill prepared to move a large number of voters into the city to lay the groundwork for major support in the Sharps.

Rumor has it that the Weaponmaster Strythio served as the catalyst to the battle having traded barbed words with Banite warriors in the upper dark portal chamber.

Spies confirmed the military movement of the Banites, and Va'sarra called her banners in response. House Xun'viir, including her First Daughter Talyrrae, House Vira'san, and a combined assembly of other drow, gnolls, orcs, and even some humans all responded to her call.

The numbers were so great on both sides that it took an entire cycle for both forces to prepare for the fight.

Vistigor Torkil and Va'sarra Xun'viir met in the Hub each with their forces at their back. There was no intention of diplomacy, or mercy. Few words were shared before the call to violence was made by both parties.

The battle lasted an hour, and casualties rapidly mounted on both sides until both faction's best warriors remained. Va'sarra, Talyrrae, and a number of the Vira'san continued the fight until all the Banites were bloodily massacred at their feet.

An exhausted and victorious Va'sarra stood in the center of the Hub covered in the viscera of her enemies, raised her slick sword, and spoke to her army.

To the Drow she said: 'This is the reward of our Unity.'

To the Orc she said: 'History will Honor your deeds.'

To the Gnoll she said: 'Eat your fill, for you dine on our enemies.'

To Everyone she said: 'Andunor Victor.'

The roar was deafening. Vistigor Torkil and his Banites were never seen again in Andunor, and it marked the first and last time a surface army would try and seize a district by force.