Eilistraee
Basic Information
Title(s)	The Dark Maiden Lady of the Dance
Power level	Dead power Formerly: Lesser deity
Alignment	Chaotic good
Favored weapon	The Moonsword (bastard sword)
Influence
Dominion	Formerly: Arvandor (also the Demonweb Pits)
Portfolio	Beauty, Dance, Hunting, Moonlight, Song, Swordwork
Domains	Chaos, charm, drow, elf, good, moon, portal
Worshipers
Worshipers	Good-aligned drow, hunters, surface-dwelling elves
Worshiper alignment(s)	LG NG CG LN N CN LE NE CE

Eilistraee (pronounced eel-iss-TRAY-yee ^[1]), also referred to as "The Dark Maiden", was the chaotic good drow goddess of song, swordwork, hunting, the moon and beauty. She was greatly angered by the evil of most drow but glad that some worked their way free of the Spider Queen's web. Eilistraee appeared as an unclad, glossy-skinned drow woman of great height with ankle-length, sweeping hair of glowing silver.

She was worshiped by song and dance, if at all possible, in the surface world under the moonlit night among the woods. She took great pleasure in bards learning new songs, craftsmen at work, and the doing of kindhearted deeds.

Worshipers Edit

The church of Eilistraee was little known and poorly understood by inhabitants of the surface world. Her worshipers were good-aligned drow hoping to escape the Underdark's evil, Lolth-worshiping matriarchal society, and regain a place in the surface world. Among her followers were Tel-quessir (and also the human half-breeds of Tel-quessir), humans, gnomes, and shapeshifters.

The church of Eilistraee headquarters at The Promenade was located near Skullport was led by the High Priestess Qilué Veladorn, youngest of the Seven Sisters and Chosen of Mystra. Second to her was The Promenade's Battlemistress Rylla. All priestesses were free to do as they liked unless given a mission by either Qilué or Rylla. Although the Darksong knights, priestess/warriors, had more independence they too were subject being given missions. Generally its clerics wore their hair long and dressed practically for whatever they were currently doing. For rituals, they wore as little as possible. Otherwise, they tended to wear soft leathers for hunting, aprons while cooking, and—rarely—armor when battle was expected. When relaxing, they favored silvery, diaphanous gowns. The holy symbol was a small sword; clerics preferred holy symbols of silver, typically worn as pins or hung around the neck on slender silver or mithral chains. They prayed for spells at night, after moonrise, singing them whenever possible. Their rituals revolved around a hunt followed by a feast, dancing, and a Circle of Song. This last was held preferably in a wooded glade on a moonlit night, in which the worshipers would sit and dance by turns in a circle, each one leading a song.

Relationships Edit

Eilistraee's allies were the Seldarine, Mystra, Selûne, and the good deities of the Underdark races; her enemies were the evil deities of the Underdark, especially the rest of the drow pantheon.

History Edit

Eilistraee was the daughter of Corellon Larethian and Araushnee, who later became Lolth, and the sister of Vhaeraun. She was banished along with the other drow deities for her role, albeit inadvertently, in the war against the Seldarine. Eilistraee insisted upon this punishment from her reluctant father, because she foresaw that the dark elves would need a beacon of good within their reach.

1379 DR 

During Flamerule^[2] Eilistraee, while inhabiting the body of Qilué Veladorn, was killed by Halisstra Melarn using the Crescent Blade. This last act of sacrifice was not in vain however, as it redeemed those drow not tainted by Wendonai's blood, and Corellon Larethian thus permitted the souls of Eilistraee's faithful and the newly transformed dark elves to enter Arvandor.^[3]

The Promenade Edit

Located near Skullport it was the main headquarters for the faithful of Eilistraee with many portals to other parts of the world but also access to tunnels into the Underdark for redemption missions. These missions would involve sneaking into cities of the Underdark and seeking out amongst the drow those who may have wished to join Eilistraee's faith and could be redeemed. ^[4]

The Promenade was led by High Priestess Qilué Veladorn, youngest of the Seven Sisters and Chosen of Mystra. She led the priestesses while also giving out missions when something needed her attention. Second to her was The Promenade's Battlemistress, Rylla. She led both the fierce warrior/priestesses of the Darksong Knights (who had training in demon-hunting), and the Protectors, the group of elite warriors, often armed with one of the twenty magical singing swords, whose first duty was to guard the Promenade.

It had once played host to a cult of Ghaunadaur, and was where Qilué defeated and imprisoned Ghaunadaur himself.^[4]

One of the highest honors bestowed on a warrior of the Promenade was to be granted use of one of the twenty sacred singing swords. These swords were magically powerful weapons, with magical durability and sharp edges which, along with the humming, providing a defense against psychic attacks or spells. The "singing" of the sword would cut through and clear the mind of the attacker. They would also often hum when danger was near. With their semi-sentience they could be mentally ordered to be quiet.^[4]

The Promenade was attacked by a new cult of Ghaunadaur, after a demon-ridden Qilué had tricked it into attacking. Nightshadows, former followers of Vhaeraun and later followers of the "Masked Lady" (following the death of Vhaeraun at Eilistraee's hand and her taking on his portfolio), were sent to infiltrate various drow houses who worshiped Ghaunadaur. They stumbled upon portals to the Promenade. Quickly taking advantage of this, the Ghaunadaur followers proceeded to attack in the hopes of releasing their god, but Qilué had placed a glyph of insanity on the prison, so that the cultists who looked on it went insane. Despite this, the cultists were led by an army of slimes and decimated a large portion of the population of the Promenade. In the fierce battle, almost all the protectors and Darksong Knights were killed, along with many of the priestesses, followers and lay worshipers who lived there or were visiting.^[4]

During this time, the seals on Ghaunadaur's prison began to slip and one of his avatars escaped. It was soon after tricked into attaching itself to a fleeing Nightshadow who sacrificed himself for the Masked Lady by going through a portal that led to "a plane of endless mazes," dying in the process but trapping the still-attached avatar there.^[4]

References Edit

Further Reading Edit

• Eric L. Boyd, Erik Mona (May 2002). Faiths and Pantheons, p. 23-25. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2759-3.

• Lisa Smedman (January 2007). Sacrifice of the Widow. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-4250-9.

• Lisa Smedman (September 2007). Storm of the Dead. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 978-0-7869-4701-0.

• Lisa Smedman (June 2008). Ascendancy of the Last. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 978-0-7869-4864-2.