Lesser deity [21] The Weaver also tried to seduce Fenmarel Mestarine, elven god of outcasts and rebels, to join her in the imminent rebellion. Males are primarily involved in the decision-making through their expertise in given fields, but they rarely are priests (and therefore leaders). [25], Between the 1377 DR and 1379 DR, cultists of Ghaunadaur attacked the Promenade in the attempt to destroy the prison, guarded by the followers of Eilistraee, that prevented their god from creeping to Toril. [20], She was the daughter of Araushnee (later Lolth) and Corellon Larethian, a free-spirited and kind-hearted goddess, with a fiery streak in her personality. They were to lend their help to all those who fought for good whenever there were ways to do so. She valued the intent behind their actions more than the actual success. Unclad female drow with long hair dancing before a full moon with a silver bastard sword Eilistraee had in fact foreseen that the influence of Vhaeraun (and of her mother, whom she knew would later come to Toril), would have led the Tel'Quessir to war against each other, and she worked to prevent that. While Lolth constantly tried to claim Liriel as her own chosen, Eilistraee kept subtly singing her call to the girl, guiding her and letting her channel her magic on multiple occasions, in order to help her find her own path. After Eilistraee found and befriended him, Selvetarm came to admire her goodness and appreciate her teachings, and the two grew close to each other. The Dark Maiden took part in the battle, enthusiastic and proud to be able to fight by her father's side in defense of their home. Svartalfheim The Sword Dancers have the ability to cast the magic missile spell, or to use its energy to empower their next sword strike, surrounding their blade with blue-white flames. Include any details of how he became a God. When the silverhair knights find an encampment of drow, they are expected to observe the group from hiding for some time, learning their ways and personalities from afar, so that they can identify members of the group who might turn from Lolth's ways. [1], Eilistraee and her church detest slavery and actively fight it whenever possible. [1], The Evensong is an intimate ritual that all followers of Eilistraee perform at the end of their day. Seeing the distraction and shock of the elven lord, an ogre god took advantage of the situation and charged towards his position: he almost managed to end his life, but Eilistraee acted swiftly to defend her father, loosing an arrow at the charging ogre-god. To become a Sword Dancer, a drow has to spend at least 1 month on the surface, dancing each moonlit night for Eilistraee, and has to witness dawn at least once. It combined the powers of the boots of elvenkind, boots of varied tracks, and boots of the north. [1] Nevertheless, she is not unwilling to retaliate when her followers are threatened. [27][28] Her hunting horn sounded to hearten her faithful and scare away dangerous creatures which threatened them. Aside from providing practical help in their everyday life, she was known to offer comfort and support in various ways, including listening to them as they let out or vented their personal emotions and experiences (see Activities). It was only after Dalereckoning that her faith regained a degree of prominence in Faerûn. [1][15][4][21][25], After very nearly slaying her own father with a misplaced arrow, Eilistraee swore never to use ranged weaponry again, lest her missile go astray. At the same time, Vhaeraun was plotting against his sister and working to devise a method to slay her. [4], Eilistraee is one of the Forgotten Realms deities that made a reappearance during the event known as The Sundering. [15], Finally, along with all the standard powers and godly senses of a deity of her rank, the Dark Dancer could instantly become aware of threats posed to good-aligned drow, to her followers, or to drow thinking of rejecting the faith of the deities of the Dark Seldarine, but only if their number was equal to or greater than five hundred.[15]. Eilistraee's symbol is a bastard sword standing vertically, point up, outlined against a full moon and surrounded by a nimbus of filaments representing the goddess' ankle-long hair, all in silver. [7], During the 1480s DR, with the event known as the Sundering, the Overgod Ao separated the twin worlds Abeir and Toril once again and rewrote the Tablets of Fate (an artifact which contains the name of every deity of the pantheon and their portfolio). Eilistraee's holy symbol was formerly a longsword, standing vertically with point upward, outlined against a full moon, which was surrounded by a nimbus of filaments representing her hair, all in silver. Eilistraee(Lesser deity) He was the son of Vhaeraun and Zandilar the Dancer (who would later become one with Bast, forming Sharess), but had spurned both his parents and walked alone for centuries, neither good nor evil. The tradition allows the use of any kind of bladed weapon and armor, but the priestesses are required to wear as little as possible. [18][note 3], On the same date, Cavatina Xarann, a priestess and Darksong Knight of Eilistraee, killed the demigod Selvetarm (with the help of the Lady Penitent) using the Crescent Blade. So, in the present times of the Forgotten Realms, Eilistraee teaches and shows to the drow kindness and love, the joy and freedom of life that were taken away from them, calling them to her and singing to their hearts. In −10,500 DR, the Dark Disaster—a magical cataclysm unleashed by the elves of Aryvandaar—caused the death of many of her people in Miyeritar, severely weakening the goddess' power. She also used it to bless a worshiper in various ways. Eventually, they are expected to infiltrate the group, identify and approach possible converts, and organize their escape to a safe location. Eilistraee fights her melancholy by striving to bring hope and joy where there is sorrow, so that no moment is lost to gloom, and to make life flourish wherever she goes. At times, she can also appear during celebrations dedicated to her, dancing and leaping from the flames of bonfires, or manifest herself by night, cloaked and cowled and with her radiance dimmed, to travelers in the woodlands, usually to test their kindness. She usually appeared unclad, cloaked only by her ankle-length hair that shone with a bright silvery hue, and by motes of moonlight that were ever-dancing about her body. [1][20], The faithful also have routine activities of food growing and gathering/hunting, preparation of cures and all that is needed to aid the drow to return to the surface. Forgotten Realms Wiki is a FANDOM Games Community. The goddess ventured there to rescue a group of drow refugees and lead them to the safety of the temple of the Promenade. [4], Eilistraean communities were often of matriarchal nature. She could be a protectress of her people and a terrific sword dancer, but she was intended to be a bard, not a huntress herself, only encouraging these skills in her followers, in order to help them survive on the surface. Pantheon Specialized clerics are known as Sword Dancers of Eilistraee. [64] Despite being meant to sever the link between the faerzress and the drow, the ritual also transformed hundreds among the followers of Eilistraee (who, as lesser deity, had at least a few thousands of worshipers)[66] and those drow who were not tainted by Wendonai's blood, back to their original dark elven form. Holy Symbol of Eilistraee During this time, Lolth's absence led a considerable number of her followers to seek alternatives in the other deities of the Dark Seldarine and this resulted in Eilistraee gaining followers and influence. Eilistraee was the chaotic good drow goddess of beauty, song, dance, freedom, moonlight, swordwork, and hunting, within the drow pantheon known as the Dark Seldarine. The Spellsong is the ability to invoke a wide variety of magical effects through song and music, including replicating other spells, protecting from magic or healing. Faithfuls disrobe and start dancing, seeking their goddess' blessing. To this end, she expects her faithful to be skilled at swordplay, both as a form of martial art promoting centering of mind and body, and so that when they do enter battle, their foes … Rare is the individual—dark elf or not—who appreciates that Eilistraee is forging her own path, one that welcomes beings of all races who revel in life and the free form expression of all that entails. Any other details canfit here. [21], When the attack began, Eilistraee (whose skills in archery, scouting, and hunting were widely known among the Seldarine) was the first to spot the threat, allowing her father and the other elven deities to prepare a defense. Eilistraee (pronounced eel-iss-TRAY-yee), also referred to as the Dark Maiden, is 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. Her worshippers are figures of myth and superstition and targets of prejudice and wild mistruths. Home Plane [21], Eilistraee eventually managed to gain some followers in Ilythiir,[4] but her strength wasn't enough for her to prevail. [70] Both siblings personally let their return be known, manifesting through their avatars to their followers, who enthusiastically spread the word. Favored animals [4] When the right time came, she also personally accompanied her followers who didn't die in battle to their afterlife in a moving celebration known as the Last Dance. [7][note 4][note 5], Meanwhile, another High Magic ritual performed by the drow mage Q'arlynd Melarn transformed those drow not tainted by Wendonai and the followers of Eilistraee back into their original dark elven form, and Corellon Larethian thus permitted the souls of Eilistraee's faithful and the newly transformed dark elves to enter Arvandor. Eilistraee's symbol is a bastard sword standing vertically, point up, outlined against a full moon and surrounded by a nimbus of filaments representing the goddess' ankle-long hair, all in silver. Pass this learning on whenever possible and use it to bring joy to friends and strangers alike. [1], Despite all these setbacks, Eilistraee kept fighting to bring her hope to the drow and lead them back to their rightful place in the light. [6] In-world, when the Dark Elves were condemned and cursed by her father, despite her innocence, she chose to share the exile and curse of her people, her mother and her brother. They would also take care of broken musical instruments, or craft new ones. Worshipers The war ended with the defeat of the cultists of Kiaransalee and with Eilistraee's answer to the demigoddess' attack: a spell performed by the drow mage Q'arlynd Mealrn, which deleted her name from the minds of every Torillian being, including Kiaransalee herself, leading to her disappearance. During that time, many deities of Toril who were considered dead or lost managed to return to life,[26] the Dark Maiden being among them. She ended up joining a campaign at lvl 6, and went into epic, post-20 levels. [4][25], Eilistraee found an unlikely protégé in her nephew-god, Selvetarm. Favored minerals [9] The Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes includes a full entry for Eilistraee. (TSR, Inc), Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark, "Candlekeep Forum - Questions for Ed Greenwood (2006)", "Candlekeep Forum - Questions for Ed Greenwood (2015)", "The 13 Strangest Deities in Dungeons & Dragons", Dungeon Master Option: High-Level Campaigns, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eilistraee&oldid=968510884, Articles using Infobox character with multiple unlabeled fields, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The Dark Maiden, The Dark Dancer, Lady of the Dance, Lady Silverhair, Moon Maiden, Dancing Goddess, Dark Lady, The Masked Lady(, Song, beauty, dance, swordwork, hunting, moonlight, This page was last edited on 19 July 2020, at 20:57. The followers of the Masked Lord lacked the trust to cast that kind of magic, so they worked to kill various priestesses of Eilistraee and trap their soul, in order to use them for the ritual. [15][83], After the Spellplague and the introduction of the World Axis cosmology, Eilistraee's realm within Arvandor continued existing, even with the goddess' disappearance. Halisstra Melarn, the Lady Pentinent, was also a priestess of the Dark Maiden during the Silence of Lolth. Jul 23, 2019 - This Pin was discovered by Patrick Wingerter. These clerics and the Eilistraeen converts who have to hide their faith in order to let it spread and to survive under the thumb of Lolth are known as Secret Moondancers. [15] Her hunting skills and precision as an archer (though she abandoned the bow after she was tricked into nearly slaying her father with it) were also undeniable, like her knowledge in matters of magic, nature, and faith. "[34], War of the Spider Queen and Lady Penitent, After the 1489 DR, Eilistraee no longer holds this last title, which she earned when she took over her brother, Other in-world rules could point to Eilistraee's survival. [speculation], In the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR, the goddess Lolth went into a state of hibernation, a period called the Silence of Lolth, with Selvetarm protecting her, as part of a plan to increase her power and separate her divine realm, the Demonweb Pits, from the Abyss. Eilistraee also manifests, usually through her light, in the moments when her "children" need her visible blessing and support or comfort. Qilué Veladorn and the church of Eilistraee retaliated with an assault against the Acropolis of Thanatos, in the drow city of V'elddrinnsshar, the main temple of the Vengeful Banshee. [4], In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, Eilistraee is the daughter of Corellon Larethian and of Araushnee (who later took the name Lolth after being punished by Corellon), a free-spirited and kind-hearted goddess, with a fiery streak in her personality. Anyways, Eilistraee is apparently the goddess of good Drow, which means she has one worshipper on the planet. Most clerics prefer holy symbols of silver, typically worn as pins or hung around the neck on slender silver or mithral chains. He wears a Knave's Eye Patch over his left eye (not for an eye injury, rather its magic negates the Drows' Sunlight Sensitivity). You pray for Eilistraee to offer you part of her grace as you engage in battle, seeking to dance between your foes’ weapons and ranks. Hers is the force that brings a stag within the reach of hungry drow. [1][4], The most iconic Eilistraeen spell is the Dark Maiden's Moonfire. Flamerule, 1379 DR[9]Returned to life during the Second Sundering[10][11][12], in Flamerule, 1489 DR[13][14][note 2] Rare is the individual—dark elf or not—who appreciates that Eilistraee is forging her own path, one that welcomes beings of all races who revel in life and the free form expression of all that entails. Others were convinced that Vhaeraun succeeded and masked as Eilistraee. 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