Baraeon Ca'Duz

[hellspawn]

•Race: Dark Elf
•Aliases: Prince of Hate, Lord of Spiders, Avenger
•Worshippers: Dark Elf Males only
•Governs: Cruelty, Darkness, Hatred, Spiders, Revenge
•Mantras: Cruel, Selfish, Serious, Vengeful

"March into the darkness we did, but we were not lost. The dark is our ally, our strength; in it, we will spin our web of vengeance, silent and unseen by those whose eyes are not adapted to the dark. From the dark we shall strike, openly or secretly, with brute force or poison. The possibilities are endless as are the tactics of spiders. We will nourish ourselves on the vitality of our enemies and smile as they wither, knowing that there is no recourse, there is no hope. Revenge will be sweet and will be savored."
– The Book of Dark Silk, second and third paragraph
Vengeance is an art. Whether vengeance is swift and utterly devastating or a slow lingering demise, it is a dish best served with the cold of logic and the heat of hateful revenge. The Prince of Hate will look down favorably upon you if your subterfuge remains hidden to all but your target. Never lose sight of the ultimate vengeance on those who were our kin and follow the light. However, no slight is so large that it takes precedence over the annihilation of the Pale Betrayers. Cherish our spider allies. The only creatures to join the Prince of Hate after the betrayal. Watch and learn from their myriad tactics; eventually, our vengeance will be theirs as well.

[hellspawn]

Priests of Baraeon Ca'duz use a short sword slathered with poisons. Their garb is predominantly black and stained with dark shades of green. For the sake of moving silently and unnoticed, as well as honoring their spider allies, their armors are made of spiders’ silk. Through centuries of research, some of these silks now rival the strength of metal armor. Around their neck they wear a medallion in the shape of a spider, the symbol of their god. Most are also masters of disguise, especially when carrying out a long anticipated plan of retribution.

[hellspawn]

The faith of Baraeon Ca’duz, the Web, is ruled by the Spider Council. A spider’s body consists of the head and the abdomen and has four pairs of legs. The Web is thereby led by ten members: the Fang and the Spinner, who represent the head and abdomen of a spider, and eight members who are called the Legs. Unlike the organization of Vierdri’ira’s church, the Web is centrally governed.
Spinner
The Spinner is responsible for the overall plotting, scheming, and planning of the Web of Baraeon Ca’duz. He provides the big picture; his words form the missives that direct and misdirect both the faithful and their victims. All information ultimately is directed to him.

Fang
The Fang is responsible for implementation, either by using direct force or by covert means. He heads the security forces for the Spinner as well, making an uneasy truce between them.

Legs
Information from all over the world reaches the Spider Council through the Legs. Because the world is divided into eight parts, each Leg is responsible for one of the eight locales. The Legs are therefore the contact points within the Web for information created by the sanctuaries. Legs can be either appointed by the Spinner or requested to the position by a prominent head of a dark elf household. In the case of the office desired not being vacant, assassination is not uncommon for making it so.

The Spider Council meets every eight months, but that does not mean there is no contact between meetings. The Legs are expected to feed the Fang and the Spinner updates on any relevant information they receive from their assigned part of the world. Of course, as the Leg will determine the relevance before sharing the information, some information may arrive just too late or censored, depending on the schemes of the Leg in question. Legs are also the overseers of sanctuaries located in the largest dark elf cities. Because there are more than eight cities, there are additional sanctuary heads who do not sit on the Spider Council. A sanctuary leader that is not a Leg reports to one directly.

Venom
Local sanctuaries are led by the most powerful cleric in the city housing the sanctuary. This head cleric is called Venom. This position is obtained through plotting and scheming. Thus, being Venom is a precarious office; a high tolerance to poison is recommended. Reporting to each Venom is a council of eight, appointed by him, known as the Eight Eyes. Regular clergy have no special name, but those who have served in a sanctuary less than a year are called Instar and are responsible for the least appreciated tasks.

Elections and Organization
The position of Fang and Spinner is, in good Web tradition, always taken from the previous occupant by plotting, thereby proving that one is better than their predecessor. Most often it is the plotting of two or three of the Legs to move one of their own into the position desired in exchange for future favors. A Spinner or Fang gaining the position in such a manner would do well to honor his side of the bargain—lest his reign be short. The Fang and Spinner can, in a joint decision, remove a Leg from his position and replace him with a new one. This is called severing and is as bloody and as painful as the term implies. At the local sanctuary level, it is usually one of the Eight Eyes that challenges or plots against a Venom to take over the position. Usually, coups like this are supported by external forces, such as the archmage or first patriarch of a city, who would, of course, deny any involvement.

Spinner Ilelilmesta eo anira Ireylaa eo Tyilillaelvgo is an older, savvy dark elf with a list of grudges longer than his silvery white hair. It is said (behind his back) that he would have to become a lich to be able to see the painful death of every person he’s felt slighted by. He is a remarkably intelligent man who is perfectly suited for the position—having spent three centuries doing information gathering and interpretation for one of the most powerful dark elf ’s personal military. He has been Spinner for nearing 70 years, a remarkably long time, and he has become known to a few people in the above-ground world. However, the life expectancy of one of his Legs has never topped 5 years.

Fang Oailcanire'me eo Ireylaa Laecgolaanela stepped over the bleeding body of his predecessor just 1 month after the pact with Milara was signed by the heroes of the world. He was the Leg of Dregar and has been rumored to be in contact with Lord Rael on more than one occasion. Rumor has it he was spotted in Prantz when the temple of Toran was destroyed. He is young, impulsive, full of fire, handsome, and very charismatic. He does not get along with the Spinner.

The Legs are, by their nature, secretive and may only be known to a handful of people. Certainly, there is no information on who fills the posts right now. The known Leg offices are:


•Leg of Dregar
•Leg of Mistone and the Forsaken Isles
•Leg of Belinara Leg of Vanavar, and the Molten Isles
•Leg of Voltrex Leg of Krashin, Bastil, and the North Islands
•Leg of Alindor Leg of Tilmar, Alibor, Corsain, and the Serpent and Dragon Isles
Joining the Clergy
At the age of 100, all dark elves need to prove their loyalty to their people and their deities by undergoing the Test. To fail the Test is to die a slow and painful death or be transformed by powerful magic into a form more suitable to the deities’ needs. Those who pass may have been changed by the ordeal, and one cannot join the priesthood unless one has been tested and proven himself loyal to the Prince of Hate. Surviving the Test however, is considered one of the most important events of a dark elf ’s life and one of the most sacred.

Little is known or disclosed about the Test until the time of taking it comes upon the individual dark elf. It is suspected that those so tested are examined directly by one of the deities in order to ensure there’s no possibility of betrayal. One dark elf who did take the Test was later forced to become a surface dweller and has spoken little of his ordeal. If his words are any indication, the Test delves into the deepest fears and the most closely held secrets of the individual. That which most affects the psyche of any given dark elf belongs to Baraeon to use as he wishes.

[hellspawn]

Various sects, many of them organized at the city level, exist within the Web. Some, however, are present in every city.




Black Silk Weavers
The Black Silk Weavers are spellweaving and spellpraying oriented priests and mages. In a rare show of cooperation, these two disparate groups generally exist without rancor. Where one needs information for a spell or sacrificial rite, the other may provide, and vice versa. This does not mean that there is harmony, but rather that the backstabbing methods often employed by the more traditional Web organizations are not as necessary here. Besides, there are enough laboratory and poison-making accidents on an ongoing basis; vengeance is only delayed here, never forgotten.
There are two leaders of the Black Silk Weavers, the Irevirlalala eo Irela Irilana for the clerics, and the Ilmstirliilva eo Tyeelael'la Goelala representing the mages. Because there has been no contact with this sect and the surface world for some time, the titles are known but the actual leaders are not. It is surmised that travel to the Pits has supplied the needs of the organization for possibly up to a hundred years now.

Vitiate
Under direct command of the Fang, each city has a detachment of Vitiate. Their ranks consist of battle-hardened veterans, fighting clerics, rogues, and assassins. Basically, any profession that is useful for carrying out the plots that have been spun. They do not though include any mages—since mages are the sole province of the archmage of a city. The Vitiate often work together with those of Light’s Demise. The Vitiate will always try to outdo them by rubbing in their superiority leaving Light’s Demise looking foolish. This works about half the time. The leader of all Vitiate is titled the Spider Blade. He is always a master poison maker. It is not known who holds this position at this time, nor where he resides.

G'eldqualyn
The high priests of Baraeon Ca'duz have passed a legend down from generation to generation about a boy that could bring the faith of the Lord of Spiders to its knees or further it to the conquest it craves—depending on whose hands he fell into. The boy would glow like cold fire and have the power to command spiders to rise up to power greater than anything imaginable. In the hands of Baraeon Ca’duz, the boy would become a general and lead them to conquer the surface lands. In the hands of Az'atta, he would deal a deadly blow to the cause, turning the god’s patron creature against him. The high clerics of Az'atta have harbored the same legend, laying in wait for their chance to deal a blow of redemption for their goddess.

Xullxyra—a young, half gray elf, half dark elf boy has been seen by a few visiting the various temples of the Web. In his wake, there is always a throng of spiders of varies shapes and sizes. It is rumored that he was first held captive by the followers of Az’atta, to be used as an ultimate affront to the Lord of Spiders. That is, one who follows Az’atta and can call upon spiders to do his bidding. However, as the boy grew, so did his talents and the infestation of spiders around this temple of Az’atta sparked the interest of the Lord of Spiders.

The boy’s father, commanded to do so by the Spinner, took charge and brought his son back into the night below where the boy was shown the errors of his ways and accepted the teachings of the Avenger. A vain attempt by some surface dwellers to recover the boy was made but skillfully stopped. This attempt would have been too late though since Xullxura’s lust for vengeance upon those who’d held him captive for years had already taken root. Xullxyra, also known as G’eldqualyn, is now being educated by the Fang and the Spinner to prepare him for the conquest of the surface.

Fmaawamla eo Irela Irilana (Breeders of His Hate)
Now that a spider caller really seems to exist, a relatively new sect has formed dedicated to G'eldqualyn. They take the caring for spiders extremely serious and excel in training them for combat, as well as breeding larger and more deadly ones for the armies of the dark elf cities. Nothing else is known of this sect.

[hellspawn]

Sanctuaries to the Lord of Spiders are always shaped like a spider. One enters a sanctuary through one of the legs, immediately noticing the greenish light that permeates the entire structure. Depending on its size, four legs are for training the male clerics, one leg is home to the acolyte and Instar quarters, and one is home to the high clergy. The eight and last leg has several rooms and is home to the more mundane but necessary spaces like armory, library, and kitchen. The central body of the spider is the Hall of His Hate. This hall is filled with webs and spiders, and it is here that the general worship of Baraeon Ca’duz takes place. The head of the spider is the Hall of Poisons where the most profane rituals are performed and the temple’s treasure and relics are housed. Only the Venom and his Eight Eyes are authorized to enter and are capable of entering the Sanctum. Females are not allowed to enter temples of the Web, on pain of death. Males who do not worship Baraeon Ca’duz but enter the Inner Sanctum are to be sought out and killed unless they are converted to worship Baraeon within seven days. Proof of conversion is given by undergoing the Test —the same set of trials all male dark elves have to go through to prove their loyalty to their deities and their people— to demonstrate their loyalty to Baraeon. Those who fail either die or are transformed into servants of the sanctuaries.

Carapace
The largest sanctuary to the Lord of Spiders is called the Carapace, and it is said to be the size of an underground mountain. The body of this sanctuary sits over a hundred feet off the floor, and the carving detail of the edifice is such that those who do not know what it is are struck dumb with fear at the size of the monstrosity before them.

[hellspawn]

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Prayers
Clerics pray for their spells before they go to sleep. Prayers are often couched in references to spiders, webs, and poison:
"Lord of Spiders, grant me your favor that my enemies do not notice the web of intrigue I have spun to ensure their demise.

Lord of Spiders, grant me your blessing. May the venom of your children serve as the tool of vengeance in the web I weave around your enemy. May they suffer slowly and, at their last breath, come to the realization vengeance was yours." – Magus Daralith Del’Mar


Holy Days

•Answering
This is the only day that is celebrated every year, and it was first celebrated one year after the assassination of Ilsare’s daughter, which led to the ascension of Baraeon Ca’duz. It is seen as the Avenger’s first answer to the betrayal by the surface elves, and the day now serves as a remembrance of this. It is also important to those of the Web on a personal level as they also use it to remember any acts of vengeance they have committed. This first day of the dark elf year is also considered an excellent time to take revenge; it is doubly blessed.


•Cleansing
In recent centuries, the Cleansing has become common practice in the Web. The Cleansing is a series of tests initiated by one of the Legs responsible for a given city or sanctuary and is used to discern which priests are loyal to the Avenger and which are not. Needless to say, it is not an event that is looked forward to by the dark elves. However, because of the complexity of the Cleansing, it takes place only once every 88 years. The Cleansing uses many of the same mind-invading magics as the Test, and has led to permanent insanity for some and suicide in others. For the members of the Web, most especially those doing the Cleansing, it has become almost a ritual and is fast approaching the status of holy day for them.

[hellspawn]

•Allied:

◦Branderback
◦Corath
◦Pyrtechon
◦Vierdri'ira
•Friendly:
◦Shadon
◦Xeen

•Neutral:

◦Aragen
◦Goran
◦Grand
◦Grannoch
◦Kithairien
◦Mist

•Unfriendly:

◦Katia

•Enemy:

◦Aeridin
◦Az'atta
◦Beryl
◦Deliar
◦Dorand
◦Folian S'pae
◦Ilsare
◦Lucinda
◦Prunilla
◦Rofirein
◦Shindaleria
◦Sulterio
◦Toran
◦Vorax

[hellspawn]

•Alignment:
◦Neutral Evil



•Cleric Alignments:
◦Neutral Evil
◦Lawful Evil
◦True Neutral



•Domains:
◦Death
◦Evil
◦Trickery