Vierdri'ira

[hellspawn]

•Aliases: Very few, if any, know the goddess' real name, so she is almost always referenced as the Mother of Darkness.
•Race: Dark Elf
•Worshippers: Dark Elf females only.
•Governs: Stealth, Night, Darkness, Poison
•Mantras: Belligerent, Cruel, Deceptive, Selfish

Life was created from the dark and to the dark it will return. Worship me or forfeit the chance of your soul ever feeling the comfort of the dark again. Those who follow the light should be destroyed and their holdings returned to the dark. The weak and the faithless should be subjugated and forced to accept the blessings of the dark. My daughters are tasked with the strengthening and propagation of my people. They pass on the perfect gift of the dark; obey them.

[hellspawn]

Priestesses of Vierdri'ira prefer to use a whip. They're always dressed in black, regardless of whether they are in armor or clothing. They prefer armor made from blackened mithril or adamantium. Usually they wear an obsidian necklace with two red eye-shaped rubies hanging from it. The only other colors they occasionally add to their black garments are purple or red.

[hellspawn]

"Priestesses of Vierdri'ira and priests of Baraeon Ca'duz are the most powerful people in dark elf society."

There is not one all-encompassing hierarchy of the church. Divided as the various city states are, so are the various temples in each of these cities. A strict hierarchy is present in each city's temple. At its head sits the Daughter, the highest ranking and most powerful Priestess of Vierdri'ira in that city. The Daughter has five Siblings; they are the five next most powerful of the Mother of Darkness in that city. Together, these six rule the rest of the clergy and the followers.
Elections and Organizations
The positions of Daughter and Siblings are decided in bloody battles, often seen as a great time of entertainment for followers, taking place once every three years. The title of Daughter is simply taken as soon as one priestess proves herself worthy of the position, usually by killing or otherwise rendering the current Daughter incapable of her duties. If by chance the dark elf woman trying to overthrow the current Daughter fails, she is used as a sacrifice to her goddess in an Inner Sanctum ritual. The War Mistress of any given city, as well as its first matriarch, are given honorary places of respect in the temple's workings. Of course, it is entirely possible for a war mistress or a first matriarch to also be a Daughter or a Sibling; however, most who attempt to combine two positions often fail at both. Within each city, there are the same groups.

Midwives
While Baraeon Ca'duz preaches the subtle art of vengeance, patience, and revenge, those of Vierdri'ira are far less subtle. Dark elves in a Vierdri'iran society are simply given no other choice. Vierdri'ira preaches the death of the weak. It is for this reason that her clerics find it customary to examine all children born under their goddess, after all, life was created from the dark, and if it is found lacking, it should be returned to it. Midwives of the Mother of Darkness focus on the last part of the dogma and are responsible for the examination of these children. When a midwife deems children unsuitable, they are killed and returned to the dark.

Light's Demise
These are Vierdri'ira's warrior priestesses, who think the middle part of the dogma is the most important. Warrior priestesses of Light's Demise are cunning tacticians and care not about honorable warfare or rules of engagement. Ambushes, treachery, and spying are all allowed to bring about the demise of the light and the subjugation of the weak and the faithless. Light's Demise often works together with the Vitiate, but they will always try to outdo them. If a city's War Mistress is also a cleric, she's by default a member of Light's Demise. If she's not, she is still invited to meetings.

[hellspawn]

As each city has its own temple and there's no global organized church, every city can be seen as a different sect.

[hellspawn]

Every dark elf city has one temple to the Mother of Darkness. Temples are made from black stone—as much as possible. Two red eyes always glow menacingly above the entrance of these temples and only females are allowed to enter. Males entering the temple will be killed. Inside these temples it is very dark with only the slightest purple or red glow to light the way. The main room of a temple is the Hall of Submission, where the dark elves worship their goddess. Murals depicting scenes of the betrayal, scenes of the dark elves starting their realms underground, as well as scenes of birth and raising children in Vierdri'ira's way, cover all the walls in this Hall.
Further inside the temple is the Inner Sanctum, where the most secret and powerful rituals are performed. It is only during these rituals inside the Inner Sanctum that the name Vierdri'ira is used, and the Inner Sanctum is also the only place that the sacred high dark elven language is still used. During all other rites the language used is dark elven, and she is referenced simply as the Mother of Darkness. Since the Inner Sanctum also holds the temple's most powerful artifacts, only the Daughter and the Siblings are allowed to enter.

Females who do not worship her but enter the Inner Sanctum of a temple are to be sought out and killed unless they are converted to worship the Mother of Darkness within seven days. Proof of conversion is given by undergoing a test to demonstrate their loyalty to Vierdri'ira; those who fail will die. This is the same test that all dark elves have to go through to prove their loyalty to their deities and their people. Little is known or disclosed about this 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.

[hellspawn]

Prayers
"Mother of Darkness,
I ask for your eyes upon me as I prove my worth to you.
Grant me aid in the demise of mine enemies so I can become of greater use to you and your cause.
Aid me in the defeat of my obstacles so I may overcome all in your name."
-Shri'Vrae, Weapons Mistress of Vierdri'ira

"Mother of Darkness, cloud the eyes of the enemy in darkness, so that they may walk into my ambush with open eyes and will not know what hits them until they hear the sound of our whips as we bring them their demise." -Unknown


Holy Days

•The Coming of the Dark
The only holy day of the faith, the Coming of the Dark, is a day to commemorate the ascent of Vierdri'ira to goddess-hood. On this day, all dark elf cities are bathed in darkness, not a single torch or lantern is allowed to burn; to do so would be the ultimate blasphemy toward the Mother of Darkness and would lead to instant death. Children born on this day are thought to be particularly blessed by Vierdri'ira.

[hellspawn]

•Allied:

◦Baraeon Ca'duz
◦Pyrtechon

•Friendly:

◦Branderback
◦Corath
◦Shadon
◦Xeen

•Neutral:

◦Aragen
◦Grand
◦Grannoch
◦Lucinda
◦Mist

•Unfriendly:

◦Goran
◦Sulterio

•Enemy:

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

[hellspawn]

Reliquary


•Book of Dark Silk
The Book of Dark Silk, usually referred to as the Book of Dark by those who follow the Mother of Darkness, is the joined holy book of the Churches of Vierdri'ira and Baraeon Ca'duz. The Book of Dark Silk was handed down by both deities after cementing their alliance and can now be found in every Vierdri'ira: Temples#Sanctum|Inner Sanctum of her temples. Its cover is made of pitch-black silk, and it bears no other markings. However, it does not need to, every dark elf who sees it immediately knows what it is and should treat it with caution. To be found with a Book of Dark Silk is often one of the last moments of somebody's life, as unauthorized taking of a copy is blasphemous and punishable by death.

[hellspawn]

•Alignment:
◦Chaotic Evil



•Cleric Alignments:
◦Chaotic Evil
◦Chaotic Neutral
◦Neutral Evil



•Domains:
◦Destruction
◦Evil
◦Trickery
◦War