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Drowtales/Characters/Other Clans


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The Val'Dutan'vir

Val'Dutan'vir

This was a clan made up of Drowussu and Drowussu/Drowolath hybrids and used to be one of the two main Drowussu Houses making up the Nine Clans at meetings, the other being the Val'Kyorl'solenurn. They suffered greatly due to the Nidraa'chal War, which proved to be a Trauma Conga Line. After Diva'ratrika began her inquisition of the tainted the Dutan'vir were one of the hardest hit, with family members turning against each other and an entire house, the Les'wanre, defecting to the Kyorl'solenurn in protest. Later, their Ill'haress Sannindi was murdered by her stag guardian, which had been tainted and set against her. The son of one of the house leaders rallied most of the adult warriors to fight in the War, but most perished in a Last Stand against the invading demons. Many of those that survived were tainted in the process and killed by the Val'Kyorl'solenurn mop-up teams. The Kyorl'solenurn also took the surviving children of the clan they liked and sold the others to slavery. The few members that remain are either now part of the Kyorl'solenurn, wandering in Chel or enlisted amongst Sarghress ranks, mainly in the Maeyukir subhouse. Two major characters who belong/ed to this clan are Mikilu and Lulianne. After the Dutan'vir fell, they were replaced in the Council of Nine by the Vel'Vloz'ress.

In their heyday they made up most of Diva'ratrika's inner guard earning her trust because of their unique qualities. Being part Drowussu meant that they were loyal, more so than Drowolath but being part Drowolath meant that they would also be fierce fighters.

The Clan as a whole:

  • Animal Motifs (Their's was the stag)
  • Better to Die Than Be Killed (at least one survivor of the war chose Seppuku over living after the Nidraa'chal War)
  • Foil (They were this to the more fanatical Kyorls. In turn the Kyorl hated them because they were mixed breeds and as such an affront to their ideals of racial purity. This is also seen in the two drowussu clans' choice of animal mount, e.g. the stag for the Dutan'vir and the unicorn for the Kyorl'solennurn.)
  • Halfbreed (many members, and Word of God is their Ill'haress was one too)
  • Honor Before Reason (the reason they undertook their last stand)
  • Locked Room Mystery (the death of their Ill'haress was one of these, since she was slain at the heart of the fortress surrounded by guards. In this case the method isn't in question, since her guardian was tainted and set on her, the question is who. It's implied that it may have been an inside job.)
  • My Master, Right or Wrong (they saw Diva'ratrika as this which was why the Sharen sisters targeted them during their coup)
  • Pimped-Out Dress (Their leaders had some of the fanciest outfits of the comic. One look at the detail in Mikilu'ligr's overseer uniform provides proof.)
  • The Remnant (All but destroyed after the Nidraa'chal War. Even the suffix 'ligr' (of the main noble house) came to be a term of derision in the Drow world. Whenever someone makes a huge mistake in battle, they are referred to as pulling a "ligr".)
  • Trauma Conga Line (with entire Nidraa'chal War was this. And according to Sha'sana, this was exactly what Snadhya'rune wanted to happen, in order to undercut Chel's stability and remove Diva'ratrika's strongest and most loyal allies)
  • Turncoat (One of its main houses, the Les'wanre, defected to the Kyorl'solenurn over what they felt to be Diva'ratrika's betrayal of their clan. Her holding an inquisition of members of the clan during the Nidra'chaal uprising led to some Dutan'vir thinking that she was questioning their loyalty, so they defected in protest.)
  • Undying Loyalty (One of the traits Diva'ratrika valued in them, and it turns out the exact reason the Nidraa'chal targetted them)

Mikilu'ligr Val'Dutan'vir

Formerly overseer of Val'Sharess Diva'ratrika, Mikilu is the focus of the Dutanv'ir Path sidestory and missing by the start of Chapter 1, and with the last female Val of the Dutan'vir clan gone the clan fell and were replaced by the Vloz'ress.

  • Chekhov MIA (missing by the start of chapter 1 only to show up again in Chapter 31, with the heavy implication that she was the one who tried to kill Snadhya'rune)
  • Driven to Madness (she was put through this by being denied access to Diva'ratrika and meetings concerning her, being mocked by everyone except the Sharen sisters who were the ones actually setting her up and having her food replaced with rotting meat to either force her to leave or make her go on a suicidal charge)
  • Frame-Up (she was made to look like she'd snapped and killed a bunch of slaves to smear her reputation)
  • Gray Eyes
  • Pimped-Out Dress (according to the artists who worked on it, her dress is one of the most complicated in the comic)
  • Put on a Bus (the subject of where Mikilu went after the conclusion of her story is a popular one in the fandom)
  • Rapunzel Hair (like nearly all Vals, but hers is notable because of how much volume it has, best shown here)
  • Skyward Scream (a pretty spectacular one thanks to the use of mana)

Minka Sann'ligr Val'Dutan'vir

Formerly a member of the Dutan'vir, he was part of the charge that wiped out most of the clan. After the Nidraa'chal War he was captured and forced to work in the Black Dragon gladiator arena. After Ariel and her friends break Rik'shakar out of the dungeons, he is one of the prisoners set free by Irena to help her against them, only to knock her out and take power for himself.

Sker'ligr Val'Dutan'vir

Formerly one of the Val'Sharess' guards, Sker was present when Sil'lice arrived at the Imperial Palace. He later deserted and wound up in the Maeyukir House of the Sarghress.

  • Conflicting Loyalty (ran into this when he found Sil'lice at the Val'Sharess tower and she was charged with attmpted murder, but ultimately chose Sil'lice over the other Sharen sisters and let her go, and later joined her in the Sarghress clan)
  • Dual-Wielding
  • Multi-Armed and Dangerous (he has golem prostheses that he uses to hold extra shields)
  • You Gotta Have Green Hair (notable because he's the only character shown in-series to have this color hair.)

Sael Dutan'vir

Lulianne's niece, she was Syphile's friend at Orthorbbae, focused on in the sidestory "Syphile's Great Deed" (the dialog is canon, but the art was done by a fan for a contest). It's heavily implied that she died during or soon after the Nidraa'chal War, and she never actually appears in any official artwork, outside of Khaless using Sael's face to taunt Lulianne during their fight in Chapter 25.

Nir'naya

One of Diva'ratrika's bodyguards. She was present with Mikilu in Chapter 1 during her disgrace at the Sharen sisters' party. Unlike Mikilu, she chose not to leave the Sharen and remained one of the Imperial bodyguards (the implication is that she was given Mikilu's old position.) Recently showed up in Chapter 30 after a long absence.

Sang'oro

A former Dutan'vir of mixed drowolath/drowussu heritage who is now a templar for the Kyorl'solenurn clan. He can be seen in Chapters 12 and 13 fighting with Kyo'varde and her team against Sene'kha Vel'Vloz'ress and her demon hunters.

  • All Genes Are Codominant (Unlike other Dutan'vir, who mostly just look like drowussu with a darker grey shading, Sang'oro is drawn as a direct intermediate between drowussu and drowolath typical traits. His skin is shaded grey-brown and his hair is neither neon like drowolath or pale like drowussu; he has what appears to be a pastel light-purple/faded-pink hair color.)
  • Blood Knight
  • Halfbreed (He managed to enlist within Kyorl ranks, despite their dislike of mixed breeds. Either this means that the Kyorl'solenurn are willing to let individuals prove themselves or Sang'oro is just that Badass.)
  • Meaningful Name (Sang is the French word for blood. This might be to emphasize the fact that he may be a Blood Knight as seen above.)
  • One Steve Limit (Averted somewhat. There is also a Sang in the Sarghress Clan.)
  • The Stoic
  • The Quiet One

Kai'to Val'Dutanvir (now Sarghress)

A former Val of the Les'wanre house of the Dutan'vir clan, Kaito fell out with his family and left the clan shortly before the Nidraachal War. He first attempted to join the Kyorl'solenurn but was disaffected by their ideals, eventually choosing to join the Sarghress (however he refused to join the Maeyukir subhouse). He is now a Highland Raider alongside Quil'yate and Vaelia!. He appears in the side stories depicting the Highland Raiders' adventures on the surface world during Chapter 25.


The Val'Chai'tioc

A Val clan that existed around 3 centuries before the main storyline, first introduced in a Daydream story. A notable member of this clan introduced in the story is Sal'bara, one of Snadhya'rune's young proteges who later appears in the main story and is all but confirmed to be a Nidraa'chal agent. The clan itself was destroyed by the Sharen after the assassination of a Sharen Val was blamed on them. Now the clan fortress ruins are used by squatters.

  • Chronic Backstabbing Disorder (Sal'bara indicates that her clan was always at each other's throats and that she could not trust anyone. And if they were indeed responsible for the assassination of a Sharen Val this may be why.)
  • The Engineer (Sal'bara at the very least was a talented golem engineer)
  • The Remnant (Sal'bara is the only known surviving member, and it's implied that this is why she joined the Nidraa'chal, in part to get back at the Sharen)
  • Rich Bitch (at the very lest Sal'bara was this, since she dismissed Mel as a commoner when they first met)
  • Tall Poppy Syndrome (after the assassination of a Sharen Val was blamed on the Chai'tioc, the Sharen retaliated by wiping them all out. Ironically, the resulting war greatly benefited the Sarghress and helped their own rise to Val status, and the Sarghress have proven to be far more trouble for the Sharen than the Chai'tioc ever were.)

The Val'Nabhan'veaka

Val'Nabhan'veaka

A Val clan that existed around the mid 10th century, the Val'Nabhan'veaka created the ambitious Skyhole project, which would permit travel between the Surface in a matter of hours instead of days and make colonization easier. Even more extraordinarily, they managed to unite the clans behind the effort as well, even bitter rivals like the Sharen and the Sullisin'rune. Sadly, the Skyhole collapsed, effectively killing the clan, and set the stage for much of the chaos that was to follow. The Val'Jaal'darya succeeded them as the next Val clan.

The Clan as a Whole:

  • All There in the Manual (this clan first appeared in the "Rise of the Jaal'darya" Daydream story, and then certain details were confirmed canon to the DT universe by the writer.)
  • Creative Sterility (after the Nabhan'veaka clan fell, many of the brightest thinkers went with them, as seen in the entries below)
  • Disaster Dominoes (besides the immediate physical damage to the surrounding area, the collapse of the Skyhole had several other effects on the main story)
    • The collapse trapped many Sarghress troops on the surface and cut them off from the rest of Chel.
    • Taking advantage of this, Diva'ratrika had the Sharen led by Sarv'swati attack the weakened Sarghress.
    • This led directly to the battle where Sarv'swati fought Quain'tana and made her barren.
    • The Sarghress survived thanks to their cavalry making a forced march from the surface and coming to the rescue to their clanmates and Ill'haress just in time.
    • The collapse and its after effects ruined the good will that had been building among the clans, setting the stage for the distrust and indifference that would later show itself in the Nidraa'chal War.
    • The collapse also took many of Chel's most creative and progressive thinkers with it, and set back the colonization effort for many years.
  • The Engineer
  • Epic Fail (the collapse was considered the greatest disaster in Chelian history until the Nidraa'chal War)
  • Space Elevator (this was essentially what the Skyhole was, though instead of space it went to the Surface)


The city of Vanaheimr

The last known surviving Light Elf city, the elves of Vanaheimr have secluded themselves in the wilderness ever since the Dark Elf exodus underground and the end of the Moons Age.

Background Information:

  • Bavarian Fire Drill (the citizens are so used to following orders that it just takes Freyr telling them to back down to make them leave Shan and Myou alone)
  • Fantastic Caste System (Vanaheimr operates on a very strict caste system, as Freyr explains when asked why there aren't more outside. They also seem to draw a clear line between "Vanir" (us) and "outsiders" (light elves and drowussu) and only consider the former citizens)
  • Fantastic Racism (Freyr explains that The Purge carried out on the surviving light elves from Nagyesced took place because they weren't considered "real" vanir. Even Freyr, who otherwise comes off as being fairly reasonable, calls them "a stain" and "a shame")
  • Just Following Orders (seems to be a common theme amongst them)
  • The Purge (the same night Chiri, Shan and the light elves they rescued arrive, assassins are sent to kill them.)
  • Shaggy Dog Story (see the above trope for details)
  • Theme Naming (a lot of their names come for Norse Mythology. Interestingly, in Real Life the Norse name for the land of elves was Álfheimr, while in the Drowtales universe it's Vanaheimr, or "home of the Vanir", who rather than elves were actually Gods. This tells you something about the elves of Vanaheimr and what they think of themselves).

Vala Hudr

The ruler of the light elves of Vanaheimr. Apparently born into her status, there are small hints that some light elf males are seeking her hand in marriage for political gain. Was fomerly co-ruler with the Van until he died.

  • Hair of Gold
  • Hello, Nurse! (The fanbase had this reaction when she first appeared in Chapter 29. A Daydream wallpaper followed soon after.)
  • Nice Hat
  • Puppet Queen (implied here)
  • Seer (and apparently Chiri's powers inferfere with hers. Given that so far the only three characters who are able to see the future are light elves or drowussu the descendents of them it seems to be a racial trait)
  • Somebody Else's Problem (according to Freyr, she intentionally turned a blind eye to the assassination attempt on Chiri and Shan so she wouldn't have to bear the guilt of it)

Freyja

One of the light elves imprisoned in Nagyscyed. She and the other elves were eventually rescued by Ariel and her gang in the "Rescue Faen" arc before splitting up to travel with Chiri'nide and Shan'naal. Sweet and demure she has hopes of finding her brother and her city homeland after being rescued.

Freyr

Freyja's older brother. He was separated from her when they were outside their home city and she was eventually captured by Halme slave traders. He has been looking for her ever since.

  • Badass Cape (Subverted. Chirinide still beats him to a pulp even when he is wearing it.)
  • Because You Were Nice To My Sister ( Admits that this trope is the only reason he helped Shan'naal, Chirinide and Myou escape Vanaheimr.)
  • Big Brother Mentor (Is very much a caring older brother to Freyja. One of the first hints to show that he may not be all bad)
  • Government Conspiracy (Chapter 29 doesn't go into much detail about his father's plans but he and Freyr seem to want to abolish the caste system in Vanaheimr.)
  • Grumpy Bear (Initially)
  • Jerkass
  • Knight Templar Big Brother (For Freyja)
  • Nice Hat
  • Noble Bigot (Extremely prejudiced against those not from Vanaheimr. The "noble" part comes in when despite this he goes through the trouble of saving Chiri, Shan and Myou from certain death)
  • Not So Different (He and Chirinide both acknowledge the need for change in the outlooks of both their peoples. However Freyr coldly states that the prisoners killed " were no more light elves than you are" to Chirinide.)
  • The Power of Trust ( He only helps Chirinide, Shan'naal and Myou escape because they helped Freyja back in Nagyscyed)
  • Shiny Midnight Black (His black hair is drawn with blue highlights in it)
  • Strong Family Resemblance (Is a miniature version of his father)
  • Theme Naming (He and his sister both have names from Norse Mythology).
  • Warrior Prince (Not a prince but he is the son of a high ranking light elf and a competent fighter so he fits the trope)


The Tei'kaliath

Tei'kaliath

This House mostly plays a role in the Path to Power games but small references to them have appeared in the main comic. Coming from the fallen city of Shifaye'sindil, they are newcomers to the city and have a different look to other Drow. Their Illharess is An'jhali.

The House as a whole:

  • Aerith and Bob (Because each character is named by a player, this is the effect some names have, with some being obviously fantastic and others being variations on real world names, often with an apostrophe or alternate spelling)
  • After the End (Not only was their original homeland destroyed, they have also had to fend off attacks on their refugee party from the Black Sun mercenaries and lost their home in Chel.)
  • The Cameo (The little puppet Kharla'ggen is holding in one of the main comic wallpapers is of An'jhali, while An'jhali herself appears in chapter 16, and one player makes a cameo in chapter 13.)
  • Crazy Survivalist (pretty much out of necessity since they first arrived on the outskirts of Chel with only the clothes on their backs)
  • Cross Cultural Kerfluffle (Because their home city was completely cut off from the rest of the Underworld the Tei'kaliath have dealt with several of these due to In-Universe Values Dissonance, from referring to their leader as an Ill'haress, a title reserved for the leaders of the great clans to accidentally breaking the Queen's law against fighting in the streets, which is brought up in the main archive here. Once you see the map of the underworld and realize how far away their city was from all the other underworld settlements this makes a lot of sense.)
  • Doomed Hometown (Shifaye'sindil fell before the start of the game, with only 2% of the population surviving the Black Suns invasion and the civil war that broke out as a result)
  • Halfbreed (Word of God is that the unique Tei'kaliath skintone was originally a coloring error, but later on they decided that it actually indicates that the original dark elf nation was more racially tolerant than their neighbors, so there would have been more mixing of light and dark elves, but it happened so long ago that no one really remembers it. It also helps explain the various eccentricities that on a meta level are due to the clan being played by humans)
  • Hero of Another Story (Their main role is in the Path to Power games)
  • Interactive Comic
  • Modest Royalty (An'jhali is dressed much more conservatively than other clan leaders but this may be justified due to the Tei'kaliath not having Val status.)
  • Naive Newcomer
  • Player Characters (every character besides An'jhali and a few other NPCs is controlled by a player)
  • The Remnant (They are much closer to their Dark Elf ancestors than other Chelians, since there was no massive generational overthrow of dark elves in Shifaye'sindil as happened in Chel. This is one reason why they have a somewhat paler complexion compared to the drow we see in Chel, as well as being taller than the average Chelian.)
  • The Rival (To the Black Sun, and the Siksa'santi, who at one point took their ambassador hostage)
  • The Wiki Rule (has an unofficial one maintained by players)

An'jhali Tei'kaliath

The Ill'haress of the Tei'kaliath house. She came to the role relatively early after the war that devastated Shifaye'sindil.

Badai An'karaa

An'jhali's lover, he was believed dead during the attack on the Tei'kaliath homeland, when in fact he was captured by the Black Sun. He later appeared in a sidestory done by the Path To Power artist, and later appeared in the game itself.

  • Chekhov MIA
  • Easy Amnesia (when he arrives in Chel he remembers nothing, not even his own name)
  • Handicapped Badass (losing one arm didn't do anything to slow him down)
  • Memetic Badass (as soon as he was introduced in flashbacks the Path To Power plays instantly formed a fanclub for him, and this was poked fun at in game)
  • My Name Is Not Durwood (the fact that a lot of players seem to have trouble with his name has turned into something of a Running Gag, with the most frequent misspelling being "Bandai")


The Siksa'santi

Siksa'santi

A clan of warriors, they came into being in the aftermath of the Sharen and Sullisin'rune War. Their Illhar is Kendra.

  • Fan Nickname (after the hostage incident, several Tei'kaliath dubbed them the Sexy Santas, especially since so many had trouble spelling their name)
  • Private Military Contractors (they essentially play this role in Chel)
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy (even more so than typical drow)
  • Uncanny Resemblance (Their Illhar Kendra resembles Quain'tana quite a bit though this may be due to the art style. Canonically the Siksa'santi are actually older than the Sarghress, so in-story it may in fact be the other way around.)


The Siyah'Khorshed - aka The Black Sun

The Siyah'Khorshed (aka Black Sun mercenaries)

A loosely organised group of drow nomads that make their living from raiding other clans and cities. They are disliked by the majority of Chelians.

Farasank

A leader of the Black Sun Mercenaries (or Siyah'Khorshed), a band of nomadic drow from outside Chel'el'Sussuloth first introduced in Chapter 30. He appears to have a low opinion of most Chelians, regarding them as weak and soft.

  • Ambiguous Fantasy Ethnicity (Is he a Dark Elf or is he a Drow? The red skin and coloured hair might indicate that he is a Dark Elf, but his eyes appear Drow like. The other members of the Black Sun however look like standard drow.)
  • Barbarian Tribe (The Siyah'Khorshed/Black Sun Mercenaries are seen as this by Chelian city-dwellers.)
  • The Big Guy (And how! He is practically a giant compared to most male Drow and could potentially rival Quain'tana as one of the tallest characters in the series.)
  • Casanova Wannabe (Makes advances to every female character he comes across.)
  • Defeat Means Friendship (What some fans are holding out for if Sarv'swati agrees to allow the Black Sun into Chelian territory.)
  • Distracted by the Sexy (He may well have won his fight with Sarv'swati or at least fought her to a draw if he hadn't stopped to cop a feel.)
  • Fang Thpeak (Tends to slur his speech and the 'r's in his words are replaced with apostrophes in the text bubbles.)
  • Fantastic Racism (Against the inhabitants of Chel'el'Sussuloth.)
  • Jerkass
  • Made of Iron (takes a mana fueled kick from Sarv'swati directly to the chest, and it doesn't even faze him)
  • No Guy Wants an Amazon (subverted, he does want both Vidhi'yani and Sarv'swati in very disturbing ways and seems to like Sarv'swati even more after she beats him up)
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy
  • Slasher Smile
  • Standard Female Grab Area (Subverted. He tried grabbing hold of Sarv'swati in this manner, but it failed.)
  • Worthy Opponent (thinks Sarv'swati is this, albeit after she kicks his ass)


The Kal'Yantra

Kal'Yantra

A non-Val clan specialising in the building of golems. After the timeskip they've been absorbed by the Sarghress and contracted to work on their war golems, and the sidestory Battlefield Engineers focuses on them.

  • Brown Eyes (seems to be the usual eye color among members, which is notable in the drow world for being relatively rare, the inverse of the real world where brown is the most common human eye color)
  • Gadgeteer Genius (The entire clan falls into this since most other clans rely on them for war golems)
  • Goggles Do Nothing (Averted, they are seen using their goggles when ever welding metal together)
  • Humongous Mecha
  • The Mechanic
  • Punny Name (their Illhar's name is Maszyna, which in several Slavic languages means "machine")
  • Wrench Wench (the female members of their clan)

Dra'jyal Kal'yantra

One of Ariel's classmates in the Davya Tower of the Orthobbae Legs. Doesn't appear again until after the time-skip in the main comic, but the contest winner of 2011 and 2012 features him heavily in her side stories. His most recent appearance was in the canon side story Battlefield Engineers.

  • Curtains Match the Window (both brown haired and brown eyed in the comics)
  • Happily Adopted (it was revealed that he wasn't born into the Kal'yantra clan but was adopted. He seems happy enough with the set-up however.)
  • The Mechanic (this is what he is after the time-skip)


The Guild of Flowers

Guild of Flowers

Part of the trading community at large. They sit in the middle circle at the Council. Most are unaffiliated with any of the major clans except to trade. Their Illhar's name is Naj'wa.

  • Hooker with a Heart of Gold / Miss Kitty (One of the professions their members are involved with)
  • Intrepid Merchant (Another of the professions their members are involved in)
  • Urban Segregation ( They provide an example of this at clan meetings where the reason they sit in the middle is because they represent middle to lower middle class drow- while the Val clans sit at the top on a higher platform with the lowest of the lower class not even represented at all.)


The Val'ley'Gurls

Val'ley'Gurl

A minor clan specialising in girliness and PINK. Lots of it. They appear mostly as a running gag in chibi art and side stories, and are not officially canon. Their Illhar is Val'erie.

The Clan as a Whole:


The Nidraa'chal

The Nidraa'chal

Background Information:

Sixteen years before the events of the main story (pre-timeskip), the Nidraa'chal were a small group that seemingly rose from nowhere and threatened the whole of Chel'el'Sussuloth. Before they arrived on the scene, tainting was limited to accidents in summoning and the victim was seen as "weak" and unable to control their own summons. With the arrival of the Nidraa'chal, this soon turned out not to be the case. The members of the Nidraa'chal were tainted right down to the last man, woman and child of their own volition and spread havoc across the underworld. After ignoring the potential threat for years, Diva'ratrika summoned a Council of all the clans to discuss the problem. This did not have the effect that Diva'ratrika was hoping for; many of the other Great clans felt that the issue was solely a Sharen one, and the Empress was in a moral conflict. Three of her own daughters were now tainted, and yet she was calling the Nidraa'chal a threat to Drow society. Without the support of the other clans, Diva'ratrika elected to send troops after any and all tainted, causing dissatisfaction amongst the Val'Dutan'vir, who were at the time amongst her staunchest allies. After Snadhya'rune advised Diva'ratrika to stay her hand until she could negotiate with the Nidraa'chal, the latter began to randomly attack civilians, a move unheard of in normal Drow political struggles. Angry for being held back, Diva'ratrika allowed the Sharen to make a strike against the Nidraa'chal, with her daughters Sil'lice and Nishi'kanta leading most of their bloodlines into the front lines. They were able to push back the demon clan but suffered heavy losses. Yet the true plans of the Nidraa'chal were yet to be discovered... and their origins were not what they seemed...

  • Arc Words ( "We are the bastard daughters of Sharess...")
  • Bastard Bastard (the Nidraa'chal seem fond of invoking this, since they refer to themselves a "The Bastard Daughters of Sharess" and while drow don't have marriage "bastard" seems to carry the connotation of "unrecognized" and "not able to inherit" that the word has had historically)
  • Big Bad (in-universe they are still seen as a very real threat, especially by the Kyorl'solenurn)
  • Complete Monster (In-Universe, even clans who had been neutral about them began to see them this way after they began attacking civilians, something that the drow consider to be a big no-no, if only because it wastes resources and clans would usually just absorb the slaves and goods captured rather than simply destroy them as the Nidraa'chal did)
  • Demonic Possession (Every member was "tainted" - both willingly and by force - and the reason why they were such a threat is that they were willing to forcibly taint everyone they came across whether civilians or nobles.)
  • The Dreaded (Sixteen years after they "fell" the memory of what they did to Chel is still a sore point for many, and during the War they were seen as dangerous enough to have the entire Sharen army go against them, something that had never happened before)
  • The Horde (Unleashed an army of demons on Sil'lice and her family during the war)
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero (Diva'ratrika is partly to blame for the rise of the Nidraa'chal, since her delay in acting against them led to them being able to wreak such havoc on the drow population, and civilians disproportionately suffered during the War, a direct violation of traditional clan warfare rules. This trope also applies to Sha'sana, who even says that the Nidraa'chal are the result of her actions.)
  • Not-So-Harmless Villain (Diva'ratrika states that before the Nidraa'chal, tainted summoners were seen mainly as objects of pity, since they were unable to control their summons and became subjugated by them, and any summoners incompetent enough to get possessed couldn't possibly be a threat to anyone else. Right? This idea backfired spectacularly when it tainting itself began to be used as a weapon.)
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning
  • The Reveal (The Wham! Episode chapter 25 reveals that Not only is Kalki the daughter of a Sharen noble, and worse, Diva'ratrika's own granddaughter, but said noble (Snadhya'rune) is also the clan's ill'haress and one of its original founders.)
  • The Remnant ( According to Sha'sana there are sleeper Nidraa'chal agents in EVERY major clan and most of the minor ones as well.)
  • Running Both Sides (the entire clan was a front for the coup three of the Sharen sisters pulled on their mother and Snadhya'rune is later revealed to be their ill'haress.)
  • Somebody Else's Problem (Believing the entire affair only involved the Sharen, the other clans at Diva'ratrika's Council refused to intervene until the Nidraa'chal started attacking civilians and leaving entire districts devastated. As mentioned above, this only made the situation worse.)
    • Later on, given what's revealed about the origins of the Nidraa'chal, technically the other clans were right
  • Unwitting Pawn (Played with. During the war between the Sharen and the Nidraa'chal they were the pawn for three of the Sharens' attempt to murder their mother, but Kalki was made aware of this all along so only the "pawn" part is true. However as is revealed in later chapters it looks like the Sharen are now the "unwitting pawns" of the Nidraa'chal as Snadhya'rune has her own plans which Sarv'swati even admits do not involve the Sharens (and even Sarv'swati may not know of Snadhya'rune's faulty seeds that affect 90% of the tainted population). Snadhya'rune's ultimate goal is to be empress and she intends to let the majority of Chel destroy itself to let this become reality.)

Kalki Nidraa'chal

The first named Nidraa'chal to appear, she appears in the Prologue to fight Sil'lice, and for a long time was one of the most mysterious and speculated-upon characters due to cryptic comments made by Sil'lice. She later appears in chapter 17 as a "friend" of Snadhya'rune, and in chapter 25 it's revealed that she's not just Snadhya's daughter, but also Mel'arnach's.

  • Affably Evil (it's almost possible to forget that she's a mass murdering terrorist)
  • Bastard Bastard (she's actually referred to as Snadhya'rune's illegitimate daughter in the print copy of one of the books, and it appears that she's not legally recognized as a Sharen, which makes sense given that she's also half Sarghress and the result of Jaal'darya experimentation, two things that would most likely make her unable to inherit)
  • Curtains Match the Window (originally, which makes sense since both of her parents also have purple hair and eyes)
  • Deliberately Cute Child (almost as soon as she reappeared fans started commenting that she acts just a little too cute...)
  • Early-Bird Cameo (Word of God is that the woman standing next to Snadhya in this page from Chapter 11 is indeed Kalki, even though she looks different, presumably because her final design hadn't been decided on)
  • Evil Gloating (does a lot of this in her battle with Sil'lice)
  • Genki Girl (see above)
  • The Glomp (to Mel, twice, first after meeting her and then after calling her "Father")
  • Godiva Hair (when she appears in chapter 17)
  • Has Two Mommies / Homosexual Reproduction
  • Mel'arnach, You Are My Father
    • And by extension, Ariel, I Am Your Sister
  • Shadow Archetype (of Ariel, even more so since they're actually half-sisters, leading to speculation that there may be a Cain and Abel situation later in the story. At the moment only Kalki is aware of their relationship.)
  • Shrug of God (when asked if she was related to Snadhya, Word of God on the subject was that she was Snadhya's daughter, but Snadhya had never given birth. Later on Exact Words are invoked, since Snadhya went to the Jaal'darya and had the baby carried outside her womb, so technically she never has given birth.)
  • Spoiled Brat (several characters refer to her as this, and her behavior seems to back it up.)
  • Tangled Family Tree (Oh boy. Long story short, she's related to half of the main cast in some form or another. And even better, her two grandmothers are Quain'tana and Diva'ratrika!)
  • Waif Fu (from what's been seen when she fights she does a lot of jumping around and has a pretty small frame, and fans speculate that she uses air sorcery to help her along which makes sense, considering she's related to Ariel, who can do similar things)
  • We Can Rule Together (to Sil'lice. It doesn't work.)

Shodun

A Nidraa'chal first seen during Sil'lice's flashback in chapter 19. She is actually a member of the Illhar'dro clan, and appears again in chapter 33, where she kills Sandaur.

Sal'bara Val'Chai'tioc

See above under The Val'Chai'tioc clan entry.


The Stone Company

Stone Company

Background Information:

A trade company specializing in overworld and underworld goods, headed by Dhal'zin and several generations of her Halme allies. This was the subject of a podcast and Dhal'zin herself also appeared in Chapter 20.

Dhal'zin

The owner of the Stone Company and a trading partner of the Illhar'dro.

  • All Halmes Are Alike (played with, it's pretty obvious to readers that they aren't, but Dhal constantly confuses the different generations of Fen's family due to her long lifespan)
  • Bare Your Midriff
  • Blue Eyes
  • Gender Blender Name
  • In the Hood (wears a long cloak with a hood)
  • Interspecies Romance (with Kai and possibly Fen too in the past. It's somewhat ambiguous just how far their relationship goes, but she's certainly flirtatious with both of them.)
  • Statuesque Stunner (One of the tallest drow females seen in-story)
  • Super Breeding Program (Of a sort. Word of God is that she intentionally bred Kai's family with people who would give them coloring similar to a dark elf, apparently for her own amusement. She also names each successive generation with names with the same first letter, so Fen is part of the F Generation, Kai part of the K Generation, etc.)

Fen

A Halme merchant who became friends with Dhal'zin several decades ago, and his family has been part of the Stone Company with her for several generations. He was also a part of Dhal'zin's breeding program, with his descendants continuing to work with her till the present day.

Kai

A descendant of Fen in the present day. He is present in Chapter 20 with Dhal'zin at the Ill'har'dro surface outpost that Kyo'nne reports to.

Others / Clanless

Rikshakar

Zhor

Originally a Dark Elf turned into a spider after receiving life threatening injuries, Zhor is Mel's constant companion and the father of her child, Ariel.

  • Interspecies Romance (despite appearances, Zhor is actually a subversion, since he's a Dark Elf that was transformed into his current state)
  • Ariel I Am Your Father (lord knows how she's going to take that, especially given her reaction to just finding out Mel was her mother. If Ariel was informed of Zhor's relationship to her over the timeskip her reaction hasn't been shown on screen.)
  • Purple Eyes (like his daughter)
  • The Unintelligible (due to being a spider, the most he can do is chitter. It also means that unless we get a flashback from his perspective we'll likely never know what his real story is.)
  • Shapeshifting Squick (how Ariel was conceived. One of the editors clarified that the actual process of shapeshifting wasn't involved in Ariel's conception, but the sheer fact that he's, y'know, a spider still makes it fall under this. If you really want to know...it works the same way regular male spiders deposit sperm into a female using his specialized forelegs
  • Was Once a Man (Elf, that is)

Discordia

A sentient demon and shard of a great demon god. Was originally summoned to fight in the Black Dragon arena, but has since escaped and taken over another body, which is being hunted by the Vloz'ress so they can summon another demon and Take Over the World.

Sha'sana

The former headmistress of Orthorbbae, she narrates part of the Prologue and appeared in one page, where it's implied that Snadhya'rune killed her. She later turns up alive and well in Chapter 25, and appears to be biding her time until Snadhya's plot implodes.

  • Chekhov's Gunman
  • Deceptive Disciple (Snadhya'rune was this to her, and Sha'sana knew it by the time she was betrayed)
  • Gone Horribly Wrong (the tainting process, which originally was a device to help the drow resettle the surface. However Snadhya'rune warped it to fit her own plans for takeover with intentionally faulty seeds)
  • Mummies At the Dinner Table (it's hard to not think of how she's keeping Sharess' body as this)
  • Neglectful Precursors (besides being a surviving dark elf, Sha'sana was also largely responsible for the current trend of tainting, though the Nidraa'chal were not her direct doing)
  • Person of Mass Destruction (though not yet shown, given what we know about her and what we can infer from what Diva'ratrika was capable of, Sha'sana is probably a massively powerful dark elf)
  • Seen It All (has this tone, and Wild Mass Guessing is that she's inherited memories from her ancestors)
  • Somebody Else's Problem (how she feels about Chel, since her only goal is to resurrect Sharess. Lulianne is not happy to hear this and tells her that by doing nothing she aids the Nidraa'chal)
  • Time Dissonance (she refers to periods of 25 or 30 years like they're a few minutes, and seems to have a detached and bored tone when talking about how Snadhya'rune's plot will fall apart soon enough)
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist (her research into stable demonic seeds was meant to help the drow resettle the surface, and she hoped to find a way to remove the seeds at some point as well)
  • Wingding Pupils (her pupils are shaped like spirals, and according to Word of God this is due to her undergoing a sort of tainting that's not quite demonic tainting but similar. The implications of Liriel's eyes turning the same way as Diva'ratrika starts to manifest is that she has undergone some sort of aura fusion)

Sharess

The savior of the Dark Elves from the nether beings and leader of her people into the Underworld, Sharess was worshipped as the Goddess of her people for centuries, but by the time of the story the religion had largely died off save for the Kyorl'solenurn and a few pockets of worshippers.

Tralyn the Clanless

An aged history teacher in the Legs (i.e. male section) of Orthorbbae. He first appears in Chapter 2, stunning Ariel and her other classmates with his visibly aged appearance. Well versed in the knowledge of Drow history and culture he is a favourite amongst the pupils of Orthorbbae's Legs and is the one to suggest that Faen run away to the surface after she injures Nihi'liir and critically wounds a teacher. He also appears to be on good terms with Kel'noz.

  • The Chessmaster (who knows exactly what he and the other headmasters (including Kel'noz) are plotting, but they're definitely up to something)
  • Cool Old Guy (much like Rosof of the Sarghress he is notably lined and haggard in the face, due to spending a long time away from the mana pool. Unlike Rosof he will not age further because he was not away for too long and got back to Chel quickly enough.)
  • Green Eyes (of the bright and vivid variety)
  • The Magnificent (his moniker the clan-less. Even as a history teacher he is still allowed to keep his clan name, since most of the other male masters still use them, and it's not been explained why he specifies that he's "clanless" as opposed to just going by his name, as Sha'sana and a few other independent characters who do not identify with any specific clan have been shown to do, and even Chelian commoners appear to use surnames most of the time.)
  • Mysterious Past (again regarding his moniker. When Ariel and her classmates ask him about he claims that it is a story for another time. Also counts as a Noodle Incident, since presumably something happened that made him clan-less.)
  1. ↑ Sharen use the nine moons symbol for themselves, and the two sometimes overlap, but generally speaking Nine Eyes = Sharess, Nine Moons = Sharen
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