Anoch'Toval Drow

The Anoch'Toval are a mysterious sect of Drow that call the deepest levels of the Underdark home, ranging for thousands of subterranean miles across the Merchant Sea and beyond. What drove them to the darkest places of Aorna is lost to time, but they long for the light of the surface and despise Drow sects that they view as betrayers - such as the Icharyd. They are hunters and nomads, never settling a single location for too long, patrolling caverns for food and quarry, enslaving those they view as weaker than them. It is a brutal culture, built off the worship of Venali, The Truth, a goddess who has fed them a slow diet of lies and propaganda for generations.
Strictly hierarchical, Toval society revolves around the whims of its priesthood, whom are led by a High Potentate - who acts as the voice of Venali. This priesthood has long held that the extended lives of the Drow, and the Elves as a whole, are a curse that makes them soft to the dangers of the world - especially the Underdark. They seek to simulate the shorter lives of mortal races like humans and halflings by resetting their memories every few decades - through the use of the dangerous spell Mindrend. Those who participate in this ceremony take on entirely new identities, names, and even sets of skills, living dozens of individual lives within their natural lifespan of more than 1,500 years. While this process is not considered mandatory, it is a religious rite, and all true followers of Venali partake - outside of the clergy, who must retain their knowledge of the practice.
However, in recent times, the use of Mindrend has become more common, often used purely for strategic means - deleting the memories of a soldier or agent to prevent them from informing on the Anoch'Toval to their enemies. This over-use has created an underclass of Anoch'Toval, often called "The Weary", who have been so drained of their memories that they lose all connection to the world and become rabid, dangerous beings in their own right.
There are those in Anoch'Toval society that fight back against some of the more extreme impulses of the culture, but they struggle to gain foothold against the power of the church. Some escape to other Drow enclaves, but most work from within, advocating secretly for change while avoiding the wrath of the High Potentate and his followers.
Anoch'Toval Drow have chalky, light gray skin and stark white eyes. Their hair is a pale blonde, almost white. The tips of their pointed ears are often clipped as a means to artificially separate them from other elven cultures. Warriors often wear red body paint, worn horizontally to represent the infantry and vertically to represent officers. The fewer the vertical stripes, the higher the ranking. The High Potentate wears a single red stripes that runs down the center of his body.
It is not known how the Anoch'Toval came into contact with Xavast, The Sunken Mind, but they were quickly recruited to his cause. He assembled them as any army, snuck them into Icharyd, and had his agents place portals throughout the city - through which his Voidkin could pour through. The Anoch'Toval invaded Icharyd alongside the Xavast's forces, slaughtering the residents there, killing the Luminous Heart and taking it for their own. They also aided in the abduction of Sovereign Prince Rodrigo Salemanco, whom the Xavast hope to use to gain control of the surface as he had the Underdark.
Much of the Anoch'Toval military was last seen marching out of the Underdark to an unknown destination. Those who were left were attacked by Ursodar, who provided a distraction as a band of adventurers infiltrated the palace in Icharyd to save the Sovereign Prince.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Alaunaca, Burdia, Draanala, Iraena, Faervil, Shurril, Nalquarra, Malolin, Kyosyne, Jhael, Haelsyn, Thiastree

Masculine names

Iztoren, Antarran, Bhinnet, Nalovir, Telanderae, Kulloro, Isthel, Wodhin, Elkakti, Pharral, Ranthigg, Szeal

Culture

Shared customary codes and values

• Strength is the driving force behind Anoch'Toval society. The deep Underdark is a dangerous place, teeming with vicious monstrosities and in order to survive, Anoch'Toval clans must be strong as possible - with no weak links. While strength is often defined physically first, the drow also cherish strength of mind and spirit. In many cases, stealth and cunning is as important as brute force.   
• While the Anoch'Toval are brutal, erratic warriors to their enemies, violence is strictly prohibited within clans and family groups. There simply are not enough Anoch'Toval to justify in-fighting. Any member of a clan who would do more than spar with a compatriot would find themselves exiled or executed. 
• The Anoch'Toval are obsessed with finding the "light", believing that the gods have cruelly punished them with an eternity of wandering the dark passages of the Underdark. They are always on the move, looking for a way out. 

Common Etiquette rules

• In domestic situations, Anoch'Toval will kneel to those of higher rank, averting their eyes to the ground.
• In war, Anoch'Toval bow to their superiors.
• It is customary for those on the verge of receiving a Mindrend to place a single memory in a jewel to be passed down to their children. 

Common Dress code

The resources to produce fabric and leather are scant in the Underdark, so most Anoch'Toval choose to remain naked. This is also considered a sign of strength, as it means they can withstand the cold of the caves. Some Anoch'Toval, especially those of higher rank, will wear pieces of the aberrations they defeat in battle as a trophy. It is also common for them to make simple gray and black beads out of lighter stones and minerals.

Art & Architecture

Anoch'Toval art is simple and rare since the nomadic, survival conscious lifestyle of the drow is not conducive to elaborate creative works. As such, most of their art takes the form of cave paintings and carvings that depict the battles and victories that have occurred at a specific site. These detailed, gorgeous carvings serve as directions and warnings for Anoch'Toval in the future who stumble through the same caverns and allow them to make their sprawling history a permanent part of their home.
While traveling, most Anoch'Toval clans carry portable tents and longhouses made out of bone and the skin of defeated beasts and aberrations. Many Anoch'Toval rise in rank within the clan by hunting and killing beasts large enough to construct one of these structures. 
On the rare occasions where the Anoch'Toval find a chamber that is large and safe enough to house them for long periods of time, they build vertical scaffolds that climb up the cave walls, leaving the center of the space open for socializing and training.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

Because they have evolved in a toxic environment, the Anoch'Toval drow have developed immunities to the poison flesh of many of the aberrations they share their home with. With the distinct lack of vegetation in the lower levels of the Underdark, their only option is to hunt the predators that hunt them. As such, Anoch'Toval drow are primarily carnivores, consuming the meat and blood of their prey. On rare occasions they will also add moss and fungus to their dishes for additional flavor.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

At birth, an Anoch'Toval drow is dipped into a dye of red clay that permanently alters their skin tone. They wear this as a means to show solidarity with the rest of the group. As they get older and grow within the hierarchy, pieces of the clay are stripped off of them to indicate rank in the society.

Funerary and Memorial customs

After death, any remaining red clay on their body is stripped away from them, allowing them to be a true individual to Venali for the first time. A list of their names and deeds is read off to the clan and they are left in the spot where they fell, their bones marking their life in the Underdark forever.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

The Anoch'Toval do not have traditional beauty standards. In fact, they do not even have a word for "beauty" in their language, substituting "strength" instead. As such, the most appealing Anoch'Toval are the strongest, fastest, and highest ranking in a clan. Cunning is also a prized trait.

Relationship Ideals

Most Anoch'Toval are polyamorous, seeking multiple partners across their lifetime. It is believed that bonding with multiple members of a clan will strengthen the chance for victory in battle and protect the family group from the dangers of the deepest levels of the Underdark. Typically, an Anoch'Toval will seek out a partner is of higher rank then they are - but this is not always sustainable. As such, many choose to marry in their own rank or even below. This latter option is called "Kneeling for Your Lesser" and is considered a great and beautiful sacrifice used to uplift the clan as a whole. Anoch'Toval family groups are surprisingly tender and loving when compared to their otherwise hierarchical society.