Drow
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Male and female names are usually derived from standard Elven, though pronounced or altered to accommodate Undercommon. Drow have a particular interest in the meaning of names, believing them to be guiding forces to a desired destiny parents might have for their children. This can be as specific as hoping their child becomes a powerful agent of The True Light Apostles (i.e. Vanira, a female name that means "to shine brightly"), or as a reminder or living praise to be bestowed unto a newborn child (i.e. Hongineth, a male name that means "living waters spring from barren soil"). Some Drow, if they come from a Great House, are given additions after their name, denoting a part of their lineage.
Major Organizations
Beauty Ideals
A particular fixation of Drow is light and celestial bodies. Drow value and see beauty in the forces that illuminate and act as a guiding point amidst darkness, both literally and metaphorically. A popular Drow phrase "Dos ph'ussta drada sssiks" (in Common translates to "You are my second sun") is used to tell someone they are the most important thing of this world to the speaker. This can be romantic, familial, platonic, or so forth in nature.
Gender Ideals
While men are not second class citizens in Drow society, it has clear matriarchal leanings. Women are usually the heads of households, the first to be chosen for positions of power, and are seen as inherently special. This is largely due to the fact that only Drow women can carry and give birth to children, something that resonates with Drow on a very primal level. Child birth is seen as a very spiritual experience for Drow, as it mimics the origins of their kind: Born in a dark, warm, hidden place, propelled to one day stand amidst the light of all things. Men can still hold positions of power and status, as well as holding their own place in Drow spirituality. To Drow, men are not only an obvious necessity to sire a child, but they are also seen as the rock of many families. It is uncertain how this perception came to be, but Drow men are also often symbolic of hope in Drow myth.
Courtship Ideals
Drow courtship is usually innated by a woman and if it leads to marriage, it is traditionally the woman as well who proposes. Drow men, if they accept a marriage proposal, do so by taking the woman's head in in their hands and pressing their forehead against theirs. There, they are to utter their inner most feelings towards their new companion barely above a whisper before kissing the woman on the forehead and crying out "Usstan zhal nin tealc ssussunur, whol Usstan inbal tlus yvalm a natha elemmiire!" (Common translation: "I shall now shine brighter, for I have been bound by a star!")
Relationship Ideals
Relationships, of any kind, are to honor three virtues: truth, conviction, and faithfulness.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Undercommon
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Most customs and traditions are from or tied to those held by The True Light Apostles.
Common Taboos
Spiders are seen as terrible omens and are used symbolically to represent the antithesis of everything Drow. Often times, terrible criminals or outcasts of society will be marked in some way with the symbol of a spider, a sign that they have been forsaken by their people.
History
Drow, like all elves, are a race as old as Neuorban itself. They, however, did not begin on the surface world like their kin. Their story begins in The Underdark, a place many Drow still call home. Drow believe this was to shield them while they were still a fledgling people, for Drow eyes are highly sensitive to sunlight. Drow are also the only elves who can inherently see magic without the aid of spells, though this sight is usually not as powerful as ones granted by said spells. The Drow's earliest history is shrouded in mystery, though it is said that a Drow was chosen by The Great Sun and became the first Baelnorn. This Drow is Miriggin Le'inesst, High Priest of The True Light Apostles.
He taught the Drow not only about their now precious faith, but the essential building blocks of civilization and magic. This would ultimately prepare them for the Great Green Tide that began in -552 ME, which the Drow would play a pivotal role in ending with their ritual spell that ushered in "The Great Rebirth".
After having been so instrumental in weakening the greenskin menace, the Drow used this as leverage to spare the newly reborn races that had once been mindless savages. This is the first time in recorded history where two groups of elves, in this case the Drow and the High Elves, became embroiled in a fundamental conflict, as the High Elves sought to extract their pound of flesh from the orcs and goblinoids for the damage caused during the conflict. Eventually, an agreement was reached: the High Elves would honor the Drow request to spare the new races, so long as the Drow took responsibility for them and took them into the Underdark. The Drow honored this, returning to their ancestral home and helping these new races find their place in the wider world, many choosing to stay in the Underdark, with the notable exception being the Hobgoblins.
From then on, the Drow would largely live independent of the goings on of the surface world, some even saying they pursued active isolation from it.
Lifespan
250 years (can live to 750)
Average Height
5'-6' tall
Average Weight
100-145 pounds
Average Physique
Lithe
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
The Drow have skin that resembles charcoal or obsidian, as well as stark white or pale yellow hair. They commonly have very pale eyes (so pale as to be mistaken for white) in shades of lilac, silver, pink, red, and blue.
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