Lyryle

The Lyryle are a small culture of drow who focused on preserving their cultural heritage since their arrival on Vorago.
Lyryle, a word translating to "abandoned daughters" in an old form of elven, are an ethnicity of Drow on Vorago. Dark-skinned Elves are not uncommon in Vorago, but true Drow (grey to purple skin, blessings of Lolth, sunlight sensitivity, etc) are rare. Aside from the odd interplanar traveler, most drow arrive in Vorago in small groups: parties exploring a seameld, waylaid raider groups, etc. Soon after their arrival, they realize that Lolth holds little power in Vorago and that they are vastly outnumbered; most drow have turned away from Lolth as a result. Most intermarry with local elves (or sometimes humans) and blend in within a few generations. The Lyryle do not.
This is not to say the Lyryle have remained unchanged; most do not (openly) worship Lolth, the system of extreme matriarchy has toned down, and the warring family clan system has been replaced with a shared identity as Lyryle due to their small population. They live in small insular settlements (or discrete buildings in large cities), rather than underground, and so stay nocturnal as much as possible.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Lyryle speak a unique and identifiable dialect of Elven, though most also speak common.

Culture and cultural heritage

Lyryle culture is all about showing pride and independence (some would also add ethnic superiority). Older generations (and elves live for a very long time) are more isolationist and traditionalist, often seeking ways to contact Lolth, increase her power, or to gain material power. Younger generations may be more xenophilic, but the majority still believe in preserving Lyryle culture and show pride in their rare heritage; they tend to seek ways to extend Lyryle political or cultural influence, or even to simply strengthen the image of the ever-competent Lyryle adventurer.

Average technological level

Lyryle are the only group on Vorago able to weave spidersilk, and possess records of many old drow infernal rites otherwise unknown on Vorago. They are the premier, though not unique, wielders of shadow magic (very difficult, given Vorago's lack of Shadowfell).

Common Dress code

Extremely identifiable. Lyryle dress tends to use lots of silver, black, and purple and include spiderweb and star motifs. Lyryle tend to own only one or two main, unique spidersilk outfits and clean them frequently with prestidigitation.

Art & Architecture

Lyryle art and architechture could be described as "compensating for a lack of lolth" or trying to be "not like other girls". Lots of draping spidersilk, their main unique export.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

Because the Lyryle population is so small, they cannot easily maintain a fully independent economy. As such, Lyryle are known for bartering for long-term service in exchange for extremely difficult deeds or years of servitude. For example, one Lyryle group might barter for ten years of small bread tribute in exchange for ten years of bodyguard service by one of their offspring, or trade land rights in exchange for finding and killing a dragon.

Funerary and Memorial customs

All Lyryles bodies are recovered when possible by their family, wrapped in spidersilk, and sequestered in a secret location. All Lyryle on Vorago use the same one sequestration site, dubbed the spider grave.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Lyryle beauty exentuates their differences from all other ethnicities of Vorago. They tend to wear greyscale clothing with shiny metallic highlights which pop in low lighting, tend to wear their hair long, and may wear white eyeliner to exagerrate their dark eyes and faces. They tend to spend much more time on appearance when around non-Lyryle, so as to give an impression of ethereal, alien beauty.

Gender Ideals

Lyryle culture is descendent from extreme matriarchy, but has become slightly more egalitarian for stability. Women still hold more household and political power than men, but men are not seen as quite so disposable. Metaphorically, instead of "1 vote for women and 0 for men", now it's "2 votes for women and 1 vote for men" during decision making. Both genders are expected to be extremely self-reliant and martially adept.

Relationship Ideals

Lyryle are expected to marry other Lyryle, though are not forbidden from sleeping with other ethnicities. The issue is culture preservation, not sex. It is possible, though difficult, for a Lyryle to marry a non-Lyryle elf. The spouse must prove their dedication to becoming Lyryle, a process which can take decades. Due to the Elven Worldsoul, Lyryle fertility is limited. This is cause of great concern. Some rumors claim that Lyryle kidnap other elven babies and transmute them into drow, but they are only rumors.