<i>Thousands of tiny feet crawling from the growling halls of the Underdark....<br/>
<br/>
Duergar, The Underdark Goblin Clans, the Deep Gnomes, The Mind Flayers, The Drow, all wearing the symbol of Lolth and the Dark Seldarine.<br/>
<br/>
The ground was broken and cracked- the spell protecting Evermeet, capitol of the Moon Elves, finally broken.<br/>
<br/>
The Underdark army, with Drow at it's head, stood poised, banners of their houses and clans raised aloft.<br/>
<br/>
The Skies sun turned ever dark.<br/>
<br/>
The Spider Queen had spoken- Vengeance was theirs.</i><br/><br/>Vorn's eyes opened as he sat up, slowly moving from his trance, as he began dressing himself in the appropriate attire. His vision, it was far more clearer than it had ever been. He could make out the symbols on the banners, Houses that would stand with him. Grabbing the book hidden inside his shirt, he began detailing everything he could make out from the vision onto the pages. He was using Invisible Ink, thus leading to many of the pages looking blank, but it's true origins were only known to him. You'd need a strong dispel magic spell, true sight, or a see invisibility spell. Though some of the words may seem like the ravings of a madman, they accurately detailed incidents and happenings BEFORE they happened in Vorn's life- such as the sacking of Citadel Felbarr.<br/><br/>Vorn's dreams were never his. They belonged to the machinations of the Dark Mistress. It was, however, up to him to interpret their meaning and decide on the best course of action. This tome held knowledge vital to his Houses continued survival, and the future he sought, he couldn't allow it to fall into enemy hands. Vorn would place it in the leather harness pouch next to his heart, before pulling his shirt over it. He'd need to study upon his vision and think on what is to come later. For now came the time to prepare for the journey into Menzoberranzan. He wanted to arrive into the city and establish a foothold in Lolth's Web, the Compound of House Melarn. Their archives held the knowledge he desperately sought and they'd likely have to fight their way across the entire city to reach it.<br/><br/>Vorn would press his hands to his heart to curb his excitement- the trials and tribulations of his house were almost over. With the knowledge of the records and the powers of Sorcere, Vorn would be left unchallenged back in Ust Natha- Not even House Baenre would be able to challenge their authority.<br/><br/>Still, the wrench in his plan was House Zathlesz- He still had no idea where they got the information of Menzoberranzan from. He had hoped his visions would be able to give him glimpses into the families dealings, but it was only smoke. He did glean two things from available sources, however- One? The family was known for their excessive torment and bloodshed of others, they seemed to revel in the pain and suffering they could inflict. This was all well and good, but wasteful in Vorn's eyes- Putting that much effort into short-sighted pleasures was wasting precious resources for later. The second? her brothers were all absorbed into other minor houses by their matron's, though he only knew of this because he knew of the males. The minor houses were allied with House Zathlesz, which meant trouble.<br/><br/>House Zathlesz political power, numbers, and overall strength were unknown to him- He hated going in blind, but the situation called for it. The woman though, Aunrae, she was different- She was fanatically devoted to Lolth, he could see that by the black blood that dripped from her luscious lips, as the still-fresh corpse of a priestess laid before her. She was also intelligent, she didn't rise to power in her house without being so, that went for most Matron's. She was also unafraid to do whatever it took to rise to power in her station, which was the trait that he respected the most. There was others, but they were unknown to him at the time, he had yet to make a proper estimation. What did worry him was her beauty- She was enthralling, bewitching, perfect in every sense of the word.<br/><br/>That hinted at a Noble Birth- but from<i> where?</i><br/><br/>Thinking about it was only going to give him a headache, so he had to push forward. The Deep Gnomes and Duergar were packing all of the equipment needed for the days ahead. The rest they could get from the mines or from Mithral Hall, the Dwarven Stronghold. The stronghold was still recovering from Obould's Orc Hordes. The treaty meant and end to the conflict, but those present were still battered and weakened by the fighting, a well-trained force could easily crush the remaining defenders. Vorn had a devious smile on his face as he thought of what could be- House Xiltyn's banners flying victoriously over Mithral Hall, succeeding where House Baenre had failed, earning the respect and restoring the pride lost when their army was crushed. Still, that was for the future, not the present- He would not repeat Yvonnel's mistake.<br/><br/>Vorn would look at the map, as he'd instruct his forces to begin moving- The more time wasted, the more natives of the Underdark awakened and festered, and Vorn had no time or patience for distractions. Vorn would click his tongue and offer a shrill whistle, as his Riding Lizard,<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.walldevil.com%2Fwallpapers%2Fa88%2F6581-lizard.jpg&amp;hash=0587af436e9dc359dbc1460286188ded" href="https://www.walldevil.com/wallpapers/a88/6581-lizard.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Im'Cal</a>, which translated to '<i>Devoted Noble'</i>in the Drow Language, rode before him. The others in his company had<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fimg00.deviantart.net%2Ff4fb%2Fi%2F2014%2F062%2Fd%2Fd%2Fdark_elf_leather_book_cover__drow__by_creationvivi-d78rrco.jpg&amp;hash=63236486a13ae022695fcc02abbb8729" href="https://img00.deviantart.net/f4fb/i/2014/062/d/d/dark_elf_leather_book_cover__drow__by_creationvivi-d78rrco.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">slower variants</a>of Riding Lizards, meant for pack animals, but Im'Cal was special- His father had discovered the nest where Im'Cal's ancestor,<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Forig00.deviantart.net%2F2f67%2Ff%2F2013%2F316%2Fc%2F6%2Fascultone_by_therafa-d6u00sz.jpg&amp;hash=1ac0f2a5763402dfd3ff7d1ff6ea69aa" href="https://orig00.deviantart.net/2f67/f/2013/316/c/6/ascultone_by_therafa-d6u00sz.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Berg'Shar</a>(<i>Graceful Dagger),</i>on an excursion to the surface world. The nest was mostly destroyed, but Berg'Shar survived in the form of an egg, and thus his father brought it back to the compound in Chaulssin.<br/><br/>Over the  four hundred and twenty-six years, Berg'Shar's family breed with the best Riding Lizards that fit Minolin's specifications, and thus resulted in Im'Cal, Vorn's personal Riding Lizard, and the closest thing he had to a friend. House Xiltyn used the selective breeding methods of their people to weed out the weak in Berg'Shar's family, creating a very fine variant of the Riding Lizard, notable for their deep purple eyes and black scales. House Xiltyn was highly protective of their mounts, Vorn especially so, as Im'Cal was Vorn's only ally that'd never betray him, even if it was because it didn't have the mental capacity to do so. Imagine that- A beast like this had an impressive pedigree and was Vorn's closest companion! Stranger things had happened, though. A lot of the current advances that House Xiltyn had was due to Vorn's Father, Minolin, all for the sake of vengeance against House Nirinath. It was amazing how far someone would go to achieve their goals, with so little, and yet somehow Minolin succeeded.<br/><br/>Vorn only hoped he was a fraction as brilliant as his father. Cruel, Sadistic, and Dominating as he was, The man didn't let nothing stand in the way of his goals and his foresight and planning always benefited the House. It was Impressive for a male.<br/><br/>The House Xiltyn's Riding Lizard's were a prized breed in the Underdark, and a constant target of theft by other houses, due to their endurance and agility. Thankfully, gifting one to the First Matron of Ust Natha ensured they were well protected under the caretakers of House Xiltyn. Vorn would mount Im'Cal, before approaching Lady Zathlesz, and offering his hand. "<b>I think you'll enjoy scouting ahead with me and Im'Cal. It's quite an experience, I'm sure you'll agree." </b>He said. He would then snap the reigns as Im'Cal took of with haste. Vorn kept his eyes around the caverns, careful to avoid the spiders, and whispering silent commands to the lizard to avoid objects, as they still had yet to develop a useful darkvision, but Vorn managed to handle that end. Finally, they arrived- The Gate of Menzoberranzan, the outskirts of the city.<br/><br/>Vorn placed his hand on the Adamantine Gates, letting out a deep sigh, before looking in behind him. He kept his eyes close on Aunrae, excepting a dagger in the back, before materializing the key and unlocking the gate. The reason the key was important was because of two facts- One? Adamantine was damn near impossible to break, it was the reason the Drow used it for weapons and armor! Two, even if they managed to break through the gates, the magic that was cast to protect these sealed locations would activate and could kill many of their current followers. It was a wonder the Scoured Legion managed to break through them in the first place during the Siege!<br/><br/>Vorn would look at the Ruin of Menzoberranzan- Even in it's shattered glory, it was still a marvel to behold. Making the key vanish, he would point in the direction of the Narbondel. "<b>That's our first destination- It's best we don't go blundering in the dark, and the Narbondel has the advantage of being the highest building, as well as a Light source. If we make camp there, we'll have eyes across the entire city, and be able to coordinate our efforts better." </b>Vorn stated, before looking towards Aunrae. "<b>Ready to make history?"<br/>
</b><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="653" data-username="@Mikaela Corvid" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/653/">@Mikaela Corvid</a>