Hmm. I hesitate for several reasons. First, there is much to tell, too much to go into in the few short hours we have in front of us. Second, I don't know you; therefore, I should not trust you. Third, I have Drow blood in me, and to trust is to die. Fourth, what I may tell you will place you in extreme danger.

However, I will share my story for several reasons. First, in the time we have, I can communicate the essence of the story, allowing you to understand a bit more about me. Second, I have decided to trust you as my guide, and I believe there is no reason to stop that trust now. Third, I hate all that is Drow, including that portion of the blood in my veins that carries the taint of that Bitch, the Spider Queen. Fourth, you appear capable of handling danger.

Besides, it is because of extreme love of communicating ideas that I became the researcher that I am; I just can't bear not telling *someone* about the society of the Magma-Drow.

To start, I will explain about the Drow. They are a viscous breed of elves that live far beneath the surface of one of the worlds in the Prime plane. The Underdark is a harsh environment that has forged the Drow into terribly powerful creatures. They worship the Spider Queen, a Power that uses the race for her amusement by breeding hostility, cruelty, and general terribleness into the race. If she desires power, it is only because it will allow her to inflict more pain. In this society, males are considered vastly inferior to females. Females that are in the higher branches of the society can de with a male Drow as she pleases, even things beyond death. No male may harm a female, unless he is following the orders of another female. Even then, the male may be killed. The Drow have served her well in the past, and she has taken great amusement from their self-inflicted suffering.

However, she has become somewhat bored with them recently. She decided that they were a good experiment, but she could do better. An even harsher environment was needed, so she delved deeper in the planet, to where the very earth itself flows like liquid, at unimaginable temperatures. There she decided to create a new society, a new culture, a new experiment. Deciding that the Drow would make a suitable platform to build on, she developed a ritual that transformed them into creatures capable of withstanding the great furnace of the depths. She called this ritual Lolth's Brilliance. At the molten depth of the world, only a few substances remained solid, the only common one being Adamantium. The Brilliance involved infusing a Drow with Adamantium, in an attempt to give the Drow the necessary resistance to heat. Her plan was to convert some Drow into Magma-Drow, to create a seed society that could breed on its own. She used many males as test subjects, sending several dozens to their deaths before finding a suitable formula. The deaths did not bother her even remotely - they all came from a colony of Drow where one of the females had mentioned in conversation that she wondered if there were any other Powers besides the Spider Queen. The whole colony was eventually destroyed.

Finally, though, a formula was developed that converted about a quarter of the Drow into Magma-Drow, and only then if they were magically talented. The Bitch then put one of her most loyal triads of priestesses through the Brilliance, believing that one would probably survive. None did. Ever. She spent several years trying to change the formula, since the Magma-Drow that did exist were magnificent creatures, as the heat seemed to enhance their magical abilities. They created a small society called DeepFire, centered around a great cavern with a lake of magma as its floor. Desperate to find a reason to stay the Bitch's hand, they dove deeply into magical research. While they researched, the Bitch became more and more infused with anger at her inability to create female Magma-Drow. Even worse, the only way she could get a significant amount of females into DeepFire at all, was to use the male Magma-Drow's magic on them, for she did not have enough to protect the females *and* continue experimenting with the Brilliance. As her anger grew, so did the fatalities of Magma-Drow, both through her own hand and through her dismayed priestesses. Finally, in disgust, she decided to destroy the colony.

The Magma-Drow's research finally paid off scarce days before the Bitch decided to destroy the colony, when they discovered the Pattern-Spirits. Motes, as we call them informally, seemed to be the very reason magic exists. If a mage teleports from one location to another, it is because the Motes carry him. If a mage transforms into another creature, it is because Motes manipulate the structure of his natural form. If a mage decimates his foe with powerful lightning, it is because Motes create a channel for the power, and open the appropriate gate for the power. In essence, Motes *are* magic. And the Magma-Drow were able to see them for the first time.

How did this happen? It seems that Motes need to travel at extreme velocities in order to stay, well, warm. In the heat of DeepFire, the natural furnace allowed them to slow down somewhat, enough to be observed by the researchers. The researchers found that the Motes are semi-sentient and speak a special language. This language was found to be the root of all known magical languages - it was as if all previous mages were children trying to imitate a person speaking a foreign tongue, without actually understanding what they were saying. The researchers learned this language, and learned to speak directly to Magic. A startling accomplishment! You have to understand the implications of this. The unbelievable control this allowed, since we were able to convince the Motes to do things without the normal magical components; all we needed to do was convince the Motes to do it. They're like small children at times, and must be convinced in conniving ways to do things. But I stray, I can speak of magic for great lengths at any time. Let me get back to the society.

This new found control over magic was used to impress the Bitch, and implications that we may well discover the great Tenth Sphere because of the new understandings. She stayed her hand for a few months to allow us to develop some way to keep her priestesses in the society for greater lengths. We did this easily, finding the flaw in the Brilliance that prevented females from being transformed. However, we lied and simply gave her a weak version of the Brilliance, that allowed a female to stay in DeepFire for a few days at a time. It was easy to deceive her, since if she couldn't find a successful formula, we *surely* could not. Arrogant Bitch.

DeepFire thrived, and the most magically gifted males from all of her colonies were transformed. I myself being created about thirty years after the founding of DeepFire. As it turned out, myself and a fellow student named Sabrar were the best students of DeepFire. I come from a long line of magically potent males, and Sabrar simply seemed to be a natural genius, his predecessors showing almost no inclination towards the Art. We formed a fast friendship, and studied under the Head Researcher of the school, a brilliant man named Gelroos. Sabrar and I quickly increased in power, and the school as a whole was quickly nearing the discovery of the Tenth Sphere. Already, there were more Arch-Mages in the school than existed cumulatively on the surface. And Gelroos himself was the greatest of all of them.

Everything was going well, up to the discovery of the Meta-Pattern. It was found that as the power level of magic increased, more complex and robust Motes were involved in their creation. This led to a great cataloging of Motes, creating the Master Tome. At the top of all the Motes was a great Mote, that seemed to be comprised of all the other Motes in an intricate, dynamic pattern weaving subtle threads throughout all of existence. This Meta-Pattern was fully sentient, in a strange and alien way. It was believed that it was responsible for the existence of all magic, everywhere. It was, in essence, The God of Magic. Not "a" god, like Azuth or Mystara, but The Power Behind All Magic. This was a philosophically potent discovery, and a cult following this Meta-Pattern was soon created. However, the Bitch's priestesses were competent enough to penetrate the veil of secrecy surrounding it, and the cult was (thought to be) eradicated.

Needless to say, the Bitch was *mad*. Also, needless to say, the cult *wasn't* eradicated, for at its head was our Head Researcher, Gelroos. He kept the knowledge of it from Sabrar and me, until much later, since he knew our minds were relatively still too weak to resist the Bitch. The cult grew, and soon the entire colony were followers. This went on for a decade or more, an amazing accomplishment, considering we were under the direct scrutiny of a Power. However, the veil was finally shattered. She found us out, and decided to annihilate the colony. In an amazing display of pride-swallowing, she realized that her priestesses could not harm us directly. Instead, she animated the hundreds of Drow that failed to be transformed into Magma-Drow, and found that the majority were capable of surviving in DeepFire for a short while. She then announced that she had discovered a better formula for creating Magma-Drow (much to the current Magma-Drow's amazement) and sent the entire army of life-draining undead in as "new recruits".

The entire DeepFire colony showed up for their arrival, their curiosity piqued. They were surprised by the poor condition of the new Magma-Drow, and murmurs of the Bitch's Not-So-Brilliant-Brilliance permeated the crowd. It wasn't until the undead had penetrated the colony that their true nature was discovered. The new undead were able to slaughter the mages, their chill touch sucking the power right from the mage's flesh. When a mage finally did fall, as is common with undead, he would rise back up and join them. The colony was decimated. A few of the Arch-Mages held out for a couple of days, but they eventually grew weary and were overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Gelroos, however, had inklings of this event, due to his intimate nature with the Meta-Pattern, and was able to get me and Sabrar, as well as a handful of other mages, into the High-Powered Experimental Laboratory. A hollow sphere of Adamantium almost a foot thick, it only had a single entrance, and was used to test theories that involved the Tenth Sphere. The sphere held for several days, most mages spending their power on keeping the undead at bay, while Gelroos, Sabrar, and I attempted to open a portal out of DeepFire. The very protective magics of the Lab proved to create our tomb, as we could not get through them to open a portal. The Bitch herself led the final onslaught that destroyed the survivors, but the breech in the Lab was enough for Gelroos to throw open a portal using the Greater Motes of Chaotic Magic. Of the original hundred or so high-powered mages, I am the only one that I know escaped, but I believe Gelroos and Sabrar made it. Gelroos had the Master Tome as I jumped through the gate. Other than the three of us, all the others were destroyed. Even I almost died, and felt the horribly cold touch of my fallen comrades before I escaped. I am afraid my power has been drained to the level of an apprentice, which is only a flicker compared to the bonfire that it used to be.

And thus ends my tale. I have much knowledge of magic, but have lost almost all power. I am being hunted *directly* by a Power, and her race of extremely powerful and evil creatures, that will kill me and my companions on sight.

The very knowledge I have given you sentences you to death in Drow society. I am sure you have questions for me, but I have one question for you as far as I'm concerned:

Are you sure you want to be my guide?

--Valas (formerly of House Baenrae), during an early conversation with Chakan

Authored by: Ken Lipka E-mail me: krlipka@yahoo.com

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