The Drow War Book Two. The Dying Of - RoseRed

Political Leanings: The Sun King of the Topaz
Dominions is driven by religious fervour. He sees the
drow as nothing less than demons, incarnations of the
darkness that his ‘lord and father, the sun’ wishes to
destroy. Their vile and unnatural act, denying the light
of the sun to the people of Jehannum, is an unforgivable
blasphemy in his eyes. He wants the drow wiped out
altogether but his views are so totalitarian that he may
be a problematic ally.
Valjinn
Delegate: Ambassador Wantano (Exp 5) is young and
earnest, dressed in a formal silk tunic and breeches.
The son of one of Valjinn’s ruling council members, he
is convinced that conflict is never the best way to solve
a problem and always wants to talk his way through
differences. He admires Grole of Aspen Water very
much. Some of the older members of Valjinn’s council
doubt that the boy has what it takes; he is too trusting,
too soft.
Political Leanings: Valjinn feels that rushing to take
sides would be hasty. There is no need for the whole
world to descend into war and chaos over what is
essentially a private conflict. This unpleasantness is
between the humans of Jehannum and the drow who
were expelled from that country many years ago. Let
them settle it between themselves.
Vella
Delegate: Dressed in dark yellow velvet and bearing an
ebony cane, Grole of Aspen Water (Brd 13) is clearly
a gnome of means. He is the best speechmaker in
the Halls and is frequently able to reconcile opposing
views by the power of his words. His bardic training is
undoubtedly responsible for this. He is more concerned
with making the Halls work as they should than with
gaining anything for himself or his country, since Vella’s
status as cultural capital of the world is undisputed.
Political Leanings: The rulers of Vella are protesting
neutrality on the grounds that they are not a warlike
people. Their cities are places of beauty and ingenuity,
not warlords’ fortresses. In truth, they can see the
invasion taking place close by and are terrified that
they will be next. Grole is furious about his superiors’
decision but has no choice in the matter.
Visk
Delegate: Visk’s representative is Warwolf Ral Hakk
(Bar 15), a huge bewhiskered barbarian who insists
on bringing a jar of metheglin with him into council
meetings. He sneers at the other delegates, puts his
feet on the table and acts with contempt for the whole
idea of the Halls. As far as he is concerned, if Visk
wishes to strike, it will need no permission, nor will it
give any warning. However, he is under instruction to
convey a message from the Emperor, so he is slightly
more subdued than usual when the Player Characters
encounter him.
Political Leanings: Emperor Caranacus sees the drow
invasion as a golden opportunity to rub Jehannum’s nose
in the dirt after several centuries of rivalry. Following his
lead, the empire of Visk views the drow as courageous
underdogs fighting back against those who have
oppressed them in the past. Moral judgements are less
important than warrior pride. The drow have captured
a whole country overnight. That is a deed for a warrior
to be proud of. Visk offers the hand of brotherhood to
the drow. Emperor Caranacus would sooner have such
people as friends than enemies.
Brexel, Delegate for Jehannum
Brexel (see below) is bald, with sagging jowls and
twinkling eyes. He dresses in soft black leather that,
strangely, has no shine to it at all and looks like black
velvet from a distance. He seems perpetually amused
by what happens around him and never seems to take
matters entirely seriously, even when he discusses the
deaths of thousands of people. Player Characters with
good memories will remember that Brexel was in Crom
Calamar very recently working as the Amazing Brexel,
putting on a shadow puppet show.
Brexel is himself a shadowy puppet of the drow, a
human disciple of the Dark who has chosen to side
with the enemy. He was only in Crom Calamar to meet
with his masters, help with the invasion and receive his
instructions for the next phase of the war. The drow
have sent him to Xoth Sarandi as their representative
because the presence of actual drow on the island would
almost certainly rile the Council out of its detached
neutrality.
The former ambassador was Karil Sturvin, the nephew
of Duke Ashforth, one of the Iron Dukes of Jehannum.
If Brexel is questioned about this, he will explain that
‘the former ambassador for Jehannum has been recalled’
and give a merry wink. Karil is, in fact, dead. The
Shadow Troupe slew him shortly after they and Brexel
arrived in town.
Brexel is not so affable if the Player Characters try to
confront him alone. He evades them if he can, ducking
into dark doorways and shadow jumping to safety. If
they make a concerted attempt to attack, he turns on
them, snarling, and tries to kill them all.
Ibon Presno Gonzalez (order #73006) 8
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