The Tome Of Drow Lore.pdf - RoseRed

They were correct in their fears. The raiding roused the
anger of other races in the Underdeep, races far superior to
the drow in numbers if nothing else. The Draz’Kuri were
constantly occupied with battle outside the city, blunting
the attacks of the enemy and turning them aside before
they could find the hidden fastness of the drow. The clan
of Draz’Kuri warriors found their fame and influence with
the other drow were growing as a result of these efforts,
a predictable yet unwelcome turn of events in the eyes of
House Arbustil.
The rulers of House Arbustil were a fractious, mistrustful and
disingenuous lot. They felt threatened by the growing
influence of the Draz’Kuri, seeing the warriors as another
potential rival for their power, but were unsure how to
proceed as the Draz’Kuri were the only true military force
available to defend House Arbustil. Finally, it was decided
the House would create its own military out of the lower
classes of the drow, meanwhile sending the Draz’Kuri out
into the Underdeep in a succession of meaningless wars in
oredr to winnow their powerful ranks and remove them as a
threat. The leaders of House Arbustil sent their minions out
among the people, spreading rumours of armies marching
on the drow, of terrible plots in the offing, until people from
all rungs of society were clamouring for war. With great
fanfare, the Draz’Kuri were sent forth to crush the enemies
of the drow.
The Draz’Kuri were not in the Underdeep long before they
discovered the perfidy of the rulers of House Arbustil. Not
only had the nobles lied to the warrio rs, sending them forth
on the invented premise of enemies that in truth existed
only in imagination and fanciful stories told to the people,
but they had even plotted a series of terrible ‘accidents’ to
befall the marching army and sent out agents to ensure that
the Draz’Kuri were beset by problems. Unfortunately for
House Arbustil, the highly skilled warriors quickly detected
and captured the treacherous drow that had been sent after
them and wrung the truth from the agents in short order.
The Draz’Kuri had served House Arbustil as warriors
for many years; they were loyal and orderly, schooled to
military precision. Yet this act constituted betrayal and it
was too much for Goren’dral, war leader of the Draz’Kuri,
to countenance. He ordered his clan to return to the city,
angry thoughts of vengeance in his mind.
The Draz’Kuri returned home to find House Arbustil
convulsed in a power struggle, as other families within the
House sought to claim the reins of leadership. The new
army that House Arbustil had sought to create had splintered
into various factions, fighting one another in the streets and
leaving the borders of the city unguarded. In a frenzy of
rage and disgust, Goren’dral and his Draz’Kuri slaughtered
the ruling members of House Arbustil and seized control
of the colony.
Culture
Following the coup against and destruction of House
Arbustil, the military structure and organisation of the
Draz’Kuri spread quickly through the remaining drow.
Indeed, such changes were welcomed by the drow as a
whole, as they had lived too long in fear and doubt under
the erratic rule of House Arbustil.
This emphasis on order, so uncharacteristic for the dark
elves, has forged House Draz’Kuri into a unique drow
culture. House Draz’Kuri is still based in the city of
Khoztal, located in the caverns where House Arbustil
first settled and has grown so large that a full half of the
population can count itself a member of the House. The
other half, for their part, emulate the practices and habits
of the House to the extent that outsiders cannot tell the
difference.
House Draz’Kuri has created a true warrior culture, in
which a drow’s skill at arms, tactics and strategy is held in
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