PS: I went to fight in Thrones of Decay yesterday, ribbit! Now this was the Imperium I wanted!
The panic caused by the tremors underground was nothing compared to the oppressive presence of Lolth herself.
Even though Lolth was only an intermediate deity, even though she had no more powerful deity backing her.
She was still Lolth, a veteran deity of terrifying renown, one of the nightmares of the Multiverse-Lolth the Spider Queen!
How had Menzoberranzan been built? After the civil war within the Cindarella pantheon, all the Drow had chosen to follow their creator, Araushnee, underground to build a city. Only after hundreds upon thousands of years of war against the surrounding powers had they established themselves in the Underdark and become its ultimate overlords.
After her fall, Lolth had fought her way into the Weave Pits and single-handedly driven out its original abyssal lord. She had even covered the history of the Weave Pits in her silk, making the mortal Realms forget who had ruled there before her. Her fearsome reputation, built over ten thousand years, carried her name throughout the Abyss and the Underdark. Even many greater deities were unwilling to provoke that madwoman.
With Menzoberranzan having stood undefeated for ten thousand years, and the Spider Queen having accumulated over thirty thousand years of intimidating prestige, no power would normally have dared attack the city. Had Lolth not fallen silent for a year, and had Aaron-a rising star who had defeated Cyric in recent years, won a crushing victory at Teshwave, and enjoyed the backing of four greater deities-not taken the initiative to bring them together, none of the other powers would have dared try.
But Aaron had been the one to propose it, so they had come of their own accord.
And Aaron had actually found