Dark Elves reproduced by capturing male Elves as slaves and using a particular Transformation Art to turn the children female. They also captured female Elves and subjected them to the Transformation Ritual.
The Transformation Ritual rarely succeeded. Elves would rather die than fall into eternal darkness—after death, their souls returned to the World Tree, but becoming a Dark Elf meant losing their future for good.
That was why Spider Queen Lolth had never had many believers—only Dark Elves and certain Spider clans.
She was a deity who kept her power for herself, unwilling to be bound by divine power.
Perhaps that was why she had been the first to react during the Year of Turmoil and escape her Divine Kingdom.
She had never relied too heavily on the might of a god, so she had not trusted it blindly when it mattered most.
Once Moxi understood the conflict between Annan and the Flower Court, she asked about something else that concerned her. "You said the Spider Queen chose me... What does that mean?"
Annan sat up a little straighter on the sofa, assuming the bearing expected of a Holy Son.
"Moxi, you should know that I am also the Holy Son of the Wealth Church."
Moxi nodded. That was precisely what puzzled her.
The Wealth Church belonged to the Order Alignment, while the Spider Queen Church belonged to the Chaos Alignment. By rights, the two had nothing to do with each other. They were at odds—and in a sense, the Spider Queen and the Lady of Wealth were mortal enemies. A thousand years ago, the Spider Queen had imprisoned the Goddess of Wealth for a time.
Had the God of Order not rescued her, the Goddess of Wealth would have fallen, and the Spider Queen would have gained a powerful