The History of House Teken'DuisHouse Teken'DuisTeken'Duis.... warriors, yet noble; the history is compounded with deep undulations from the drow of Olath Xresst. Read and learn....THE BEGINNING The House bloodline can be traced as far back to SiNafay, the first Matron Mother. The records from this generation were lost in a great surface world incursion, brought about by treacherous dealings with the Derro. SiNafay was an ambitious And noble Drow. Her mind was set on creating a strong realm in the underdark where the Drow would have access to the surface world over a 100 mile area. An ideal area was found 20 miles West from Bristol and it was here that the House was constructed. SiNafay and her sister, Zesstra, together built a massive Drow city with spires reaching hundreds of feet into the caverns and eerie lighting adding a mysteriously picturesque view to the citadel. SiNafay and Zesstra are the first two recorded Teken'Duis nobles; with them they had a combined retinue of over 300 and from these sprung the whole line of Teken'Duis nobility. THE EARLY WARS Albion at this time was little more than a barbarian's home. The factions were none existent and it was only after a blundering Drow fell (literally) into their camp that the human vermin realised that there was a hoard of Drow underneath them. This led to the first Albion Man-Drow war. The first major assault came two weeks after the humans realised that the Drow were about them. They assaulted the underdark en masse with numbers well over a thousand. The humans wielded primitive weapons and fought with little skill, but a ferocity that threatened to overwhelm Teken'Duis on several occasions. Teken'Duis, although fighting at 4 to 1 odds managed to stem the human influx and then proceeded to burn all surrounding villages and cities in an effort to make clear they didn't want disturbing. This set back was quickly recovered from within the year by another incursion. This one lasted for months (as opposed to days) since the humans had learnt something of their environment and taken many torches, flasks of oil and the like. The humans numbered almost 2`000 this time and for the first time, Teken'Duis was worried. Sargtlin doubled patrols and scouts were sent to the surface to learn of the uprising. The mages practised war spells whilst also planting binding runes on their oldest buildings. The humans attacked quickly in three successive waves. Each pushed the Drow back even further who still hadn't recovered after their last loss. They fought at unbelievable 10 to 1 odds and the humans managed to make it to the command room. Here they were stopped. What happened next is unknown. Some say that Lloth herself appeared, flanked by hundreds of her priestesses; others says that the Weapons Master fought the massed ranks and conquered the petty humans. The sources here are unclear. It is known that the humans never made it back out of the Drow caverns though. In retaliation Teken'Duis raided the surface world even more frequently; taking human slaves and all the goods they could find. The humans, like the Drow, were in a weakened state but it was this acquiring of items that led to Teken'Duis becoming a powerful house in Albion. THE AFTERMATH After vengeance had been fully acted on the humans Teken'Duis once again receded into the underdark. For the next three hundred years it built itself up and established the rigorous methods of training which are in practice today. The Teken'Duis mindframe was built up; and to many other House it became clear just what Teken'Duis was and what they stood for. After SiNafay came the Matron Charinida (daughter of SiNafay) she was a strong and powerful leader and took on all the best qualities of her mother whilst isolating the worst. She gave the Weapons Master responsibility over all the troops and forced a strict code into the Sargtlin which is adhered to by all male sargtlin. TEKEN'DUIS ATTITUDE Teken'Duis children go through extensive military training and are taught to be the best fighters in the underdark. Those who fail the expectations of the Weapons master are used in the first assault squads or, in human terms, cannon fodder. The elite of the fighters form the Veldrin Tinneril, House Fighters. In actual fact 60% of the Drow males who pass through training alive are good enough to become part of the backbone in Veldrin Tinneril. Within Teken'Duis disobedience to a higher ranking officer is punishable by death. Orders must be followed with competence, initiative and ease, there are no failures in Teken'Duis. Any that surface are quickly taken care of. Human sages have marvelled at how this House has flourished with its iron-will discipline and, Teken'Duis isn't about to reveal it but the House is powerful enough and already large enough to train how it pleases and come out with some of the best results in the underdark. THE CODE 1. Defend the Matron with your life 2. Honour the commands of all Drow females 3. Obey without question the orders of the Weapons Master 4. Yield to all those of a higher station 5. Do not flee or turn away from an enemy 6. Protect your brother Sargtlin with your life 7. Your life shall be laid down for your House 8. Insults to your honour will not be ignored 9. Fight with honour and valour against other Drow 10. Humans are worthy of no mercy* The interpretations of the 10th Code are wide and extremely varied. One school of thought sees this as `Humans are not worth fighting` whilst another sees it as `Humans are worthy of nothing but death`. It would seem though that this part of the Code has become somewhat obsolete during the past 10 years with House D'Marakai. Obviously the last one is what has kept alive the ever going wars between Teken'Duis and the surface-dwellers. It is this code that gains Teken'Duis respect in the eyes of many others since, to an extent, they are trustworthy and once allied will not flee or back down. THE SILENT YEARS House Teken'Duis passed through a stage of almost two thousand years in which no massive wars took place but continued raidings and incursions were common place. During this time Teken'Duis suffered blights in the form of traitors and illness. It was during this time that the rivalry between the two most distinct bloodlines of SiNafay and Zesstra grew to hostility. Civil war consumed the Drow for almost 500 years. During this time their numbers dwindled with more casualties each day. It was only when T'Ristree came to power that it stopped. She made Irruin see what would happen if this continued and the war dwindled down. The hatred is still there in some forms though. Teken'Duis kept to themselves whilst the humans grew on the outside world and their technology and skill in magic prospered. THE EMERGENCE When Teken'Duis did emerge from it's silent abode, T'Ristree was the Matron and possibly the greatest of all time. She gave birth to four talented Drow who took up positions of command within Teken'Duis. Sadly, T'Ristree was assassinated by a renegade Drow only days before the largest surface-world incursion to date. The Humans drove the Drow out of their homes as the Drow found themselves fighting on both sides, against fellow inhabitants of the underdark, the Derro as well. Teken'Duis was forced to leave their home and roved the surface world for 10 years. During this time they joined up with the merchant Drow House D'Marakai. House D`Marakai was disbanded due to a haunting dissapearance of the Matron at the Unicorns Trade Fair. Teken`Duis once again returned to the Underdark and were met by a jubilant House who had, in the time, managed to rebuild much of Olath Xresst. Matron T`Shannra Teken`Duis' daughter had almost reached adulthood and guaranteed the continuation of this noble line. - Extracted from Khaza`Rea's "A Brief History of Teken'Duis".
Copyright © Barry Mercer 1997 |