Drow Empire
The Drow Empire is an NPC Organization created by The Bitter Coast Quest Guild for use in the ongoing Bitter Coast Quest Campaign, which has been told over several reigns.
The Drow Empire began as the subterranean Kingdoms of a sub-race of the Elves, which are commonly called "Deep Dweller Elves", but prefer to call themselves "Drow". Their Kingdom was hardly a threat to the surface world until the Great Emperor appeared, apparently breaking through an ancient seal during the initial battles of the Elven Civil War. The Drow Empire, under the leadership of the being whose carnage, they unleashed; began conquering kingdom after kingdom.
- HISTORY
Ages ago, for reasons lost to time, the ancient Elven Nation split into two factions; The Sylvan, and the Drow. The Sylvan Elves were fair-skinned, but the Drow had coal-black skin. According to Sylvan lore, the Drow venerated a dark deity, who marked them with their dark-skin, to match their hearts; however, the Drow legends speak of the Sylvan Elves, jealous of the Drow's superior skills in magic and martial prowess, cast a curse upon their cousins, and drove them into the depths of the earth. Regardless of the true reasons for the schism, the Sylvan and the Drow have been at constant war for generations untold.
This warfare was waged for so long that both races faced the threat of annihilation. It was at that point, that both Sylvan and Drow legends speak of both races fighting side-by-side against a great evil, which threatened to wipe out both races at once. The legends speak of countless heroes who gave their life, and the combined magic of both the Sylvan and Elves, which, after all hope seemed lost, drove the creature into a deep abyss, and sealed the ground with their most powerful combined seals. It was due to this event, that a truce was called between the two races, and the Sylvan and Drow put their swords away for the first time that even the eldest of them could remember.
Ages past, and as the Sylvan Elves' Kingdom grew and prospered on the surface, so too did the Drow's under the earth. After many generations, the Drow grew restless, and desired their place in the sun once again, but were honor-bound to obey the ancient truce.
It was during the centennial "Renewal of Peace" ceremony, in which the Emperor of the Drow, and the King of the Elves would renew their races' ancient promise to each other to not seek war again, that a dispute turned violent, and the Elves and Drow were at war again.
Much blood was shed in those initial battles, both the Drow Emperor, and the Elf King were slain, and their armies fought for vengeance. Unknown to either side, an ancient power stirred in the earth, one sealed once by the blood of the Elves, and now would use that same blood to free itself from it's ancient prison.
During a deciding battle, when the Drow used an ancient relic called "The Sylvan Stone", to summon a demonic warrior, and prepare to attack an Elven Fort, a great monster rose from the battlefield. At first, neither side knew what to make of the creature, and ignored it, until it began to cut them down with such ease that they could not ignore it anymore. The demonic-warrior of the Drow was destroyed by the creature, and after a desperate battle, the creature was driven away.
Both the Drow, and Elf survivors of that last battle began to marshal their armies for war, but when the Drow returned to their Kingdom, and began to contend over who would be the new Emperor, the creature from the battlefield returned. He didn't speak, but an aged Drow-Shaman spoke as his oracle, and proclaimed him the new Emperor, and to let anyone who did not agree to challenge him. Those who took the challenge were easily dispatched, and the nameless creature was crowned the Great Emperor of the Drow.
The Drow Empire was quickly consolidated by it's new invincible Emperor, and began expanding into the surface; first by conquering the Ork Horde, and than the many human baronies which lay at the Drow's border. Within only a few seasons, the Drow Empire began absorbing or destroying any Kingdom within it's reach.
The Great Emperor could not be defeated, and his armies could not be stopped. The Elves marshaled all their resources, but were swept by the Drow and their mighty leader's forces. Turning to the Dwarves and their human allies, they prepared a last-stand in Engoku, a land far to the east, where the Drow held little power, and had few allies.
As the armies of the Elven Alliance prepared for their fateful battle, and the Drow Empire began arriving in Engoku, and planning their siege; an event so unexpected happened, it radically changed the course of the war. The Great Emperor of the Drow Empire, mysteriously vanished. He was not found after several days, and the various factions of the Empire began to jockey for leadership.
The Ork War-chief and the Drow Empress fought for leadership of the Empire, and the fighting soon spilled over in the ranks of the Empire itself. The Elven Alliance, seeing the cries of battle, coming from the Drow camps, rallied their armies and attacked the Drow. Facing attack on all sides, the Drow, Ork, and Drow-allied Humans headed for their ships and abandoned their campaign. The lands which the Drow Empire had conquered were looted, and abandoned, when news of the Empire's loss reached the provinces.
Although peace has returned to the world, and the imminent threat of the Drow Empire is no more, there are still many unanswered questions, and the question on everyone's mind is "When will the Empire return?"
More information
- Bitter Coast Quest Guild The Group responsible for Quests and Roleplaying events.
- A Map of the Bitter Coast, made using Campaign Cartography software [1]
- The Bitter Coast Website, complete with photo gallery, forum, and video section.
For information on other chapters in Amtgard look here
![[1]](http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z64/morguenaeryn/Bitter_Coast_Map.jpg){kind=link}