From a world a thousand webs away from Minera, Vaezirak was a sickly, weak child of his kindred. Their people were a society built on might, strength and ingenuity, enhanced by their own affinity for the local flora which their bodies would meld with, grafting strength and abilities beyond their mundane forms. Yet Vaezirak’s body rejected any attempts to meld in this way, or perhaps it was the flora that rejected him. Years of pity spurred by fruitless hope spared his life, until eventually he was exiled at the turn of his youth, sent into the darkness of the endless caverns in hopes he might find a peaceful, quiet death.
Yet instead, Vaezirak found more: he found Eldraeth. A forbidden fungal substance that grew in the darkest pits of the sprawling caverns. Studying, touching, even standing near it was strictly forbidden: the fungus had swallowed civilizations in the past, and was capable of much more that even the wisest scholars did not understand. Disheartened and hoping this might bring about the death he sought, Vaezirak submersed himself within the ichor-like substance, though it was not his end, but a new beginning. The Eldraeth claimed his life, but did not grant him death, instead attaching itself to him and forcing his body through an agonising metamorphosis. Time became lost to him through this process, whether it was weeks, months or years, but what emerged after was barely recognisable as anything resembling a person, his body changed, grafted with that of a gargantuan arachnid and the fungus sprouting from almost every pore of his skin.
His mind was also transformed in this time, Eldraeth seeping into it and sharing his consciousness, instructing him to delve deeper into the subterranean expanses of his world. Finally, he arrived at his destination: a shimmering rift in the depths of the abyss, a faint dim light into a sea of darkness. It was but a single strand of the Web of Worlds, an invisible network that connected the planes, only accessible and visible to a small few. The Eldraeth had brought him here, and now spurred him through the Web. He emerged in a cavern not too unlike the one he had left from, yet he was quickly found by beings that resembled his kin, yet were still wholly different. They saw Vaezirak as a saint and a prophet, sent by their divine being Irinax; a patron to lead and guide them. The strange traveller thus took on his role, and Eldraeth found new hosts to which it could spread its influence. To the Irinaxi, this was seen as a rite of ascension, reserved only for those who had devoted and proven themselves to both Vaezirak and Irinax. Within only a year Vaezirak and his followers had embedded themselves into the society of the Irinaxi Drow, though contention within the factions has seen him and his followers forced to make examples out of dissenters, in gruesome fashion.
Now their sights are set on the non-believers, the Drow of Glanbeli who have always held contempt for their arachnid-worshipping kin. With the aid of the embodiment of the divine on their side, the Irinaxi Drow believe there will be little to hold them back when they finally extinguish the faith of the heretics, forcing them to accept Irinax and her prophet Vaezirak. Any who resist will share a sealed fate as food for arachnids.
From a world a thousand webs away from Minera, Vaezirak was a sickly, weak child of his kindred. Their people were a society built on might, strength and ingenuity, enhanced by their own affinity for the local flora which their bodies would meld with, grafting strength and abilities beyond their mundane forms. Yet Vaezirak’s body rejected any attempts to meld in this way, or perhaps it was the flora that rejected him. Years of pity spurred by fruitless hope spared his life, until eventually he was exiled at the turn of his youth, sent into the darkness of the endless caverns in hopes he might find a peaceful, quiet death.
Yet instead, Vaezirak found more: he found Eldraeth. A forbidden fungal substance that grew in the darkest pits of the sprawling caverns. Studying, touching, even standing near it was strictly forbidden: the fungus had swallowed civilizations in the past, and was capable of much more that even the wisest scholars did not understand. Disheartened and hoping this might bring about the death he sought, Vaezirak submersed himself within the ichor-like substance, though it was not his end, but a new beginning. The Eldraeth claimed his life, but did not grant him death, instead attaching itself to him and forcing his body through an agonising metamorphosis. Time became lost to him through this process, whether it was weeks, months or years, but what emerged after was barely recognisable as anything resembling a person, his body changed, grafted with that of a gargantuan arachnid and the fungus sprouting from almost every pore of his skin.
His mind was also transformed in this time, Eldraeth seeping into it and sharing his consciousness, instructing him to delve deeper into the subterranean expanses of his world. Finally, he arrived at his destination: a shimmering rift in the depths of the abyss, a faint dim light into a sea of darkness. It was but a single strand of the Web of Worlds, an invisible network that connected the planes, only accessible and visible to a small few. The Eldraeth had brought him here, and now spurred him through the Web. He emerged in a cavern not too unlike the one he had left from, yet he was quickly found by beings that resembled his kin, yet were still wholly different. They saw Vaezirak as a saint and a prophet, sent by their divine being Irinax; a patron to lead and guide them. The strange traveller thus took on his role, and Eldraeth found new hosts to which it could spread its influence. To the Irinaxi, this was seen as a rite of ascension, reserved only for those who had devoted and proven themselves to both Vaezirak and Irinax. Within only a year Vaezirak and his followers had embedded themselves into the society of the Irinaxi Drow, though contention within the factions has seen him and his followers forced to make examples out of dissenters, in gruesome fashion.
Now their sights are set on the non-believers, the Drow of Glanbeli who have always held contempt for their arachnid-worshipping kin. With the aid of the embodiment of the divine on their side, the Irinaxi Drow believe there will be little to hold them back when they finally extinguish the faith of the heretics, forcing them to accept Irinax and her prophet Vaezirak. Any who resist will share a sealed fate as food for arachnids.
