Setting:Unified Setting/Drow

Drow are native to the northern continent of Zirnitraog, possibly related to the elves in distant ancestry. This doesn't concern them in the least as they are busy building a collection of city-states filled with highly competitive individuals. They primarily inhabit the area called Zirnitraog, a collection of islands large and small East of Vanawill.

The Wila

The Drow (or more properly, the Wila) appear almost identical to their presumed elven cousins. They share the same comely, short, lithe humanoid form with notably pointed ears. The main and obvious difference is in skin pigmentation. Unlike the fair elves, Wila skin is jet black in color. Naturalists aren't sure why this is the case. Some suggest that it enhances their ability to absorb both solar and magical energy in a cold, northern climate. The vast majority refuse to speculate. Elven history suggests that elven skin color is determined by ambient magic levels, however. The coloration of the grey Sidhe, and the Caele, who are white as milk, supports this.

While Wila are typically portrayed with white hair to contrast with their black skin, their hair can come in a variety of other colors. White, like blonde for humans, is culturally preferred, and so some wila are known to bleach the natural pigment out of their hair to appear more attractive.

As mentioned above, drow have the ability to absorb ambient magical energy. For the vast majority of Wila, this is an utterly useless ability, the equivalent of a human appendix. Some zealots however have honed this racial quirk into a talent that gives them an edge against mages in battle.

The noble Wila houses meet for political negotiations wearing very little. This has to do with an old tradition of showing that you have no concealed weapons on your person. When the houses established diplomatic relations with the other races, this led to a misunderstanding and now there's a belief among humans that Wila are a nation of BDSM whores. Only top Wila diplomats ever dress in this fashion however, and they only do so in important meetings.

Government

The Wila Republic is a bustling, confusing place to many outsiders. Every individual, family, business and city-state seems to have their own agenda and plans which they pursue in direct opposition to the schemes of every other individual, family, business and city-state. The land itself is also varied, containing the empty and barren tundra of the north and the booming, cosmopolitan trading ports of the south.

The independent city-states are each ruled by a House, usually a council of the most powerful factions in town. In other cases it is a democratically elected body, a collection of hereditary nobles or other arrangement. The most powerful Houses (called Great Houses) have influence, if not complete control, over a wide area.

Note: The term city-state refers to the domain controlled by a House. However in the northern reaches there are few cities worth the name and the scattered villages and trading posts serve only as meeting points for the mostly nomadic Drow living there. The term city-state will continue to be used for simplicity, even in reference to the northern "barbarians."

The government of the Drow Republic is the Great Council of Houses (sarcastically called the Council of Great Houses due to their influence). This is a meeting of all Houses to decide on matters affecting the Drow. The Republic requires almost unanimous assent to make a decision and there is little the Houses will agree upon outside of war or an urgent foreign policy matter. The Republic mostly serves as a place for the Great Houses to jockey for power and influence against each other, but it has been known to take quick and decisive action in the past (notably during the rise of Sergal Empress Rain).

The Great Houses

There are currently six Great Houses.

• Rugiewit

• Chernogbog

• Peklenc

• Ozwiena

• Ziwia

• Zorya

Assassins

Drow assassins are considered the best in the world. This is true. The reason is that Drow prefer to crush their rivals politically, economically, stylistically or legally. (Drow lawyers are considered at least the second-best in the world. Debate rages over the #1 slot.) To use an assassin is an admission of failure, which is why such hits are always untraceable. For a rival to be linked to the actual death of an enemy would be a fashion and legal disaster. Hence Drow assassins are masters of seemingly accidental and natural-causes deaths.

Rumors that any particular House specializes in or condones assassination is base slander and the foolish prattle of old women.