TO SERPENTEYE (PRIVATE)
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Price noted. (flinches)
Serpenteye posted:
Some Drow would argue that they cannot afford to trust the Yuan-ti either. Are they not surfacers? Do they not defy the will of Lolth and worship their own perverse deities? Is it not wiser to stand and fight than to flee, lose everything, be pursued and have to fight in the end anyway? Is fleeing not a sign of weakness and is doing that on such a huge scale not too costly a trap?
Some Drow would argue... But no drow would dare argue with Eclavdra.
From Edena:
Eclavdra answers them IC:
The Great City will be primarily peopled by drow. Drow will control the Great City, not the yuan-ti. If the yuan-ti get out of line, they will be ejected from the Great City, and the Great City sealed off from the World Above (as noted, the Great City will be built so it is merged with the city above, but the merging tunnels can be collapsed, and the whole Underdark below the city sealed up for a mile down.)
EDIT: The Great City will be built starting 1 mile down in the Oerth, and occupy 27 cubic miles of space. Great tunnels will connect it with the Yuan-Ti capital city. These can be collapsed and the Underdark sealed off. Thus, the Great City can be protected from an attack by Regular Armies and Militia, and more importantly the yuan-ti can be taken underground and given refuge there.
Thus, there is no threat from the yuan-ti.
The drow will control their own food source.
The drow will control their own water source.
The drow will control their own air source.
The drow will control all aspects of military defense and government.
Alliance with the yuan-ti is a necessary evil, to protect the interests of the drow.
The drow cannot trust the yuan-ti: the drow cannot trust anyone. But the yuan-ti are more useful to serve the drow interest than other surface races. They are more reliable than other surface races: they have a history of being relatively reliable.
They cannot be trusted, but they are relatively reliable, and they are needed right now to advance the drow cause.
Lose everything?
Eclavdra is making it a point that the drow take all their possessions with them, that can be taken.
They cannot take their homes ... but if they leave now their homes just might still be THERE for them when it is safe to return at a future date.
It is wise, to stand and fight, and die? Against odds of 10 to 1? This is wisdom?
Eclavdra puts it simply: you will be slaughtered, and since you had a way out Lolth will condemn you.
The way out? ... ALL the drow fighting as one army, ONE people, against ANY who would dare attack them. With their combined might, the drow can fend off any attack, beat any opponent!
Eclavdra says: Let Vecna himself come ... the drow standing as One People will defeat HIM!
Eclavdra says this is not fleeing: it is consolidation. Consolidation of drow power and strength, against enemies who are ALREADY consolidated.
Nobody dares argue with Eclavdra? That doesn't matter. She can read minds, as can all female drow ... and she has artifacts to help her. She plucks the questioning thoughts out of individuals, and she answers their questions and doubts with quiet and utterly determined resolution.
Eclavdra points out that the Elves may attack the drow in the end ... the Treaty of Miranda was meant to buy the drow time, but the treacherous and vile Elves may just attack anyways.
And if they bring the Baklunish Empire, Orcreich, Greater Khanate, the League of Ekbir, the Empire of Lynn, Gigantea, Hyperboria ... and if the Illithid simultaneously attack, and the Solistarim - longtime foes - attack ...
Well now, would the drow like it as prisoners of the Elves?
Would that be noble, being forced to convert to the worship of the filthy Seldarine? Being tortured by the merciless, hateful elves into abandoning the Way of Lolth?
How noble would that be?
(Obviously, Eclavdra is in a losing battle here, and I realize it. She is trying to argue for military organization and preparation, and a massive uprooting and relocation, to a chaotic evil people, a worst case scenario.
Eclavdra is going to use the Regalia of Lordly Might to give herself the stature of a demipower ... and try to order the drow around as one. It is the best she can do, because unlike Al'Akbar and Iuz she is not a diety.
Eclavdra appreciates that in the end, logic and reason will never win with the drow: so she pounds fear, fear, FEAR, FEAR!, FEAR!!! into their heads.
Stay and die.
Stay and Lolth will condemn you.
Stay, and you will burn in the Abyss for eternity.
Stay, and you are a traitor to all that is drow.
Stay, and the Elves will have you.
Stay, and the Elves will torture you endlessly, and make you worship their perverted Seldarine.
Stay, and the Illithid will feast on your brains.
Stay, and you'll - if you're lucky - live out your life as a miserable slave to the derro, or duergar, or svirfneblin, or worst of all, to the Elves.
Only an idiot would stay.
You are not an idiot: you are a drow, and the drow are a brilliant people.
Only a short sighted fool would stay: and the drow are a wise and farseeing people.
And the Nobles who will follow Eclavdra, will have priority in all things in the new society, the Great City.
The more willing the Nobles are to do as Eclavdra wishes, the higher in rank their House will end up being, and the more power, prestige, and backing they'll get. Eclavdra will see to this personally.
Who wants their house to sit on the Ruling Council of the Great City?! To be in the Top 10 Houses of the Great City? To lord it over ALL the drow, and not just the pitiful few in one drow city?
The Nobles who do as Eclavdra asks, will be the rich drow. Eclavdra will see to it that all the contracts and profits go to them.
And the top one of all: Vecna.
Eclavdra asks: Do you want to be ruled by the Whispered One? To be his slaves? To be used in his ... experiments? No single drow city can withstand him. But the drow as One People, can defeat him.
Unite, and we defeat the Whispered One. Fail, and ... (even Eclavdra flinches, genuinely) the Whispered One will accord us a fate worse than even the Elves would.
Whatever it takes.
Fear, bullying, threats, bribes, promises, pleas ... whatever it takes.
One thing Eclavdra does not have is any sense of ethics. She will do what it takes, period, to see her ends accomplished.
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![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
On the spear head was Iuz, becaming younger and merrier with every screaming soul sent to abyss by his thirsty sword. Let's say that Iuz makes sure that nothing ! Nothing stands between Eclavdra and her future. He burned all bridges behind her, except those who were guarding something on the Eclavdra clear order. Valley of the Drow, for example, was spared from stabilization. Plundered all what was left, and what couldn't been taken was destroyed. Consider that all art will enrich culture of drow refugees living in Empire of Iuz, as well small population boost will be apreciated. All survivors were ... conviced to Iuz's faith. Maybe not as preety as before conversion ... but whole hearted changed to their new faith. 
