Tellerian Hawke
Defender of Oerth
Nelvandra’s Revelation
Nelvandra’s reaction is not quite what Respen expected. Instead of uncontrolled rage, Nel’s reaction is one of tempered disdain, and frustration. Even Laramon is surprised at how measured and calculated Nel’s response is.
Nelvandra says, “Wow, my sister is even more insidious than I gave her credit for. I can see now, quite clearly, that her conditioning was based on my natural disposition; she took my natural tendencies, and heightened them, extended them, re-directed their focus. And in so doing, her manipulation was significantly more effective. Conditioning tends to fail when it attempts to convince someone to act against their nature. Clare worked within the boundaries of my personality, making only slight adjustments. Bravo, sis. Well-played; well-played, indeed.”
Nel explains, “I have always wanted to bear children, and to make House Delzeen a great house again, like it was in centuries past. Clare’s conditioning played upon that desire; she implanted the mental “seed” that her plan was sound, and would result in the achievement of that goal. Thus, she took my desire, and re-directed it; instead of attainment of the goal under my own power, she made it seem as if I should support her instead. Ironically, I already idolized her, and was already planning to enlist her aid in that endeavor.”
A tear comes to Nel’s eye, but she proudly wipes it away, and continues: “I have also always prided myself on my ability to seduce any man I chance to meet. But until now, they had all been dalliances, going no further than kissing, licking, and heavy petting. I had never found a male who didn’t bore me to tears. I guess Clare felt that such ability needed a purpose, a direction; therefore, she re-directed that skill to her own devices, twisting my pride into taking satisfaction not in the seduction itself, but in the fact that the seduction was pleasing to her. In this way, she could choose my mate for me, and I would gladly comply, because doing so would please her. I suppose she felt that my dalliances were a sign of my inability to commit myself to a mate; you see, although the Drow have a very open attitude toward sensuality, that attitude changes once the Heart Mate has been chosen. Drow Females can sew their wild oats indefinitely, with the expectation that promiscuity ENDS COMPLETELY once it is time to see to the formation of one’s family. I think Clare supposed that I might not ever commit to a single mate, given that I had been single almost 30 years longer than the average Drow female. Ironically, I had decided not long ago, only 6 months or so before Ky came to live with us, that I would step up my efforts to find a suitable husband.”
Nelvandra says, "I'm not angry with you, my dear. I know you feel guilty, and ashamed of what you did. And in terms of surface world ethics, you are indeed correct to feel that way. But Drow Society is different; and so are its associated ethics.
The Drow are not as sexually repressed as you surface dwellers; as I just said, the Drow are very open when it comes to sensuality; we exchange sexual favors the way that your kind might exchange pleasantries about the weather. If you pass a friend on the street, you might inquire as to how they're doing, or what kind of day they're having. And you think nothing of this, for it is normal. In Shalistaurimon, as I chance to meet a female friend, I might ask that her brother follow me to my bedchamber for an hour or two. And no one bats an eye, because in Drow society, THAT sort of thing is normal.
Drow females hold all of the political, social, and religious power in Shalistaurimon. So we're used to having the instant gratification of our desires. We are beings of power, but we are also sensual beings. Whereas surface females seek out love, we DEMAND it. Whereas surface females dream of a strong knight on horseback to come and whisk them away, Drow females dream of attractive, weak-willed, and misguided males, who are desperately in need of discipline, from a strong, unswerving, female hand.
I have heard that surface women of surpassing beauty are often placed upon pedestals, metaphorically speaking; in Drow Society, the pedestal is not metaphorical, and the males not only serve us without question, but they also WORSHIP US; they lick our boots shiny clean, and THANK US for the opportunity to do so!
I am not angry with Clare for coercing you into my bed; I might have done the same to you, anyway. And besides that, what’s done is done; I have chosen you, and you are mine now, and it will be a cold day on the Ninth Layer of Hell before I let you go. I’m not in the habit of sharing my favorite toys. And you, my sweet, are definitely one of my favorites. Even without the conditioning, I find your magical skills, your naivete, and your bold recklessness quite appealing; I cannot wait for your blood to mingle with mine at the bloodletting ceremony. You are going to make an excellent husband.
What I AM angry about is that Clare didn't trust me, her own sister, to make the right decisions for our house. As I said, I have always wanted to bear children, and I have always wanted those children to be powerful rulers. But Clare believed that I was too weak to see those ambitions through to fruition. So she took command, and robbed me of my power. She made me her slave. And among The Drow, THAT is a crime of the highest order. Among the Drow, the highest two sacraments are Motherhood and Sisterhood. Nothing is more sacred to us than these two things. And that is Clare’s offense, the crime of a sister betraying a sister.
The only reason that I am not in the middle of plotting her gruesome and slow demise at this very moment is because of one, important factor: she was not acting for herself. She was acting for the house.
As much as it pains me to say it, Clare's plan is brilliant, and will make House Delzeen the supreme power of Shalistaurimon, for all time, for she values family above all, and I truly believe the she shall make us all immortal. If we were merely pawns to her, she would not have gone to such great lengths in her planning; if I were nothing to her, then any old male would have served her purpose to become my husband. And for that matter, she would have dominated me directly, rather than using the soft, indirect conditioning of a Bard.
Besides that, we must remember that as her progeny, the ruling power will still reside in her hand, since we will all be bound to her by the power of the Vampiric Blood; but I know Clare, better than anyone. She has no interest in absolutism. She is not a tyrant. She is a delagator. As her Dark Children, we will all share in the responsibility of rulership, each of us, over a different aspect. And all Drow knees shall bow to our House, and all Drow eyes will look to us for leadership.
Clare is a planner, a thinker. She has a plan for all of us; and she most certainly has a goal in mind for House Delzeen. The ability to plan and prepare is her greatest strength; her weakness is that she is slow to trust. She will wait, until everything else is in place, before she turns us loose to our own devices. But she will do it. And because of that, my anger is already starting to cool. Although it may be a century or two before I truly, and completely, forgive her."
Nelvandra’s reaction is not quite what Respen expected. Instead of uncontrolled rage, Nel’s reaction is one of tempered disdain, and frustration. Even Laramon is surprised at how measured and calculated Nel’s response is.
Nelvandra says, “Wow, my sister is even more insidious than I gave her credit for. I can see now, quite clearly, that her conditioning was based on my natural disposition; she took my natural tendencies, and heightened them, extended them, re-directed their focus. And in so doing, her manipulation was significantly more effective. Conditioning tends to fail when it attempts to convince someone to act against their nature. Clare worked within the boundaries of my personality, making only slight adjustments. Bravo, sis. Well-played; well-played, indeed.”
Nel explains, “I have always wanted to bear children, and to make House Delzeen a great house again, like it was in centuries past. Clare’s conditioning played upon that desire; she implanted the mental “seed” that her plan was sound, and would result in the achievement of that goal. Thus, she took my desire, and re-directed it; instead of attainment of the goal under my own power, she made it seem as if I should support her instead. Ironically, I already idolized her, and was already planning to enlist her aid in that endeavor.”
A tear comes to Nel’s eye, but she proudly wipes it away, and continues: “I have also always prided myself on my ability to seduce any man I chance to meet. But until now, they had all been dalliances, going no further than kissing, licking, and heavy petting. I had never found a male who didn’t bore me to tears. I guess Clare felt that such ability needed a purpose, a direction; therefore, she re-directed that skill to her own devices, twisting my pride into taking satisfaction not in the seduction itself, but in the fact that the seduction was pleasing to her. In this way, she could choose my mate for me, and I would gladly comply, because doing so would please her. I suppose she felt that my dalliances were a sign of my inability to commit myself to a mate; you see, although the Drow have a very open attitude toward sensuality, that attitude changes once the Heart Mate has been chosen. Drow Females can sew their wild oats indefinitely, with the expectation that promiscuity ENDS COMPLETELY once it is time to see to the formation of one’s family. I think Clare supposed that I might not ever commit to a single mate, given that I had been single almost 30 years longer than the average Drow female. Ironically, I had decided not long ago, only 6 months or so before Ky came to live with us, that I would step up my efforts to find a suitable husband.”
Nelvandra says, "I'm not angry with you, my dear. I know you feel guilty, and ashamed of what you did. And in terms of surface world ethics, you are indeed correct to feel that way. But Drow Society is different; and so are its associated ethics.
The Drow are not as sexually repressed as you surface dwellers; as I just said, the Drow are very open when it comes to sensuality; we exchange sexual favors the way that your kind might exchange pleasantries about the weather. If you pass a friend on the street, you might inquire as to how they're doing, or what kind of day they're having. And you think nothing of this, for it is normal. In Shalistaurimon, as I chance to meet a female friend, I might ask that her brother follow me to my bedchamber for an hour or two. And no one bats an eye, because in Drow society, THAT sort of thing is normal.
Drow females hold all of the political, social, and religious power in Shalistaurimon. So we're used to having the instant gratification of our desires. We are beings of power, but we are also sensual beings. Whereas surface females seek out love, we DEMAND it. Whereas surface females dream of a strong knight on horseback to come and whisk them away, Drow females dream of attractive, weak-willed, and misguided males, who are desperately in need of discipline, from a strong, unswerving, female hand.
I have heard that surface women of surpassing beauty are often placed upon pedestals, metaphorically speaking; in Drow Society, the pedestal is not metaphorical, and the males not only serve us without question, but they also WORSHIP US; they lick our boots shiny clean, and THANK US for the opportunity to do so!
I am not angry with Clare for coercing you into my bed; I might have done the same to you, anyway. And besides that, what’s done is done; I have chosen you, and you are mine now, and it will be a cold day on the Ninth Layer of Hell before I let you go. I’m not in the habit of sharing my favorite toys. And you, my sweet, are definitely one of my favorites. Even without the conditioning, I find your magical skills, your naivete, and your bold recklessness quite appealing; I cannot wait for your blood to mingle with mine at the bloodletting ceremony. You are going to make an excellent husband.
What I AM angry about is that Clare didn't trust me, her own sister, to make the right decisions for our house. As I said, I have always wanted to bear children, and I have always wanted those children to be powerful rulers. But Clare believed that I was too weak to see those ambitions through to fruition. So she took command, and robbed me of my power. She made me her slave. And among The Drow, THAT is a crime of the highest order. Among the Drow, the highest two sacraments are Motherhood and Sisterhood. Nothing is more sacred to us than these two things. And that is Clare’s offense, the crime of a sister betraying a sister.
The only reason that I am not in the middle of plotting her gruesome and slow demise at this very moment is because of one, important factor: she was not acting for herself. She was acting for the house.
As much as it pains me to say it, Clare's plan is brilliant, and will make House Delzeen the supreme power of Shalistaurimon, for all time, for she values family above all, and I truly believe the she shall make us all immortal. If we were merely pawns to her, she would not have gone to such great lengths in her planning; if I were nothing to her, then any old male would have served her purpose to become my husband. And for that matter, she would have dominated me directly, rather than using the soft, indirect conditioning of a Bard.
Besides that, we must remember that as her progeny, the ruling power will still reside in her hand, since we will all be bound to her by the power of the Vampiric Blood; but I know Clare, better than anyone. She has no interest in absolutism. She is not a tyrant. She is a delagator. As her Dark Children, we will all share in the responsibility of rulership, each of us, over a different aspect. And all Drow knees shall bow to our House, and all Drow eyes will look to us for leadership.
Clare is a planner, a thinker. She has a plan for all of us; and she most certainly has a goal in mind for House Delzeen. The ability to plan and prepare is her greatest strength; her weakness is that she is slow to trust. She will wait, until everything else is in place, before she turns us loose to our own devices. But she will do it. And because of that, my anger is already starting to cool. Although it may be a century or two before I truly, and completely, forgive her."
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