Guallidurth

The Temple City of Lolth lies deep beneath the Calim Desert, midway between Calimport, the ruins of Teshyll, and St. Noradnar’'s Hermitage. Located in the middle Underdark, beneath the caverns of Alatorin, Guallidurth is an ancient city thought to date back to the rise of the earliest drow civilizations beneath southern Faerûn circa -9600 DR. As noted above, the drow fought a succession of wars with the Stout Folk of Shanatar that twice led to the fall of Alatorin and the end of golden ages of the dwarves. More recently, the drow battled the humans of Calimshan from -790 DR to the Year of Meager Means (-530 DR) in a series of conflicts known as the Night Wars. When the drow finally withdrew, more than seven hundred fifty thousand humans and other beings had been captured and enslaved by the Spider Queen’s followers.

The Temple City of Lolth is one of the largest enclaves of drow extant in the Realms Below. More than eighty thousand dark elves dwell within the caverns of Guallidurth, with the Matron Mothers of twenty-one noble houses sitting on the Ruling Council and nearly two hundred other houses striving to increase their status and replace them. Whereas in cities such as Menzoberranzan and Ched Nasad the Spider Queen is worshiped uniformly according to the Way of Lolth, in Guallidurth there is no consensus as to how the Dark Mother of All Drow is most appropriately venerated. Each Matron Mother represents one (or more, in some cases) sect, cult, or faction of the Spider Queen’s faithful. One measure of a sect’s relative influence is the relative magnificence of the house of worship it can afford to construct. As a result, Guallidurth contains hundreds, if not thousands, of temples dedicated to Lolth, ranging from simple shrines to grand cathedrals. Many of the city’s temples are either ruined, their congregations long since murdered in the endless religious strife that rages across the city, or abandoned, their congregations able to afford more ostentatious (and defensible) houses of worship.

Only the unforgivable heresy of drow worshiping other gods unites the Lolthite clergies of Guallidurth in common cause, and even such endeavors are usually doomed to failure by the infighting among members of the various sects. Nevertheless, the drow of Guallidurth have spent the past 50 years attempting to eradicate the Vhaeraun-worshiping drow of the Forest of Mir and the caverns of Ultoksamrin.

• -9600 DR: Guallidurth, ancient city of the drow, is founded. Rise of the first drow civilization in the Underdark.
• -8170 DR - -8150 DR: The First Spider War: The drow of Guallidurth take advantage of the dwarves' civil war to attack the caverns of Alatorin, which were far removed from the frontlines of fighting. Brightaxe Hall is captured and Alatorin collapses.
• -8145 DR - -8137 DR: The Second Spider War: Aghast at their folly, the eight reigning kings of Shanatar forge an armistice, and turn their armies against the drow. The drow are overcome and retreat from the caverns of Alatorin. In triumph, the eight kings march their armies back into Brightaxe Hall, and pledge never again to fight one another. The tribes of Shanatar are united under the rule of the king of Ultoksamrin. Shield dwarves mark this event as the beginning of the Second Age of Shanatar.
• -6150 DR - -6120 DR: The Third Spider War: The drow of Guallidurth once again attack the caverns of Alatorin. The Stout Folk are forced to abandon BrightAxe Hall, but they manage to take the Wyrmskull Throne with them.
• -790 DR: The Night Wars begin between the drow and many surface powers of southern Faerûn. The primary military foe of the drow is Calimshan.
• -741 DR: Tulan el Akada yi Calimport creates the aranea, a lycanthropic arachnid race with the ability to disguise themselves as drow or giant spiders. Tulan's magical controls make the aranea the most effective soldiers in the war against the drow.
• -736 DR: Tulan el Akada's 40 most loyal aranea remain in Calimport and take up residence in hidden byways beneath the city and among caverns in the upper regions of the Underdark (former scouting posts of Shanatar). They begin fortifying the defenses of Calimport against the drow and making a home for themselves in the dark areas where few sadimmin wish to tread.
• -733 DR: Tulan el Akada releases over 100 aranea into the Forest of Mir both to propagate and to fight the drow that had taken up residence therein.
• -697 DR: The drow erupt from beneath the cities of Calimport, Manshaka, and Almraiven, establishing footholds in the cities as well as the outlying wilderness areas that they hold for several decades.
• -620 DR: After more than 60 years of negotiations, Calimshan's sylpasha strikes some confidential trade agreements with the Matron Mother of Guallidurth, the closest drow city, in exchange for the withdrawal of her forces from beneath Calimport and the other Calishite cities. The withdrawal takes another 90 years, as not all forces answer to the Matron Mother of Guallidurth, and a House rebellion within that city also adds fuel to the Night Wars.
• -599 DR: The Spider Plagues: All Calimshan cities; sores filled with spider's eggs appearing on people, victims consumed by hatching spiders; 32% (41%).
• -530 DR: The Night Wars draw to a close, and the drow never again gain more than a remote toehold in the surface lands. In all, more than 75,000 humans and other beings are captured and enslaved by the drow during these conflicts. More than 150,000 others die fighting the dark elves, though nearly as many drow and duergar die during the wars as well.

In Guallidurth, deep beneath Calimshan, Lolth's clergy are

known collectively as Yom'y-athrins. In ascending order, the

hierarchy of titles for the Temple City of Lolth include Noamutha,

Khalessa, Kyorla, Alura, Quartha, Talintha, Elamshina, and

Xundusa. High-ranking priests of the Spider Queen are collectively

known as yathtallars. If they rule a noble house they are

known as Ilharess (Matron Mother), but otherwise they are

titled Streea'Valsharess (Black Widow). Specialty priests are

known as arachnes.