The Onyx Kingdom
Xunari
Nimruil
Beksesha
The Onyx Kingdom is a domain forged in the anvil of civil unrest, tempered by the blood of its former regents: Dalrithia and Elzyrra. In the wake of a power vaccuum, the once exiled queen Vyx'aria pounced upon Zar'Ahal with her closest supporters. Now she rules the ashes of a decadent and nascent drow empire, attempting to stamp out discord and bring about an age of strict unity and iron zeal.
Hierarchy
While nominally having retained the old power structures of Zar'Ahal, with its Royal Palace at its top, its noble Houses, its priesthood of Maelzafan and its academies of excellence, some of the old hierarchies have irrevocably shifted.
The priesthood demand less obedience than they did before, kept on a tighter leash by the oversight of the Palace and the Onyx Court. A new body of government has appeared to serve as the blind arm of administration, indifferent to the political machinations of individual houses, only having the interests of the kingdom at large in heart. At least theoretically.
It can equally be argued that the Onyx Court serves to enhance the autocratic powers of the palace and its Queen Regent. Under the guise of fairness and safe anonymity, its masked courtiers and conclave members undermine the jealous grasping for power by disparate factions, turning them against one another and undermining them from within rather than look to depose their new ruler.
The Royal Palace:
The Royal Palace is the apex of the Kingdom’s capital city—a colossal citadel carved into a titanic cavern pillar. Its architecture is deliberately oppressive: vast halls that dwarf visitors, obsidian floors that reflect no light, and spires that disappear into darkness above.
The palace contains:
The Onyx Court:
Every rule requires delegation. It is with cautious grace that the throne of Tor’Rahel distributes power to its Onyx Court – the most trusted councillors, administrators and advisors of the Queen.
Any member who enters the Onyx Court is granted a magical mask. This onyx mask neuters their voice, conceals their appearance and for all intents and purposes renders them anonymous. It makes it difficult for members to engineer and politically maneuver supporters behind their own causes. The mask renders it impossible to name any names of individuals beyond House names and other proper nouns.
This makes engineering matters for certain Houses more difficult. The Court is divided up into select conclaves, focusing on various aspects of government. Each conclave is segregated into male or female members; male conclaves administering areas considered "lesser" or less important in drow culture versus female conclaves managing what is considered of greater importance. For grandscale decisions, the Onyx Court convenes all its conclaves and the regent. There are more conclaves (or bigger conclaves) for women than men, skewing that balance on royal decrees.
Some prominent conclaves are:
Conclave of War and Expansion (Female)
Conclave of Faith and Ritual (Female)
Conclave of Beasts and Slaves (Male)
Conclave of Trade and Alchemy (Male)
The Queensguard:
The Noble Houses:
The Kingdom is divided among Noble Houses, each a matriarchal dynasty controlling territory, wealth, and influence. Houses oversee mines, trade routes, manufactories, military contingents, and cultural institutions.
Ruling matrons command their house with absolute authority. Bloodlines are curated through selective breeding, strategic marriages, and adoption of exceptional outsiders.
Houses compete in:
Greater Houses:
Myrlochar
Suulet’jabar
Ulthrel
Lesser Houses:
Voiryn
Suvalissaere
Academies of Skill:
The Academy of Invoked Scrolls
The Academy of Crossed Blades
The Priesthood of Maelzafan:
The priesthood demand less obedience than they did before, kept on a tighter leash by the oversight of the Palace and the Onyx Court. A new body of government has appeared to serve as the blind arm of administration, indifferent to the political machinations of individual houses, only having the interests of the kingdom at large in heart. At least theoretically.
It can equally be argued that the Onyx Court serves to enhance the autocratic powers of the palace and its Queen Regent. Under the guise of fairness and safe anonymity, its masked courtiers and conclave members undermine the jealous grasping for power by disparate factions, turning them against one another and undermining them from within rather than look to depose their new ruler.
The Royal Palace:
The Royal Palace is the apex of the Kingdom’s capital city—a colossal citadel carved into a titanic cavern pillar. Its architecture is deliberately oppressive: vast halls that dwarf visitors, obsidian floors that reflect no light, and spires that disappear into darkness above.
The palace contains:
- The Queen’s Throne Hall, where edicts and judgments are issued
- The Conclave Chamber for the ruling mage council
- Private royal quarters and war planning sanctums
- Intelligence archives, prisons, and ritual chambers
- Barracks and training halls for the Queensguard
- The Onyx Court
The Onyx Court:
Every rule requires delegation. It is with cautious grace that the throne of Tor’Rahel distributes power to its Onyx Court – the most trusted councillors, administrators and advisors of the Queen.
Any member who enters the Onyx Court is granted a magical mask. This onyx mask neuters their voice, conceals their appearance and for all intents and purposes renders them anonymous. It makes it difficult for members to engineer and politically maneuver supporters behind their own causes. The mask renders it impossible to name any names of individuals beyond House names and other proper nouns.
This makes engineering matters for certain Houses more difficult. The Court is divided up into select conclaves, focusing on various aspects of government. Each conclave is segregated into male or female members; male conclaves administering areas considered "lesser" or less important in drow culture versus female conclaves managing what is considered of greater importance. For grandscale decisions, the Onyx Court convenes all its conclaves and the regent. There are more conclaves (or bigger conclaves) for women than men, skewing that balance on royal decrees.
Some prominent conclaves are:
Conclave of War and Expansion (Female)
Conclave of Faith and Ritual (Female)
Conclave of Beasts and Slaves (Male)
Conclave of Trade and Alchemy (Male)
The Queensguard:
The Noble Houses:
The Kingdom is divided among Noble Houses, each a matriarchal dynasty controlling territory, wealth, and influence. Houses oversee mines, trade routes, manufactories, military contingents, and cultural institutions.
Ruling matrons command their house with absolute authority. Bloodlines are curated through selective breeding, strategic marriages, and adoption of exceptional outsiders.
Houses compete in:
- Economic production and innovation
- Military prestige and conquest records
- Political influence within the court and council
- Cultural and arcane achievements
Greater Houses:
Myrlochar
Suulet’jabar
Ulthrel
Lesser Houses:
Voiryn
Suvalissaere
Academies of Skill:
The Academy of Invoked Scrolls
The Academy of Crossed Blades
The Priesthood of Maelzafan:
Rules
Intent
The old order of Zar'Ahal was crumbling. Decadent. It has been felt by many drow for centuries; an agonisingly slow death of a once mighty dominion, giving way before poor decisions and ill-planned ambitions. Within the walls of Zar'Ahal, what thin veneer of order and deference had once existed evaporated, leading to unmitigated slaughters among rival Houses, rampaging priestesses and nobility in the streets and an ever increasing number of unaccounted agents working their own schemes.
This would not do.
And so, the reign of Tor'Rahel came to be reborn; fuelled by a desire for discipline and efficiency mitigating the roiling impulses of the drow.
The Drow Kingdom is built on controlled ambition. Every institution is designed to cultivate excellence while preventing fragmentation. Religion is regulated. Nobility is monitored. Military power is centralized. Knowledge is weaponized.
The Queen does not fear ambition—she shapes it into a blade pointed outward.
Order is enforced not through chaos, but inevitability.
Power is respected, not worshipped.
Shadow is not sacred—it is strategic.
And beneath the earth, under the Queen’s gaze, the Drow Kingdom endures as a disciplined, predatory empire waiting to expand.
This would not do.
And so, the reign of Tor'Rahel came to be reborn; fuelled by a desire for discipline and efficiency mitigating the roiling impulses of the drow.
The Drow Kingdom is built on controlled ambition. Every institution is designed to cultivate excellence while preventing fragmentation. Religion is regulated. Nobility is monitored. Military power is centralized. Knowledge is weaponized.
The Queen does not fear ambition—she shapes it into a blade pointed outward.
Order is enforced not through chaos, but inevitability.
Power is respected, not worshipped.
Shadow is not sacred—it is strategic.
And beneath the earth, under the Queen’s gaze, the Drow Kingdom endures as a disciplined, predatory empire waiting to expand.
