Irindix (LE)

“Lolth,” “Queen of Nightmares” (pr. ear-In-dix)

Domains:  Cavern, Darkness, Death, Destruction, Dream, Drow, Envy, Evil, Hatred, Magic, Mind, Knowledge, Retribution, Spider, Summoner, Wrath

Irindix is the most powerful of the four Elder Banes, and the only one of the four that is female.  She feeds on the fear of mortals both innocent and otherwise, and has a venomous hatred for goodness and light in all their forms.  She is the overseer of dark vengeance and evil predators, showing no mercy to the weak or defenseless, who are viewed as inferior and unfit even for slavery.  Irindix is the undisputed prime deity of the Underlands, and she holds sway over countless teeming multitudes of creatures that dwell beneath the surface of the Planet.

Irindix has many forms, and most of them are horrible to behold.  Her favorite form and that in which she most often appears to her worshippers, is that of the Dark Huntress: a tall black-skinned (the blackness of coal or a moonless night) woman of indeterminate age with long, razor-sharp teeth and nails and a cruelly evil countenance, cloaked in shadows and black mist.  She sometimes appears alone, other times leading a pack of huge, demonic black mastiffs with solid white eyes.  Her other known forms are Lolth the Spider Queen (principal goddess of the Drow elves, though her worship is not limited to them); and the Queen of Nightmares, a bloated, amoebic monstrosity with disgustingly twisted female anatomy.  Irindix’s ideology is simple and direct: her worshippers exist to create and nourish fear, horror and despair among the people of Gaia, and to cull the weak and pathetic from the herd.

Like the other Banes, Irindix demands absolute devotion and unquestioning loyalty from her servants.  Her clerics are often required to undertake rituals to send nightmares and other fearful, evil visions to people both strong and weak of heart; these nightmares are intended to corrupt or create despair in the hearts of the victims.  Those victims whom Irindix covets for their bodies, minds or spirits are often lured to her servants by the nightmares she sends.  Her clerics and faithful are sometimes on good terms with those of Yshunor, Tyraudon and Ethoar, but in their hearts they typically seek the destruction of all other deities and religions – even those of the other Elder Banes. 

Irindix’s faithful have a small but effective presence all over the planet on every continent, and an overwhelming presence in the Underlands, especially among the Drow.  Her non-Drow worshippers utilize the sharpened canine tooth of a human victim as their holy symbol; the Drow wear a small medallion or pendant of a spider.  Clerics and priests of Irindix may follow any non-good alignment, and typically are clad in softly shimmering black tunics.  Her favored weapon is the hand crossbow.

Faiths of Gaia