Quiryth

The Fall of Quiryth   In an age long past, the undercity of Quiryth was the beating heart of the Underdark. A bustling hub of trade, arcane experimentation, and cultural pride, Quiryth stood as a landmark of Drow achievement. Scholars, engineers, and mages from across the realm journeyed there to study its mysteries, and those deemed truly worthy were granted access to the city's greatest secret: the Labyrinthine Nexus—an intricate network of tunnels, magically wrought halls, and hidden chambers beneath the city.   Deep within the Labyrinth, mages toiled tirelessly, manipulating a vast ancient reservoir of raw aether. Some harnessed its power for summoning and binding formidable entities; others used it to forge magical relics of immense potency. And some, blinded by ambition, plotted to use its energy to ascend to godhood.   Such was the fate of the Last High Matron of House Velathrin, the ruling power in Quiryth. In her hubris, she sought to steal the divinity of Nythera, the Goddess of Deceit and Spiders. But Nythera, cunning beyond comprehension, uncovered the Matron's scheme. Taking on a breathtaking mortal guise, the goddess infiltrated the court and quickly earned the Matron’s trust by claiming she possessed a ritual capable of stripping a god of their power and transferring it to another.   Enthralled by the promise, the High Matron began the preparations at once.   What happened next is not fully known. But when the ritual was cast, it did not bestow godhood—it tore open a rift in the fabric of the Underdark. Horrific creatures spilled into the city, and many Drow twisted into monstrous spider-like abominations, their minds lost to the magic gone awry.   Quiryth fell into chaos. The Labyrinth, once the source of its greatness, became the mouth of its doom. Though a few managed to escape and the surviving mages sealed the Labyrinth for a time, their reprieve was short-lived. Other Drow city-states, hungry for Quiryth’s riches and magical legacy, launched attacks. The final blow came with the arrival of a Duergar war host led by the infamous Dulram Grimhammer, who razed the city and unsealed the depths once more.   Now, Quiryth stands in ruin—a haunted monument to ambition undone by betrayal and divine wrath. Its shattered towers and broken bridges lie half-buried in rock and rot. Beneath them, the Labyrinthine Nexus still pulses, unstable and alive with wild magic, inhabited by horrors both ancient and new. Monsters, mages, and madmen alike now seek to claim its power… chief among them, the enigmatic Beholder, Izzarothal.   The Legacy of Dulram Grimhammer: Relics from the duergar conquest, such as shattered war machines or cursed weapons, can still be found scattered across Quiryth. Dulram Grimhammer’s name is etched into drow memory as a symbol of betrayal and humiliation. Though most duergar have long abandoned the ruins, the mention of Grimhammer may provoke rage or sorrow among any drow who still remember the city.