Ascendancy of the Last зкp-3

by Lisa Smedman

  A shiver of fear lodged in T'lar's soul. She rose and backed slowly away, but the weeping figure lashed out with a hand, catching her wrist. "Your goddess is dead!" she screamed. "The Lady Penitent is dead!"

  T'lar tore free of the Lady Penitent's grip. What madness was this? A strand of silk drifted down from the sky to brush T'lar's shoulder. She looked up, and saw a spider-headed female staring down at her. Lolth! Behind the goddess stood a balor demon, his bat wings wreathed in flame. Lolth's true champion. T'lar understood that, now.

  Come, the goddess said. The web waits.

  T'lar grasped the thread of silk. Power surged through it, into her hand. The mist-filled landscape faded. Tugged by the thread, she rose into Lolth's blackness. It surrounded her like a comforting black velvet shroud. At last she reached the eternal web that was the Demonweb Pits, leaving the piteous, false champion behind.

  *****

  Cavatina stood on a featureless plain, surrounded by gray mist. Somewhere in the distance, a female voice raged. She recognized it as Halisstra's, but that didn't matter. Not any more.

  She lifted her severed head to her shoulders, and felt the substance of her soul knit together again. She turned to the messengers who had come to convey her from the Fugue Plain. The two looked identical: elves, though she could not say what type. Beautiful, though she could not tell their gender. Each stood a little taller than she, and was clad in a shimmering white robe. Their names sprang, unbidden, into her mind: Lashrael and Felarathael.

  "Daughter!" Lashrael cried in a voice bubbling with laughter. "Your life's journey has ended at last. Welcome home!" He clasped her arms and smiled.

  "The Protector sends his greetings," Felarathael said in a slow, measured voice. The spirit half-turned, and gestured for her to follow. "Come."

  "But…" Cavatina looked around. There should have been a beam of moonlight, piercing the mist. A song for her to follow. Or perhaps a pool of silent shadow for her to slip into. She pulled out of Lashrael's embrace. "But I am Eilistraee's."

  "Alas!" Lashrael cried, his cheeks awash with tears. "Eilistraee is no more. She was slain-cut down, together with the high priestess, by the treacherous Lady Penitent."

  Cavatina's soul trembled. "No!" she gasped.

  "All part of the plan," Felarathael said calmly. "There is no further need for Eilistraee. The willing were saved, the unwilling cast down. It is time for the dark elves to return to Arvandor."

  "So many!" Lashrael cried, arms thrown open wide. "So many souls to gather! Where will we ever begin?"

  "With this one, Lashrael," Felarathael said in a patient voice. "And then, on to the realm where the remainder of Eilistraee's faithful dance."

  Cavatina's mind spun. Dark elves? As if in answer, a mirror of silver moonlight framed in a circle of shadow materialized between Felarathael's hands. He held it up for her to see. She beheld herself as she might have been, had she survived. Brown skin, black hair, dark brown eyes. The mirror disappeared.

  "Hundreds of you, across the length and breadth of Faerun, were transformed," Felarathael explained. "Hundreds more, below ground. Even now, the mortals who serve our master are braving the Underdark, to guide their dark elf brethren back into the light."

  "But what of Qilue?" she breathed.

  "Gone!" Lashrael cried. The spirit sank to a kneel, his hands thrust high. "Dead! Forever dead!"

  "Her soul was destroyed," Felarathael said solemnly. "But before she died, she saved many. She cleansed the taint from hundreds of drow who might otherwise have been condemned."

  "But the rest!" Lashrael wailed. "Thousands! Hundreds of thousands! No hope of redemption for them, with Eilistraee gone. Condemned to darkness and despair, forevermore!"

  "Another necessary sacrifice," Felarathael said without a trace of emotion. "Else the game would have been lost."

  Lashrael rose and wiped away his tears. A smile replaced them-a smile as wide as the moon. "Now come, daughter. Felarathael and I have dallied here long enough. We've much work ahead, once we get you safely home."

  "Home?" Cavatina asked.

  Felarathael waved a hand. The mist parted, revealing a lush forest. A crescent moon hung above the oak trees, next to a golden sun. In the foreground, butterflies danced in a glade festooned with wildflowers. A warm breeze carried the scent of grass, blossoms, and clear-flowing streams.

  "Arvandor," Felarathael announced.

  "Arvandor," Cavatina breathed.

  Each of the spirits held out a hand. She took them. Together they led her soul into the realm of the Seldarine.

  CODA

  Eilistraee startled. Lolth hadn't chosen the piece she'd expected. The Spider Queen instead was pointing to a slightly less powerful Priestess piece that stood next to the one with the curved sword.

  Why?

  Lolth pointed a web-sticky finger. "The sacrifice," she demanded. "Take that piece out, or forfeit the game."

  "A moment, Mother," Eilistraee said. She tipped her head. "Do you hear that?"

  The event she'd been waiting for had at last arrived. Her side of the sava board was a mess, her House riddled with holes Ghaunadaur had melted in the board. But the Priest pieces that had materialized with the Ancient One's arrival no longer had an air of menace and purpose about them. Instead they were babbling, uncontrolled, wandering across the board of their own accord.

  A moment later, the ooze that had been melting Eilistraee's side of the board dribbled away down a hole one of Eilistraee's Priest pieces had just leaped into, abandoning its minions. The holes remained, but the rot's spread had at last been halted.

  Lolth arched an eyebrow. "Well played, Daughter. You seem to have neutralized the threat. And without me even seeing your move. Your brother has taught you much in the art of sleight of hand-but it won't save your Priestess." She flicked a hand. "Do it. Sacrifice her."

  Still puzzling over Lolth's choice, Eilistraee grasped the Priestess piece. As she removed it from the board, it spit into two parts with a crack like snapping bone. Sorrowfully, she let the head and body fall from her hand. They tumbled, then turned to mist.

  Lolth immediately moved a demonic-looking Priestess piece into the vacant spot. She snapped her fingers, and her throne appeared. She lounged on it, staring across the sava board at Eilistraee. "Your move, daughter."

  Eilistraee was thankful for her mask; it hid her smile. Lolth had just made an impetuous move, one that left the piece she'd shifted open to attack. Eilistraee reached for the Priestess piece that held the curved sword, then noted the slight tightening of her opponent's hands on the arms of her throne. The Spider Queen looked relaxed, but her fingers betrayed her tension. Why?

  Eilistraee hesitated, her hand still on the piece, not yet moving it. She could see nothing amiss. The move looked secure. Yet something was bothering her…

  There. That tickle at her wrist. Without being obvious, she shifted her focus slightly, looking at her hand, rather than the piece it held. Just above her palm, on the inside of her wrist, was a tiny red welt: the burn mark that had been left by the brief touch of Lolth's demonic Warrior piece, just before it had vanished. Eilistraee's Priestess piece-the one that held the curved blade-bore a corresponding mark: a tiny chip in its wrist.

  A hole, bored deep-to its very soul.

  Treachery! Yet that was only to be expected of the Spider Queen.

  Eilistraee, however, also knew much of subterfuge, thanks to the mask she now wore. Another piece on the board bore a similar flaw: this one, in its knee. Eilistraee made the move Lolth was expecting, then feigned surprise and horror as the piece she'd just moved transformed into the Warrior piece and became Lolth's. The Spider Queen seized it and moved it triumphantly to the heart of Eilistraee's House, next to Eilistraee's Mother piece.

  "Victory!" she cried. "Move whatever piece you like, Daughter. The game will be lost! Your Mother piece has no moves open. With my next move, I'll destroy it-and the drow will be mine!"

  Eilistraee leaned forward, feigning a g
reat sigh. She kept her eyes downcast, so Lolth wouldn't see the glint of gold in their depths. She lifted her Mother piece and squeezed hard, destroying it. The cut on her wrist opened, and her blood flowed. A drop of it fell on the Warrior piece, sizzled briefly in the hot flames that wreathed it, then vanished.

  Eilistraee disappeared.

  *****

  Lolth looked wildly around. Eilistraee was gone! She laughed a shrill, giddy peal of delight. "You concede?" she cried. "At last, the drow are…?"

  Just a moment. Something was wrong. Eilistraee's realm should have disappeared with her. Yet it remained, just on the other side of the board. Forest, moonstone fruits, stars… Everything was there, except for the moon. It had vanished from the sky, as if…

  Yes, that was it. The moon wasn't gone; it was just eclipsed. Still up in that sky, somewhere. Just as Eilistraee herself was still here… somewhere.

  Lolth's eye fell on the Warrior piece. A pass of her hand over it, palm down, confirmed her suspicions. She could feel the loathsome moonlight hidden within. The Warrior still looked as it had, but that was just a disguise. The piece was no longer hers.

  Vhaeraun had, indeed, taught his sister well.

  She could see now what Eilistraee's plan had been. The demonic Warrior piece stood on a line that led directly back to Lolth's Mother piece; one move would take the Mother out. But Lolth's bestial Priestess would soon put a halt to that.

  Lolth picked up the bestial Priestess piece. It struggled in her hand, resisting her. For a moment, it nearly succeeded. Then Lolth snuffed out the last spark of will it contained. She moved it beside the Warrior piece, and attacked.

  The disguise fell away. Eilistraee's Mother piece was revealed. It twisted wildly, like a madly pirouetting dancer, and let out a shrill cry that was almost a song. Then Lolth flicked a finger, tipping it over, and it stilled.

  "Game," she announced.

  On the other side of the board, Eilistraee's realm wavered. In another moment, it would disappear. Lolth touched her fingers together, then drew them slowly apart, spinning a web between her hands. She leaned forward, poised to ensnare the pieces that buzzed in frantic panic, like flies, on the board below.

  "Not so fast, Araushnee," a male voice said. The point of a long sword touched Lolth's chest.

  Startled, she looked up.

  Eilistraee's realm had not disappeared. Nor were her pieces forfeited. Her place had been taken by another deity who stared imperiously down at Lolth along the blade of the long sword: an androgynous elf with golden hair, wearing white robes, a sky blue cloak, and golden battle gauntlets. A crescent-moon amulet hung against his chest.

  He flicked the long sword down. It sliced the web Lolth had been forming between her hands.

  "How dare you!" the Spider Queen cried. "You've no business meddling here. You're god of the surface elves-and these are drow!"

  "Look again."

  She did. Rage swelled in her like a ripe egg sac as she saw what had happened. Eilistraee's pieces had changed. They were no longer black, but brown. Lolth tried to seize one, but it neatly sidestepped out of reach.

  Corellon Larethian laughed. "My move, I believe."

  DRAMATIS PERSONAE

  Eilistraee's Faithful

  Qilue Veladorn (KIE-loo-ay VEL-a-dorn), one of the Seven Sisters, chosen of Eilistraee and Mystra, drow high priestess of the Promenade Cavatina Xarann (cav-a-TEEN-a zar-ANN), Darksong Knight, drow priestess of Eilistraee Leliana Vrinn (lell-lee-AH-nuh VRIN), drow priestess of Eilistraee, Protector of the Promenade, mother of Rowaan Rylla (REE-la), half-human, half-drow priestess of Eilistraee, Battle-mistress of the Promenade Meryl (MAIR-ill), halfling cook, servant of Qilue Jub (JUB), half-orc, half-drow lay worshiper of Eilistraee and resident of the Promenade Horaldin (hore-ALL-din), moon elf druid, lay worshiper of Eilistraee and resident of the Promenade Chizra (CHIZ-ruh), drow priestess of Eilistraee, Protector of the Promenade Zindira (zin-DEE-ruh), drow priestess of Eilistraee, Protector of the Promenade Brindell (BRIN-dell), halfling priestess of Eilistraee, Protector of the Promenade Tash'kla (TASH-kluh), drow priestess of Eilistraee, Protector of the Promenade Erelda (air-EL-duh), drow priestess of Eilistraee, Protector of the Promenade Rowaan Vrinn (roe-WAHN VRIN), drow priestess of Eilistraee, head priestess of the Misty Forest shrine, daughter of Leliana

  Nightshadows

  Karas (kah-RASS), drow rogue and Black Moon cleric of the Masked Lady, formerly of Maerimydra Naxil (NAX-ill), drow priest of the Masked Lady, formerly a sorcerer's apprentice in Eryndlyn Valdar Jaerle (VAL-dar JARE-lay), drow cleric of Vhaeraun, one of four who opened the portal between the domains of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun Mazrol (MAZ-rawl), drow cleric of Vhaeraun

  Lolth's Minions

  Halisstra Melarn (HAL-is-truh mel-ARN), sister of Q'arlynd Melarn, formerly a drow priestess of Lolth in Ched Nasad, later a priestess of Eilistraee, now Lolth's "Lady Penitent" Wendonai (WEN-doe-nie), balor demon, corruptor of the Illythiri dark elves Nafay Mizz'rynturl (Nah-FAY MIZ-rin-turl), priestess of Lolth in the Temple of the Black Mother in Guallidurth T'lar Mizz'rynturl (t-LAR MIZ-rin-turl), assassin (Lolth's Sting) of the Velkyn Velve, serving the Temple of the Black Mother in Guallidurth Laele Zauviir (LAY-ell zow-VEER), Streea'Valsharess (High Priestess) of The Web of the Spider Queen, Lolth's temple in Sshamath, aunt of Guldor Zauviir Jashnil Zolond (JASH-neel ZOE-lund), priestess of The Web of the Spider Queen, Lolth's temple in Sshamath

  Ghaunadaur's Fanatics

  Molvayas Philiom (moll-VAY-us FIL-ee-om), drow cleric of Ghaunadaur, Eater of Filth (High Priest) in Llurth Dreir for House Philiom Shi'drin Philiom (SHEE-drin FIL-ee-om), drow cleric of Ghaunadaur in Llurth Dreir

  Residents of Sshamath

  Q'arlynd Melarn (KAR-lind mel-ARN), brother of Halisstra Melarn, battle wizard, formerly of Ched Nasad Eldrinn Elpragh (EL-drin el-PRAG), drow wizard specializing in divination, son of Seldszar Elpragh Piri (PEE-ree), drow wizard acolyte of the skin, apprentice of Q'arlynd Melarn, bonded with the quasit demon Glizn Baltak (BALL-tak), drow wizard, transmogrifist, apprentice of Q'arlynd Melarn Zarifar (ZAR-ee-far), drow wizard, geometer, apprentice of Q'arlynd Melarn Alexa (al-ECKS-uh), drow wizard specializing in conjuration, apprentice of Q'arlynd Melarn Seldszar Elpragh (SELDS-zar el-PRAG), drow wizard, Master of the College of Divination, member of Sshamath's ruling Conclave, father of Eldrinn Elpragh Urlryn Khalazza (URL-rinn ka-LAZ-zuh), drow wizard, Master of the College of Conjuration and Summoning, member of Sshamath's ruling Conclave Guldor Zauviir (GUL-dore zow-VEER), drow wizard, Master of the College of Mages, member of Sshamath's ruling Conclave, nephew of Laele Zauviir Antatlab of the Shaking Stones (AN-tat-lab), drow elementalist, Master of the College of Elemental Magic, member of Sshamath's ruling Conclave Felyndiira T'orgh (fell-in-DEER-ah TORG), drow wizard, Master of the College of Illusion and Phantasm, member of Sshamath's ruling Conclave Shurdriira Helviiryn (shur-DREE-ah hel-VEE-rin), drow wizard, Master of the College of Alteration, member of Sshamath's ruling Conclave Tsabrak of the Blood (TSA-brack), drow vampire, Master of the College of Necromancy, member of Sshamath's ruling Conclave Masoj Dhuunyl (mass-ODGE doo-NEEL), drow wizard, Master of the College of Abjuration, member of Sshamath's ruling Conclave Malaggar Xarann (MAL-ag-gar zar-ANN), drow wizard, Master of the College of Enchantment and Charm, member of Sshamath's ruling Conclave Krondorl Waeglossz (KRON-dorl way-gloz), drow wizard, Master of the College of Invocation and Evocation, member of Sshamath's ruling Conclave

  Other Folk

  Laeral Silverhand (LARE-all), one of the Seven Sisters, chosen of Mystra Flinderspeld (flin-der-SPELLED), svirfneblin gem merchant, formerly Q'arlynd Melarn's slave Kaitlyn (KATE-lin), proprietor of the Sisters Three Waxworks in Skullport

  About the Author

  Lisa Smedman is the author of five SHADOWRUN novels: The Lucifer Deck, Blood Sport, Psychotrope, The Forever Drug, and Tails You Lose. She also wrote the novel The Playback War, set in FASA's VOR: THE MAELSTROM universe.

  Lisa has had a number of short science fiction a
nd fantasy stories published in various magazines and anthologies, and has had two of her plays produced. In 1993 she was a finalist in the Writers of the Future contest.

  Formerly a magazine editor, she now splits her week between working as a reporter/editor at a weekly newspaper and writing fiction. When not working or gaming, she enjoys hiking and camping with a women's outdoor club and collects stamps that illustrate the space race. She lives in Vancouver with her partner, and spends much of her time catering to the needs of their "blended family" of cats.

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