The Moonseekers are a sect devoted to Eilistraê and to seeking a life outside the Underdark
Tenets
Live in Peace, Love, and Harmony. Show kindness to others in all things other than the defeat of evil.
Keep Song in Your Heart and Be Ever Free.
Aid Strangers, the Weak, the Oppressed, and those in Threat. Give all you can to help those in need, evoking the name of the Dark Lady as you do so. The faithful should always keep food at hand to give to those in need, the same with coin. Seek out the lost and suffering to guide them to the light.
Master the Blade that You may use it to Defeat Evil.
Bask Naked in Sacred Moonlight and Be Shed of Your Shackles.
Structure & Position
The Moonseekers do not have any strict hierarchies, seeing all members of the community as valuable and equal. Communities tend to be formed in natural places with plenty of plant life, wild game, and some ore deposits nearby, and, most importantly, that give a clear view of the moon in the night sky.
Leaders & Followers
Moonseeker communities are led by a Beacon, someone with much knowledge of Eilistraê's teachings and with experience with helping the Drow in the Underdark. A Beacon is however more guide than leader, as each member stands free to act as they wish, in accordance with the Lady's teachings.
The communities are loos. Most stay with the community for long periods of time. Others however themselves with travelling to spread the word of Eilistraê and help strangers in need, or travel back into the Underdark in order to help the Drow there.
Ranks & Hierarchy
Title | Activities |
|---|---|
Moonseeker | A follower of the sect. Moonseekers exist both in the Underdark, seeking an escape, and in the above world, living in small communities or traversingthe surface. |
Lightbearer | A member of the sect that is actively working in the Underdark to spread the message of Eilistraê and the Moonseekers and helping Drow escape to the surface. |
Sworddancer | A devout paladin, cleric, or warrior. Many are organised into small units that seek out ways to help the Drow and fight Lolth |
Beacon | A Beacon is the leader of a community of Moonseekers, working to aid their community and help Drow in the Underdark |
Traditions & Rituals
The Moonlit Dance
The most iconic ritual of the Moonseekers is the Moonlit Dance. Following a hunt, the Moonseekers gather round a bonfire to feast on their game. After this, each member leads the community in a song, one after the other, as they dance (wearing as little clothing as they wish) under the Moonlight. It is said that the devout sometimes see Eilistraê dancing among them, her form flickering in the flames of the bonfire.
The Evensong
Each evening, the Moonseekers privately sing a wordless song, only to themselves and the Lady. The song has no words and is only the expression of pure emotion. It is said the Lady listens to all the Evensongs of her followers and lends them her strength.
The Sworddance
Moonseekers are expected to learn how to fight with the sword, the favoured weapon of the Lady. Using other weapons should be avoided when possible. Sworddancers should always be prepared when going into battle, wearing the armour that most suits them and keeping their blade close. In battle, the faithful warriors of Eilistraê fight under the Sworddance, moving elegantly in a dance as they battle their enemies.
Anointing the Blade
When choosing a new weapon for themselves, the Sworddancers of Eilistraê spend a night dancing in the moonlight to anoint it in the Lady's favour. The sword is thrust into the ground and the devout begins a dance around it. As they dance, the move close to cut themselves on the blade, drawing blood from each limb. Those who gain the Lady's favour find the blade glowing with the light of the moon, a glow which lasts for atleast a season.
The High Hunt
Once each season, the faithful of the sect prepare a hunt for a great beast or monster, using only their blades to kill it.
The Run
Once each year, a Moonseeker must travel to a new place, somewhere they have never been and where none would know them. Here they must rely on their kindness, their cunning, their elegance and eloquence, and their sword skill to survive among those who are likely hostile to them. The faithful should seek out strangers, bringing them game and learning their ways in an effort to endear them to Drow, picking up new songs, music, and sword techniques in the process. The run is an effort to show strangers that Drow can be kind.
Moonseekers Overview | |
|---|---|
Sect | Devotees of Eilistraê who seek a life outside the Underdark and help others escape it |
Goals | To create communities of Moonseekers, help Drow escape the Underdark, and destroy Lolth's hold over the Drow |
Methods | Spreading their ideas and fostering insurrection, and escorting Drow away from the Underdark |
Structure & Position | Decentralised into small communities on the surface and clandestine cells in the Drow cities |
Followers | Mostly Drow |
Notable NPCs | Beacon Ashi'nala, who leads the community in the Moonlit Vale |
A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the moon again, where trees and flowers grow.
The message of the Moonseekers
