"In flames, in pain, the sacred and profane separated in the belly of the fire"

"You cannot allow this, Nadvyr, please."

"It is not up to me," the drow warrior whispered into the darkness as he drew the shorter human female close. 

She was his slave, a human nothing more. Lower than the mildew that grew on the walls. She should have been nothing, stayed nothing. But in the halls of Menzoberranzan, where treachery was embraced, dishonor and honor were interchanged, Nadvyr Faen Naïlo, firstborn son of Matron G'eldriia Faen Naïlo had begun to question the meaning of their dark existence thanks to the words of the furious human woman he'd dragged back to the Underdark.

She stiffened in his arms, finding no comfort. Menzoberranzan, City Of Spiders had demanded a sacrifice from Nadvyr. He'd been too careless with his time spent at home instead of guarding the interests of house Naïlo, he'd been guarding the interests of his heart. Those interests had not gone unnoticed. He should have been with a drow female, not hiding in his rooms with his slave listening to the tales from the surface.

When Aria Ní Ruaidhín had been brought down, it had to be in chains, all the way from the surface. Her father's heart had been cut still beating and burned on the altar, given in thanks to Lloth for a powerful victory on the surface. The Ruaidhín clan had been destroyed in true drow fashion, and many slaves had been taken below. 

Nadvyr had taken the wrathful princess into his care, hoping to tame her. He could not deny the fault of their destruction was his own devising. He was an apt general. He was curious about the surface worlders and their ways. But that curiosity was his undoing. 

Her need was greater. Another sacrifice was demanded before they went on a raid, and the Matron had demanded the daughter of Nadvyr, a girl with no magic but one that Nadvyr had spent much time training to fight. It would be no great loss to house Faen Niallo, G'eldriia had reasoned. But the loss to Nadvyr personally would have been great indeed and Lloth had demanded it. 

He'd been too careless indeed. He should have known better than to think that no one would have seen his time spent here. The City Of Spiders crawled with the eyes of the goddess. She was everywhere and chaos was her dominion. He'd been a fool to think he could have this one thing to himself that couldn't be touched or corrupted by her. She now demanded her due. 

After their raid on House Na'Faen Deilo, Nadvyr was to personally sacrifice his daughter on the ashes of the Faen Deilo home. The Tenth house would be a mere stepping stone for the Matron mother, who had eyes for climbing higher. But that meant staying in Lloth's favor. And Lloth had not approved of the half human drow children in the midst of the city. 

"Do what you must," he said finally looking down at her. 

It would be the last time he embraced her in this life. They both understood this. He didn't have the words to convey the emotions he felt. In truth, he didn't understand what he felt, except that it was truly something he would give his life to protect. Lloth had never inspired this kind of devotion in him. He was both in awe of and fearful of the feelings Aria had drawn from him. He'd failed at being a drow in every way and now his due had come. And yet, even now he could not right the wrong he'd committed. He could only give them their best chance to escape. 

They had to go where he could not.

He lifted the lights one more time even though the light hurt his eyes. The pale skin of Aria flamed before him, her shock of red hair, a trait she'd passed down to her daughter, trailed wild down her back. 

He let the lights dim as he savored the sweet image of her one last time.

And then he was gone, fleeing to his duty, the madness that was Menzoberranzan. His only hope was that he did his duty enough to fool even the goddess of chaos herself into thinking he'd chosen her. For when the raid was over... He shuddered to think of the cost. He could only hope that whatever other gods existed had not chosen to forsake Aria Ní Ruaidhín as they had on the eve of her clan's destruction.