Kiaransalee, The Vengeful Banshee

Kiaransalee is the drow deity of both vengeance and the undead. She is called upon by those seeking retribution, the dark arts, or to prolong life. Although the Lady of the Dead has historically demonstrated relatively little interest in the lands of Otara or the Underdark beneath them, the recent rise to prominence of the Cult of the Goat's Head (a cult of Thaid that is very reminiscent to that which followers of Orcus belonged to) in Sythryca under the leadership of Zhengyi the Witch-King, has renewed some interest in the Realms and fueled the emergence of the Vengeful Banshee's cult as a power in the Underdark.

The Vengeful Banshee, twisted, and consumed by thoughts of Revenge. Kiaransalee descended into madness long ago, but she retains her twisted cunning and clear recollection of every slight or insult done to her---real or imagined. The Vengeful Banshee is powerfully chaotic and swift to anger, and she schemes dark revenges against all who have wronged her. Kiaransalee prefers the mindless company of the undead, whom she can manipulate at will, to sentient beings capable of independent thought. She prefers to solve problems herself rather than trust someone else to do justice to her vision.

Kiaransalee's ascension as a dark goddess of evil predates even the banishment of Araushnee from the Seldarine, but the Vengeful Banshee, or Lady of the Dead as she is also called, has long been an unwilling vassal of Lolth, capable of only small acts of rebellion (such as assisting the elven heroine Kethryllia in rescuing her beloved from Lolth's demesne). Kiaransalee was once mortal, a powerful dark elven necromancer-queen on a world known as Threnody. She was named drow and banished by her husband, the king of Threnody, for her unholy experiments on the once-living. Kiaransalee fled with a small group of followers who she then transformed into undead servitors to ensure their loyalty. The Lady of the Dead continued her unholy experiments in secret for centuries before raising an army of undead to exact her vengeance. In the wake of the Kiaransalee's army, Threnody was a dead world, and the architect of its destruction fled with her unthinking servants into the Abyss---where she eventually assumed a measure of divine power herself---to escape the wrath of the Seldarine.

Kiaransalee resides within a cold plane of ice, tin air, and a black, moonlit sky known as the Belly of Death, wrested away from Orcus, the Abyssal lord of the undead, in revenge for some long-forgotten slight. Although she lacked the power to eliminate the very memory of Orcus from the minds of the multiverse after killing him, she slew all the servants and proxies of Orcus (save one, whom she accepted into her own service) and hid the legendary Wand of Orcus.

Despite her efforts Orcus returned, called back by the power of his wand and the secret efforts of his last surviving proxy, as the undead god called Thaid. It is unknown, even to Kiaransalee, who Thaid really is, but Kiaransalee is convinced that her former foe will eventually return, and thus the Lady of the Dead is consumed with renewed efforts to find and eliminate every last trace of Orcus.

Kiaransalee achieved a measure of independence from the Spider Queen, a result of Nocticula's successful overthrow of Lolth, but with Lolth back in control she is once again under her sway. During the time Lolth was deposed by Nocticula, Kiaransalee made a successful play to gain more worshipers, and more divine power. This influx moved her divine status up on the hierarchy, and she is third in power after Lolth and Nocticula. The Lady of the Dead has long chafed under Lolth's suzerainty, and only the Spider Queen's overwhelming strength has kept Kiaransalee's long-planned vengeance in check. Consumed as she is with the unknown fate of Orcus, Kiaransalee has little interest in interacting with other powers however, her activities on Otara have earned the Lady of the Dead some attention various gods of Death.

Dogma

Kiaransalee forbids her worshipers from forgiving debts or slights of any kind. Payment, of some kind, is integral to any interaction. Kiaransalee teaches that life itself is the greatest of all crimes, with enslavement in undeath the most fitting of punishments. Enslavement of the living is also a holy act. Worshipers of Kiaransalee seek to take their wealth and slaves with them into the grave.

Symbols and Regalia

The church of Kiaransalee favors loose black robes with hooded cowls stitched with bone and ivory. Once a year on Graverending, the clergy wear gray skullcaps on their heads and thin silver rings on every finger save the thumb. They spread a grayish paste made of the ashes of incinerated corpses over all uncovered skin, such as the face, hands, and feet. Throughout the rest of the year they remain adorned in vestments that could be mistaken for those of Lolthite priestess so as to remain hidden and secret. The holy symbol of the faith is the skeletal hand.

Holidays

While each priest performs a handful of minor devotions to Kiaransalee every month, the Crones of Kiaransalee venerate the Lady of the Dead on a single annual holy day-the Graverending-celebrated each Midwinter Eve. The Graverending is celebrated individually, with each priest animating as many undead creatures as she can. All such undead-known as the Vengeance Hunters-are consumed with thoughts of revenge against their killers and unerringly seek them out over the next 24 hours. If destroyed, a Vengeance Hunter does not rise again. Vengeance Hunters return to their graves, if possible, once 24 hours have passed since their animation or once they have exacted their revenge.

Treatment of Worshipers, Priests and Organizations

Kiaransalee’s clergy is comprised of orderly regimented cells, but the faith lacks in overall organization. The clerics are mostly found in small drow communities or in special enclaves, and act constantly in secret. Her clerics are agents of vengeance who plotted against anyone who ever slighted the faith. They regularly organise slaying missions to acquire corpses for animation, and are very active in persecuting slaves. Higher-ranking priestesses were called Yathrinshee. Many clerics multiclass as necromancers. A few of the church also join the Cult of the Dragon and become Wearers of Purple. Worshipers of Kiaransalee are slavers, morticians, torturers, and executioners. They are misers, meticulous in their record-keeping. They treat their servants as slaves, and treat their slaves without mercy. Kiaransalee and her followers are little known in the Realms, even among the drow themselves. Even those dark elves who learn of her existence usually assume she is simply some sort of lich with delusions of godhood. On the surface of the Realms, Kiaransalee is almost wholly unknown, aside from a few reclusive sages. Kiaransalee's clergy are known collectively as the Crones. Novices of the Vengeful Banshee are known as the Commanded. All other members of the clergy are known as Nighthags. Titles used by Kiaransaleen priests vary widely across temple hierarchies, but those used at her Acropolis include Bones of the Dead, Flesh of the Zombie, Terror Touch of the Ghoul, Chill Touch of the Shadow, Raking Claws of the Wight, Life Leech of the Wraith, Rot of the Mummy, and Spirit Harvest of the Spectre. High-ranking priests of the Lady of the Dead have unique individual titles. As one might expect, many of Kiaransalee's faithful are transformed into undead servitors either by their own hands, by the hands of other priests, or-in very rare cases-by the hand of the goddess herself. High-ranking priests may become banshees, liches, vampires, or-if truly favored-kiaranshee. (Kiaranshee are banshees who retain their spellcasting powers, whether they were necromancers or priests.) The clergy of Kiaransalee includes only living and undead female dark elves. Kiaransalee is worshiped in solitary secrecy in cities dedicated to Lolth in simple shrines hidden away from prying eyes. Such shrines are simply black marble sarcophagi adorned with carved depictions of the dead rising up to take their revenge on the living. To venerate the Lady of the Dead, a priest of Kiaransalee simply lies within her personal sarcophagus while holding her holy symbol clasped in two hands across her breast. According to legend, if a living priest of the Vengeful Banshee is disturbed while so engaged, Kiaransalee grants her the powers of a vampire for the next 24 hours. While the only true temple of the Lady of the Dead found in the Acropolis of Kiaransalee, smaller chapels exist in the wilds of the Underdark across the length and breadth of Otara. Such chapels are typically small caves in which the skulls and bones of countless long-dead creatures have been partially absorbed by the walls, roof, or floor of the cavern. Kiaransalee is said to guide small bands of worshipers to such sites far from the prying eyes of the Spider Queen's priests where they can worship in secret and plot their vengeance on their spider-loving kin.

Religious Orders

The Legion of Vengeful Banshees is an order of Kiaransaleen crusaders dedicated to the destruction of Kiaransalee's enmies, known as visages. Banshee Knights are based in the Acropolis of Kiaransalee deep beneath Dothgarr Keep. From their chapter house within the temple grounds, the members of the order mount long-ranging hunts on the surface and in the Underdark. Crusaders of the order are fanatically dedicated to their goddess and the destruction of all visages; they stop at nothing to see one destroyed, regardless of the collateral damage

Manifestations

Kiaransalee rarely manifests in the Realms, preferring to husband her personal power and work indirectly through the actions of her servants. When she does manifest, however, the Lady of the Dead uses one of three forms.

1. Kiaransalee's favorite form is to cause a skull to rise up several feet above the ground and rapidly whirl about for several seconds. When the skull stops rotating, it bears the visage of a comely female dark elf. The goddess then addresses those present (typically communicating a cryptic bit of information), threatens vengeance for some insult or slight, or simply utters a maniacal laugh. The skull then vanishes, or if Kiaransalee wishes, utters a wail of the banshee (as the 9th-level wizard spell) and then disappears.
2. Kiaransalee sometimes manifests as a dry, chuckling laughter tinged with madness coupled with the distinct sensation that someone has stepped on the grave of every creature hearing her mad chortle. This effect reduces the ME and PE scores of everyone present by ld4 points for the next 24 hours and duplicates the effects of a fear spell. Since there is no obvious threat present, however, those who hear the goddess's laughter flee in a random direction, as adjudicated by the GM.
3. The Vengeful Banshee's most terrifying manifestation always comes without warning. This manifestation only occurs while the target is standing on soil at least 6 feet deep (in other words, ground that could conceivably be dug up to serve as a grave). A pair of giant skeletal hands burst forth from the ground and drag the unfortunate victim into the earth in the blink of an eye. The victim is dragged 6 feet under the ground and held as if by a sink incantation (identical to the 8th-level wizard spell). If Kiaransalee is feeling generous, the effect ends after 4 turns, and the subject is forcibly expelled from the ground. If the victim has slighted or insulted the Vengeful Banshee, however, the victim remains imprisoned until rescued by his or her comrades (assuming they have the means and opportunity to do so). In either case, after being freed the victim has a -4 penalty to all saving throws vs. death magic for the next year.