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In every society, no matter how structured, there are individuals who don't fit established patterns. From her earliest childhood, Liriel Baenre was an oddity in Menzoberranzan. Her mother, a younger daughter of a minor drow house, possessed little talent for clerical magic, but her exceptional beauty caught the attention of archmage Gromph Baenre. One of the few males powerful enough to choose his own mates, Gromph took Sosdrielle Vandree as his mistress. When he discovered that the daughter born of this union had a wizard's potential -- a gift rare among Menzoberranzan's females -- he had Sosdrielle killed so that he could claim her child as his own.
Gromph spared no expense training this potentially valuable child. At an age when most drow children were still being word-weaned, Liriel was sent to House Shobalar, a clan distinguished by its female wizards and their reputation as excellent teachers. After the Blooding ceremony, an adolescent rite of passage, she was removed from House Shobalar and trained under a series of tutors hand-picked by Gromph. Liriel was denied nothing -- partly because Gromph indulged her, and partly because he ignored her. At a very early age she was living in her own mansion, complete with servants, a small menagerie of exotic pets, and her prized collection of lore and spellbooks.
Since Menzoberranzan is so strongly matriarchal, children are considered the sole property of their mothers. Paternity is seldom acknowledged and is never important. By law and custom, Gromph's daughter was not technically a Baenre, but no one felt inclined to point this out to the archmage. Liriel fell between the cracks of drow society, and as a result she enjoyed an unusual degree of freedom. This state lasted until she was nearly forty years old -- the drow equivalent of a girl of about seventeen.
Liriel's adolescent years were, by drow standards, idyllic. She had a wide circle of friends -- which in dark elven society means people you hang out with until they try to kill you -- and an active social life. Liriel was enormously popular with her set, which comprised minor drow nobles and wealthy commoners. Though the main lure was her connection with Menzoberranzan's first house, Liriel's beauty, wealth, and zest for life also drew people to her. Her passion for wizardry was matched by an insatiable curiosity and a genuine love of good companionship. In addition to her studies and the expected indulgences of drow high society, Liriel enjoyed the company of her "social inferiors." At a very early age she started sneaking away from her Shobalar guardians to drink and throw knives with drow mercenaries. She learned the Common tongue spoken by slaves taken from the surface world. Her curiosity led her into adventures in the wild Underdark. Even there she found friends, such as an insane two-headed deep dragon. A thriving trade in spell components, particularly deep dragon scales, helped augment Liriel's lavish allowance and fund her unusual interests.
All this came to an abrupt end after the death of Liriel's grandmother, the great Matron Baenre. When Gromph's sister Triel became matron of House Baenre, she ordered Liriel to attend the priestess academy, Arach Tinileth. For the first time, Liriel's freedom was seriously curtailed. To keep her from chafing overmuch under these restraints -- and to remind her that she was first and foremost a wizard -- Gromph gave her a book of travel spells. This book opened Liriel's eyes to a possibility she had never before considered: adventure on the surface world. Her only hesitation was the knowledge that her drow magic would not withstand the searing power of the sun. Liriel had devoted nearly thirty-five years to learning this Art. It defined who she was, and she would not leave it behind. When she came across the Windwalker, a human artifact that suggested a way to take her Underdark powers to the surface, she seized the notion at once.
It started simply enough: A spoiled drow princess, accustomed to having her way in all things, sought to escape societal restraints and indulge in a bit of forbidden fun. But the Windwalker was more than Liriel knew, and her quest soon demanded that she, too, become more than she dreamed she could be.
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