The Tyranaen (Khalisk for "Period of the Tyrana") was an autocratic government espoused by the Zann'Elth Citadel. It was unique in drow society, because the traditionally disunited and chaotic self-focused dark elves managed to stand together under a single ruler. In fact, the Tyranaen eventually enabled the citadel to grow to new heights of power, forming an empire.

History

Emergence

The idea of autocratic government was birthed by Tyrana Zeanel in Sunell after the Pleasure war. She eventually fell from power, but her legend lived on, inspiring many - especially the ambitious young Zannyr matrons with little power beyond their house. In fact, Yauntyrae below Sunell became a regular pilgrimage site after 2'400 for young heiresses.

The idea of forming a united citadel, so as to rival the power of Gezneth to the north, grew among the ranks of the high nobility, to the point where they were well accustomed with it. Some merchant-masters tried to discourage these thoughts by mentioning Yauntyr's Plight, but they did not have much authority over female nobles and were ignored.

Eventually, the ambitious young Matron Tzelae Fezzen allied with three other houses, including First House Mal'Maern. Each matron felt that she would become the single ruler, and they underestimated Tzelae, who had spent many days a century earlier talking to the fallen Zeanel. They even placed many of their troops under her command when they moved to overthrow the other Zannyr matrons, and four bad attempts at assassinating Tzelae failed. To the distress of the matrons, Tzeanel had forged two more alliances - one with their daughters, who served as her generals during the conquest, and one with the merchant-masters. These allies overthrew the established matron mothers, instating their daughters who out of gratitude and from a wish for novelty accepted Tzelae as their Tyrana.

First Tyranaen

Tyrana Tzelae, after acquiring the spoken promise of her allies and the military subjugation of the others, moved quickly to centralize power. She decided to not allow her subjects to grow used to their positions and resent more centralization at a later point, instead taking all the power she wanted immediately. She mollified the merchant-masters by allowing them to continue holding an "advisor" council and satisfied the matrons by holding a council including all the house heads. Then, she centralized the clergy of Lolth and formed a single citadel army, institutionalizing the office of Tyrana as the head of the military, of politics, and of the clergy. She also centralized the resource of slaves.

Although there were some difficulties at first, and a civil war that lasted about 15 years upset the nobility of many houses, she eventually managed to consolidate her power and form a powerful centralized government. Its military and economic power suddenly increased drastically. The large payments in slaves the Tyrana gave the houses each year satisfied them, while the new heiress system - not being hereditary, and with the Tyrana being dissociated from any specific house - helped to mollify rivalries.

The more militarist and ambitious citadel government reflected in a much more aggressive foreign policy. The city had a firm stance and unified interests that it pushed through other factions. It also defended the interests of its citizens, often going to war when they were not heeded. In 1'980 b. OW, the Tyrana allied with a shadow dragon called Sheesshimin, further strengthening her military power.

War Tyranaen, 4 b. OW - 61 OW

During the Orc Wars, Zann'Elth allied with the Bonebreakers.

Alliance of Bones, 4 b. OW - 46 OW

The Tyrana deployed three armies, a total of about 31'000 soldiers, to support Orcish interests. Notably, they fought against a duergar kingdom, against various remaining civilized bastions, and even performed targeted raids against lands - especially Bachulu - that remained in civilized hands. They were also supposed to fight Tsseh, a yuan-ti kingdom that refused to join the orcs, but didn't.

In exchange, Zann'Elth received large amounts of humanoid slaves for the orcs, including most elves they captured and a good number of whole orcish tribes. They were also given outposts on the surface, complete with large orcish groups that were placed under their command - essentially more slaves.

¹ A Feshnek commander and a Zannyr arachness officer.

Alliance with Tsseh, 46 - 61 OW

Despite the large amounts of slaves the drow got out of their deal with the orcs, they weren't satisfied with it, and spotted a way to make more profit out of the war. Accordingly, they allied with the Trensandor goblinoids - supposedly the allies of the orcs - and Tsseh yuan-ti. The drow armies first turned disobedient, and then actually fought against the orcs, profiting fully of the slow fall of the surface empire.

The Tyranaen troops fought on the surface alongside Tsseh armies, and underground against weakened and off-guard civilizations, using their huge amounts of orcish slaves and Tsseh's allied Feshnek lizardfolk tribes to completely overwhelm their enemies. Various army reforms also set the base for imperial Khali military organization.

Imperial Tyranaen, 61 OW

The collapse of Bonebreaker cemented the Zannyr conquests: no one was any longer able to challenge their position. Although the advancing human and other civilized armies defeated the drow outposts on the surface, they remained unchallenged underground, and their ally Tsseh still held vast expanses of territory in surface jungles from where the new Zannyr empire could draw fresh humanoid slaves.

The new imperial order was still very similar to the old one-citadel Tyranaen. The Tyrana ruled in her city, while the councils of merchant-masters and matrons gave her advice. Some administrative tasks by necessity had to be decentralized, but overall the Zannyr Empire was united and very powerful.

Tsseh became an official vassal under Zannyr protection in 89 OW, thereby saving most of its surface territories from human invasion.

Culture

Tyranaen Fashion

The Tyrana of Zann'Elth, much like Tyrana Zeanel had done before, placed much importance on appearances. She wanted the Tyranaen to look unique and exceptional, so as to build a mystique and respect for Tyranae officials and preserve it for as long as possible. After the alliance with Sheesshimin, this style grew popular and spread among the nobility, becoming what was called the Drakana fashion movement.

A main focus of Tyranaen style was to associate it with religion. The color red, that of the high priestesses, often featured on otherwise secular black garments.

Office of Tyrana. Tzelae Fezzen and her successors took over Zeanel's symbol of a red spider. The Tyranaen Palace's front facade featured a huge ruby spider, and Tzelae herself often wore a ruby spider necklace. She also did not value plain or few clothes, instead opting for traditional black leather garments with silver adornments, although in a noble cut and with red silk accents. Finally, the Tyrana wore a spike circlet called Tyraellefionzz, whose black color was a sharp accent on white drow hair.

Military Officers. The military, as a branch of the Tyranaen government (especially so in imperial times), espoused the style of accentuating black uniforms with red cloth. A chief distinguishing factor was the abundant use of metal and armor-like elements even in dress uniforms; officers commonly wore hard leather shoulder pads with a tough metal structure. It was even actively discouraged for soldiers to show skin, because this was seen as un-military-like, but molding clothes - or uniforms actively designed to accentuate body shapes - were relatively common.

Zenthyr Protection

The Tyrana had the authority to evoke "Zenthyr Protection", a special status that protected an individual from direct attempts on her life. It was forbidden by the Tyrana herself to attack or maim someone under Zenthyr Protection, and anyone who did so faced holy punishment.

Society

Houses. In traditional Khali society, houses were the largest social entity, and matron mothers had the ultimate authority. In the Tyranaen, this had to be changed. During the initial reforms, many minor houses were merged or destroyed until all were of approximately equal size and power. Thereafter, the existence of a house - whether in Zann'Elth or, in imperial years, outside - had to be personally sanctioned by the Tyrana. Matrons could come to power on their own, but were given legitimacy only by the Tyrana.

Administration

Council of Merchant-Master Advisors

The chief economic authority of the city lied in the merchant-masters, and the Tyrana had to rely both on their favor and on their expertise. Thus, each house of the city - and of the empire - supplied one merchant-master to a council held whenever it felt like it, which could give advice to the ruler and find the best ways to interpret her wishes.

Council of Matrons

Although houses lost much self-rule, they still retained some authority, and were "represented" in the government. Matrons (or their representatives) convened regularly in council to discuss new Tyrana policies, give her advice, and make some minor decisions themselves. They also had the most say in choosing the Tyrana's heiress.

Military

The armed forces gained even more importance during the Tyranaen. They were considerably centralized, given a standardized hierarchy, and even things such as uniforms, tactics, and traditions were regulated.

The army's prestige grew greatly in that it maintained its own recognized schools that could be visited by civilians as well, controlled its own warcaster and priest units, assisted the clergy notably as guards, and had its own officer council having a say in government. (Usual Khali militias were commanded by males and given relatively low status, as fodder for the spellcasters).

All officers of rank arachness and above stood under Zenthyr Protection; all other serving military members were still a difficult target for plotting, because they were officials of the Tyrana and attacking them could be harshly punished as insurgency and treason.

Imperial Organs

All offices were still centralized, although many - notably the military and the clergy - had local headquarters headed by archanesses and head priestesses, respectively. Additionally, each provincial capital was led by a matron mistress, who acted as the Tyrana's representative. A regular meeting of the Imperial Representative Council was held with all the matron mistresses, which served mainly to make sure all their policies were in line with the empire's.

Offices

Matron Mothers. Each house was ruled by a matron mother. She chose her heiress, usually a daughter, but these often had to be accepted by the Tyrana to gain full power and be seen as legitimate by the house. Matron mothers met in councils to set some policies, advise the ruler, and choose the Tyrana's heiress.

Chief-Merchants. Each house could freely appoint its chief-merchant, who was responsible for the financial affairs of his house, and for representing these to the outside, such as to the Tyrana in their own council. They were one of the few important state organs that wasn't directly subjected to the Tyrana, and an important buffer.

Arachness. Traditional Khali coalition armies - which were a rare thing - had few ranks, most of which were filled by low-ranking females without much military training. In the Tyranaen army, the arachness rank was created as an attractive position for young noble females to learn the skills of strategy and leadership, and to gain prestige and experience before moving on to politics. Thus, many arachnesses and their regiments represented Zannyr foreign interests as diplomats, talking with neighbors and - if necessary - packing the necessary punch to impose their interests. Arachnesses were under Zenthyr Protection while they served.

Archaness. Each Zannyr "army" - a grouping of regiments, arranged as necessary to face its task - was led by an archaness, a professional female officer. Most of the time, especially in imperial Tyranaen, they instead served as commanders of provincial headquarters, letting the various arachnesses deal with smaller-scale foreign affairs. Archanesses had a direct channel to the Tyrana and could speak their minds freely, especially since they could only be appointed to their office by the military with the Tyrana's accord. Archanesses were under Zenthyr Protection.

Head Priestess. The clergy was controlled by the head priestesses and appointed its own leaders, even though the Tyrana was supposedly its highest authority. The cathedral in Zann'Elth was home to eight of them, the "Spider Diet". In imperial times, each provincial capital had its own cathedral and head priestess leader. Head priestesses were houseless, meaning that when they accepted their office, they forfeited their house and became devoted for life. Head priestesses were not under Zenthyr Protection, and were more often subject to plotting, assassinations, and Lolth's chaos than other of their status.

Matron Mistress. In the empire, each city had its matron mistress, a houseless noble who controlled the local administration and answered to the Tyrana. They had much power, had to be accepted by the ruler, and stood under Zenthyr Protection.

Tyrana's Heiress. The Council of Matrons chose the heiress of the Tyrana based on the Tyrana's and other factions' recommendations. There were always two heiresses, who underwent ongoing "education" - usually, whatever they wanted to do that could be construed as useful for their future life - until the Tyrana died and the council chose one of them. They stood under Zenthyr Protection, and while most of the time both survived until one could take office, there were more tumultuous times when a heiress was assassinated.

Tyrana. The Tyrana was the absolute ruler of the Tyranaen, and her word was uncontested while she remained alive. Any attempt at her life was fiercely prosecuted by all citizens, because the vast majority of Zannyrs did not wish for the chaos that would follow their ruler's death.