|
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
This philosophy has made for some very strange bedfellows over the course of time. Nothing will bring people together more than a common enemy. When goblins raid a small village, neighbors who would not give each other the time of day will unite together as brothers to fend off the evil creatures. These types of friendships are not always stable, though among the goodly races, facing a threat that is far larger than themselves and coming through on top often belittles any previous conflicts they may have had, allowing the new friendship to last.
Friendships should not be formed out of a common hatred, but out of love and respect. The word "love" does not exist in the drow language, and though they have a word for respect, they have very little use for its true meaning. Drow elves do not respect each other; they fear each other. I might have proved myself superior with my blades, but that did not earn me respect. Instead people feared me, and that fear did not produce friendship, but hatred and jealousy.
I do not like Lloth. That is saying it mildly, but the words that best describe my feelings toward the Spider Queen are too vile to be written down. Being sacrificed to her has a lot to do with that. I will stand by anyone who wishes to lead an attack against the evil deity and will call them "friend" for the duration of the battle. After the fight is over, in order for me to continue by their side, there will need to be more than just a common hatred.
In the city of Menzoberranzan, or any drow city for that matter, everyone hates everyone, and therefore, potential "friendships" are all around you. If you are standing in a crowd, and you hate the drow in front of you, there is a good chance the drow next to you shares that feeling and will help you shove a dagger in his back. After that common foe is defeated, there is nothing keeping your new "friend" from turning that dagger back on you.
As a prominent member of a drow house, I had many opportunities to create such friendships. In almost every case, that friend turned back into an enemy within five minutes after defeating our foe. In my centuries of life, there was only one friend that remained. There was no love between us, but there was respect. And respect was good enough.
-- Zaknafein
|