The Two-Fold Queen
Main > Compendia > Creatures > Strange Gods > Fey Gods > The Two-Fold Queen
Overview
Lolth (Feytongue \loʊlθ\ for mistress) is a name of unknown origin. Like most Strange Gods, lore about Lolth is rare and incomplete. Information about her usually comes from scholars of the Bleak Gods or her own Orisons.
She is the ruler of both The Court of Genuflection and The Bleeding Court, making her the the only being to hold two Fey Thrones, and by extension, the most powerful of the Fey Strange Gods. She is also the god of two Arcadian species: the Slabhra and the Redcaps.
History
Lolth was one of the ten original Fey Gods to arise during the Shattered Age, before the The Midnight Road. No one is certain when Lolth arrived in Arcadia, but most scholars place it around NIR 220.
When Lolth first founded a Court, c. 370, it was The Court of Alignment, seeking meaning through orientation and action. She believed that meaning was found by harmonizing thoughts and behavior. This was the first Fey Court to flourish in Arcadia, attracting many Orisons and migrants to the realm.
The Lost Court
In the Dark Age, c. 1450, there was a Fey Court no Fey will name. It was originally called The Court of Circumstance, but now it is just referred to as The Lost Court. King of this Court, The King Who Never Was, developed a method of philosophical warfare that could actually strip a Fey God of their power and unravel an entire Fey Court.
The War of Erasure
This led to several acts of aggression by The King Who Never Was, collectively called The War of Erasure, between NIR 1100 and NIR 1430. Several Fey Gods were stripped of their powers and several Courts were dissolved. However, when the philosophical warfare was aimed at Lolth, c. 1400, she not only survived, she weaponized the warfare even further.
The result was not just the dissolution of The Court of Circumstance, it was the erasure of the Strange Essence it was pursuing (Condition). The King Who Never Was created a way to unravel a Strange philosophical premise - he was unmade by the negation of an entire line of Strange inquiry. Not only was The Court of Circumstance gone, there was no Fey Court able to pursue meaning as a Conditional State.
Two Courts
After the War, Lolth split all Fey society into two distinct categories: Bleak and Bright. She herself seemed to be the focal point of this split, turning into two distinct aspects of herself: The Lady of the Web became her Bright aspect and The Spider Queen became her Bleak aspect. They were the same individual, but two personalities within.
Each personality also followed its own philosophy, allowing Lolth to become the Fey God of two Courts: The Court of Genuflection which was obsessed with reverence, and The Bleeding Court which was obsessed with punishment and pain. In so doing, Lolth became only Strange God to have access to two Sources of Strange Power.
After 1500, her power and her devastating method of philosophical warfare made the other Fey Gods terrified of her. She is the unspoken enemy of the entire Fey pantheon, though none would admit such a thing aloud.