The Little Light

Ruchi, the dark elf, quickly ran over the dark, rough stones that led far below into the Underdark, where most drow rarely resided or ever set foot. She whipped her obsidian, slender body effortlessly around the narrow caves and tunnels, taking sharp turns and cutting corners like a lithe predator ready to pounce. Pounce at who? Anyone.

A trace of arrogance played upon her lips. She was a cleric now, Lolth's devoted cleric. Lolth, the spider. Ruchi, fervent cleric. Liking the sound of that, she smiled and licked her lips triumphantly. She had gotten lost down here as a child once, nearly starved. It was during this involuntary fast that the spider had spoken to her. Only a word, Khazra (Blood), but it was enough for Ruchi to learn the secret.

Blood.

Ruchi had given the spider blood ever since. And, to be fair, Lolth had heard her prayers in return. This made Ruchi offer more blood still. Including her own. But mostly, not her own. Not anymore. Even Ruchi’s sister feared her, looking at her strangely, with curiosity, but mostly with dread.

Tonight, Ruchi was deep beneath the Underdark. These tunnels and catacombs were seldom mentioned or even explored, unknown to most dark elves who possessed an inkling of sanity. Ruchi came here to meet the invisible. To cross the threshold of the seen into the unseen. To pray. To crawl. Like a spider.

Ruchi knew the corners blindly. She knew where the tunnels narrowed, requiring her to squeeze her body through the tiniest openings. Yet, Ruchi didn’t slow. She ran as fast as she could, rapidly casting clerical spells:

In Lor.

Even magical sight was insufficient down here, quickly ebbing away. But her vibrantly violet eyes would light up briefly, illuminating against the dark skin of her chiseled face. Her white eyelashes and white eyebrows, and silvery hair shone with a silvery halo. Enough for the darkness around her to witness that Ruchi was beautiful, youthful, and devastatingly charming.
Ruchi also was the rare exception that she knew exactly just how beautifully perfect Lloth had sculpted her body even before she was born. And the young drow needed her physical prowess for laying out sticky social traps for her peers and superiors in the Lloth temple, the Arath-Tinilith. To get ahead among the ruling class of esteemed priestesses (Yahtrin) and high priestesses (Yath'tallar), she had to use every trick in the book. And more.

"Ulu’uss!" (Damnation), the young dark elf muttered.

Ruchi glimpsed a small light in the distance. A candle? Thin and tiny. She squeezed her eyes open and shut. A mirage? An illusion? Was the spider testing her? Ruchi quickened her pace. Distracted, out of the corner of her eye, and too late, she spotted a sharp, tooth-like rock jutting out. Ruchi dropped, saving her eye, but screamed in pain as the rock dug into the side of her skull. A haunting cry of pain echoed through the catacombs of the Underdark.

"Fuck!" Ruchi cursed into the dark. As she regained consciousness, she realized she must have lain in the darkness for at least a day. Her body was soaked with sweat and blood - her own, as there was no one else around. Most of the blood was thick and crusted over her head and face. Something whispered.

Stretch yourself out to the tiny candle.

"Fuck. What?" Ruchi must have hit her head badly. Someone, something was whispering to her. "Is it you, spider?"

I am the little light.

"Light? The spider tolerates no such blasphemy. She is darkness."

I am not the spider.

"Then I banish you in Lolth's name." Weakly, Ruchi lifted her right hand, and released a clerical spell into the air.

The small light was gone now; only darkness remained. Ruchi's head felt better, so she shook herself fiercely. She massaged her skull and noticed the gaping hole in her head was closed and healed. Only thin, dried blood remained, which she scraped off her silvery hair and scalp. Then, the young dark elf cleric got up, shaking herself, unable to make any sense of what had happened.

"Fuck!”

Full story:
https://schattenwelt.rip/forum/viewtopic.php?t=692