| “ | When you left Mithral Hall, you gave the throne to your son. The new king of Mithral Hall is named Bruenor - that was your son's name, was it not? Contained in your memories are the ways and defenses of Mithral Hall, not so different now as what they were then, if I properly understand the ways of dwarves. It is ironic, is it not, that you, Gandalug, the founder of Mithral Hall, the patron of clan Battlehammer, will aid in the end of your hall and your clan? And so, Drizzt Do'urden has escaped. He is a fortunate excuse and nothing more! | „ |
| ~ Yvonnel Baenre to Gandalug Battlehammer. |
| “ | Drizzt Do'Urden. Noble fool! To come to Menzoberranzan, knowing the price upon your pitiful head! Noble arrogant fool! Did you dare believe that you could win? Did you think that five thousand years of what has been could be disrupted by pitiful you? Let you pride be appeased, Drizzt Do'Urden. I introduce my daughter Bladen'Kerst Baenre, second eldest to Triel. And Vendes Baenre. And Quenthel. Behind stand my sons, Dantrag and Berg'inyon, who is known to you. Six Baenres have come to see you Drizzt Do'Urden. You should feel honored, Drizzt Do'Urden! | „ |
| ~ Yvonnel Baenre to her captive Drizzt Do'Urden. |
Yvonnel Baenre The First is a major antagonist of R.A Salvatore's The Legend of Drizzt, serving as the overarching antagonist of The Dark Elf Trilogy and the main antagonist of Legacy of the Drow. She was the ancinent matron mother of Drow House Baenre, and rose it up among the ranks of the drow city of Menzoberranzan. As DeFacto ruler of the city, she wanted to conquer the dwarf city of Mithral Hall to secure her legacy. She is widely considered one of the most powerful and intelligent drow to ever live.
Appearance[]
By the invasion of Mithral Hall, Matron Baenre was so old that she could no longer use any amount of magic to make herself seem young, although she didn't seem to care. She wore flowing white or black cloaks, and had red eyes.
Personality[]
| “ | Above all else, Matron Baenre was likely angry, and having spent my youth in Menzoberranzan, I knew it was not a good thing to make an enemy of the first matron mother. | „ |
| ~ Drizzt Do'Urden about Yvonnel. |
Yvonnel Baenre was incredibly ruthless, which benefitted her in Menzoberranzan where she was able to rise to the top of society by murdering and outsmarting her enemies. She was also very cunning, able to make complex plans that spanned centuries. As ruler of Menzoberranzan, she was considered ideal for controlling a drow city, as she ruled with an iron fist, and crushed any houses that got too powerful.
The Matron mother of House Baenre was prone to unpredictable mood swings. During a calm conversation, she would begin shouting, or vice-versa. She would also occasionally break out in cackling laughter, startling those around her. Similarly, she had an irritating habit of saying the full name of whoever she was talking to at the end of every sentence, which was remarked on by Drizzt Do'Urden.
Jarlaxle Baenre once noted that Matron Baenre would often times act angry when she was in reality pleased, so many of her threats of horrible tortures were idle ones. However, he also noted that if she realized he knew, she probably really would kill him.
Biography[]
Young Life[]
Yvonnel was born into house Baenre with her older twin sister. At some point, she and her sister encountered two dwarves: Crowmower Pwent and King Gandalug Battlehammer of Mirthral Hall, who they battled. The sisters were victorious, killing Pwent and trapping Gandalug inside his tooth, where she kept him imprisoned for thousands of years.
Over this time, Yvonnel worked her way up House Baenre, until she was matron mother. She then made house Baenre the first house of Menzoberranzan and had many children. Yvonnel believed that in order to secure her legacy, she would have to conquer the Mithral Hall, and began to plot the achieve that goal someday.
Ruling Menzoberranzan[]
As head of House Baenre, Yvonnel upheld the Lolth's laws easily, rewarding houses that wiped out other houses without leaving a trace and punishing those who didn't. Her greatest shame was when it came time to sacrifice her third born son but felt a magical force preventing her from stabbing him with her dagger. This shame was covered up by House Baenre, but Yvonnel forever lived in fear of her son Jarlaxle, thinking him favored by Lolth. When Jarlaxle started a rebellious mercenary band of rogue males, Baenre did nothing to stop him, and even hired them on some occasions.
After House Do'Urden effectively wiped-out House Devir, Yvonnel congratulated its matron mother, Malice Do'Urden, but warned her not to get too confident. Years later, Do'Urden ended up in a decade long war with House Hune'ett, which all of Menzoberranzan got tired of. When Do'Urden won, Yvonnel told Malice that her house had displeased Lolth, because of its son, Drizzt, who had forsaken the drow ways, and ordered her to find him. Malice failed to find Drizzt, resulting in Yvonnel ordering Jarlaxle to wipe out the House.
The Conquest on Mithral Hall[]
A couple years later, one of the last living Do'Urdens, Vierna, requested Baenre's aid in capturing her brother. Yvonnel agreed because Drizzt was located in Mithral Hall, giving her the excuse to conquer it. Vierna failed, but now that Yvonnel had a Lolth approved reason to attack the dwarven city, she began to unite the city.
The first set back Yvonnel faced was a massive stalactite falling on a gathering she was having to take over all the houses in the city. The second, and more severe one was the Time of Troubles: when the gods had a war and no longer answered the prayers of their followers, and magic stopped working. During this time, House Oblodra, a psionic house who did not rely on magic or Lolth's favor began to take over the city. However, Lolth herself came down and gifted Baenre with an army of demons given to her by the balor Errtu. Yvonnel crushed Oblodra and began the attack on Mithral Hall.
From deep in the tunnels, Yvonnel commanded her troops, where she was attacked by Drizzt Do'Urden and king Bruenor Battlehammer. Although she easily beat them, one of the demons under her command created an anti-magic field for reasons Yvonnel would never understand. Without magic, she was effectively powerless and was easily decapitated by Bruenor.
Powers and Abilities[]
Yvonnel had incredibly powerful magical abilities, because of her favor from Lolth. She was nearly impossible to kill and committed feats such as trapping someone's soul in their tooth, tearing down a house, and getting control of a demon army given to her by her goddess. However, without magic, she was nothing but a frail old woman, easily killed.
Trivia[]
- Ironically, Yvonnel's did create a legacy for herself and was remembered in Menzoberranzan for centuries to come. Her son Gromph even named his daughter after her.
External Links[]
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The Legend of Drizzt Villains | ||
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