The wickedness of the drow was not merely a matter of culture and education; it was woven into their very biology. Just as humans were born with two arms and two legs, how could one ever make the race grow limbs like a spider?
The only solution Anbaixiu could think of was to slaughter every last drow elf, then painstakingly modify their souls one by one, chiseling away their evil inclinations and weaving threads of kindness in their place.
Yet that was hardly an outcome the Elven Gods wished to see.
In truth, killing Lolth the Spider Queen would not be difficult. Corellon's divine might far surpassed hers. The drow had been banished by Corellon's own hands, and had he shown even a shred more ruthlessness back then, he could have wiped them out entirely.
It was only in the heat of the moment that Corellon had settled on permanent exile as their punishment.
If killing them had been an option, Corellon would have done it himself rather than needing Anbaixiu's help.
The Elven Gods had never intended to massacre the drow race. To Corellon, these drow were like bratty children who had sided with an adulterous ex-wife in a divorce, squabbling over property deeds.
Fury was fury, but they were still his children.
Yet having followed that vicious mother for so long, getting them to repent was a feat beyond even Corellon.
Even as the Chief Elven God, he could not rewrite a whole race's mindset. Gods, after all, were not omniscient and omnipotent.
If the gods could not do it, how could Anbaixiu?
It was absurd. If he had the power to bend an entire race's psyche to his will, why would he ever fear deities coming after him?
He could simply warp the minds of every sapient species, turn them all into his worshipers, and crown himself first beneath Ao. Deities like the Lord of the Dawn or the Chief Elven God combined wouldn't last a single blow from his fist.
It seemed this business was off the table. He would just have to sell the divine portfolio to other gods. He could talk to the Lord of the Dawn later; while the Dawn Lord had no use for a dark portfolio, he could destroy it to bring more light into the world. Guilt-tripping the Lord of the Dawn might even earn him a divine blessing.
Seeing that Anbaixiu truly had no interest in taking the task, Catherine grew anxious.
"Is there really no other way? For the sake of all the adventures we've shared, can't you help me out? The Creator knows it's a huge burden, but as long as you agree, the elven pantheon will immediately resolve your trouble with those four goddesses. Besides, you don't have to finish this in a day or two—ten years, a hundred years, take all the time you need."
Listening to Catherine's soft, pleading tone, Anbaixiu's resolve softened slightly.
*Damn it. Whatever boon she received, her charm has skyrocketed. Just her voice alone is enough to bewitch the soul.*
Even so, Anbaixiu was not so easily swayed. He cut off all sensory input, analyzing the trade with cold detachment.
No time limit, and upfront payment... It sounded like a decent bargain. The only issue was that completing it seemed impossibly difficult; Anbaixiu couldn't conceive of a single viable approach.
Exiled or not, the drow were still elves. Charm effects were practically useless against them, so bending their minds through spells was out of the question.
If magic was off the table, what else was there—brute force? Rounding them up and whipping them daily until they acted like good people?
Could forcing them to play the part of saints even count as turning from evil to good?
Anbaixiu pondered for a long time. Only after a full two hours had passed did he finally speak to Catherine. "What exactly is the requirement for making the drow 'turn good'? Be specific. To what degree must it go?"
Hearing Anbaixiu ask, Catherine knew he had reconsidered and quickly explained, "It's actually quite simple. The main issue right now is that I cannot integrate with the drow racial portfolio. If I can gather a certain number of believers among the drow, I'll be able to merge with it and reintegrate them into the elven race."
"Sounds simple, but doing it is another matter entirely. For a mortal to gain someone's faith without first integrating a divine portfolio is pure fantasy... Well, coming from you, it's not entirely out of the question."
Only then did Anbaixiu understand why Catherine found such favor among the Elven Gods. A purely benevolent soul, innate charm pushed to the absolute limit—even the undead were drawn to her. Drow elves whose malice wasn't completely irredeemable would likely be drawn to her as well.
It seemed the Elven Gods had long prepared to reclaim the drow, and Catherine had been groomed for years as the linchpin of their design. The return of the racial portfolio had merely sparked the plan into motion.
No wonder. No wonder the deities were so accommodating this time, even willing to pay upfront.
"Faith alone isn't impossible, but any faith the drow place in you will only stem from venerating your beauty. They won't turn into the kindhearted people you envision. Would that still work?"
Catherine shook her head firmly. "No, that won't do. They must genuinely change their mindset, or none of this will matter. If I merge with the portfolio under those conditions, it will only lead to their swift extinction. Moreover, the proportion must reach at least half of the total drow population—preferably more—otherwise it serves no purpose."
"Then I'll be taking my leave..." Anbaixiu moved to depart again. Converting half of the drow population? He couldn't accomplish that if his unlife depended on it.
The Rose of Decay had ruled a vast swath of the Underdark for ages, and even she hadn't managed to change the drow's thinking; they had merely submitted to violence and become slaves to the undead.
"Please, think of something! In my heart, there's nothing you can't do," Catherine pleaded once more.
"Begging won't help. What can't be done can't be done. I can't just deceive the Elven Gods. I have enough enemies already—I don't need another pantheon of mighty deities gunning for my neck."
"Why wouldn't it work? I'm not asking the drow to become like me. Being like you would be enough."
Poised to leave, Anbaixiu froze upon hearing that. "What do you mean, 'like me'?"
It sounded like a mock, though Catherine surely didn't mean it that way right now.
"Reasonable. A bit fond of money, perhaps, but certainly not vicious or cruel. If they become like you, the elven pantheon will welcome their return."
Anbaixiu wanted to retort that vicious and cruel suited a lich like him quite well. He had never pulled his punches when using drow for experiments.
Still, Catherine wasn't entirely wrong. Anbaixiu didn't kill for the sake of killing. He had no taste for torturing others, nor did he plot harm out of sheer boredom.
In truth, all undead were like this; their actions revolved entirely around their lingering obsessions.
So long as their past-life obsession wasn't pure slaughter, intelligent high-tier undead were quite easy to converse with. It was only that racial prejudice was so rampant that most undead were perpetually at odds with the living.
And that behavioral logic was—Lawful.
The undead followed their own codes of conduct. Evil as they were, they still played by rules.
Turning the drow into good folk was next to impossible, but shifting them from Chaotic Evil to Lawful Evil was not entirely out of reach.
Previously, Lolth the Spider Queen's influence had held sway over them, but now that she could no longer stop Anbaixiu from meddling, it was indeed worth looking into.
"Truly no time limit?" Anbaixiu asked.
"There's no expectation of immediate success, but don't even think about tricking me. You said it yourself: you can't afford to provoke the Elven Gods."
Catherine was genuinely worried that Anbaixiu might play dirty. As his friend, the last thing she wanted was to receive a divine oracle commanding her to slay him.
"Rest assured, I'm no fool. Deceiving gods is something I have never done."
Catherine was struck speechless.
Anbaixiu, however, felt entirely justified. When had he ever deceived a god? Hadn't he faithfully executed everything Shar assigned to him? As for Loviatar, Goddess of Pain, he had rebuffed her straight to her face and never agreed to serve her.
And with the God of Alchemy, it was hard to say who had swindled whom.
Thus, Anbaixiu could thump his chest and declare with absolute conviction, "I have never deceived a single deity."
Turning back to Catherine, Anbaixiu said, "It's a deal. I will do my utmost to complete this task. However, I'll need your full cooperation."
"You have my word! I will cooperate completely." Catherine let out a sigh of relief. If Anbaixiu gave his word, he would see it through. At last, the gods' task had a path forward.
Anbaixiu handed the drow racial portfolio to Catherine, who began praying to the gods right in front of him.
A beam of light pierced the ceiling and settled before Catherine.
The small box housing the divine portfolio melted into the radiance, and a faint rune surfaced upon her wrist.
Anbaixiu asked in surprise, "Another blessing already?"
Catherine gasped. "How did you know?"
"Heh, just a guess." His envious tone was impossible to conceal.
Catherine smiled. "It's not what you think. It only allows me to sense the emotions of any creature carrying elven blood."
*A drow-and-elf-exclusive edition of Detect Thoughts, is it?*
Anbaixiu knew the Detect Thoughts spell as well, but it was far from infallible. Against creatures of iron will or superior intellect, it failed more often than not. Even as a legend, Anbaixiu had a failure rate exceeding seventy percent whenever he tried to read a paladin's thoughts.
Yet Catherine's emotional sense over the elven race was likely absolute, with zero chance of failure. Such was the authority of a racial deity—granting all elves immunity to charm effects while ensuring none could ever resist Catherine's emotional detection.
With that, half of the transaction was complete. Anbaixiu temporarily no longer had to worry about four evil goddesses coming after him, unless they were prepared to wage war against the elven pantheon.
Catherine was ecstatic as well, asking eagerly, "What do we do now? Head to the Underdark to find the drow?"
Anbaixiu chuckled softly. "No, no need to rush. Before reclaiming the drow, we have preparations to make."
Catherine blinked her beautiful, wide eyes. "What preparations?"
Anbaixiu patted her on the shoulder. "First, turning you into a proper leader. Come with me, Catherine. I'll teach you how to become a true queen."
Chapter 292