Drow Blademaster (Basic Lore)

Drow Blademaster (CR 5)
Lawful Evil - Medium - Fey (Drow)
Even compared to the normal levels of arrogance and pride among the Drow, Blademasters are extremes. Male children, chosen as they are birthed from the Great Coccoons by a dark, bloody lottery, Blademasters are raised with only one mission: to die before their consort dies. They are relentlessly trained in warfare, medicine, tracking and intrigue to ensure the safety of their consorts. On their first nameday, the male children selected to become Blademasters are fitted with bladed gloves which are locked onto their wrists. They wear these gloves until their hands grow too large to continue, typically around 10 years, touching nothing except through the use of the attached blades. To survive they must quickly learn how not to cut themselves to ribbons, and several children die each year trying to figure out how to feed and care for themselves without injury. Those that survive learn to treat the blades as literal extensions of their arms. Training in bladed combat continues for another 55 years before a Blademaster is considered ready to be assigned to a consort, which happens on their 66th nameday. On this day, they consign their soul to their consort through a lengthy ritual (whose details are not for the squeamish or prudish), and are tattooed with a magical ink which lets them feel any pain their consort feels (though not to a degree which would impair the Blademaster, only to notify him). This tattoo also enables their consorts to compel them to act to a limited degree, though few consorts ever need to resort to this to ensure obedience. The tattoo's primary purpose, aside from marking the Blademaster's chattelhood to the consort, is to allow the consort to override an external compulsion, should one ever occur. It should be noted that there are many male Drow children churned out by the Great Coccoons, and they are often chosen to be Blademasters, and many of them even survive. Drow females, however, are exceedingly rare, and are often assigned multiple Blademasters to protect them from danger. As a result, despite the extensive training and well-deserved arrogance of the Blademasters, they are taught that their lives are worth only as much as their death can buy. This doesn't make them suicidal, but it does make them perpetually on the lookout for a death that would grant their consort greater standing in Drow society. Blademasters are always healthy specimens of the male Drow, who move with confidence and grace. They are arrogant to a fault, but also ruthlessly dedicated to their consort's continued well-being. Like all Drow, Blademasters make extensive use of poisons, but they are unique in having perfected the act of re-poisoning a blade mid-combat.