For more than four millenia and going back to the days of the First Dark Emperor Dark Elven society has been thoroughly supremacist with the Drow as masters ruling over a vast mass of slaves. In a Drow State there are usually 5-7 human, Dwarven or orcish slaves for every Dark Elf and it's economy is based around their labor. Slavery in of itself is common among many human societies and some orc hosts, but in those society manumission is a prospect which is at least theoretically on the table. In Drow Society there is no such hope, baring the occasional export of slaves and the historically rare Protocols of Renouncement and Release a Slave of the Drow shall remain a Slave of the Drow all of their lives, as shall their children, grandchildren and so forth as the lot of their species is to be Dominated. Even so, among the throngs of the chattel of the Dark Elves there is a distinct hierarchy, indeed one would be necessary for the system to function. This fellow is at the bottom of it.





There are those among the Slave Population which are problematic. They don't show proper reverence to their superiors, they get into fights with other slaves, they get drunk, their work is deliberately sloppy or screw up in other ways (possibly intentionally), spread subverse ideas, conspire escape and possibly act as low level members in planned uprisings. Those that demonstrate these qualities (or in some cases just earn the ire of their specific handlers) despite repeated floggings and other such corrective measures become Disposables. As a general rule most Dark Elven masters wish that the bulk existing slave workforce lives long productive quiet lifes in which the maximum amount of profit can be extracted from each individual, for Disposables they are to be used up quickly. They make up about 2-8% of the slave population of a Drow States with numbers fluctuating regularly.







Sometimes they'll do comparatively normal low skill work such as working the fields or construction work when there's a glut of them, but mostly they do the really nasty jobs. They work in the sewers and collect rural nightsoil for cesspits. Gangs of them act as street sweepers and garbage collectors (often competing with Drow Discarded guttersnipes and scavengers) and pick through the garbage dumps for useful salvage. Others pull carts and wagons in place of donkeys. Others work on labor intensive plantations. Others work in ironworks as puddlers or similar unhealthy industrial jobs. Gladiators are drawn from the Disposables, as are "Live Fire" training opponents used by many Drow warrior houses. Mining is the most ubiquitous and famous use for these poor wretches. But in whatever job they're employed in, they're pushed hard by their Drivers (be they Drow or slave) for long hours, are frequently whipped, are fed minimal rations of low quality food, are clad in ragged fifth hand clothes and are kept in chains. Where many slave labor crews would sing to keep pace, Disposables toil in sullen silence. Few last more than five years as a disposable. Even their fellow common slaves are trained to look down upon the Disposables with either pity or contempt.







Even so it is possible for one to escape the status of Disposable Slave alive. The most common (although often temporary) way is pregnancy. A potential new slave is a valuable resource and so to reduce the chances of miscarrying or the mother dying before delivery visibly Pregnant Disposables get extra rations, less harsh treatment and lighter workloads. The other way is the fact that occasionally productive Disposable slaves that have lasted longer than average will be resold for a profit to a new master with a clean slate on the grounds that hope of salvation from Disposable Status keeps the wretches going and those which do get saved from it will look on their rescuers with reverence and gladly obey them, or at least will be a lot less prone to cause trouble as they know where that could get them. Many Drow navies will get slave sailors from the survivors of the Disposable class for this reason.









