The Home of House Avenloré, the Seat of of The House of Scholars
The House of Avenloré is one of the oldest and most revered Evergild Fae lineages, known for preserving knowledge, history, and the written word. They are the keepers of the House of Scholars.
Once celebrated as Guardians of Lore and Memory, the House of Scholars remains highly revered within Evergild society. However, the Wing of History—home to Gwynviène and her family—has become increasingly overlooked in a world that values wealth and might over memory. Though their archives stretch back millennia, many consider their relevance a relic of the past.
Members of House Avenloré are typically raised among ancient tomes, magical scrolls, and ancestral expectations. Their colours are often deep purples, metallics and the colour of parchment—and their halls are lit by steady candlelight and the occasional glow of enchanted lanterns. The family seal is a stylised open book cradled by two quills, its pages gilded with starlight and a trail of ink forming a constellation above. This crest represents knowledge both recorded and remembered, bound by legacy and lit by the stars of memory.
Though vast, the estate is cold and forbidding, its grandeur tempered by silence. The building is divided into wings for each branch of the family, each with their own smaller archives and private studies and rooms, but all connected by a singular, central spine: the Grand Library.
At its heart rises the Compendium, a vast domed hall of etched glass and enchanted stone, glowing faintly even at dusk. This is the family’s council chamber and core of their collected lore—a repository of scrolls, spellbooks, records, and unreadable tomes written in languages no longer spoken. In the centre stands a round table, marked with age, where the heads of each wing of the family gather for formal meetings. The table bears the sigils of the five scholarly wings: the Archivum (a scroll and quill), the Oratorium (a set of scales above a speaking glyph), the Arcanum (a six-pointed star with a central dot), the Lexiconum (a stylised key of runes), and the Ethnarium (a simple mask split down the middle). These are engraved directly into the stone and inlaid with subtle enchantment. The tall, throne-like chair of carved obsidian and gold is placed at the symbol of the current Head of House’s domain—traditionally the Oratorium—but its position is not fixed. In theory, it could be moved to any sigil, though it has not shifted in generations.
Attendance to the Compendium is highly restricted—even other family members are not permitted unless given special access by the Head of House. The chamber’s silence is almost sacred, and no fire burns here—only enchanted lanterns that glow cold and blue. Words spoken in this space are not easily forgotten. Gwynviène and Ren, ever curious, once discovered a hidden passage behind a tapestry in the Lexiconum that allows them to secretly listen in—though they’ve never been caught, and never speak openly of what they hear.
From this central chamber, five distinct wings stretch outward like the petals of a sacred bloom—each devoted to a particular domain of scholarship. Over time, these wings have evolved, each bearing the aesthetic marks of their era: the clean lines of Enlightenment-era logic in the Lexiconum; the scroll-framed arches of the Ethnarium; the fortified elegance of the Oratorium.
The oldest and most revered structures bear the neo-Gothic grandeur of the family’s early ambition: pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and towering spires that rise like quills toward the heavens. Between these scholarly bastions lie gardens laid in perfect symmetry—neat squares trimmed in evergreen, punctuated by solemn statues of long-past Avenloré scholars. These stone figures watch in silence as generations pass beneath their gaze, scrolls in hand, purpose in stride.
Winding through the outer woodlands is the grand drive, a path of packed stone carved for carriages and cloaked scholars alike. This procession route is lined with age-old trees and flickering lanterns that light the way to knowledge—and judgement. At its end, the gates of The Library open not with pomp, but with hush, like the turning of a heavy page.
Beyond the sculpted gardens, woodlands stretch outward, thick with elder trees and quiet mysteries. Stories say the woods remembers what the family has forgotten, and that those who stray from the path sometimes return with truths long lost. Just beyond the gates, near the eastern curve of the estate’s entrance hall, lies the Public Repository—a smaller, carefully curated library accessible to approved guests, visiting scholars, and external Evergild affiliates. Visitors must first pass through a grand reception chamber—part waiting room, part observatory—where lesser members of House Avenloré, often distant cousins or cadet branches, oversee access and record every detail. Requests for additional access, such as retrieval of more sensitive texts or audience with a specific wing, are processed through this chamber and passed on to the appropriate scholars.
Though it lacks the enchantment and depth of the core wings, the Public Repository houses select texts, simplified translations, and censored lore from the wider archives. The reception itself is a marvel of quiet grandeur, lined with painted portraits and silver-gilded catalogues. Despite the hospitality shown, the space is tightly monitored—each visitor observed, each document logged. Even here, whispers of enchantment linger in the binding thread, and any breach of protocol is swiftly noted. Most visitors never realise how closely they’re being watched.
The Library is not merely a residence. It is a living monument to the Evergild Fae’s oldest ideals—power and control. But beneath its stone and symmetry lie echoes of a different legacy: one of curiosity, compassion, and quiet rebellion. And in its eastern wing, where the light still touches soft faces and tender truths, that legacy stirs anew.
Wings of The Library
The Archivum – Wing of History
Home of Gwynviène Avenloré and her immediate family. Lady Syraëlle Avenloré is the matriarch. Dedicated to the preservation of historical records, timelines, and relics. Walls lined with scroll niches and ancient artifacts in glass cases. Smells of dust, ink, and dried rose.
The Oratorium – Wing of Rhetoric & Law
Specialists in diplomacy, formal speech, and legal archives. Grand, echoing halls with lecterns and public reading rooms. The seat of Lord Theridian Avenloré’s power.
The Arcanum – Wing of Magical Theory & Arcane Texts
Focused on arcane scholarship, not spellcasting. Filled with magical wards and tightly locked grimoires. The air hums faintly with enchantment. Lady Celarienne Avenloré is the matriarch.
The Lexiconum – Wing of Language & Translation
Scholars of ancient tongues, scripts, and linguistic theory. Decorated with coded murals and worn script samples. A puzzle of words, where meaning must be earned. The Lexiconum’s patriarch is Lord Elovain Avenloré.
The Ethnarium – Wing of Culture & Folklore
Dedicated to myth, oral traditions, and customs of other peoples. Cluttered, warm, and slightly chaotic; often smells of spiced ink and old laughter. Lady Lineia Avenloré is the matriarch here, residing with her husband.
The Compendium – Central Hall / Council Chamber
The domed Grand Library where all wings connect. A place of council, conflict, and decisions not easily undone. The House of the Scholars throne sits here, currently inhabited by Lord Theridian Avenloré.