House Trevelyan (athenril-of-kirkwall)

## House Trevelyan

Shield of House Trevelyan, with the three towers representing the "Three Villas".

## Biographical Information

### Love Interest

*Là est aussi votre cœur*

**House Trevelyan** is the ruling house of Ostwick, with influence in Ansburg and some circles in Orlais. In most recent memory it has become most well-known for having participants on both sides of the Mage-Templar War.

One of the family's representatives at the Conclave, Sian Trevelyan, became the Herald of Andraste after the Breach explosion and was acclaimed as Inquisitor, ending the threat to the known world presented by Corypheus.

## Overview

### **Founding**

The house traces its founding to 5:40 Exalted, following the emergence of Nevarra as chief regional power amongst the Free Marches, with its founder **Ernest 'Tres Villeins'** **Bleuchamp** being granted the right by the Pentaghasts to establish and crenellate a mansion in Ostwick.

The etymology of 'Trevelyan' is disputed, with the most common rendition being its literal meaning, 'three servants', referring to Ernests' three chief retainers, Malcolm, Gaspard and Balthasar. It appears that later Trevelyans preferred to translate it as 'three villas', referring to the family's chief holdings around Ostwick. The pride of the Trevelyans in their longevity is evinced by its traditional family motto, *Hic sum, hic me habitant* (Here I am and here I stay).

The Trevelyans have been assumed to have further distant origins in Rivain or Antiva based on their phenotype, but nothing is clear beyond the emergence during the Neverran rise to power.

## **Members**

The Trevelyan family is chiefly known for its presence in Ostwick, with its newer members also being more famous for their involvement in wider global politics.

### **Main line**

* **Ernest 'Tres Villeins' Bleuchamp (fl. 5:40 Exalted)** was the founder of the Trevelyans, with either three servants or three villas in Ostwick; despite the family preference for the "villas" etymology, the three chief estates in Ostwick have been held by the same familites for nigh-on four centuries, with Malcolm's daughter Elisa marrying Ernest's son **Staurus Trevelyan**.
* **Xander Trevelyan (8:84 Blessed–9:25 Dragon)** inherited this ancient title but a great deal of money, who solved his problems by marrying a \*nouveau riche\* from Ansburg, **Juliana van der Gouw (8:91 Blessed)**, marrying into her family for money but eventually realising and appreciating what a formidable woman his wife was. Xander died of a heart attack when the twins were barely three years old in a hunting accident. Even though Juliana barely was past 30 at that point she shocked Ostwick by publicly declaring she'd never marry again, to ensure her children weren't cheated out of the Trevelyan title and dignity by avaricious stepfathers.
	+ As a blatant provocation to those accusing him of gold-digging, Xander adopted the personal motto *Là est aussi votre cœur*, signing all his letters with the motto. (Exaltations 6:21b, the full verse being "Where your treasure is, there your heart shall be.)

* **Shannon Trevelyan (9:16 Dragon):** Xander and Juliana's first son and heir, whose station in life had been raised enough to marry an Orlesian noblewoman, **Séverine Montbelliard (9:18 Dragon)**, whose chief claim to dignity was her familial relationship with the College of Heralds' fellow. He named his first son and heir **Xander II (9:42 Dragon)** after his father.
* **Siân Trevelyan (9:20 Dragon, Dual-Wielding Rogue):** Elder of the twins, and the Herald of Andraste / Inquisitor. She and her marginally younger brother **Shane Trevelyan (9:20–9:41 Dragon,Two-Handed Warrior)** were encouraged to be independent by their mother, and they seem to have taken to the lesson a bit too well, eventually taking to participating in The Game as sellswords \*nominally\* aligned with the Montbelliards but ultimately going where pay took them. They eventually received a polite but firm note from Shannon telling them to attend the Conclave, which is how Siân got into this mess.

### **Cadet branch**

* **Calverley Trevelyan (8:82 Blessed–9:38 Dragon)** essentially only had the family name and little else, and eventually enlisted in the Templars. There, his lust overtook his common sense and he had an affair with a mage two decades his junior, **Tamari (9:4 Dragon)**, who was forcibly Tranquilised partway into her pregnancy and sent to another Circle after their daughter was born. Caverly was stripped of his rank and sent to do the most menial tasks in the Ostwick Circle, becoming the wider Trevelyan family great shame from which he never recovered.
* **Jovana Trevelyan (9:22–9:41 Dragon, Mage)** eventually forced the truth out of him and became a leading figure in the Ostwick mages' petitioners, publicly denoucing the Circle by invoking the shame of her father and the treatment of her mother. Caverley died in the opening salvoes of the Mage-Templar War defending her from rogue Templars, which remains his last good deed both in a long time, and forever.

## **Links**

### **Off-site links (AO3, DeviantArt, Tumblr)**

* https://archiveofourown.org/series/1939525

## **Gallery**

* Family tree of House Trevelyan, made on Family Echo
* Shield of House Trevelyan
* Siân Trevelyan, the Herald of Andraste, and her twin brother Shane Trevelyan
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