Velenthir Estate

* Settlement
* Manor Interior
* Grove of Fall
* Springs
* Map

Velenthir Estate is a crossroad settlement in the lands of the Aethelwald, and the original home of the organisation.

## History

In the years before the Materialisation, Velenthir Estate was known to the residents of the Realm of Lachlen as Starhithe Rest, seat of the *le Tonnelier* noble family. Once one of seven powerful Earldoms that ruled over the Land of Two Groves, the *le Tonnelier* lost much of their power, wealth and standing in the lead up to the Realm's indirect capitulation to the Astedian Empire, but still maintained some limited autonomy, as granted by their noble blood. After the Materialisation, the manor house remained infested with the presence of the Far Realm, caused by the return of Tatiana le Tonnelier from the Astedian capital of Esterving, where the influence of that Realm grew most strongly. After being cleared by an adventuring party, it was claimed by Aenarion Quelenneth Velenthir for usage as both a caravansary and headquarters for the Fairy Club. Further modifications were made to the estate to better fulfil the whims and desires of its new master and associates.

## Government

The Oathsworn of Fall were each originally of direct bloodline to Aenarion, born out of fleeting fancies with partners first known to him at Hollyhock Crest, the home of the Twilight Court of the Archfey Lyomri. From one such union Galinnadan Velenthir, the so-called Bringer of Fall would come to be, and henceforth from there Tharivol the Autumn Scales, Rael the Glimmerstorm and Bryn the Weavewalker.

In time, spurred largely by the wanderings of the Velenthirs in the vein of their progenitor, this overarching title has come to represent the governing coalition of the multiple individual facets of the Estate. Meetings between the members are however few and far between, and as such most simply operate in their own interests, albeit ever somewhat mindful for the needs and wishes of their neighbours. As such, when questioned most individuals are likely to say that their local coalition member is the most viable candidate for leadership of the entire settlement, and when assemblies do occur, they are rarely anything short of chaotic and unwieldy.

Magical wards protect the Estate, as well as the lands that immediately surround it. When threatened, the trees themselves are able to uproot themselves to act as stalwart defenders against those foes likewise harried by cloying thick fogs and grasping undergrowth. Many of the residents are likewise trained in the use of martial weaponry.

## Crime

Due to the extensive personal freedoms afforded by near all residents of the Estate and surrounding territories, many thieves, con-artists and other career criminals are known to travel to the settlement from nearby Whittengrove, seeking potential marks and victims. While a few find success in these endeavours, the emphasis within Velenthir Estate and the Aethelwald generally on loyalty to strangers and friends alike, alongside that of strength of character serves to stagger most, with community efforts quickly turning against those that would exploits others so outwardly and grievously for their own personal and petty gain.

Some smuggling operations bound to Rydoon to Whittengrove are known to pass through Velenthir Estate, opting to travel through the western parts of the Aethelwald instead of the more heavily patrolled route that passes by Lotusbloom Bastion and Thornwatch.

## Geography

Much of the surrounding hamlets, villages and farms of Velenthir Estate were first built on a fancy, and have been abandoned, reclaimed and renovated on likewise yearnings. Such constructions are rarely forward planned, and as such these countless minor households are scattered throughout the fields, forests and hills at seemingly random. Some are roadside, as to barter local produce with traders, others hidden within lesser trod depths, where only the least travelled game trails cut through the thickets of brush and briars. The predominance of primarily organic constructions, particularly those woven through the branches and trunks of groves of trees has allowed many to move freely between each, and so only the Estate and its immediate surroundings serve as a stalwart site in the domain.

The manor house itself is a fortified manse protected by an elevated wall cornered in guard towers, with an internal well, garden and training yard. Set across two floors, the manor also boasts a large underground cellar, stocked with fine food and drink from across the continent at the behest of its residents. Just beyond the gateway leading to the manor, commodities and constructions more familiar to merchants can be found, including a library, tavern and stables, but most notably so a large market that sprawls on either side of the Twogrove Road leading towards Whittengrove. Behind the main estate is a large area of warm water springs, originally constructed by drawing water from the soil and stone below to accommodate for the small population of firenewts that had come to reside in the region, but since enjoyed by members of the entire Aethelwald.

More so than anywhere else in the Aethelwald, the Estate engages in active trade with its neighbours, seeking all manner of trade goods, commodities and luxuries in exchange for local resources, crafts and services. While lumber is a popular export, either unworked or shaped by the numerous and notably capable carpenters of the settlement, other harvests from the surrounding forests are increasingly commonplace. Just as the very air of the Estate thrums with the resonance of Abjuration magic by nature of its magical defences, enchanting and other arcane services are also offered by shops, stalls and wandering magewrights alike, many of which specialise in the Schools of Enchantment and Illusion. Another export of greatly bolstered popularity amongst the wealthy in recent years are that of awakened plants and beasts, with such creations demanding imposingly large sums. Nonetheless, sales are often made to those rich enough to afford them, with those responsible for such transmutative magics often requesting a feast of food and drink in place of coin for any and all to partake and enjoy.

Many organisations strongly associated with Whittengrove to the southeast maintain notable establishments in Velenthir Estate, taking advantage of the near non-existent taxation compared to that of the capital of the Lotus Basin. Shrines to many deities can be found in the surrounding hamlets, while in the centre of town is a towering primal tree adorned with four separate designs of detailed carvings dedicated to Srar. Behind the estate proper, stretching towards the Candlegrove Forest is a woodland seemingly, either in reality, or simply by nature of a wide-stretching illusion, in an autumnal state known as the Grove of Fall. Contained within is a latent portal to the Feywild that requires something that "enraptures with wonderment" to briefly open it sufficient for its usage to cross the planes - it is uncertain what or who exactly decides whether or not something is indeed wonderful enough to facilitate this.

Also contained with the territory of Velenthir Estate is that of the graveyard of Xorithromlax's Slumber. Out of reverence for the former caretaker, secretly the eponymous silver dragon in the guise of an elderly hermit, the cemetery is careful tended to by a colony of dryads and nymphs. As well as cleaning, tidying and restoring the shrines, cairns and gravestones of the long since deceased, the caretakers dutifully inter the newly departed on the outskirts, as has grown in popularity for many of the surrounding regions.