House Shanar

## Aspects

* Aspect: Every Journey Leads to a Destination
* Aspect: Service Begets Service
* Aspect: Knowledge is a Labyrinth navigated by experience

## Overview

While every Great House fulfills many roles within the city of Yosthaven, those Bound to House Shanar serve primarily as Couriers and Scholars of the unknown.  Masters of Realitycraft, they have spent more than a half century honing their talents into exploring the Great Mysteries and Lost Lore of the spaces between spaces. One of the youngest Houses in Yosthaven, they have only narrowly avoided being swallowed up by greater powers. Instead, as so many before them, they have tied themselves irrevocably to the unknowable, and therefor dedicated themselves to chasing the deeper mysteries of the unknown.

House Shanar was almost at an end, but only by realizing that a new journey had to begin was Sharron able to save the House.

* **Situational Aspect:** Every Journey Leads to a Destination

## **History**

The House remains one of the youngest of Yosthaven, having only been inducted among the Great Houses 37 years ago. Their enigmatic Head of House, Sharron Shanar, had remained largely in obscurity as the other Houses encroached upon her domain. She understood her House’s continued existence depended on her finding a significant advantage that they could employ. She began conducting experiments entering the dark spaces between spaces, traversing the Correspondence to search for some evolution of her Craft. During her travels she began encountering signs of the passage of an Eldritch God whose name had been lost from time and memory. Expending much of her House’s already dwindling Meluc to survive the challenges of that space between; she had found the Entity that she sought.

She named it the Traveler.

The bonds of Pledgecraft she forged tied her intrinsically to that Eldritch entity, and as she traversed the Cosmos she became disillusioned with the Dance of Houses. Curiosity about existence had become her only mission. So much knowledge to learn, puzzles to be solved, and most of all how all things interact with one another. In the Head of House Shanar, the alien mind of the Lonely God found someone that understood the despair that the pursuit of power could bring. Its own unknowable goals merged with her ideals. She fashioned a great pact, and while it granted her great insight into the underpinnings of reality, it also largely untethered her from the known world.  So bound, she is a creature apart, only able to return to her House for one month every three years to share the largely incomprehensible knowledge she has absorbed. The events of her Return have shaped and molded the House she leaves behind into dedicating itself to solving and chronicling the mysteries of their increasingly inhuman Head of House.

Oathsworn of House Shanar act as Investigators and Couriers for the Great Houses in return for Merluc and opportunities to discover unknown truths.

* **Situational Aspect**: Service Begets Service *(Through the services as Investigators and Couriers House Shanar has made many friends)*

## **Domain**

As a Lesser House, House Shanar had sought to place their wards within the safety of Pirika's Wall, settling eventually in Nightcrossing. Since the discovery of the Traveler, they have expanded the building,  claiming the surrounding blocks as their own. They are not exactly a Declared House, as the precise location of the House Wards is hidden within the sprawling structure they have spent the last 37 years constructing. The rest city has come to call the strangely designed building the Labyrinth, the winding and often nonsensical structure a representation of the idea of the unknown.

The Labyrinth which is a physical representation of the idea of the unknown.

* **Situational Aspect**: Knowledge is a Labyrinth navigated by experience. *(This represents the chronicling of lore obtained by the Oathsworn and Sharron with her travels with the Traveler)*

## Housebound

The Housebound of House Shanar much like their art go through a form of evolution. There are three stages that are less about rank, but more about progression. They are recognizable by their Walking Staffs which serve as a constant reminder of journeys to come as well as a practical means of Defense. The House’s Matriarch is Sharron, but she travels the void with the House’s Patron. Only returning to Yosthaven a month at a time every 3 years. The House is led by the council of three which consists of one of each of the stages of evolution.

### Seekers

These Housebound act as Investigators and Couriers for the Great Houses in return for Merluc and opportunities to discover unknown truths.

**Aranal the Seeker**

Aranal is born of the latest generation of oathsworn. He loves the thrill of the journey,  and the exhilaration that comes from overcoming challenges. He is handsome, physically fit, and quick to act. So far, through raw tenacity and luck he has survived the many perils he has faced in his quest for greater thrills.

### The Teachers

These Housebound provide education to the House. They also help in the study and chronicling of all Lore.

**Sharize the Teacher**

Sharize is often seen as the primary face of the House. She was but a youth when Sharron made her journey. She became known to the city as a reliable investigator that was able to solve most mysteries not just through raw intellect, but by understanding the people involved. Through the change from Seeker to Teacher, she learned to love the attention and power that came with the various interactions of the Great Houses. She has been heard in the past referring to it as the great game.

### The Venerated

Those Oathsworn who survive to grow old often remove themselves from the great game of houses. They focus on journeys to come to the unknown. When they speak it is usually only in enigmatic riddles and parables.

**Nyrell the Venerated**

Nyrell is the oldest of the Venerated. He was middle aged when Sharron made her epic journey into the unknown. He has seen the changes in both the House and Craft from the beginning. Revered as an apostle to Sharron, he remains one of the greatest mysteries of the House. Seldom speaking, he offers rare advice through riddles that often take months to solve. No one knows his true opinion of the evolution of the House.

## Deeper Mysteries (Spoilers)

### **The Seeking Craft**

Originally, House Shanar could only follow the threads not truly knowing how to decipher them, but with the guidance of the Traveler and Sharron they have evolved their Craft. House Shanar has learned of the great consciousness that connects all things through a series of threads. The Craft consists of two primary paths. The first is the simple art of quick and safe travel. The second is the ability to seek out people, items, and even abstract ideas.