The Hall of Heroes.
In the Hall of the Magi of the City of Evangalis, the capital of the Evari Empire, is the Hall of Heroes. Here, scribes hand-chosen by Septriss, God of Knowledge, dwell in a great library of ancient texts. A vast collection of lore, journals, books, biographies, autobiographies, and holy, history, and science texts, along with the largest collection of bardic masterworks, stands as a testament to knowledge. Here, the Hall’s large staff pursues the truth of history through oral histories sought out by researchers, books, and journals that attempt to piece together the past.
Beneath the grand library of the Hall of Magi Library, through armed checkpoints, is an underground sanctum where shelves rise into darkness; copper rods run the length and height of shelves, grounding stray magic with chains of lead, steel, and mithvalt binding the more dangerous fonts of knowledge, magic, and power. Slabs, scrolls, books, strange devices, bardic masterworks, the voices of storytellers captured in glass, charts, sculptures, relics, and paintings fill every shelf, wall, and surface. A central clearing holds dozens of desks around a raised dais with three desks; the central one sits higher, where Master Witherward, along with High Scribes Lionguard and Groth, sits.
Three large spiral staircases lined with twisting bookcases circle down into the deeper archives set in a circle around the clearing. The Archives is a place of smaller workshops, studies, and long-term storage, along with vaults that protect dangerous and forbidden knowledge from those who wish to use or destroy it. Master Zeihalsium leads the Archives, overseeing the researchers and the archivists, illuminators, historiators, conservators, and scriveners.
Leadership of the Hall.
Master Waltier Witherward. The Avatar of Septriss’ Domain of Knowledge, Master of the Hall, and the First Wizard. An ancient man with skin like aged paper, three monocles representing the three moons of Ithia hang from his wrinkled face. Long white hair falls sparsely from his head in ragged braids, with a small bald spot forming. His pure white beard is cut in a clean, straight line and attached to an ebony dowel, covered in Witherward’s notes and musings; he rolls it up like a scroll when not in use. He wears a night-sky-blue robe that mimics the active celestial bodies of all the gods, along with drifting clouds.
Master Zeihalsium. Dragoness, Granddaughter of Talisman, and Master Researcher. Head of the Hall’s Archive departments, Office Mom, and ancient dragoness. Zeihalsium, Zei, or Ze generally takes the form of a short, petite red elf maiden with strangely bright black hair striped in neon pink. She is generally under five feet tall, with bright black-and-pink eyes and pale skin. She keeps the various archive teams on track, makes sure no one in the Hall neglects their health, hoards cute animal paintings and sculptures, and helps with much of the heavy lifting the small, weak mortals might need. She is technically the second in command of the Hall, though the High Scribes often act as if they are not that Zei tends to care. All staff is taught not to try to pick up the adorable short elf, as she does maintain all eighty tons of her draconic mass. She is cheerful and easily excited about other people’s successes, triumphs, and milestones.
High Scribe Herald Lionguard. Editor of Tomes, Servant of Hybori, and Retired High Magi. An older man with thick, heavy glasses, a balding head, a shaven face, and rather smooth skin for his age. His skin is covered in arcane tattoos, and he still sports the remnants of a Magi’s physical build. He stood beside the great Hybori as his steward during the unification of the Evari tribes. He strongly believes in Mealis, the Evari, and Human supremacy. He has a distinct disdain for Dreite, as he helped break the last dregs of their people’s defiance. He is seen as the Hall’s second-in-command and the final authority on editing any tome. He pursues compiling histories of human superiority, of the rise of the Evari, and of Mealis’ champions.
High Scribe Vincent Groth. Binder of Tomes, Champion of Mealis, Retired Grand Magi. A man captured in his prime: tall, heavily muscled, with thick black hair that’s starting to form a widow’s peak; he keeps it in intricate Norgathi nobleman braids twisted with silver rings. He has a neatly trimmed and styled beard with slight streaks of grey and forgoes the standard robes of a Scribe of the Hall for dark gambesons and robes. He is seen as the third in command of the Hall and is tasked with binding the pages and covers of the Hall’s official books. He is far fairer and more level-headed than Lionguard, but he is drawn to dark, grim stories. Groth pursues records of tragedy, final charges, last stands, brutal wars, and the disillusionment of glorious battle but… still loves to find the light in dark places.
Master Ossi Osirin. Tender of Horses, Voice and Ear of the Hall, The Tender of the Outside. Master Ossi manages communication inside and outside the Hall, tending a flock of C-Horses and Pigeons, keeping records of the current location and status of away staff, and assembling rescue parties when away staff journeys go wrong. He is a tall, slight, deeply tanned man wearing an intricate hooded cloak over his Scribe robes. He technically falls under Zei’s leadership, but because he also serves the Hall of Magi and Hybori directly, he is treated as his own one-man department. He is a powerful sorcerer over movement, commanding power to accelerate, move, and freeze objects.
Honored Scribe Seviskal. Apprentice to Sekivar, the once Emperor of the Septrinian. The Only Septrinian willing to join the Hall of Heroes. He is the oldest member of the Hall, except for Witherward, and has seen nations, species, and people rise and fall. He saw his people fall and man rise. He saw the destruction of the Greenskin homeland and the world’s cyclical nature. He is a firsthand witness to many eras, giving him perspective on time and select cultures. He is considered the lowest in the leadership, barely above a scribe, but his age and knowledge put him above the standard Scribes. He often wears modified scribe robes, full headdresses, and veils. He finds it disgusting for lesser species to see him in the flesh, but he removes his veil when alone with Witherward and/or Zei. He focuses on epic, poetic, or historically relevant works on the Septrinian.
Renowned Scribes of the Hall of Heroes.
Scribes of the Hall are tasked with compiling coherent histories from various accounts. They sit at the top of the job hierarchy.
Scribe Harrow Yarrow. He started out as one of the first Underscribes and earned his place with centuries of service. Slight and pale, with short black hair and fine, detailed facial hair, he changes it up from time to time. He enjoys fanciful facial-hair styles and does his best to surprise or make Zei laugh with the sometimes-absurd styles he uses. He is well-mannered, helpful, and disciplined, but can take and make jokes. He likes writing cozy stories that avoid death, despair, and unneeded edge.
Scribe Silt the Inked. The Descendant of the Demi-God Siegfried the Scarlet. Silt has the typical brown-and-green coloration of a dollidoo, a large, flightless cousin of the dodo and pigeon. Silt is often stained with ink; a metal stylus is attached to his beak, where he can carefully hold a quill. Silt likes to write words; Silt is happy to be included; Silt writes up other Doodles doing hero-y things. Silt likes Ossi; Ossi has doodle seeds for good doodles. Many head pats.
Scribe Mary Leer. A found princess of a land lost to a cataclysm. Well-read, she was accepted into the hall after proving her literacy comprehension and writing competency and speed. Leer often wears fanciful dresses when she’s not writing, keeping her oversized scribe robes hung at her desk and slipping them over her dress when she sits down to write. Tall, brunette, and beautiful, she has an energetic nature and often goofs off with Zei, dancing, doing makeup, gossiping about books, and trying on outfits. She focuses on romances and mysteries.
Scribe Tir Ore. This grizzled former hero for hire traveled across most of Ithia, hunting monsters, slaughtering bandits, and fighting the forces of evil. Grim, gaunt, and pale, he is far too tall for his weight, with a scarred, pale face. He is the tallest Scribe, with a full head, and often wears a weathered black wide-brimmed hat over lanky, greasy, greying hair that falls past his neck and often mostly conceals the red pinpoints of his eyes, which he animated when he lost his vision. Tir Ore is the most versed in combat even among his Magi compatriots. He is the main source of information on monsters, divine creatures, and outsiders. The only people who reach out to socialize with him outside of work duties are Zei. Leer, and Groth. He enjoys stories that are as grim and unpleasant as he is. Fascinated with horror, monsters, death, and mortal evil.
Scribe Cassandra Sol. This former chevalier of the Freian Calvaire de la Sainte Croisade fought the greentides that swept over Spheriums, meeting the endless hordes on a gleaming white horse. She helped save the Spherium and secured their route into the western lands of the Evari Empire, then south to the new Spherium lands. She is a hardened knight, a paladin in service of Ondra Seir and Paladar, Honor and Order. She is tall, athletic, and a touch tomboyish, keeping her golden hair short and boyish and avoiding feminine attire when possible. She likes to find heroines in history, elevate glorious battle, pursue the beauty of war only nobles might see… the perfect formation of a shock cavalry charge, the breaking of enemy lines, the routing of forces, the running down of beaten foes. Her most preferred foe for her stories is the greenskin hordes.
Scribe Fennel Carroway. A rough-and-tumble guardsman from Evangalis. Retired and recruited by Matta Cam after he helped her out of a sticky situation. Wearing an old copper badge on the breast of his robe and an old, dented watch helmet. He is shorter, still decently in shape, often sporting a beard shadow, and has eternally gloomy eyes. Fennel enjoys writing stories about various watch, guard, and law enforcement activities across Ithia. He sometimes teams up with Leer for civilian-investigation stories, Ore for more monster-related activities, and Groth for harder-boiled stories.
Renown Underscribes of the Hall of Heroes.
Underscribes serve as assistants and gofers, doing tasks the scribes don’t want to handle.
Underscribe Tara Bella. The personal underscribe of Master Witherward and the order’s lead. She sometimes handles basic scribe duties for Witherward when he’s away or tied up with leadership issues. She’s bright, bubbly, and quick to handle Witherward’s shorter fiction and organize the underscribes for Zei. She often joins Zei and Leer for gossip when she isn’t currently busy.
Underscribe Not’Tally. No one recalls recruiting this Underscribe, who is definitely not Na’Tally, in a poorly fitted wig, false mustache, and overly loose robes for his other heads. Not’Tally handles gossip, poetics, musical research, and special acquisitions only a not god can deal with.
Underscribe Colhan Sloop. Underscribe Sloop is the least relied-on Underscribe, heavily set with a beet-red face, little to no visible neck, and a loud voice that can carry across the sprawling Hall of Heroes like a crack of thunder. He acts as the Hall’s Paging system, announcing visitors, and is generally relegated to watching the Hall entrance and checking visitors in. He’s a bit dim but a good friend and former aide to Lionguard back when he served Hybori, which helped secure his position.
Underscribe Merik Meriveil. A slight figure in the hustle of the Hall, young, boyish, and easily spooked. Merik keeps tea and coffee brewed and is Lionguard’s primary Underscribe, though Zei often helps the unpleasant man to avoid Merik being bullied.
Underscribe Violet Hightower. A short, pale-skinned woman with scarlet eyes descended from a demi-god of Zatolen. Violet whitens her skin and wears dark makeup, keeping her floor-length shiny black hair generally straight but sometimes pulled into tight curls. She serves as Groth’s personal Underscribe and loves dark, intricate clothes. She gets along with Leer, Zei, and Tara but prefers Groth and Ore’s company.
Underscribe Stariveshad. Silt hired this strange Underscribe because he liked the web of his toes. Staribari, Ive, and Shad are most certainly not a Lagomalum, Kobold, and Dollidoo in a monk robe with a face scribbled on a paper plate. Stariveshad is Silt’s personal underscribe, and the four often have tea parties with Not’Tally.
Researchers
High Researcher Mossin Pike. A tall, gaunt man who compiles and checks research notes before they’re passed on to the Scribes. Zei’s second-in-command, Pike oversees the research department when Zei is off being the office mom. Pike has Spherium and Norkin ancestry; meticulous in his dress and grooming, he keeps his head, face, and body smoothly shaved. He is strict, highly disciplined, and keeps his movements controlled; he doesn’t startle or spook, as if he has no energy to waste on anything that doesn’t further his current goal.
Researcher Clark Marrow. A man so wide that, beside Mossin, they look like the number ten. Jolly, overly energetic, and personable, he feels like Mossin’s polar opposite in every way, needing to be constantly in motion. He speaks with his hands, paces, and constantly fidgets. Marrow is known for his close connection with Matta Cam and regularly joins her on journeys through the inner and outer planes. He is a relatively powerful wizard with a short black beard, square glasses, and a pointy sky-blue hat. Outside the Hall, he wears a matching wizardly robe.
Researcher Marek Prekliatie. Once a man, this deathly pale man is regularly seen with a monstrous grin that shows off elongated fangs and bloodless lips. He is tasked mainly with research in Talis’Vrok, as a member of the First Sons clan of vampires. Driven from his domain, he was accepted into the Hall by Groth. He enjoys a bit of light bullying but is kept in line by Zeihalsium, Witherward, Seviskal, and Groth. He behaves very well around Tir Ore for fear of upsetting the only nightmare of every monster. He is given the privilege of dealing with malicious trespassers and intruders as the Hall’s first line of defense.
Researcher Tallow Yarrow. Harrow Yarrow is his great-great-great-uncle working at the Hall of Heroes. He is a heavier-set and more muscular version of Harrow with more stylized facial hair. He, however, has gone bald, covering the space with intricate tattoos. Tallow hopes to earn his place as a scribe like Harrow did. He is well-mannered but has far less patience than Harrow.
Archivists of the Hall of Hero.
Archivists manage and store relics, tomes, and art in long-term archive storage.
Illuminators of the Hall of Hero.
Illuminators decorate covers, lettering, and add illustrations and illuminations to manuscripts.
Conservators of the Hall of Hero.
Conservators repair, maintain, and ensure books are not ruined by neglect. They also keep notes and maintain a list of where books are placed, and they regularly check that they’re where they’re meant to be.
Scriveners of the Hall of Hero.
Scriveners copy complete manuscripts, research texts that are becoming difficult to maintain in use, and replace books needed by multiple scribes.
Outside Scribes.
Scribes from other purposes, cultures, and species who aren’t part of the Hall of Heroes but still work with them. They generally receive the same immortality as the scribes.
Matta Cam. This fascinating character travels the planes of Ithia and outward. She is the foremost authority on planar travel and foreign lands and is known for being one of the most powerful casters on Ithia, an arcane equal to Witherward. She sneaks into Viwrath to gather stories and insight from the dead, speak to conceptual beings, visit gods, and occasionally get abducted by fairies. Many seek her work on the planes, history, and arcana. She is said to be quite beautiful, with fine feminine features on a petite figure, large spectacles, silver hair, and mismatched eyes, one of which is a carved ruby. She wears black robes with pink scrollwork, carries a large backpack, and walks with a selection of potent staves. She dislikes fighting other people’s battles if she thinks they can handle it themselves, but will join the fray if it’s too one-sided.
Sensou Shijin Hagane Kotoba. The Master of the Grand Archives of the Ashike Empire. The greatest of the Warrior Poets, master of swords and poetry. He wears a ceremonial violet dragon mask in public and a violet ironscales cloak. He carries his Katana Koufuku, a wakizashi known as Ninshiki, a jian, a yumi bow, and a quiver of arrows. He rarely wears his armor now and sticks to colorful kimonos and hakama, with more subdued mon for casual days and a sumac Kamishimo for formal duties as the Sword of the Shogun. He handles much of the stories across Dodicerous and leads the Vigint version of the Hall of Heroes.
Speaker Mortum Selkie. An old immortal Dreite who carries the words of his conquered people. He is the reservoir of the Dreite people’s culture and history, which lost much of it when humans came with whip, chain, and bronze. They targeted their storytellers and leaders; burned their art; toppled their monuments. The ancient Dreite now travels the lands where Dreite still remain, gathering and sharing stories to bring broken and scattered people closer in spirit. He is an old jackal with patchy, greying fur; his wrists are scarred from chains; a broken collar hangs from his neck; a great cloak woven from cloth from every tribe marks him as the voice of Dreous and the Dreite people. Mortum carries the hope and voices of those silenced, and tells his people’s stories.
Master Shaper Volgrad Simmerstone. He who etches spoken words in stone. He whose voice breaks iron and steel alike. He covets the stories of his people on behalf of Septriss and keeps them deep in the vaults of the Dwar hammered in stone, painted, illuminated, made sacred. If the Dwarves ever fade, their stories and words will live on forever, carved in the heart of the world. Volgrad is a hulking Dwar, his face covered in an intricately designed replication of his face, with wrinkles filled with gold. He wears heavy chainmail, decorative armor enameled with imported pigments. A great beard of curling golden hair spills from beneath his false copper beard, cascading to the floor in silver-bound braids.
Sable the Messenger. Sable travels between the roosts of the Everon, seeking stories, sharing experiences and news, and helping to connect and unify the Everon. He gathers and compiles the Everon’s history. He is a pale almost albino hawklike Everon. He wears a belt with a skirt of feathers from each person who has shared a story with him, giving his pale, dull form a long splash of color.
King Minroe the Blade Singer. Minroe is the king and firstborn of the White Elves, demi-god son of Paladar, and great poet. He seeks out the stories and histories of his people and the greater Elven kind. He seeks beauty and art, and he seeks to understand those whose time on Ithia is measured by the beats of an undying heart. Like most elves, he is beautiful, with soft features, floor-length silver hair, and eyes like disks of quicksilver. He writes in short poetry, finding long-winded works are more for those trying to lengthen their history to make up for their short present.
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