1343 ASF

The twin tragedies of the Great Library and the First Sage erased a hundred years of centralized Lorekeeping. Lorekeepers everywhere lamented at this tragic loss of knowledge—but it was only the first of their troubles.

Up until this point, Lorekeepers held favor in most places in Avelliron. Except for those in royal pockets, they generally practiced political neutrality and were often granted it in return. Harming a Lorekeeper generally invoked the ire of your local court and community, which often depended on the knowledge Lorekeepers brought from afar.

That all changed with the death of the First Sage, largely believed to be an assassination. The supposed killer was never identified or apprehended, which only encouraged further murders. After all, there were plenty of people with Lorekeeper bones to pick. People who had been deceived by bad faith Lorekeepers, or damaged by scathing truths shared by honest Lorekeepers. Villagers lynched those they deemed superstitious. Monarchs demanded their fealty or threatened to take their tongues, hands, and heads.

Lorekeepers didn’t stop their work, though. Few things can stifle the passion that drives a lifelong Lorekeeper. Instead, they went into hiding, concealing their crests and smuggling their documents. They met in secret and only revealed themselves when they were certain they were in good company.

For a period of several hundred years, the Lorekeeping profession carried a hefty amount of risk. It wasn’t until about 1300 ASF, 300 years after the death of the First Sage, that Lorekeepers found a refuge: Merle. This was a country founded by throwing off its royal yoke in 1289 ASF; a land free of the established political web that had ensnared many Lorekeepers. Among many other reasons, Merle was a haven for Lorekeepers, and they sailed to it en masse.

As they gathered in Merle, they yearned for a true home. A place built by Lorekeepers for Lorekeepers, but also a central repository of their lore, akin to the Great Library of Runa. After much discussions and debates, they drafted plans for a sweeping architectural complex, a city and world unto itself. It would be Avelliron’s greatest confluence of knowledge. A place where lore would be collected, organized, preserved, and passed on to the next generation of Lorekeepers.

The Conservatory of Lore.

Its first charge would be to reinstate the lore lost by the Great Library and the First Sage. To this end, the assembled Lorekeepers nominated seven young men and women. Known as the Seven Scholars, they would retrace the myriad steps of the First Sage, as well as blaze new trails. They would seek the lore that had been lost and remained yet to be discovered. They would go farther and wider than any Lorekeeper had ever gone. After forty years, the Seven Scholars would then return to Merle, where the Conservatory would be completed, ready to receive its foundational influx of lore.

With all in agreement, the Seven Scholars embarked in all different directions, while the remaining Lorekeepers began constructing the Conservatory.

None of it would go to plan.