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Note:  Spoilers ahead.

Order of scholars founded by King Eahlstan Fiskerne with the purpose of gathering knowledge and thus the means to protect Osten Ard - from the likes of the Storm King and Queen Utuk'ku. The League chiefly operates beneath the cover of secrecy. There can never be more than seven "Scrollbearers" at any given time, there is no leader and most of the League’s members never marry or start a family. Usually membership is passed from one member to a new one upon death.

The League’s words in Nabbanai read "Podos orbiem, quil meminit" (shortened to POQM), which translates to "He who remembers can make the world anew". They sign their writings with a feather in a circle and wear a pendant of a feather quill and scroll made of gold.

Members meet once every three years at the home of one of them and keep in contact between those meetings by letters via birds or even by "talking to the birds" by using some sort of spell.

History[]

Early days[]

The League of the Scroll was founded by King Eahlstan Fiskerne two hundred years before the start of "The Dragonbone Chair" to gain and exchange knowledge "as a wall against darkness" (Jarnauga, TDC, ch. 33, p.450). Coming to the Hayholt, Eahlstan searched the castle and ruins beneath and came to understand, that the Storm King and his Red Hand had not been entirely destroyed. Hence, his was the goal to find and preserve any wisdom that would help against evil resurfacing - wisdom that would otherwise be slowly muddled or lost to time.

In the more recent years prior to the start of the story, the League consisted of Doctor Morgenes, Father Dinivan, Xorastra, Jarnauga, Ookekuk, Father Pryrates and Padreic (later Cadrach). While the former was at some point expelled due to his apparent malice, Padreic vanished after succumbing to alcoholism. It is later revealed that he owned "Du Svardenvyrd" and that the contents of this forbidden book took a heavy toll on his psyche. At some point he started to sell off pages of the tome to keep up with his addiction. Then he was found by Pryrates and when he could not help the priest to get his hands on all of the pages, Pryrates tortured Padreic for whatever he might remember from his readings.

The Dragonbone Chair[]

Around the time of Simon becoming Doctor Morgenes’ apprentice, Ookequk dies on the "Dream Road", making Binabik his successor. Doctor Morgenes is already in fearful correspondence with other members as they realized that strange signs are showing all around Osten Ard. Before his death at the hands of Pryrates, Morgenes sends out six silver sparrows to inform the other members of the strange occurances in the Hayholt.

Jarnauga, who serves as the League’s "eyes" and keeps watch over Stormspike, discovers that the forces of Nakkiga are coming back to strength. He thus wanders south to join Prince Josua in Naglimund, informing him and his allies about the real threat coming their way. Together with Father Strangyeard and Binabik, he starts to read into the archives of Naglimund and they step by step uncover the secrets of the Three Great Swords as far as possible from lore.

At the fall of Naglimund, Jarnauga stays to ensure the flight of the small group of survivors around Prince Josua, knowing that it will be his death. He hands over his pendant and thereby his membership to Father Strangyeard, who had become his close friend.

The wrannaman Tiamak, who owns some of the pages of "Du Svardenvyrd" and is a friend and protégé of both Dinivan and Morgenes, receives a letter from Dinivan asking him to go to the inn "Pelippa's Bowl" in Kwanitupul and wait for information there. Why he is asked there or what happened, he does not know about. When he arrives, he finds neither of the two Scrollbearers, then learns that Xorastra — once mistress of the inn — has been dead for three years.

The Stone of Farewell[]

By help of Dinivan, Princess Miriamele is brought before Lector Ranessin in the Sancellan Aedonitis and tells him of what news she has about her father High King Elias and Pryrates.

When Pryrates arrives some days later to demand the church’s support for the High King, the Lector excommunicates both him and Elias. The following night, Pryrates kills both the Lector and Dinivan.

Before dying, Dinivan is found by Duke Isgrimnur and hands him his pendant to give to Tiamak. He begs Isgrimnur to go to "Pelippa's Bowl" in Kwanitupul to find Tiamak there and help him.

In the meanwhile, Binabik and Simon have found and brought back one of the Three Great Sword: "Thorn" of the once mighty knight Camaris.

Father Strangyeard, one of those surviving the fall of Naglimund and fleeing to Sesuad'ra, is joined by the witch-woman Geloë in further attempts to find help in Doctor Morgenes’ biography of Prester John.

To Green Angel Tower[]

At the inn in Kwanitupul, Tiamak has dreams of Geloë, who asks him to come to Sesuad'ra. He is there joined by Isgrimnur, Princess Miriamele and Cadrach, and they soon embark on their journey North to join Prince Josua. Before they arrive, however, Cadrach leaves the company.

At Sesuad'ra, Binabik officially welcomes Father Strangyeard and Tiamak as Scrollbearers. Together with Geloë they manage to lift the "spell" off the knight Camaris to bring him back, then inform Prince Josua, that they need to make haste because they have to reach the Hayholt and use the Three Great Swords against the Storm King before the Conqueror Star shows for the third time.

In the last hours before the confrontation with the Storm King, Binabik comes to realize that the Three Great Swords are not — as the League believed — to help them fight the enemy, but actually to help him succeed. Doom is prevented by a hair’s breadth, after which Cadrach helps Binabik, Tiamak, Miriamele and Simon escape Green Angel Tower, though he stays behind in the soon collapsing building himself.

The Last King of Osten Ard[]

In the years following the Storm King War, Prince Josua — upholding the public belief that he died in Green Angel Tower and thereby abdicating the throne to Simon and Miriamele — becomes a member of the League of the Scroll. Another few years later he invites Lady Faiera of Perdruin to join the League, bringing the number of members up to five.

The Scrollbearers meet at least once in "Pelippa’s Bowl" in Kwanitupul, the inn now owned by Josua and his wife Vorzheva.

About ten years after the end of the Storm King War, when the interests of Prince John Josua, the only child of Miriamele and Simon, start to worry him, Josua seeks help from Faiera and travels to meet with her in Perdruin. He never returns and Lady Faiera is soon vanished as well — both of them being presumed dead for the following more than twenty years to the start of "The Witchwood Crown".

In recent years before the start of the sequel arc of "The Last King of Osten Ard", Father Strangyeard has died by old age and fever, and with the disappearance of both Faiera and Josua, the League now only consists of Binabik and Tiamak – the latter now counselor to High King Simon and High Queen Miriamele.

Oddities[]

Six Silver Sparrows[]

After freeing Prince Josua from Pryrates’ dungeon, Doctor Morgenes sends out six birds to relay information about the occurances in the Hayholt. Yet it is later established that Xorastra was indeed already dead — which was probably not known to Morgenes making him sent the bird anyway. Also dead is Ookekuq, who died on the Road of Dreams. The letter bound for him is instead received by Binabik, who had been the other’s pupil. Another bird was sent to Tiamak in the wran though he was at that time no member of the League but an accessory.

This leaves one more bird that was sent out by Morgenes with unknown destination.

It is possible that Cadrach/Padreic was the recipient, since he had only vanished yet was not believed to be dead, though it seems unlikely that Doctor Morgenes would have known how to contact him in that case.

The most likely other recipient, however, was Geloë — another ally of the League.

Contradiction in "The Last King of Osten Ard"[]

At one point in "The Witchwood Crown" it is explained by Tiamak, that when the League offered membership to Geloë, the witch-woman declined and asked them to give the spot to Lady Faiera of Perdruin instead.

This would mean that Lady Faiera would already have been a member of the group around the start of "The Dragonbone Chair", because there would not have been any time for the members of the League to concern themselves about membership-issues after that and as Geloë dies before the end of the Storm King War.

Thus Faiera would have been the only survivor of the previous generation of Scrollbearers, and her being a member already would have been possible because Lady Faiera was in her twenties by this time and had already made herself a name among the learned of Osten Ard.

However: When Brother Etan finds Faiera, she explains that it was in fact Prince Josua who asked her to join and he was not a member of the League until after the Storm King War.

Members[]

(spoiler heavy!) - Members at any given time of the existence of the League of the Scroll

  • Binabik, pupil and successor of Ookequk and remaining a member for many decades into the storyline of "The Last King of Osten Ard".
  • Cadrach-ec-Crannhyr - once called Padreic. Vanished and then assumed the identity of Cadrach. Dies in "To Green Angel Tower".
  • Father Dinivan - died by the hand of Pryrates in "The Stone of Farewell", handing over his pendant and membership to be given to Tiamak.
  • Doctor Morgenes Ercestres - died fighting Pryrates to save Simon and Prince Josua in "The Dragonbone Chair".
  • Lady Faiera of Perdruin - a Perdruinese noblewoman with a Sithi Mirror. Vanishes and then resurfaces in the "The Last King of Osten Ard".
  • Eahlstan Fiskerne - once High King of Osten Ard and founder of the League. Killed the dragon Shurakai and died in the process.
  • Jarnauga - died when the forces of King Elias and the Storm King sacked Naglimund giving his membership to Father Strangyeard.
  • Josua Lackhand - becomes a member after his supposed death at the end of "To Green Angel Tower" and vanishes about ten years later.
  • Ookequk - died walking the "Road of Dreams" at the start of "The Dragonbone Chair", succeeded by Binabik.
  • Pryrates - expelled. Becomes advisor to Elias of Erkynland. Later killed by the Storm King in his quest for power.
  • Father Strangyeard - successor of Jarnauga and remaining a member for many decades. Deceased at the start of "The Last King of Osten Ard".
  • Tiamak - successor of Father Dinivan and remaining a member for many decades into the storyline of "The Last King of Osten Ard".
  • Trestolt - father of Jarnauga. Deceased before the start of "The Dragonbone Chair", succeeded by his son.
  • Xorastra - mistress of "Pelippa's Bowl" with no direct successor. Deceased before the start of "The Dragonbone Chair".

Symbols[]

  • Scroll bearers are known to carry pendants depicting a scroll and quill pen.
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