FACTION NOW CLOSED[]
History[]
The Custodians were placed into a position of power with Arabel after the Great War of 1376. Sephridus of Candlekeep met Lord Darmos in the early days after the war had reached its conclusion, reaching an agreement in principal where they were given custodial reign to keep watch over south Arabel and record any accounts of unusual activity. Rumor is abound that a
Coat of Arms
substantial sum of money was paid to the church of Tymora to allow this to happen.
Sephridus, cousin of Hiladian (one of the the eight Great Readers of Candlekeep), arrived in Arabel some 18 years ago, having left the Great Library for reasons unknown. Some have said that indeed Bhaliir and Sephridus have been working together all along, with the latter helping fund Bhaliir's excursions into the deep. Many regard this as hearsay, however.
The scholars make no attempt to hide their disdain for most religion. They maintain that relying on gods to create magic in the Realms is foolhardy and reduces the potential greatness of the mortal races. They promote research into the very creation of the cosmos so that mortals can achieve the power of the divine without intermediaries or worship. They show respect—a cool and distant respect—to Tymora for her patronage of Arabel. For the most part, they revere a being they call the Great Sentience. Most presume this to be some aspect of Oghma or a strange interpretation of his faith.
After a strange disaster in the ruins below Arabel, the southern district of the city was flooded with aberrations and strange creatures such as had not been seen before on Toril. During the chaos, many of the Custodians died. Though few escaped, many worry that the Custodians, like Bhaliir before sought out a power man was not meant to wield and paid the ultimate cost for it. Whatever that power was, it still must lay beneath the city waiting for the next who will seek it out.