Settlement Type: Closed High Elven City/Fortress
Region: The Free Lands
Government: The Curators’ Conclave
Nicknames: City of Tomes
Population: ~7,000
Symbol: Portal symbol over a Red Shield
Notable Landmark: Grand Library, Permanent Portal to the Feywild

Moonstair is the greatest library and repository of knowledge in the Freelands, a towering bastion of stone, learning, and guarded secrecy perched above the Scarlet River. More than a monastery or archive, it is a sanctuary where sages and priests preserve priceless lore from across the ages. Its halls promise wisdom, but never freely; every visitor must bring knowledge in exchange, and behind its wards, dangerous truths sleep beside enlightenment.

Relationship with the Lakelands: The city protects the human villages below by sending wards against monster attacks, and in return, the Lakelands supply fresh food and mundane resources. PCs may find quest hooks investigating bandits, magical anomalies, or even cultist infiltration in the Lakelands—though Moonstair rarely intervenes directly, preferring to hire outsiders (such as adventurers).

Feywild Portal: Moonstair Possesses one of the only know permanent, stable portals that connects Urth to the Feywild. Access to this portal is closely guarded and access to rarely given to outsiders.

Sigil of Moonstair:

Moonstair was founded in the early 3rd Age, during the “Age of Ashen Crowns,” when a coalition of elven sages fled the collapse of several human empires, taking with them hundreds of rare scrolls. They chose the cliffs above the Lakelands for its natural defensibility and proximity to thriving human trade routes. The city’s purpose is singular: to gather, preserve, and protect every scrap of written knowledge. While they do sometimes share their archives, Moonstair has grown notorious for hoarding certain texts it deems “too dangerous for the unstudied mind.” The city rarely interferes in politics, except to ward the Lakelands below from bandit raids or magical anomalies, ensuring its human neighbors continue to thrive as farmers and traders who pose no threat.

Moonstair was once directly next to the Human Settlement of The'rune. These cities were often rivals, if not openly hostile to each other. During one of these breakdowns in diplomacy, an unknown elven archmage used forbidden magic to move the entire settlement of Moonstair further down the river, away from The'rune.

Moonstair stands on a high cliff along the Scarlet River, about 200 miles north of Freeport. The surrounding country feels isolated and wind-scoured: rocky shoreline, Marshlands and Lakes, surround and isolate the city. This isolation is intentional and can leave the city feeling disconnected from the wider world.

Moonstair is led by a council of five senior sages who rule through debate and consensus.

Although Moonstair is largely a secular city, worship of Lazareth and Talic are not uncommon.

Wealth flows through knowledge, access, and specialized labor: visitors must donate a valuable written work for entry, the Avowed offer copying and binding services for substantial fees, and seekers can pay heavily for the advice of Candlekeep’s sages. Around that core, smaller practical trades support the fortress, including lodging, food, tailoring, smithing, stabling, warehouses, and granaries. So Candlekeep does not thrive on shipping or manufacturing so much as on the controlled exchange, preservation, and interpretation of rare knowledge.

Moonstair boasts a high number of powerful Arcane spellcasters; naturally boosting its defense. Powerful adventurers tend to journey to Moonstair to seek answers to troublesome quests; which moonstair is more than happy to hire to resolve any issues they may encounter.

Additionally; the City of Moonstair is protected by several layered magical wards. There are countless wards but some of the major wards are listed below:

On top of those wards, the central keep can also be sealed by an elven device called the Great Shield, activated by the Keeper of Tomes in extreme need.