Candlekeep

Candlekeep was the famous library-fortress that stood proud as a bastion of enlightenment and knowledge on the Sword Coast for many centuries. It housed a magnificent collection of books and scrolls of lore, considered the greatest collection of the writings in all of Faerûn. The keep was the home of the Avowed, a group of renowned scholars and people of learning, that revered great seer Alaundo and his collection of prophecies that foresaw many great events that passed throughout the ongoing history of the Realms.

Candlekeep was a spectacular sight from the surrounding lands, a formidable fortress that comprised scores of towers, of varying heights and styles. The keep's skyline rose high above the coast, set within formidable, 50 ft tall walls of stone and iron. Its numerous towers ascended into the skies above, creating a unique silhouette against the skies over the coastal sea.

The keep's enormous double gates, which stood three times as tall as a man, formed its main entrance facing east. Its doors were forged from a strange black metal, each of which featured the sigil of Candlekeep, the image of castle with flames set atop each of its towers.

Immediately beyond the imposing front gates was the Court of Air, a vast cobblestone courtyard around which were Candlekeep's establishments and amenities that catered to visitors and "Seekers", those who arrived with the purpose of finding knowledge and wisdom.

To venture beyond the Court of Air into the sheltered Inner Ward of Candlekeep, Seekers had to pass through the magnificent, and magically-protected Emerald Door. The Inner Ward housed the Great Library of Candlekeep, the great repository of knowledge known far and wide across the Realms, along with the personal living quarters of the keep's Avowed.

Beneath the keep were a series of secured chambers used for spellcasting, catacombs, sewers, and subterranean passageways inhabited by unusual creatures. Deepest of these was the Chamber of Lost Lore, a continually-illuminated room that allowed those with permission to commune with long-deceased scholars and sages.

Candlekeep was nestled upon a rocky outcropping on a narrow peninsula, about 100 ft from the cliffside along the Sea of Swords. The path leading to its entrance was called the Way of the Lion, which extended from the Coast Way that ran along the Sword Coast.

The keep was located 120 mi south of Baldur's Gate.

The library-fortress rested atop a volcanic crag that jutted out from the side of the Sea of Swords. Set within this volcanic rock was a series of tombs and sepulchers that served as the resting place for a number of Candlekeep's sages.

The western side of Candlekeep was bombarded with mist and waters from the Sea of Swords, and iced over during winter. During these cold months, several of these towers had to be abandoned as they became too hazardous to live within.