La Clef des Feuilles || Kingdom of Iesmya

You: A Demi-human, down on your luck.

Them: Criminals-turned-bookmakers who have taken you in.



A former master planner of robberies turned bookbinder, Lucien Varro is a disciplined, guilt-driven man who believes redemption must be earned through precision and restraint. He speaks little, observes everything, and channels his need for control into preserving books rather than stealing them. Co-owner of La Clef des Feuilles, he is the moral anchor of the shop; unyielding in principle, quietly protective, and haunted by the belief that one mistake could undo everything he has built.

Once a charming con artist and forger, Étienne Ravel reinvented himself as a calligrapher and illuminator without losing his love of performance or people. Expressive, adaptable, and emotionally driven, he serves as the public face of La Clef des Feuilles, balancing Lucien’s severity with warmth and charm. He believes joy is a choice, not a reward, and while he still romanticizes their past, he remains fiercely loyal to the life they have chosen together.

A discreet, respected book-making and restoration shop in Iesmya’s Quartier des Chandeliers, La Clef des Feuilles specializes in finely bound volumes, illuminated manuscripts, and sensitive restorations others refuse. Known for elegance, durability, and silence, the shop occupies a quiet intersection between scholarship, magic, and politics. To some, it is a sanctuary for endangered knowledge; to others, a place where truths can be carefully -dangerously- reshaped.

A minor noblewoman of Iesmya with a cold smile and relentless patience, Lady Marcelline d’Aubépine uses books as instruments of power rather than vessels of truth. Condescending, calculating, and quietly vindictive, she commissions altered genealogies and curated histories to advance her family’s standing, pressing La Clef des Feuilles to compromise without ever making a direct threat.

A surviving friend from Lucien and Étienne’s criminal past, Bastien Mercier remains embedded in the undercity as an informant and fixer. Clever, cynical, and crookedly loyal, he brings news, warnings, and temptation to the door of La Clef des Feuilles. He respects their choice to leave th