Estemard

Overview

Estemard is a former avout of the Concent of Saunt Edhar and one of Fraa Orolo’s early teachers. After renouncing his vow he departed through the Day Gate and has since lived extramuros as a Feral based at Bly’s Butte. He is closely associated with the nearby settlement of Samble; locals report that he attends their services and communal events but do not regard him as a believer.

Appearance and Traits

• Described as an older man who moves with surprising vigor; on first sight he looked more like a retired chemist out for a day hike than a “wild” Feral.
• Carries a sidearm, which locals in this area treat as customary and not inherently threatening.
• Presents as practical and socially adaptable: after a tense first contact he quickly re‑centered the conversation and extended hospitality.

Roles and Actions

• Left the math via the Day Gate and established himself at Bly’s Butte, from which he sent periodic letters about observations and ideas.
• Produced phototypes (photographic prints) at Bly’s Butte that depict Fraa Orolo during his time there; observers infer from these images that Orolo went shaggy‑haired and grew a Feral beard.
• When avout inspected a small cloister on the summit (attributed to Orolo), Estemard arrived, asserted boundaries, then de‑escalated the situation and invited the group to a community picnic in Samble.
• Acknowledged, after a Thousander inferred it from materials on site, that Orolo had gone north.
• Maintains a work area near the summit with a brick kiln, molds, glazes, and many geometric tiles and shards, indicating sustained tile‑making. Companions report that this ties to a longstanding interest in an ancient tiling problem known as the Teglon; there is no claim of a solution.
• Within avout discussions, some have suspected Estemard of involvement in “the Lineage” connected to Teglon studies; accounts present this as rumor and inference rather than established fact.
• Later seen among attendees at the island works named for Fraa Orolo during the laying of a cornerstone and subsequent celebrations; he was accompanied by his wife.

Relationships

• Fraa Orolo: Earlier teacher and later correspondent. Estemard, alongside another mentor, helped “raise” Orolo in his Tenner years and later wrote to him from Bly’s Butte.
• Fraa Paphlagon: Named with Estemard as the two who raised Orolo; the pair left the math around the same time by different routes (Paphlagon via the labyrinth; Estemard via the Day Gate).
• Samble congregation: Estemard participates in worship and communal meals but is described by a local adherent as attending without accepting their doctrine. Extras sometimes label him a “Deolater,” but locals explicitly dispute that characterization.
• Spouse: Unnamed wife; seen accompanying Estemard during the cornerstone‑laying and festivities at the island named for Fraa Orolo.

Current Status

Living extramuros around Bly’s Butte and active among the people of Samble. Recently seen healthy and mobile, carrying a local‑custom sidearm, and interacting civilly with visiting avout.