House Halovar is one of the oldest and most powerful noble house established in Dol-Makjar.
History[]
The Halovars were originally a house of priests, the family of flame, the "golden-crowned", who served Tansul, the god of the sun, making grand proclamations in his service. Prior to the Shapers' War, they were second only to the royal family of the Obridimian Empire.[2] With the fall of the gods, as the world became poisoned and Eternal Night rose, the noble family had to move and survive,[3] and were almost killed during that revolution,[4] since they had stayed loyal to the Shapers.[5]
In recent times House Halovar has gained more power and renown because of their renewed focus on religion. They have established a new faith, the Candescent Creed, which worships the abstract concept of the Light of the universe as a source of salvation, by which souls rejoin that source of power and make the cosmos brighter,[6] and even demons can be brought to the world and given purpose and a chance of goodness as Aspirants within the faith.[7] In addition, they have begun producing Filament, a volatile alchemical liquid used in ritual and other magics. Filament is claimed to be created from the condensed light of the cosmos; the exact method, however, is kept secret, as the Halovar heads have been secretly using the blood of a mad celestial angel of Tansul bound within an iron maiden.[8]
A few years before the beginning of Campaign Four, both House Tachonis and House Halovar started moving in the neighbouring country of Timmony, and while the former started claiming control over some land through political marriage, taking advantage of impoverished nobility, the Candescent Creed used zealotry to weaken the public image of King Augustus Valian; by the year 71 some were daring enough to call the monarch a tyrant for putting himself above the Light.[9] Both houses have a strong influence in Tybry's Lea, in Gormalay, with constant presence in the newly built hospital.[10]
Known members[]
- Photarch Yanessa Halovar, Scion of the Candescent Creed, the elderly current matriarch of the house[11][12]
- Godard Halovar, her son,[13] magically conceived with the blood of Aetheon
- Iris, his wife, an extremely devout woman focused on charities[14]
- Zebani Halovar, their older daughter, who handles the basement holding the Prismatic Retort[15]
- Wicander Halovar, their son, Light Priest of the Candescent Creed, chosen heir to be the next Scion,[16] and briefly Baron of Sloak[17][18]
- Their youngest son, still not brought "into the fold" of the family's secrets[19]
- Iris, his wife, an extremely devout woman focused on charities[14]
- Sir Filoneus Halovar, uncle of Wicander[20] who handles security at Villa Aurora[21]
- Godard Halovar, her son,[13] magically conceived with the blood of Aetheon
Family tree[]
Names in italics and bordered with red are deceased
| Aetheon | Yanessa Halovar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iris | Godard Halovar | Filoneus Halovar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zebani Halovar | Wicander Halovar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vassals[]
The vassal houses under House Halovar include:
- House Egerion: They fought for them in the war[22]
- House Malterres: They fought for them in the war[22]
- Jacques Malterres, an old gentleman who disliked Thjazi Fang[22]
In recent years, one of the main ambitions of Photarch Yanessa is to claim the inheritance of the D'Antonio family (through the marriage of Wicander and the current heir, Ebecca D'Antonio), since their lands have vineyards with special alchemical properties that would allow for the Filament to be diluted and distributed more efficiently.[23]
Courtiers and personnel[]
- Agony, a demon aspirant in the Candescent Creed
- Cruelty, a demon aspirant in the Candescent Creed serving Lady Zebani
- Enmity, a demon aspirant in the Candescent Creed serving Lord Godard[24]
- Tyranny, a demon aspirant in the Candescent Creed serving Lord Wicander[25]
- Otto, stagecoach driver[26]
- Calastro and Rulius Mercanaud, fiendish tailors[27]
Estates[]
Fan art of Villa Aurora, by Dispellogic.[art 2]
- Villa Aurora[28]: the House's estate in Dol-Makjar is located in the neighborhood of Mirzash. The gorgeous villa was built with off-white stone and has a central tower bearing the symbol of the Candescent Creed on top it. Numerous windows are made with gold stained-glass or prismatic glass.[29] The grounds are guarded and a sloping driveway leads to the basement of the villa were the Primatic Retort is kept and Filament is produced.[30]
- An estate somewhere in Gormalay, Timmony[1]
Trivia[]
- House Halovar's surname contains the term halo, derived from the Ancient Greek hálōs, and referring to the disk surrounding a source of light (or, in more modern contexts, the head of a holy figure). That symbology is present in the new religion of this same house, that worships the Beam.[31]
- The Halovars’ favored color is teal.[32]
- The Candescent Creed's symbol is shaped like a C with sunrays coming out of it, but House Halovar still uses an older crest not dissimilar to it.[33]
- Although in public Houses Halovar and Tachonis are close allies, according to Wick Halovar his family doesn't really care what happens to the Tachonises.[34] In private, according to his grandmother, the Halovars have "the knives closest to their backs" precisely because they are the closest allies.[35]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 4:19:39.
- ↑ See "To the Hounds!" (4x09) at 0:48:48.
- ↑ See "Broken Wing" (4x02) at 2:15:41.
- ↑ See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 0:25:04.
- ↑ See "Branching Paths" (4x05) at 1:18:13.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 1:53:37.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 1:28:44.
- ↑ See "Broken Wing" (4x02) at 4:31:29.
- ↑
CR Cooldown C4 E007 at 2:46 (subscription required) (Transcript).
- ↑ See "To the Hounds!" (4x09) at 2:45:10.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 0:13:25.
- ↑ See "Photarch Yanessa Halovar" from 'Critical Recap: Critical Role C4E01 “The Fall of Thjazi Fang”' (October 8, 2025) on critrole.com.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 1:28:05.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 3:36:31.
- ↑ See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 0:31:11.
- ↑ See "Knives and Thorns" (4x06) at 0:52:37.
- ↑ See "Fanged Revenge" (4x08) at 3:40:28.
- ↑ See "Fanged Revenge" (4x08) at 4:28:13.
- ↑ See "Knives and Thorns" (4x06) at 0:51:16.
- ↑ See "Broken Wing" (4x02) at 2:14:22.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 3:31:36.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 3:19:37.
- ↑ See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 0:36:24.
- ↑ See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 1:28:44.
- ↑ See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 1:21:39.
- ↑ See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 1:24:13.
- ↑ See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 0:12:01.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 3:32:00.
- ↑ See "Broken Wing" (4x02) from 1:45:47 through 1:47:47. See also at 1:56:20.
- ↑ See "Broken Wing" (4x02) at 1:59:53. See also at 4:23:31.
- ↑ See the Wiktionary for halo.
- ↑ See "Broken Wing" (4x02) at 1:46:55.
- ↑ See "Broken Wing" (4x02) at 1:46:44. See also at 2:00:19.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 1:51:15.
- ↑ See "Broken Wing" (4x02) at 2:16:59.
Art:
- ↑ Official art of Wicander Halovar, by Loren Hontanilla (source). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
- ↑ Fan art of Villa Aurora, by Dispellogic (source). Used with permission.