This elven dragonmarked house uses the Mark of Shadow to conceal the truth, both for the purposes of entertainment and espionage.

Its name is based on an old elven tradition. Phiarlan was originally the name of travelling bards in the new elven society of Xen’drik. Some elves remained enslaved under the rule of the giants, while others established secret cities in the wilderness. The bards drew all these groups together with song. Nominally, they were housed and paid for their entertainment services, but their real purpose was to transmit secret information between the slaves and free elves. Slowly, this role also evolved into a balance between factions of the elves. If the Phiarlan became aware of any one faction taking too much power or exposing elfkind as a whole to danger, they would snuff out the source of the trouble. When the elves colonized Aerenal, this role expanded until the fall of House Vol. From then on, all dragonmarked elves were suspect on the island continent, so the heirs and their families left for Khorvaire.

The only other house head alive before the Last War (the other is House Kundarak’s Lord Morikkan), Baron Elvinor Elorrenthi has lead the house since 897 YK. His crest bears the image of a hydra. The house is divided into demesnes, each concentrating on an aspect of art.

• Memory: Based in Fairhaven, this Demesne is known for its elaborate and precise re-enactments and staged plays.
• Motion: Based in Wroat, this Demesne focuses on dance and exhibitions of martial skill.
• Music: Based in Flamekeep, this Demesne creates music ranging from individual song to gigantic orchestras.
• Shadow: Based in Sharn, this Demesne
• Shape: Based in Thaliost, this Demesne was reknown for its sculpture and public pieces of conceptual architecture, but since the Shadow Schism, most of Khorvaire’s famous sculptors and designers are now found in House Thuranni.

Almost all these disciplines come together in the House’s most public and popular spectacle, the travelling Carnival of Shadows, based in Wroat.

The house’s main enclave is in Wroat, and the larger enclaves are found in Breland, Aundair, and Thrane, while House Thuranni is more dominant in Karrnath and the fringe nations like Droaam and Q’Barra.

Also, although the house is not on friendly terms with Valenar or Aerenal, they have a connection to elven culture with an enclave in the feyspire in Karrnath, the Winter Court, Taer Syraen. These urban elves are on much better terms with half-elves, whose cultures overlap.