House Aven

Once one of the premier house in Athkatla, House Aven has begun a slow slide into mediocrity. Largely this is due to the inactivity of the current head of the house. Fifteen years ago, Christopher Aven was an up and coming businessman and politician. He was active in many organizations and was highly placed in the Alchemist¹s and Fisherman¹s Guilds. His wife Jennifer was well known socialite and was very well received in the city.

For some reason, this all changed 12 years ago. No one really remembers when the change came over Christopher, but it was as subtle as it was unexpected.The normally gregarious head of House Aven became sullen and withdrawn. He stopped attending guild functions and no longer attended the city's lavish parties. Instead, he secluded himself in his estate and refused almost all visitors. He quit dining with his family and preferred to send his wife to any functions that could not do without a representative from his house. Days of this behavior stretched into weeks and those weeks stretched into years with Christopher becoming more and more of a hermit. At some point during this time, Jennifer grew tired of his reclusive behavior and left him and Athkatla. Many whisper that she has retired to the family estate in Waterdeep to be away from her wholly depressing husband.

In the years that have followed, House Aven interests have completely fallen by the wayside. Once lucrative businesses have fallen into ruin as they cannot maintain a competitive edge. Family lands have been sold off to pay bills and the Aven children have filtered out of the estate one by one for lives away from the city of Athkatla. Christopher has been sighted
from time to time moving between the various buildings that comprise the Aven estates but no one has talked to him in years. Those who rememeber him sometimes refer to him as the "Ghost of Good Things Past."