The Name d'Avalon, On History

A major feature that drew me into Sword of the New World is the family barracks and, more precisely, the ability to give your characters surnames. Giving your characters a central, familial identity is new to me in any MMO; normally, you just concentrate on one avatar. With this in mind, I spent a decent amount of time coming up with a good surname for my family -- one that sounds nice and fits in with the world of Granado Espada. Deciding that French (our Granado Espada equivalent is Illier, I think) should be the flavor for my family, I ended up choosing the surname d'Avalon, meaning "of Avalon." I wish the game would let you create those really long names a lot of European nobles had, like Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, but d'Avalon is fine.

The d'Avalon family hails from Avalon, in Illier. Its patriarch, Le Marquis d'Avalon, saw his coffers diminishing through war, famine and disease, so he decided to move his family and what was left of his assets to the new world, leaving his serfs behind to rot (nobles aren't very nice). He is long deceased, unable to see his successors thrive, but the family has recently found fortune in Granado Espada through the profitable but cutthroat Enchantment Chip trade. Though they are loyal Royalists (nobles, dur), the d'Avalon family has sided with the Republicans of Telos, since it's understandably sexier here.

As it turns out, there actually is a small village in southeastern France called Avalon. A castle exists there, complete with its walled-in village and keep. It's apparently very small -- not the kind of place for a marquis. A notable resident of Avalon was Saint Hugh of Lincoln, a bishop from the Middle Ages. Nothing too interesting, but it's nice to have a name tied to history (and royalty).