A wide, rectangular room, with a vaulted ceiling arching nigh three stories above the purple and black tessellated floor. A railed gallery rings the Central Oreillette on three sides, overlooking the small clusters of prim and dark Cairheinin furnishments arrayed below. The walls are finely dressed marble, shot though with veins of silver and purple, carved in an intricate geometric pattern along the top in bas-relief. Tall, fluted pillars of some deep violet stone support the soaring roof, and around the base of each pillar is a small arrangement of sculpted topiaries. Lavish tapestries depicting scenes of Vanderode glory hang in chosen places on the walls, and fine candelabras on silver chains dangle from the carved rafters. At the far walls are two hearths in deep-gray marble, carved in garlands and rossettes. Costly running-carpets of Tairen make lead up the dual stair-case, each wing arcing gracefully to either side of the doors leading to the Grand Refectoire.
The servants have lit the sconces, filling this room with ruddy, golden cheer. Night brings a sense of solace and peacefulness to this splendid manse. The coming winter wafts within, filling the room with a sharp and biting air. A goodly sized fire crackles in the hearth. On this level, several sets of doors in dark, carved woods, each under a brooding, low arch, lead elsewhere into Vanderode Hall, and up on the gallery, the doors lead into each of the various suites occupied by the members of the household.
An enormous tapestry, one of a pair, it depicts a tall fortress on a high bluff as seen from the West, a steep wall of rock and stone, high above a swale of flowering trees and a small stream. The fortress, called 'Wyndswift' by its Vanderode owners, looks massive and impervious, with thick gray walls, crenellated and turreted, the roofs of the central keep and other towers glittering blue tile. Everywhere, long pennants of blue white and lavender stream into the sky. The tiered fortress-town is seen as it runs right up along the edge of the cliff, the bulk of the town behind the stronghold, and the grid stopping right at the edge in lines sharp as knife-cuts, blocked with a low stone wall, with a tumble of purple flowers here and there, and marked with climbing ivies. A road can be seen as it winds down the cliff at precarious angles, buttressed here and there by stone and leading down to the swale-floor. At the very feet of the stone rise can be noted a series of pavilions, purple and blue silk, as mounted cavaliers take runs at each other with long lances, and parties of darkly clad nobles cluster about in observation.
An enormous tapestry, one of a pair, it depicts a tall fortress on a high bluff as seen from the East, a slow rise up from a wide valley, carpeted with grasses and blooming trees. The fortress is squat and massive, in the Cairhienin architectural style of rectangular building, and heavy square arches, everywhere long pennants of blue white and lavender streaming into the sky. Ringing the walls of the fortress, called by its Vanderode keepers 'Wyndswift,' is a small town, with neat rows of houses and shops, a few barns and windmills, and several large cisterns stretching out in tiers of terraces. The streets are carefully laid out in an unyielding grid, and are heavy with traffic - porters and carters with wains and wagons piled high with bushels of wheat or great bolts of wool, armed men walking about in patrol, goodwives walking their washing to the central fountain, children romping with hoops and kites. There, exiting the gates within those stolid walls is a party of nobles ahorse, identifiable by the bright stripes across their coats and dresses in Vanderode lavender and blue, even as they are ringed about mounted retainers, each in black armor with the diamond and oval con on short staffs attached to their backs. Overhead, the sky is a brilliant blue, and peregrines and falcons wheel in the winds from the foothills of the Dragonwall.
A splendidly appointed dining room, longer than wide, with a tall, caissoned ceiling, with the Vanderode oval and diamond carved and silvered on every inset panel. The walls are luxuriously papered in pale blue, with a miniscule yet intricate cross-worked pattern of silver vines and blue flowers spreading across them. On the far wall is an array of tall windows with rounded tops, each running to the floor. At each end of the Grand Refectoire is a tall, magnificent mantle of carven marble, shot through with veins of silver and purple. A long table runs the length of the room, with matching chairs tucked in place, each upholstered in blue and silver. The table and chairs are carved from darkest nightwood, polished to high sheen. Here and there hang formal portraits of Vanderode ancestors, each in a frame of silver and pearlwood. Hanging over the table in three places are a set of fabulous chandeliers, all silver and tinseled glass, fashioned in the shape of branching vines with floral-shaped globes.
A set of doors in darkest woods leads back to the Central Oreillette, and a pair of doors flanking one hearth affords access to the kitchens. Tall, artfully arranged displays of winter-ivy and snowspray, festooned with gilded ribbon and small ornaments of crystal decorate the hearths and tables, and thick curtains of violet and silver velvet shield the windows, and warm, merry blazes crackle in each hearth. The chandeliers are alive with candlelight, refracting through their tinseled globes and throwing fanciful dances of light across the room and its furnishings.
A large, spacious chamber with a high ceiling, and many fine windows looking out over a small, intimate garden. The tiled floor is covered by a plush carpet of exquisite Tarabonner make, richly patterned in shades of indigoes and blues. A large desk of fine carved motifs is the central furnishing, with a high-backed chair set behind. Tidy stacks of papers and folios embossed with the seal of House Vanderode are arrayed upon the desktop, as are a writing kit of cut crystal and silver. Nearer the door is a set of petite armor of finest Cairhienin smithery, the molded cuirass formed to reflect a gently curving female form, the armor great with age. Several paintings in gesso upon canvas are set in places of honor upon the walls, each depicting esteemed noble relations. Several tall armoires with carved doors in an intricate repeating style, all in dark woods, are the other notable furnishings, each laden with books and object d'art. A tall, graceful hearth of pale marble is carved to depict flowering vines and clusters of fruits, all beneath a tall, peaked painting depicting a scene of Vanderode triumph during one of the many wars of succession that have enlivened the history of Cairhien.
A tall, door of darkly gleaming woods, beneath a low, heavy arch, leads back into the Central Oreillette. Other doors, of similar style, yet not as grand, lead into smaller privy chambers of the lady of the house's exclusive use. The winter winds fight vainly to make way into this room, kept at bay by the merry fire in the hearth. Costly patterned drapes of violet also serve to keep this room cozy and warm. The tinseled lamps are light, setting the darkness of night firmly outside.
A set of petite armor of finest Cairhienin smithery on a wooden frame, the molded cuirass formed to reflect a gently curving female form, the armor great with age. The cuirass is worked with scrolls and small lozenge shapes. Several complimenting pieces are set on pegs, including a pair of dainty gauntlets and a gorget embossed with white and blue lozenges. A stiffened collar of age-dark lace flounces across the gorget. Draped across the cuirass is a sash of lavender satin, with small white diamonds set in blue ovals arrayed down its length. Affixed to the back of the breastplate is a small staff depicting the house con. Trailing beneath the cuirass is a split skirt of finest Illianer leather, extensively embossed in a swirling, overlapping design. Hanging lengthwise from a purple silken cord is a dainty, slender sword, with an amethyst set in the hilt, flanked by two sapphires of pale azure. The hilt is craved ivory. A small matching dagger is arrayed nearby. The armor and arms are designed for pure show, for when the Madame of Vanderode Hall must ride forth and serve as inspiration.
A tall peaked painting in the realistic modern style, yet with done with the stylized Borderlander esthete that depicts all aspects from similar perspective, so that all the figures and features are arrayed in similar size, this painting depicts armsmen in service to House Vanderode battling against soldiers of their traditional enemies. Toward the heart of the painting is a knot of officers and lords, each astride matching destriers of silvery gray, each with the con of Vanderode affixed to their backs, each con subtly different as to distinguish the wearers. The chief lord has his lance lowered, and piercing the heart of rival lord who kneels before his horse, helmetless and his sword laying broken at his side. About him lay several lords in matching equipage, their own swords laying broken, sons of the vanquished foe. If one looks closely at the riders accompanying the lord of Vanderode, the two diminutive riders at his right side, one bearing the shield of the lord, the other carrying his bow, one notes that their flowing hair and slightly curved armor marks them as female. A scene of Vanderode triumph and glory to stir the heart.
A squarely designed room, with high ceilings supported by rafters of highly polished nightwood, and walls of dark blue, this is the study of Lord Benjaen, and beneath the quiet wealth of the room lurks a stolid masculinity. Three tall windows are placed between inset bookshelves, each laden with volumes of every size. The black and dark purple tiled floor is covered by expensive throws of Tairen crafting, dark blues and purples swirling in a concise, yet subdued pattern. A vast hearth of blue marble, slashed with veins of periwinkle and silver, occupies much of one wall, with a wide desk of glossy nightwood placed before it. Couches of blue leather and smaller chairs are scattered about the room, each a fine example of Cairhienin aesthete. Tapestries and paintings adorn the walls, and here and there, in chosen places, are artifacts and armor upon stands of lacquer and wood.
A tall set of doors leads back to the Central Oriellette. A good-sized blaze crackles merrily in the fireplace and velvet drapes garb the windows, to better thwart the chill of winter. The costly clock of gilt on the mantle indicates that is night, and the house is quiet, the lamps lit with golden light.
A set of plate, all finely struck steel, and accented with hints of silver, this suit of armor belongs to Lord Benjaen, and is dinged and scuffed from good use. The breastplate is molded to its wearer's exact proportions, and the greaves and lobstered guantlets are each the product of an expert smith. The gorget is cast with a row of raised diamond shapes, and the lozenge within oval design of the Vanderode seal is present in the rondels that hang protectively where the cuirass is opened at the shoulders. A slim, yet strong-seeming sword hangs at the ready, set within a dyed blue leather sheath, balanced by a matching dirk with velvet satin tassels hanging from each. A great cape of leather trimmed with sables hangs over it all.
A small, cozy sitting parlour, the Ladies' Bower is intended to serve as the withdrawing room for the women of the house. The walls are pleasingly painted in a trompe l'oiel style to mimic the formal gardens at Wyndswift, forever rendered in the full bloom of spring, with trellised walks and tall, lovely trees of lilacs along with laughing fountains. A large bay window heaves out overlooking the smaller, less ornate gardens of Vanderode Hall, the window seat lined with plush velvet of pale lavender. Here and there about the room are small clusters, arranged to elicit conversation, of furniture in the dainty yet ornate Cairhienin esthete, upholstered with lavender brocatelle. A tall hearth, the obverse of the one beyond the wall in the Grand Refectoire, is lovingly carved with gathers of lilacs and flowing lines, all from pale-silver marble. The floor is swaddled in thick carpets in periwinkle and blue, in a small, refined floral pattern. Over the mantle is a tall standing portrait of Lady Caimille IV, late grandmother to Saralleine. Silver and crystal sconces are hanging upon the walls.
A set of carven doors in darkest woods leads outward into the Central Oreillette. Tall, artfully arranged displays of winter-ivy and snowspray, festooned with gilded ribbon and small ornaments of crystal decorate the hearth, thick curtains of violet and silver velvet shield the window, and a warm, merry blaze crackles in the hearth. By night, this room seems intimate and welcoming, a fine place to retire with a book or a bit of embroidery.
A large, spacious chamber with a high ceiling caissoned and tinted with silver, and walls papered in costly prints of violet and dark blue. This is the main parlour of the small, yet elegant Vanderode Manor, and along one wall, three tall windows, run from the floor to high rounded arches, opening onto a small formal garden. The floors, night blue marble, are covered by area carpets from Tarabon, and there are formal arrangements of furniture, all dark and restrained, slim and refined, about the room designed to facilitate conversation. Across the hearth of white marble is a backless divan. A tall painting of the family stronghold at Wyndswift hangs over the mantle within a milkwood frame. A large chandelier of tinseled glass hangs over the room.
Several doors lead elsewhere into this townhouse, to the small dining room, the kitchens and the study, as well as the rooms upstairs. A warm fire burns in the heart and think draperies of violet velvet brocade dress the windows.The glowing crystal chandelier makes this room cosy and elegant, once night falls.
A rather elegant, if small, formal dining room, with walls painted in trompe l'oeil to evoke a high bluff near the Dragonwall, looking over a windswept vale carpeted with lilacs. The ceiling is domed, swelling up from the floor. The large table is oval, and dressed in a cloth of watered silk, with tall crystal globes etched and tinseled set along its length, rising from bouquets of lilacs in silver bowls. Matching chairs are arranged all around, with two taller backed chairs placed at the narrow ends, all upholstered in lavender satin, striped with blue. Several tall curios are placed about the room, filled with the finest cut crystal stemware, as well as dozens of settings of the most exquisite Sea Folk porcelain.
At each end of the room lies a hearth of finely dressed white marble, and each is flanked by a set of doors. One leads back to the kitchens, the other pair leads back to the Receiving Parlor. A warm fire burns in the heart and think draperies of violet velvet brocade dress the windows. The glowing crystal globes make this room cosy and elegant, once night falls.
Saralleine | Ellisaene | Benjaen | Rolaen