Post by Forsaken on Feb 8, 2009 0:57:40 GMT -5
From the outside, the Cavyrn is an oval, dome-like structure of such grandeur scale that it stands above the other buildings in Manticore. (most buildings are constructed so that they are very close to the ground, to take advantage of geo-thermal heat. If a building has multiple floors, many of those floors will be found below ground, not above it. Windows also tend to be very small to conserve heat.) It's rounded walls soar to meet at a gentle crest that runs along the length of the building. The building was made of pale, ashen-gray granite and it's outer walls are twenty-feet thick. Two imposing doors, ten feet in height, mark the front of the structure. However, these are mostly ceremonial and seldom used. Smaller, nondescript doors, to the left and right of the main entrance, see most of the traffic in and out of the Cavyrn.
The Cavyrn has no windows, using instead great chandeliers (made of pale blue glass and pouring pure white light) to light a great, cavernous interior. The vaulted ceilings are eighty feet high and are supported by monumental stone arches that boast modernistic lines while still managing to give the Cavyrn the cave-like look that it was named for. Stalactite-type points dip down from the arches' peaks and suspend the chandeliers in the air. A great deal of elegant furniture, carved of rare wood and, in the case of furniture designed for the purpose of lounging, boasting the finest fabrics that gleam in the pale blue light. The wood has been stained a warm golden color, the fabric dyed a rich, deep blue that gleams the a brilliant blue-green when high-lighted by the cool lighting of the chandeliers. The floor is composed of marble squares, at least along a very wide perimeter, that are in alternating shades of white, silver gray, and pale green. In a wide strip that runs through the center of this vast space, the squares become shapes that are arranged in an elaborate design that is something like a cross between the Fleur de lis and that elegant feathering design sometimes found on objects from the Victorian era, but with sharper, more dramatic edges. The design twirls gracefully, uninterrupted, within it's thick border of sapphire blue and emerald green glass, down the entire length of this great room that is the heart of the Cavyrn. The design features the same colors as it's border, though the shades vary slightly, and is contrasted against the same gleaming white and silver-gray marble found throughout the rest of the floor.
Three fountains are spaced evenly along the length of this design, the fountain at the center leaping to sixteen feet in height and the other two standing at a more diminutive eight feet. They are sculptures in a sense, constructed of clear glass that has thousands of air bubbles frozen within it. The glass itself seems to mimic the water that it pours forth. It's structure is like that of some kind of stylized tree. There is a central column that ushers the water upward from the underground river that lies beneath, and a great many branches, all of which curve gently toward the pool of water at this tree-fountain's base. Each graceful branch (a single, gently tapering column of glass) is hollow, and has a tip whose opening is so narrow that the water dribbles out in such a way that it resembles rain. And sounds like it, when it strikes the surface of the pool below in countless ripples. Spheres in countless shades of blue and green dance about the branches, suspended by forces unseen, their size proportional to that of the fountain they are assigned to. The spheres that are suspended about the largest fountain are the size of beach balls, while the orbs of the smaller fountains are only a bit larger than a softball. Finally, the branches, or gleaming tendrils, of each fountain are so numerous in number that the resemblance to a tree would not be immediately recognized by anyone who was viewing them. Instead, it looks as though a vein of water had burst beneath the floor and then frozen into hundreds of twisting, icicle tendrils that leap toward the high ceiling. Even the smaller fountains are breath-taking. The central one, however, will leave the individual who sees it for the first time lost in moments of empty-minded awe.
The furniture lies in clusters off to the side, between the wide bases of the arches that support the Cavyrn's roof. This arrangement gives the space the furniture is arranged in the feel of a room, though the end opening toward the room's center is completely open. The furniture found in these clusters include chairs, sofas of varying length, a long, low table somewhere within the center of the cluster, and side tables. All of which is arranged around a richly woven carpet.
Below is a link to a very basic sketch that I quickly scribbled down in my sketchbook to provide a visual. I can not stress enough that it is very basic. I am only including it because the Cavyrn isn't quite like anything in this world and I feel that a visual, however lacking in detail, will help. The drawing is a cut-off of the Cavyrn and focuses a bit on the architecture of the interior. I included quick line-drawings of a chair and a couch in one corner to provide a sense of scale as well as some idea of what I'm talking about when I speak of furniture arranged between the arches and how this arrangement would have the feel of a small room.
i43.tinypic.com/t6vwqw.jpg
Finally, we have the rooms that house the Guardians and their Forsaken. Everyone will get to take some liberty with this, because the size, style, and lay-out of these rooms vary quite a bit. However, there are some similarities. The doors seen at the back of my sketch can be found between every pair of arches and lead to staircases that lead to every Guardian's suite. Most of these don't lie beneath the Cavyrn, for lack of room, but creep outward beneath the surrounding buildings into a number of suites. They don't range too far from the visible dome of the Cavyrn, but lie one over the other in multiple levels. Individuals with rank get priority over these rooms, sometimes even choosing to evict a Guardian out of a room they fancy, but preferences vary quite a bit. Some prefer rooms on the upper levels, so that they'll have only a minimal hike to their room. Others prefer accommodations on the lower levels, where it's more secluded.
The last common feature is that every Guardian's suite first opens up into a small, simple room that features a door on the opposite end that opens up into the actual suite. But doors are reinforced and can be locked. This is often the place that the Guardian's choose to keep their Forsaken when they can't maintain their watch over their mind and activities. Such as when the Guardian's go to sleep. Accommodations in this room vary, but all arrangements are simple. The location of this room also allows the Forsaken to serve as a particularly deadly obstacle between their master and anything unfriendly that may choose to sneak in. However rare an event this may be.
The Cavyrn has no windows, using instead great chandeliers (made of pale blue glass and pouring pure white light) to light a great, cavernous interior. The vaulted ceilings are eighty feet high and are supported by monumental stone arches that boast modernistic lines while still managing to give the Cavyrn the cave-like look that it was named for. Stalactite-type points dip down from the arches' peaks and suspend the chandeliers in the air. A great deal of elegant furniture, carved of rare wood and, in the case of furniture designed for the purpose of lounging, boasting the finest fabrics that gleam in the pale blue light. The wood has been stained a warm golden color, the fabric dyed a rich, deep blue that gleams the a brilliant blue-green when high-lighted by the cool lighting of the chandeliers. The floor is composed of marble squares, at least along a very wide perimeter, that are in alternating shades of white, silver gray, and pale green. In a wide strip that runs through the center of this vast space, the squares become shapes that are arranged in an elaborate design that is something like a cross between the Fleur de lis and that elegant feathering design sometimes found on objects from the Victorian era, but with sharper, more dramatic edges. The design twirls gracefully, uninterrupted, within it's thick border of sapphire blue and emerald green glass, down the entire length of this great room that is the heart of the Cavyrn. The design features the same colors as it's border, though the shades vary slightly, and is contrasted against the same gleaming white and silver-gray marble found throughout the rest of the floor.
Three fountains are spaced evenly along the length of this design, the fountain at the center leaping to sixteen feet in height and the other two standing at a more diminutive eight feet. They are sculptures in a sense, constructed of clear glass that has thousands of air bubbles frozen within it. The glass itself seems to mimic the water that it pours forth. It's structure is like that of some kind of stylized tree. There is a central column that ushers the water upward from the underground river that lies beneath, and a great many branches, all of which curve gently toward the pool of water at this tree-fountain's base. Each graceful branch (a single, gently tapering column of glass) is hollow, and has a tip whose opening is so narrow that the water dribbles out in such a way that it resembles rain. And sounds like it, when it strikes the surface of the pool below in countless ripples. Spheres in countless shades of blue and green dance about the branches, suspended by forces unseen, their size proportional to that of the fountain they are assigned to. The spheres that are suspended about the largest fountain are the size of beach balls, while the orbs of the smaller fountains are only a bit larger than a softball. Finally, the branches, or gleaming tendrils, of each fountain are so numerous in number that the resemblance to a tree would not be immediately recognized by anyone who was viewing them. Instead, it looks as though a vein of water had burst beneath the floor and then frozen into hundreds of twisting, icicle tendrils that leap toward the high ceiling. Even the smaller fountains are breath-taking. The central one, however, will leave the individual who sees it for the first time lost in moments of empty-minded awe.
The furniture lies in clusters off to the side, between the wide bases of the arches that support the Cavyrn's roof. This arrangement gives the space the furniture is arranged in the feel of a room, though the end opening toward the room's center is completely open. The furniture found in these clusters include chairs, sofas of varying length, a long, low table somewhere within the center of the cluster, and side tables. All of which is arranged around a richly woven carpet.
Below is a link to a very basic sketch that I quickly scribbled down in my sketchbook to provide a visual. I can not stress enough that it is very basic. I am only including it because the Cavyrn isn't quite like anything in this world and I feel that a visual, however lacking in detail, will help. The drawing is a cut-off of the Cavyrn and focuses a bit on the architecture of the interior. I included quick line-drawings of a chair and a couch in one corner to provide a sense of scale as well as some idea of what I'm talking about when I speak of furniture arranged between the arches and how this arrangement would have the feel of a small room.
i43.tinypic.com/t6vwqw.jpg
Finally, we have the rooms that house the Guardians and their Forsaken. Everyone will get to take some liberty with this, because the size, style, and lay-out of these rooms vary quite a bit. However, there are some similarities. The doors seen at the back of my sketch can be found between every pair of arches and lead to staircases that lead to every Guardian's suite. Most of these don't lie beneath the Cavyrn, for lack of room, but creep outward beneath the surrounding buildings into a number of suites. They don't range too far from the visible dome of the Cavyrn, but lie one over the other in multiple levels. Individuals with rank get priority over these rooms, sometimes even choosing to evict a Guardian out of a room they fancy, but preferences vary quite a bit. Some prefer rooms on the upper levels, so that they'll have only a minimal hike to their room. Others prefer accommodations on the lower levels, where it's more secluded.
The last common feature is that every Guardian's suite first opens up into a small, simple room that features a door on the opposite end that opens up into the actual suite. But doors are reinforced and can be locked. This is often the place that the Guardian's choose to keep their Forsaken when they can't maintain their watch over their mind and activities. Such as when the Guardian's go to sleep. Accommodations in this room vary, but all arrangements are simple. The location of this room also allows the Forsaken to serve as a particularly deadly obstacle between their master and anything unfriendly that may choose to sneak in. However rare an event this may be.