I really miss playing Svetlana at the moment. She's in my mind and I wanted to write about her. I keep going back to a scene in our Interlude game - where Sam broke in to steal a stone - and I read or heard something about how a bedroom "obviously" shows a persons personality (I don't know how true that is - really don't think you'd learn much about Husbit or I from our bedroom, except maybe that I'm messy and like books). Mostly, I was thinking about how much Svetlana's life has changed since the start of the adventure. So please indulge me as I spew forth my ramblings.
The Peasant's Bedroom
The house was tacked to the side of the barn housing the cider press. Svetlana's 'room' was the smallest, a shelf in the rafters reached by a ladder by her mother's door. The bed was tucked against the back wall, a simple straw mattress. At the head end, a chest held her everyday clothes and a few knick-knacks: the doll her mother had made her, a wooden flute she'd never learned to play, a stone with a hole in it, other such things that had caught her eye. A candle holder and pitcher of cold water rested on the lid. A small set of shelfs sat beside the chest, holding the few books she owned, her school work and a small hand-whittled depiction of Erastil in his form as a Stag. The blankets on the bed were patched but plentiful, and the drips through the thatch were caught in buckets.
The room was clean and as private as any space could be in a small house.
The Baroness's Bedroom
The walls are bare grey stone, as thick as she is tall. They will be decorated with fresco eventually, but what plaster was there before has degraded and fallen away: for now, their only decoration is a picture of the Hunter Erastil, a sketch of the Baroness's mother and grandparents and thick curtains that can cover the door and the window alcove. The thickness of the walls help maintain a cool, even temperature: large shutters are fitted over the window to protect against storms.
The bed has a softer mattress, but is still basic and pressed into a corner. A small set of shelves hold her trinkets, a couple of books and a candle. A small wardrobe and a chest of drawers hold her clothes: a few sturdy travelling outfits, some simple working clothes as she'd worn growing up, and a few simple gowns.
The room is larger than the peasant's bedroom, but nearly as empty. The window seat is the area most lived in: cushions soften the stone base, and the sculpture of Stag-Erastil sits on the window cill, with a few votive offerings.
Overall, the room is stark and barren. This is not a room that time is spent in.
The Queen's Bedroom
The bed - four poster, sturdy yet elegant - is larger than the peasant's entire bedroom. It is old, has served its purpose for many decades. Its luxury is in its quality, rather than aesthetic opulence. This is true of the other furniture in the room: a large wardrobe; the cushioned wooden window seats; the chest at the foot of the bed, padded to double as a bench; solid shelves; a chest of drawers; a wash basin stand. The decoration in this room has been well cared for, but matches the furniture in its austerity: the plaster on the walls is pristine but undecorated. The portrait of Erastil is of better quality and is joined by sketches of family and friends from her home town.
Again, she has made use of a window cill to create her own mini shrine to her unlikely deity, with the Stag carved by her grandfather at the centre. The other cill, however, has been kept free of clutter. A towel hangs from a peg by the window and scuff marks on the cill reveal this to be her secondary means of leaving and entering the room (hurray for spider's climb and mage hand to lock the window behind her!)
The wardrobe holds a travelling outfit, a couple of preferred gowns (one in crimson, another in dark blue, both gifts from Noleski when their relationship was secret; both made perfectly to her measurements), clothes for Court wear, undergarments and clothes to wear whilst waiting for her servants to dress her in her most formal outfits. Most of her other clothes are kept elsewhere.
The chest at the foot of the bed holds a masterworked rapier, basic leather armour, a lockpick and a length of rope. Above these and hiding them are the workings of tapestry-making, something she would be able to use were nobility her natural habitat. They are untouched.
There are a few more books on the shelves here - histories of the kingdom and guides to the noble houses for the most part, but tucked between are tales of heroes and adventures.
Her trinkets are in the chest of drawers. The top drawer holds shells collected from the beach of her honeymoon, a couple of stones with holes in and some with markings that remind her of the blood magic runes they found; a few have markings that look, from the right angle, like Erastil's bow. Others glitter in the candlelight or have the shape of birds and animals. One, jet black, stands out in simplicity: a simple oval shape, it matches the scar on her palm.
The drawer below holds mementos of home: the wooden flute, the doll, letters from her friends, the announcement that first set her on her path to adventure. Beneath that are more gifts from Noleski - jewellery, carved and forged animals; things that attract her inner magpie... and a dried leaf from the day of their first kiss; pressed flowers from their wedding day; a ribbon he used to tie her hair; a scallop shell. The bottom drawer holds the blanket her mother wrapped her in as a baby and a handful of hazelnuts and apple pips.
There is a scent of rosemary in the air: a small bush grows in a pot of the window cill dedicated to Erastil. It is tucked behind a picture, as though she is both afraid of it and afraid to be without it.
The room was clean and as private as any space could be in a small house.
The Baroness's Bedroom
The walls are bare grey stone, as thick as she is tall. They will be decorated with fresco eventually, but what plaster was there before has degraded and fallen away: for now, their only decoration is a picture of the Hunter Erastil, a sketch of the Baroness's mother and grandparents and thick curtains that can cover the door and the window alcove. The thickness of the walls help maintain a cool, even temperature: large shutters are fitted over the window to protect against storms.
The bed has a softer mattress, but is still basic and pressed into a corner. A small set of shelves hold her trinkets, a couple of books and a candle. A small wardrobe and a chest of drawers hold her clothes: a few sturdy travelling outfits, some simple working clothes as she'd worn growing up, and a few simple gowns.
The room is larger than the peasant's bedroom, but nearly as empty. The window seat is the area most lived in: cushions soften the stone base, and the sculpture of Stag-Erastil sits on the window cill, with a few votive offerings.
Overall, the room is stark and barren. This is not a room that time is spent in.
The Queen's Bedroom
The bed - four poster, sturdy yet elegant - is larger than the peasant's entire bedroom. It is old, has served its purpose for many decades. Its luxury is in its quality, rather than aesthetic opulence. This is true of the other furniture in the room: a large wardrobe; the cushioned wooden window seats; the chest at the foot of the bed, padded to double as a bench; solid shelves; a chest of drawers; a wash basin stand. The decoration in this room has been well cared for, but matches the furniture in its austerity: the plaster on the walls is pristine but undecorated. The portrait of Erastil is of better quality and is joined by sketches of family and friends from her home town.
Again, she has made use of a window cill to create her own mini shrine to her unlikely deity, with the Stag carved by her grandfather at the centre. The other cill, however, has been kept free of clutter. A towel hangs from a peg by the window and scuff marks on the cill reveal this to be her secondary means of leaving and entering the room (hurray for spider's climb and mage hand to lock the window behind her!)
The wardrobe holds a travelling outfit, a couple of preferred gowns (one in crimson, another in dark blue, both gifts from Noleski when their relationship was secret; both made perfectly to her measurements), clothes for Court wear, undergarments and clothes to wear whilst waiting for her servants to dress her in her most formal outfits. Most of her other clothes are kept elsewhere.
The chest at the foot of the bed holds a masterworked rapier, basic leather armour, a lockpick and a length of rope. Above these and hiding them are the workings of tapestry-making, something she would be able to use were nobility her natural habitat. They are untouched.
There are a few more books on the shelves here - histories of the kingdom and guides to the noble houses for the most part, but tucked between are tales of heroes and adventures.
Her trinkets are in the chest of drawers. The top drawer holds shells collected from the beach of her honeymoon, a couple of stones with holes in and some with markings that remind her of the blood magic runes they found; a few have markings that look, from the right angle, like Erastil's bow. Others glitter in the candlelight or have the shape of birds and animals. One, jet black, stands out in simplicity: a simple oval shape, it matches the scar on her palm.
The drawer below holds mementos of home: the wooden flute, the doll, letters from her friends, the announcement that first set her on her path to adventure. Beneath that are more gifts from Noleski - jewellery, carved and forged animals; things that attract her inner magpie... and a dried leaf from the day of their first kiss; pressed flowers from their wedding day; a ribbon he used to tie her hair; a scallop shell. The bottom drawer holds the blanket her mother wrapped her in as a baby and a handful of hazelnuts and apple pips.
There is a scent of rosemary in the air: a small bush grows in a pot of the window cill dedicated to Erastil. It is tucked behind a picture, as though she is both afraid of it and afraid to be without it.
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