Cairhien
Yes, that’s right, Cairhien, it even apparently has a city so nice, they named it twice! (as does Tear, of course…) Anyways, pull out those maps from last lesson (link: http://www.blacktower.net/map.htm) and figure out where it is. It’s boundaries lie from the River Erinin on the East, to the Spine of the World on the West. So, it happens to be a neighbour to our favourite nation, Andor, and it also borders Tar Valon.
Cairhien has a very interesting history, starting from when it became an independent nation at the end of the War of the Hundred Years. The Cairhienin merchants were once granted the exclusive right by the Aiel to travel the Silk Path from the Jangai Pass through the Aiel Waste. At the same time as this granting, the Cairhien king was given Avendoraldera, the only known sapling of the lost Tree of Life. But their good fortune of trade was short-lived, as the Aiel War brought havoc to Cairhien. They burned the city, leaving only the libraries untouched, and revoked the Cairhienin right for trade with Shara.
The capital city of Cairhien is Cairhien, (ref map: pg 406 LoC (Tor ’95 ed))and it is laid out in a precise grid, with every street meeting at a right angle. The layout of the city mirrors the nature of the people who live there. Cairhienin are a stern and unyielding people, with the nobles desiring absolute control and order, yet they thrive on subtle political manoeuvring. They are so involved with it, that they have made a “Game” of it, Daes Dae’mar, the Great Game. All nobles are involved in the Game since birth, and every aspect of dress, and behaviour is very carefully ordered.
Cairhienin are a very short people, with dark eyes and hair, and pale, narrow faces. The nobility’s clothing greatly reflects their need for order. They wear darker colours of clothing and there are narrow horizontal slashes of colour across the chest and body, and dark ivory lace at the throat and wrists. The number of slashes indicates rank, and the colour indicates the House. Ladies have their hair in elaborate towers of curls, and the dresses are made of fine material, and often high-necked with very wide skirts supported with hoops. Men wear bell-shaped velvet hats over long hair, and dark coats embroidered across the chest with bars of silver, scarlet and gold which donate their rank.
The lower classes are the complete opposite of the nobles. Free from the Great Game, they often approach the extremes of flamboyance. Their clothing is generally shabby, but very colourful. Bright skirts and shirts with coats and shawls of equally bright, often clashing colours are common. These lower classes live in the Foregate, an area right outside the gates of Cairhien.
One well-known custom/celebration/holiday of the Cairhienin is the Feast of Lights. A festival that lasts two days, the Feast of Lights is a time when all propriety is gone, and the Great Game is forgotten. There is much drinking and dancing, and all barriers between commoner and noble are ignored, as is age. Any man can kiss any woman, and vice versa. Both men and women go about bare-chested. But, of course, at the end of the Feast, everyone returns to their own class and they become reserved once more, acknowledging nothing that may have occurred during the previous two days.
So, that has been a little insight into the deranged world of the Cairhienin. :-P
For your assignment to this lesson, you have two choices. I would like you to write a minimum of about 75 words about either the Great Game, or the City of Cairhien. Please use examples from the books, if possible.
Again, here are the links:
WoT Concordance - http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/2451/wotc.txt
Illustrated WoT Worldbook - http://www.fantasyalternative.org/wot/world/worldbook.htmlSaying: “Take what you want, and pay for it.”
Altara Tarabon
Tear
The Borderlands
Arad Doman and Murandy Illian and Mayene The Atha'an Miere The Ogier
