[Location] The Bay of the South Winds

[Colombina]

The Bay of the South Winds "To be a South Winder is to know cruelty and bounty; immensity and cramped space; Laviku and Dira. In sum, the sea." Bahhet, Head of the South Winds Ever the pragmatists, the dwelling of the South Winds is built more like a school than a home. Its coastal location and stunning view partially redeem its lack of luxury, but it is largely considered the worst place for noble parties. Children's bedrooms are built to resemble the cramped quarters of an Eyktol ship. Beds are bunks or hammocks. Desks and shelves are built into the walls or pressed against it, and all worldly goods are stuffed in trunks. Until a South is twelve, rooms are shared. For adult members, the rooms are larger and connect to a bath, but the cozy quality remains. All meals are held in a single dining hall over a long wooden table with benches and a chair at the head for Bahhet. Barring special occasions, members are seated according to generation then rank. Flouting these rules, or any in the House, results in swabbing duty or for more egregious offenses, a lowering in rank or flogging by rope. Only one room, a great hall that opens towards the estuary and balcony is meant for entertaining. Its floor is a mosaic of blue and green, the changing colors creating a glass tide, and the room's walls are hung with old sails painted to match. The real glory of the house is its workshops and its private dock. Personal vessels known as, Mesedjet, line the dock. Each one belonging to a family unit within the noble House. Smaller boats made of bundled reed sit on the dock in piles or bob in the water, ready to be rowed around the harbor. In winter, the longest of these reed boats are decorated for the Swan Parade. In the highest room of the house is a crude observatory. The ceiling is painted indigo and opalgloams are set in the ceiling to resemble constellations. A rare seeing lens is used to catch a better glimpse of the night sky through a window. This room is a favorite, followed by the cartographer's chamber. The cartographer's chamber is given over to maps. While not as wondrous as the map room in the Librum, its floor has been lovingly painted with the continent of Mizahar. Small figures of ships are pushed across the map, showing the best routes and supposed locations of South Wind vessels and members at sea. There is no furniture in the room, and the walls have pages of Kenabelle_Wright's seminal work pinned to it with old daggers. The rest of the seven working rooms are offices to discuss business and keep ledgers, or studios for lessons and practical applications. The more substantial parts of a South Wind's education are conducted in Zeltiva. Bahhet's private office is, of course, the "Captain's Quarters" and entered only with an invitation. The roof of the building is reserved for women. Traditionally, they would walk its edges and stare out to sea in hopes of seeing the ships that bore their husbands and children. While the original purpose remains, it has become more of a sanctuary for the women of the house. It is here the women broker the necessary social aspects of nobility and create tasks even Bahhet is afraid to refuse. Like the ships they possess, the home of the South Winds is run with order and an eye towards tradition.