Culture

As a people, the Cairhienin seem stern and unyielding, preferring that their surroundings adhere to strictly ordered aesthetics rather than to natural chaos (they are, for example, fond of dark colors, and of angles). At the same time, they thrive on subtlety and intrigue, using misdirection and the art of hidden meanings to gain status and power. To them, nothing is as it seems; everything holds a deeper meaning, every action has a hidden motive. They are constant and consummate players of the Great Game.

The Game-- Daes Dae'mar-- is thus the key to understanding the Cairhienin mind. All members of noble Houses are involved in the politics of the Game from birth, and thus must learn the arts of subtlety and misdirection; nothing about the nobility is ever spontaneous. Every aspect of behaviour, dress, decor, and even architecture is very carefully ordered. The Great Game has even leaked downwards into the servant classes, who play their own version of it between themselves, and attempt to stay neutral in (or, at least, ignorant of) the machinations of their masters.

The upper classes' almost anachronistic desire for order and control of their environment can be seen most clearly in the capitol city of Cairhien; built on the site of the ancient city of Al'cair'rahienallen, the city is laid out in a precise grid pattern within a perfect square, each street running arrow-straight despite the hills. The only exception to all of this is the Foregate, a warren just outside the gates of zigzagging mud streets and ramshackle wooden buildings begun as a series of market villages but now stretching around three-fourths of the city walls.

Inhabitants of the Foregate differ quite a bit from their upper-class neighbors inside the city. Rather than dressing in somber colors, Foregators dress as brightly as possible and have often been compared, for their dress, to Tinkers, turning the Foregate into a riot of color. Foregate is a dangerous place, rife with violence and poverty, but many non-Cairhienin consider it to be, in its own way, healthier.

The dress code for the upper classes is much more reserved. Cairhienin are shorter and paler than Andorans, and the dark colors they prefer thus provide contrast. Commonly, they wear coats and dresses of black or dark blue or green, the darkness relieved only by narrow horizontal slashes of color across the chest and body, and dark ivory lace at throat and wrists. The number of slashes indicates the rank of the wearer, while the color indicates the House; a High Seat or other high ranking noble might have slashes from collar to hem, while a lower ranked noble might have a few slashes across the chest.

The only time Cairhienin reserve breaks is on the Feast of Lights, celebrated on the last day of Danu (shortest day of the year) and the first day of Taisham (first day of the new year). For two days all Cairhienin propriety is gone, as well as all barriers between commoners and nobles; the people seem almost determined to make up for a year of careful etiquette with two days of wild abandon. On this holiday, any man can kiss any woman, and any woman any man; as a result, it is common to see nobles and commoners sporting together in various states of undress. Noblewomen are often seen with their hair piled high, as always, but themselves bare to the waist beneath their cloaks; common women sometimes abandon any covering above the waist except their hair. At the end of the Feast, everyone goes back to acting as before, with no repercussions from anything that might have occured, and no acknowledgement that anything did.
Top

Recent Events

Cairhien is currently experiencing what is in many ways its most prosperous time; despite the nation's reduction in size since its founding some seven hundred years ago, the Silk Path has enriched Cairhien and its ruling Houses (especially House Saighan, which owns the land closest to the Dragonwall and invested early) beyond what had previously ever been imagined.

As a result of this new wealth, Cairhien has seen a new opportunity to reclaim the land which once belonged to it, pushing its northern border further towards Tar Valon and worrying at the eastern flank of Andor. Relations with Andor are strained; both countries have been sending patrols to the border. Cairhien has found, in its new power over trade, an excellent way of extracting what it wants from other nations, but this, as well as the nation's wealth, has caused a great deal of resentment and jealousy. International relations are thus more delicate than they were previously, and a great deal hangs in the balance.

Inside the country itself, Daes Dae'mar rages as strongly as ever. The current ruling House, Taborwin, is relatively weak, managing to keep a grasp on the throne only through cunning and compromise with stronger Houses. Saighan has profited the most from the Silk Path and managed to make a marriage to the ruling House of Andor; as a result, it finds itself in a powerful but dangerous position, envied by the other Cairhienin Houses. Damodred especially, one of the oldest bastions of power and money in the nation, may have designs on Saighan's health, as well as on Taborwin's, the House which took the throne Damodred considers its birthright.
Top

Wanted

OOC: The main contact person for military plots within Cairhien. Must work closely with Zosma to coordinate these.

Aside from these little character sketches, we have tons of openings for nobles, their supporters and more! Check the Factions listing for more ideas, or consider the following: