Date: Unknown - between June 3, 1994 and January 11, 1995
Crafter's rank: Apprentice Master
A note about this commission
This was specially commissioned by Ieyela for her weyrmate S'riv, and
was a truly huge undertaking. The bed is completely covered when one
draws all the curtains, and fabric is also draped across the top of the
four posters, completely cutting a sleeper off from the world outside.
In addition, the bed was coded with a glowbasket, so that you could flood
light into the enclosure or close the basket to be shrouded in darkness.
Different descriptions were written for both light and dark
circumstances.
Credits
Many thanks go to Journeyrank Starsmith Aviat, presently Craftsecond, for
his help in researching constellations for the view of the night sky.
Description
Basic Description
Once inside the bed, with the curtains drawn, an amazing sight greets
your eyes! Each drapery shows a picturesque scene - like a tapestry, but
with intricate dyeing, handworked painting, and detailed embroidery
instead of the warped and wefted threads of weaving. The total image
gives the effect of being on an Istan beach, lying in a hammock strung
between four fruit trees.
Blanket
Looking down at the sable coloured blanket, you see that intricate
knotwork has been sewn over it in a criss-cross pattern of straw-coloured
cotton. The look - and feel, as you run your hands over it - is one of a
hammock, strung loosely between the four bedposts, perfect for lying
lazily on a sunny or starry beach.
Head of the Bed
Light
Turning around to face the head of the bed, your eyes are greeted by a
view of a tropical rainforest on the edge of the beach. The sand
stretches back behind your hammock for a little ways before meeting with
a few sparsely spaced trees. The foliage increases and thickens as you
follow the image deeper into the jungle. A symphony of primordial greens
has been hand-painted upon the fabric with exquisite detail and skill. A
few fruit trees are visible here and there, the succulence of the orange
and red fruits jumping out at you with their ripeness. The ground is
littered with thriving green ferns and bamboo grass. The prickly spines
of needlethorn plants can be seen dotted about the forest floor, the
creamy blossom eyes of the ging plant always nearby. Situated in random
patches are trees bearing the unmistakable five-petaled yellow fellis
blossoms. The greenery is so alive and vivid that you can almost smell
its wild spices.
Dark
The scene at the head of the bed is barely visible in the near total
darkness. You are able to make out the sand stretching back behind your
hammock for a little ways before meeting with the dark outlines of a few
sparsely spaced trees. The foliage increases and darkens as you follow
the image deeper into the jungle. At night, the forest is intense, almost
frightening. Very little detail can be seen, but weird shapes seem to
jump out at you - likely just harmless plants distorted by the lack of
light, but eerie just the same. A shiver runs through you as you spot the
creamy blossom eyes of the ging plant, one of the few images which catch
the light. They seem to jump out at you with an uncanny brightness. For a
moment they look like several pairs of eyes peering out from the dark
recesses of the forest. Finally, the eerie sensation of looking at the
scene becomes too unsettling, and you turn away.
Foot of the Bed
Light
Towards the foot of the bed lies the beach, with its warm black Istan
sands. Circling the bay, the clear blue-green waters wash up as white
foamy waves. The rippling tides have been painted onto the fabric so
vividly that you can almost see the waters rising and receding in their
endless caress of the shore. Moving further from the shallows of the
beach, your eyes pick out the brightly coloured forms of fingertails
leaping above the crests of the waves. Their whippy tails are sending out
light sprays of droplets, which sprinkle down onto the surface of the
waters. The focus of the piece, however, lies further out towards the
watery horizon. A great Tillek Three-Master travels west upon the waves,
its triangular sails billowing out as they hold fast against their battle
with the wind. Her hulk has been painted a dark midnight blue, the colour
a sharp contrast against the bright waters sparkling with silvery threads
in the day's sunshine. Although not too many details can be made out from
your faraway position on the shore, the carving of a gold dragon's neck
and head can be seen curving up proudly at the prow. Dark dots up and
down the deck give evidence of the ship's crew. You are almost tempted to
wave a greeting before you recall with a start that the scene is merely a
picture on your bedcurtains.
Dark
Towards the foot of the bed lies the beach, calm and serenely beautiful
in the darkness of evening. The waves pause in their frozen scene of
lapping up upon the silent shore. In the reduced light, the clear
blue-green waters of day are a deep, alluring green, circling the bay
with their delicately painted waves. Moving further from the shallows of
the beach, your eyes pick out the dim forms of fingertails leaping above
the crests of the waves. Their whippy tails must be spraying droplets out
onto the surface of the waters, but the light is not good enough to be
able to tell. Further out towards the watery horizon is the inky shape of
a Tillek Three-Master, travelling west. Its white triangular sails stand
out against the dark waters, billowing as they hold fast against their
battle with the wind. Although nearly no details can be made out through
the darkness and from your faraway position on the shore, the silhouette
of a carved dragon's neck and head can be seen curving proudly up at the
prow.
Left Curtain
Light
To the east, the beach continues into the distance, the black drifts of
sand painted with increasingly fainter detail the farther back your eyes
travel. Standing out against the dark shore is the immediate object of
your attention. His hide outlined in delicate threads, the brilliant blue
firelizard has evidently flown in from the west, as his frozen position
in the scene indicates he is moving away from you. His neck arches down,
as if searching along the shoreline, perhaps for food, since his tiny
claws are extended and at the ready. Beyond him, further east, the beach
stretches out before blurring into the lush greens of the Istan forests.
Rising majestically above them is a great half-peak volcano which can
only be Ista Weyr. Its giant jagged fingers reach up in their inky
blackness towards the clear blue sky. Above the bowl are painted half a
dozen or so small dots of colour, most blue and brown, with one brilliant
green higher than all the rest. Your breath catches momentarily in your
throat as you realize you are witnessing a dragonflight from your remote
position.
Dark
The view along the eastern shore is peaceful at this time of night. The
sands stretch out to your left, looking almost smoky in the darkness.
What little detail you can make out is lost the further back your eyes
travel. A dark, oddly formed shape stands out upon the shore. Upon closer
examination you see that it is a firelizard, his blue hide dim without
much light to illumnate it. He has evidently flown in from the west, as
his frozen position in the scene indicates he is moving away from you.
His neck arches down, as if searching along the shoreline, perhaps for
food, since his dark claws are extended and at the ready. Beyond him,
further east, the beach blurs into the inky blackness of the Istan
forests. Rising majestically from their depths is a great shadowy shape -
a half-peak volcano which can only be Ista Weyr. Its giant jagged fingers
reach up sharply against the greying sky. Situated above the bowl, barely
visible, a number of small dots have been painted, their colours
indistinguishable in the reduced light. Presumably they comprise a group
of dragons returning after a long day of duties and sweeps.
Right Curtain
Light
As you turn your head to the right, a most amazing sight greets your
eyes. Further along the eastern beach, a clutch of firelizard eggs is
halfway through hatching! Brightly painted firelizards are everywhere,
their hides outlined with delicate embroidery as they flit this way and
that. A brown swooping in from the south holds clutched in his talons a
squirming fingertail to feed the voracious hatching fledglings. Greens
and blues are diving every which way in a frenzied chaos of feeding.
Several bronzes hover in the air, their wings stretched open, ready to
protect, and their heads raised high in trills of welcome. One
spectacular gold beauty soars above the entire scene, the golden threads
of her hide sparkling as the light of the glows hits them. Below all the
adults on the shore are the eggs, many of them hatched, the shards strewn
across the area. Many of the eggs are half-buried in the sands, wisely
placed by the solicitous gold. One half-visible gleaming pink egg makes
you chuckle for a moment as you are reminded of one of the minor holders,
a pompous bald-headed man. About ten small hatchlings have already broken
free of their confining shells. Their tiny bodies have been painted so
exquisitely that their hides look truly moist, and you can almost hear
the piteous creels from their wide open mouths.
Dark
A multitude of weird shapes meets your eyes. You blink in confusion until
your brain begins to recognize the images, and the view takes on meaning.
Further along the western beach in the murky darkness of evening, a
clutch of firelizards is halfway through hatching! The creatures are
everywhere, the darkness barely allowing you to pick out the individual
colours of their hides. A brown swooping in from the south appears to
have disfigured talons, before you realize he is grasping a fingertail
with which to feed the hatchlings. Greens and blues are diving every
which way in a chaos of feeding. Several bronzes hover in the air, their
wings outstretched in protection, their heads raised high with trills of
welcome. The queen soars above all the others, her golden hide the
brightest and most visible in the dim light. Below on the shore are the
eggs, the shards of those already hatched strewn across the area. Many of
the eggs are half-buried in the sands, lightly coloured enough that you
can make out their rounded curves against the dark shore. About ten small
hatchlings have already broken free, heads upturned towards the adults.
You can almost hear the piteous creels from their wide open mouths.
Top Canopy
Light
The top canopy of the bed is the bright, radiant blue of a clear summer's
day. Barely a cloud can be seen, except for thin, translucent drifts
wandering noncommitally across the section of fabric near the foot of the
bed. Shadings and tints of blue have been applied here and there upon the
material, lending depth to the view. Faint washes of palest yellow have
been painted near the head of the bed to give the illusion of bright,
cheerful rays, so visually convincing that you find yourself squinting
into the imagined sunlight. The day is clear and fair, just perfect for
lying peacefully in a hammock on a warm beach. You can almost feel the
reassuring warmth of the sun beaming down on you in the face of such a
perfect sky.
Dark
Turning your head upwards, you notice that the bright blue of the top
canopy has darkened almost to black in the reduced light of the glows.
Into this inkiness peep many twinkling pinpoints of light. Dozens of tiny
holes have been cut into the fabric of the canopy to create a starry sky,
invisible when glowlight is flooding the small enclosure, but letting in
little sparkles of light from outside the bed when darkness engulfs the
area. As you peer up at the view, you begin to realize that the stars
have been cut in such patterns that they truly resemble the night sky.
Across to your right, at the northwestern corner of the canopy, shine the
familiar constellations of the Mapper's Quill and the Mug, five of the
fourteen stars in the Mug cut wider so that they shine brighter. The most
strikingly fashioned constellation of all, however, is the Dragon's Eye
directly above you. These stars are outlined with silvery thread which
sparkles now and then in certain tricks of the light which shines
through. A cluster of them forms almost a circle, and a double binary of
four stars twinkles brightly in the centre. The metallic threads make the
Eye seem almost to wink as you gaze up at it.
