“Let’s see…Cobalt Dragon” I said as I clicked the blue arrow, showing a badge edged in silver with a figure-eight coiled dragon against a blue backing. The pathway faded as the two panels formed again showing a very traditionally beautiful Chinese man in traditional clothing of the era, that being the 20s, all in shades of blue, though it seemed a little be more so towards…feminine styling: a cheongsam like blouse of cobalt with long sleeves that belled out huge, high collar tucked into wide legged black trousers and wrapped around the midsection with a silver band, pale skin and long black hair in a knotted braid down their chest, no brows with a small black ornamental tattoo from the bridge up to the widow’s peak, softly fanning out as it went up his forehead, upward flicked eyes in a black-red tone edged in softly smoked out red shadow, slightly pointy ears adorned in silver jewelry sharpening and lengthening the point with trailing crystals, a hand raised showing those nail covers royalty wore, long and silver adorned with dragons and sapphires with black nails below. “Bo Long…the last of the four original founders, fleeing from poverty in China…he found himself in the fold and founded…Cobalt Dragon house. Charismatic and empathetic, realistic and peaceful…passionate, but entitled…pessimistic and overambitious…selfish and gruff. Qualities that many would equate much more so to a storybook dragon than a person, but that is how people described Bo Long. The scholars, the scientists, the readers and learns…those ever on the pursuit of learning, growing and never letting progress stop…there they find themselves in Cobalt Dragon.” I read before the panels faded out as the house came into view.
The house was not what I really expected, whereas the others were almost detached Brownstones, townhouses without the shared wall. This house was the same height, three stories, but an elaborate and gorgeous pagoda; pale stone walls adorned with cobalt dyed wood adornments and elaborate dragons coiled around it, wrap around porched on each floor with thin stone pillars painted a vibrant and rather shocking neon blue color with dragons in hundreds coiling down them, highly pitched sweeping roofs with upturned corners with adornments off the corners wrapped in rose vines and other climbing plants. The previous three were square buildings with little projections or sunken in spots, Cobalt Dragon is octagonal making it seem far larger than the others despite the size it was the same size and like the others, three distinct trees grew in a triangular fashion around it. I’m guessing these trees have some kind of significance, maybe the founders brought them here? Three gingko trees grew in glowing yellow around the blue structure.
“Not really my fit.” I said, “Seems like the nerd house” I whispered as I slid my laptop forward and slid onto my stomach as I backed out before turning to the other side of the plaza. “Let’s see, number 5…Violet Hawk.” I added as I clicked the purple arrow. The same fade to a panel of information and a photo of the founder which was still colorized like the previous, but the woman depicted in it was in very ceremonial looking dress of some form of indigenous person, I’m not that astute to the differences in dress, so I couldn’t tell. She was tall, rather lean, but broadly shouldered with rich tanned skin and rather short cut dark hair with an ornate silver band with beads of various precious stones, but two extremely long pieces that hung past her knees, dressed in a simple long dress, but elaborately decorated overtop with the ceremonial looking pieces: ornately woven and patterned textile of some form of woolen material, richly colored depicting feathers along the bulk of cream colored material, softly fringed edges and her hands softly folded in front of her stomach where an ornately woven band was wrapped, the main piece she had one seemed almost…poncho like in its structure. “Calfuray, the founder of Violet Hawk. Born in Chile, she fled to the US when fire claimed her home with the Mapuche people. Seeking to keep her people’s history alive and well, she found herself amongst the other founders and found Violet Hawk. The house of historians, the protectors and keepers. As warm-hearted as they are spiteful, as mature as they are clumsy, as courageous as they are overzealous and as educated as they are invisible. The home in warm and welcoming to those who wish to keep the history known and learned.” The badge that had been shown was a bronze edge with a purple back and a hawk depicted with wings spread.
The house that came into view was the same height as the others, but the walls seemed to be taller than the others, like double-height walls, but still tree stories. Elongated widely stretched windows that wrapped around the house along with eggplant painted siding, white wooden pillars framed the porches, white made the trim and adornments, black softly sloped shingled roof and lots of hanging plants, ornate decorations of bronze and feathery or bird shaped adornments. The oddest aspect was the fact that the front door while double…was triangular, thick wood edged in a frame of sculpted bronze feathers, a matching hawk mounted above the point and framed in hanging woven artwork. The three trees that grew in the same triangular fashion were ones I did not recognize, darkly barked with white blooms.
“Nope”
I went back to the plaza before clicking the stark white arrow, the badge that showed had a bronze edge as well, but a white back with a profile full body rabbit showing. The figure that came into view was in a beautiful looking and rather richly colored orange sari adorned with white flowers and gold, rich tanned skin with cleanly swept back black hair with a little makeup, nose piercing and a scarf draped atop her head covering the bulk of her hair with a jewelry piece hanging over her forehead and elaborate henna covering in her hands in sprawling designs of red. “Shashi Patil, founder of the White Rabbit house: the house of protectors, those who shield everyone from the things that harm, hurt or break, of the hopeful and the kind-hearted. Known for their enthusiasm, their athleticism, their love of adventure, their loyalty and always being good natured, White Rabbit members have the tendency to be a bit moody, timid, meek, absent-minded or self-doubting.” I read before the picture faded again.
The house that came into view was about the same size of three stories, but with taller walls than the first three, but not as tall as Violet Hawk, covered in scalloped edged wide siding painted neon white, ornately carved white wooden pillars, white painted shingled roofs and visible white wooden framing like the others, massive amounts of big windows, the same porch and small projections and things of all glass like greenhouses, white roses wrapped around the pillars and other climbing plants crawled along the matching white lattice and trellis around the house almost forming curtains around the wrap around porch, three dark deep rich brown trees stood close with big full canopies and the large front door was all metal and glass, flanked by rabbit statues with a rabbit figurehead over the center.
“No…onto the serpent.” I said as I clicked the arrows to go back before clicking the gray arrow.
Comments (2)
See all