Chapter: At Home

Coombs are valleys eroded into the inner face of the Sacred Wall. These are the many indentations that can be seen in the model of Osrakum. The diagrams above show cross-sections of the Sacred Wall showing coombs and how they interact with the water of the Skymere

The Great and the Lesser Chosen have their palaces and gardens built into these coombs. Only the highest Houses of the Great possess a whole coomb to themselves

Coomb Suth is Carnelian’s ancestral home. The map shows the palaces set into the floor of the coomb. Carved high into the Sacred Wall above the floor of the coomb are the upper palaces or Eyries where the Suth escape the summer heat

The lower palaces of House Suth are built on a curl of land forming the floor of a semi-circular coomb or valley that is open to the Skymere along its south-eastern edge. An idea of how large is this domain can be gleaned by comparing it with the ‘nose’ like structure, shown in the bottom right hand corner—the Hold drawn to the same scale

Much of the available land in the coomb is built upon. The greater part is taken up by an intricate complex of halls and courts organized to provide interlocking spaces that become increasingly more private as one moves towards their centre. There are also public spaces and those dedicated to each of the various lineages as marked. Also shown is the Forbidden House where the women of House Suth are sequestered

The coomb is reached by means of either the Visitor’s Quay, the Private Quay—used exclusively by the Chosen members of the House—and another quay that is used by members of the household, and to receive goods and materials

The north-eastern part of the coomb is taken up with buildings given over to the household and the many artisans required to run and maintain so many structures. A barracks for the tyadra is located beside the court through which the palace complex is entered. Also shown is the beginning of the stairs that lead up to the Eyries

The carved pebble beach—where Carnelian comes ashore in The Chosen—is shown, as well as the garden he crosses to enter the palaces

The Eyries are summer palaces set high into the Sacred Wall where the Suth can escape the summer heat. It consists of a series of ‘stratum’, set one above the other, and connected by stairs [shown as wiggly lines] cut into the rock face. Each stratum is made up of numerous caverns carved into the Sacred Wall

The Suth Eyries are typical of those cut into the coombs of other Houses. Strata reflect the power structures in the House, so that the first ones reached provide the barracks for the tyadra; climbing higher, is to reach the accommodation for ever higher-ranking lineages

The Suth Forbidden House is located most remotely of all