This is how we pray, we who are Servants of Naamah
I have been working, for the last month or so, on a compendium of all the information about the Night Court from the entire series. Yes, all. Yes, entire. It is now very long, rather detailed, and potentially extremely useful, especially for fanfic writers. To that end, I share it with you now. I've tried to use direct quotes or at least the original wording so as not to mislead anyone with my interpretations of JC's words. For most of the quotes, I have page numbers - for Dart thru Scion, page numbers refer to US paperbacks. For Justice and Mercy, they refer to US hardcovers.
I've edited my file of this to include the info from Naamah's Kiss, but I don't feel like going through and adding html tags and changing this entry. Therefore, the newly revised stuff is available here: http://www.terredange.net/library/houses_lib.htm
which is one part of a Kushielverse Library I maintain/am working on. There are forums too, and you should all join.
Each of the Thirteen Houses has its own marque-pattern (KD 155).
There are 300 adepts at least (KC 28) - which comes out to 20 to 25 per House?
To kneel abeyante means: head bowed, hands clasped before me (KD 81).
The Showing for newly dedicated Servants of Naamah is always the traditional pairing, one man and one woman (KD 80). Also, any ritual Showing is open to all the Thirteen Houses' adepts (KD 81).
Naamah's Hands - carved sculpture in adepts' rooms for patrons to leave patron gifts
As of Avatar, the Night Court can no longer set marque-prices for children sold into indenture (KA 49).
Mandrake and Valerian have smaller clientele than other Houses.
Tokens for the Houses appear to be round (ivory in Balm's case) disks with the 'insignia' - stylized flower/plant) of the House on them in relief - these insignia are also on the gates to the estates and are, if Gentian is any indication, related to the adepts' marques.
Favrielle's marque-price, in case it's needed for reference: "four thousand for her marque, and four thousand against the House's loss of her art and labor in the time she would have made it" (KC 90).
"By the tenets of the Night Court, of course, you (Favrielle) are forbidden to bear Eglantine's marque on your skin, as you have not, properly speaking, been engaged as a Servant of Naamah" (KC 91).
For the Houses themselves, I have tried to organize the information in such a way as to make it clear. Betimes I have faltered, but I think this is still useful. For 'canon', I've essentially listed the adjectives/'taglines' that others ascribe to the Houses; basically I've tried to capture the spirit of the House. For 'marque', I put details about the marques where we know them, and also information about other identifying marks of the House - livery, in most cases.
"Beneath the trappings of pleasure, these are Servants of Naamah, sworn to her service. When we indulge ourselves in the Night Court, we make reverence to Naamah in the ways we like best" (KJ 60).
Alyssum
motto: With Eyes Averted
canon: a little modesty, a little hesitation; "patrons fed their fancies on illusions of modesty - that which is rare is always prized" (KJ 43); shame is a spice; pleasure akin to the violent ones of Valerian House
beliefs: Naamah trembled to lay aside her modesty; "there are those among us who believe that Naamah trembled at what she did when first she lay with a mortal man - at the audacity of it, at the shame of it, at the glory of it" (KJ 47)
the House itself: deep courtyard lined by tall cypress trees, twin deeply recessed entries with high pointed arches (KJ 46); the entrances are separated by gender - a woman, robed and veiled, and a man in a long surcoat with a high collar (girls go in the left, men in the right); private salon for contracts and whatall, no commingling
assignation: patrons whisper their desire to the Second and are led one at a time into another room to choose adepts; adepts present themselves robed and veiled ... in sheer, nearly transparent linen, unveil and stand with eyes downcast; the adept asks for lamps to be extinguished, trembles, blushes, whispers to Imri all the things she wished him to do to her
adepts: Agnes Ramel is the Second of Alyssum when Imriel and Mavros visit
Mignon is the female adept Imriel chooses
notable moments: Alyssum adepts were robed and veiled as Yeshuite priest(esse)s at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque
Imriel wonders if patrons go to purge their own shame or to revel in that of the adepts.
Balm
motto: Rest And Be Soothed
canon: comfort and solace, gentle, healers, peaceful, trust, caught between empathy and desire, grave and joyful, tenderness
beliefs: Naamah came in compassion, to heal the pain in his soul
the House itself: Balm House is low and sprawling; reception salon arranged with carved screens into smaller areas, clusters of couches, hanging lamps, potted plants, a small fountain
assignation: she undresses him, anoints him with oil all over, he weeps
adepts: Eugenie's niece, Clory, studied with a masseur from Balm House - she then says Master Lugard said a raw apprentice wasn't fit to tend to Kushiel's Chosen, so maybe the Balm Adept was Master Lugard
Nathalie no Balm is Dowayne when Imriel goes in KS
Emmeline is the adept Nathalie chooses for Imriel (her Naamah's Hands is of gleaming wood)
"Here, there is healing and Naamah's grace." (KS 218)
Bryony
motto: Wealth Seeks Company
canon: shrewd, wealth is their specialty, financial acumen, greed, fueled by avarice and desire, carnival atmosphere
beliefs: Naamah made a good bargain of it; "it is a merchant's gift to know the secret desire of her client's heart" (this is from KA, but I've lost the page number)
marque: delicate tendrils of bryony climbed her spine, sprouting pale flowers above the spade-shaped leaves (KJ 56)
the House itself: three stories high, steep gables, every window lit, mullions adorned with ornate reliefs of bryony vine; receiving salon modelled after Hall of Games in the Palace - dice, cards, rhythmomachy, among others
assignation: Mavros tells the Dowayne what they seek to earn through a wager, and she names the terms of the bet - the hourglass, Imri, a forfeit if she wins
adepts: a Bryony adept was Denise Fleurais's (one of the delegates in Menekhet) mother
Janelle no Bryony is the Dowayne when Imri and Mavros visit
notable moments: Hyacinthe's mom's story - a patron paid Bryony House for the pleasure of seducing a Tsingani virgin; "Why are you crying?" ... "Was the victory worth the cost?" (KJ 59)
other information: wealthiest of the Thirteen Houses, only House whose adepts are willing to wager for their favors, an adept takes a bribe to see that Gillimas's cup is never empty, treasury renowned for being more secure than the palace's; first rule of Bryony's patrons is 'never wager against its Dowayne'
There are those for whom nothing is more titillating than money.
Camellia
motto: Without Fault Or Flaw
canon: perfection, punctilious, proud
beliefs: Naamah's perfection unveiled left the Persian king blind for a fortnight
adepts: Edmonde Noualt is the Dowayne during Phedre's training under Delaunay
his Second is a tall woman with a long fall of black hair and skin the color of new ivory
two adepts for the Showing Phedre and Alcuin watched: man with black hair (the Second's brother), woman a handsbreadth shorter than he with hair like an autumn tumbrel, even paler of skin
Daphne, a pale, flawless beauty Simon no Eglantine trysts with at the Midwinter Masque (MM)
other information: When Mavros is speculating on which House Sidonie went to, he thinks nothing less than perfection should suit a princess, but "she might not care to be reminded that her lineage renders her less than perfect in the eyes of Camellia House" (KJ 45).
There is no canon save perfection in this House ... both amply met the standards of their canon (KD 81).
Cereus
motto: All Loveliness Fades
canon: fragile transience, pale and exquisite, frail bloom and pallor, pale, swooning, unobtrusive grace, beauty of a most ephemeral nature, delicacy of conduct, taught to move like a swaying willow, limbs disposed to grace, heads high with pride, fragile and beautiful; Joscelin's appearance fits the physical canon [clear blue eyes (the color of a summer sky) and hair the color of a wheatfield at harvest (KD 255)]
beliefs: beauty is at its most poignant when Death holds poised to wither it; it is a mark of delicacy to find the stronger passions immodest; appreciation for the transient nature of life and beauty
marque: intricate patterns of pale green vines and night-blue flowers twining up her spine; a last blossom to shape the finial (KD 24); the livery of Cereus House is a deep twilight blue bearing a subtle gold cereus blossom
adepts: Miriam Bouscevre is the Dowayne when Phedre is born and adopted/bought
Ellyn, a girl Phedre's age, to become an adept here
Suriah, adept of Phedre's childhood, Winter Queen, Second to Dowayne Jareth
Jareth Moran, Second to Dowayne Miriam, sits on the cabinet for the Guild of the Servants of Naamah while Phedre is revolutioning
Jacinthe, a girl whose marque Cereus bought in Phedre's childhood
Donatien, a boy whose marque Cerues bought in Phedre's childhood
Sommelier, Second Assistant in the kitchen in Phedre's childhood
Cecilie Laveau-Perrin, adept under Dowayne Miriam, Phedre and Alcuin's teacher, widow of Antoine Perrin
Jean-Louis, the adept who 'entertains' Phedre at Melisande's fete
notable moments: Jareth Moran provides the 15 tokens for Phedre's Boys while he is Dowayne
other information: founded by Enediel Vintesoir, credited as founder of the Night Court; has always been First among the Houses: from it grew Night Court proper; first and greatest lesson we learn in Cereus House is silence; Dowayne has a seat on City Judiciary; hosts the Midwinter Masque; always supplies the Winter Queen and maintains that theme; they tell a story of Naamah's temptation of Cassiel (KD 512)
All beauty's transient, but I'm not one to ache at its passing - or at least not to relish the ache (Ti-Philippe). In Ysandre, Phedre sees "steel beneath a fragile bloom" (KD 211).
Dahlia
motto: Upright And Unbending
canon: brassy gold hair, reserve and solemn air, dignified, proud, haughty
beliefs: Naamah bestowed herself like a queen
adepts: Juliette, a girl Phedre's age, was to become an adept here
notable moments: "challenged Cereus's sovereignty" with cloth-of-gold theme at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque
Mavros think Sidonie wouldn't go here because "she's haughty enough as it is, she's not seek more of the same" (KJ 45)
Eglantine
motto: To Create Is To Live
canon: madcap genius; artists' House - players, poets, artists, musicians, dancers, and tumblers, and clothiers; limit to the acceptable number of freckles; repository of lore and learning; supports behavior in its children reckoned brazen in Cereus; know the art of telling tales as well as that of draping cloth
beliefs: Naamah charmed with the sweetness of her song
marque: green and gold livery for the adepts (KD 274); Phedre sees an apprentice "wearing the green and white of Eglantine House" (KC 40); adepts at Sidonie's 17th birthday wear green and gold ribbons twined in their hair
assignation: Eglantine adepts appear at all kinds of parties throughout the series: Phedre's fete for Hyacinthe, Sidonie's 17th birthday fete, and Imriel+Sidonie's wedding. Additionally, Eglantine stages/hosts a feast with dancers, tumblers, singers, and musicians for the Carthaginians in KM
adepts: composer of Passion of Naamah, Japheth no Eglantine-Vardennes, was born to a male Eglantine adept
Favrielle no Eglantine
Livia, Favrielle's apprentice
Roussillon no Eglantine - writer Phedre meets at Favrielle's (KC 56)
Moirethe Lereux - Dowayne when Phedre pays off Favrielle's marque, plays the harp, lacks the "madcap streak" of the rest of her House
Anselme, a male apprentice attending Moirethe when Phedre paid Favrielle's marque
master drummer, _____ Duval, had daughter Audine Duval (with an Ephesian dancing girl) who translated Phedre's Jebean scroll (the Khefra Neghast)
Simon no Eglantine, adept wearing satyr's mask that Imri meets on Longest Night, performs at Sidonie's 17th birthday fete
Dorian no Eglantine, an adept who travelled a year in Skaldia collecting myths and making sketches which he gathered into the book that Favrielle shows Phedre
notable moments: dressed as Tsingani at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque
other information: has a copy of Sarea's History of Namarre; adepts here have leave to design their own costumes for the new-made adepts' debut
"worth visiting for the poets and players alone"
Gentian
motto: Truth And Vision
canon: mystics, dreamers, all adepts trained to aid patrons in giving voice to night's visions
beliefs: Naamah was filled with a mystic purity of spirit
marque: mark of the House: gentian flower circumscribed by a full moon; marque of Gentian ... complete even to its moon-and-flower finial
assignation: bath with attendant apprentice and two House musicians, two apprentices dance for their pleasure, massage by young female adept while male lyrist plays, opium, sex while girl watches, sleep, woken by dream
adepts: Louvel, the priest who taught Phedre, earned his marque here - he also trained Nehailah, the priestess Imri met in Alba
the Dowayne (in KC) is tall man with greying hair and leaf-green eyes
Raphael Murain no Gentian, Phedre's adept, ash-brown hair to his waist and grey eyes, reminds her of Alcuin, becomes a Priest of Naamah by KJ
notable moments: Gentian House was masked as seers with opium censors at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque
other information: adepts take an oath to keep secret what they see in the dreams
Mystics and visionaries number among her adepts, and many of of them join the priesthood of Elua after their marques are made.
Heliotrope
motto: Thou And No Other
canon: ardent, devotion, adoring
beliefs: Naamah basked in love as in the sun
adepts: Felix Duchamel plays the Sun Prince the year that Imri goes to the Night Court at the Longest Night (MM)
notable moments: Mavros thinks Sidonie favors unwavering devotion and thus chose Heliotrope for her first assignation (KJ 45)
Adepts there will make you feel like the only man ever to touch their hearts.
Jasmine
motto: For Pleasure's Sake
canon: indolent and sensual, ivory skin is too pale for their canon, desire, sensuous, pure unadulterated sensuality
beliefs: Naamah lay with the Persian king for pleasure
the House itself: reception salon is an undulating space, full of semiprivate niches, thick Akkadian carpets, massive cushions, and fretted lamps
adepts: Liliane de Souverain (Phedre's mum, line ancient in Naamah's service)
Dowayne Jehan ___? in Phedre's childhood (KD 8)
Dowayne Yolande Caradas in KM
Marielle, the adept who helps Imriel get the jump on the Unseen Guildsman
Alain, a dusky adept at the Midwinter Masque when Imri attends as Diogenes (MM)
notable moments: Jasmine House flaunted the exotica of faraway lands- the young Second danced in a cloud of veils- at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque
other information: there is Bhodistani blood in the torrid lineage of Jasmine House; adepts will leave you limp as a dishrag, half drowned in the sweat of desire; Sidonie
actually chose Jasmine for her first assignation (nice try, Mavros) (KJ 45)
"Patrons shouldn't come to Jasmine House wine-sotted. They tire too quickly for us" (KM 102)
Mandrake
motto: Yield All
canon: sadism and domination, mastery, delightful wickedness
beliefs: Naamah chose her patrons like victims and whipped them to violent pleasures, leaving them sated and half-dead
notable moments: black velvet/silk and bronze masks (Court of Tartarus) at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque
Black velvet, like a moonless night, and silk like a black river under stars; bronze masks, horned and beaked, at once beautiful and grotesque.
Orchis
motto: Joy In Laughter
canon: bestowing joy in the act of worshipping Naamah; gaiety, laughter, a sense of sunlight, pleasure, merriment, lighthearted
beliefs: Naamah lay with the Persian king for a lark
adepts: Calantia, a girl Phedre's age, was to become an adept there
Mierette no Orchis, a former adept with her own salon, attends Alcuin's debut and later receives him as a birthday gift
notable moments: Orchis House had a stunning aquatic theme with mermaids and fantastic sea-beasts at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque; group of noblemen took Severio Stregazza here for lovemaking and merriment; the Dowayne coaxed a Tsingano fiddler into playing a lively tune at Phedre's fete for Hyacinthe
Cecilie bestowed Alcuin on Mierette, adorned in scarlet ribbons and nothing else... Mierette's laughter, I am told, rang from the rafters.
Valerian
motto: I Yield
canon: propensity to find pleasure in the extremity of pain and trained in the receiving thereof, atonement, sweet yielding, games of power; Imri sees pride in them, "they wanted to be challenged" (KS 346); singular pride, deep and untouchable
marque: a scrolling base of Valerian leaves etched on the small of her back, beginning to climb her spine (KS 349)
the House itself: long entrance warded by trees on either side; the Shahrizai maintain their own chamber here (their standing contract includes no maiming, no branding or flechettes, no scars unless agreed upon in separate contract beforehand)
assignation: Valerian's adepts present themselves, naked, bowing, eyes downcast; the adepts refuse to use clients' first names, calling them rather 'my lord' or 'my lady'
adepts: Jean-Baptise Marais is the Dowayne during Phedre's childhood
Didier Vascon is the Second during Phedre's training and Dowayne when Imri goes with the Shahrizai in KS
Sephira is the adept Imri gets involved with - her signale is "sunshine"
notable moments: Valerian appears in a hareem motif (Pasha's Dream) at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque; the Shahrizai mourned for Baudoin and Lyonette here
other information: lesson of the spiced candies
Phedre's view on Valerian: "Any spark of disobedience or rebellion had long been conditioned from the adepts of Valerian House; and how not, when their motto was, 'I yield'? Mighty Kushiel did not minister to the yielding, but to those who disobeyed and dared suffer the agonies of defeat." (KD 130)
Melisande's comments on Valerian adepts: "the others, who are trained to it from birth, like hounds cringing under the whip for a kind touch from their master's hand" (KD 320)
Delaunay's view on Valerian and its patrons: "whipping toy for ham-fisted tradesmen" (KD 360)
In short, everyone in Dart is incredibly snobby and contemptuous toward this House. Both Imriel and Mavros, though, see and acknowledge the pride of Valerian's adepts. I'm inclined to think that Phedre no Delaunay just skews the perceptions of those around her.
"These are Naamah's Servants, bound to her worship in their own way. And yes, they serve Kushiel, too, and find pleasure in it. No one is here against their will" (KS 344)
The notation (MM) stands for this.
(x-posted a little bit)
I've edited my file of this to include the info from Naamah's Kiss, but I don't feel like going through and adding html tags and changing this entry. Therefore, the newly revised stuff is available here: http://www.terredange.net/library/houses_lib.htm
which is one part of a Kushielverse Library I maintain/am working on. There are forums too, and you should all join.
Each of the Thirteen Houses has its own marque-pattern (KD 155).
There are 300 adepts at least (KC 28) - which comes out to 20 to 25 per House?
To kneel abeyante means: head bowed, hands clasped before me (KD 81).
The Showing for newly dedicated Servants of Naamah is always the traditional pairing, one man and one woman (KD 80). Also, any ritual Showing is open to all the Thirteen Houses' adepts (KD 81).
Naamah's Hands - carved sculpture in adepts' rooms for patrons to leave patron gifts
As of Avatar, the Night Court can no longer set marque-prices for children sold into indenture (KA 49).
Mandrake and Valerian have smaller clientele than other Houses.
Tokens for the Houses appear to be round (ivory in Balm's case) disks with the 'insignia' - stylized flower/plant) of the House on them in relief - these insignia are also on the gates to the estates and are, if Gentian is any indication, related to the adepts' marques.
Favrielle's marque-price, in case it's needed for reference: "four thousand for her marque, and four thousand against the House's loss of her art and labor in the time she would have made it" (KC 90).
"By the tenets of the Night Court, of course, you (Favrielle) are forbidden to bear Eglantine's marque on your skin, as you have not, properly speaking, been engaged as a Servant of Naamah" (KC 91).
For the Houses themselves, I have tried to organize the information in such a way as to make it clear. Betimes I have faltered, but I think this is still useful. For 'canon', I've essentially listed the adjectives/'taglines' that others ascribe to the Houses; basically I've tried to capture the spirit of the House. For 'marque', I put details about the marques where we know them, and also information about other identifying marks of the House - livery, in most cases.
"Beneath the trappings of pleasure, these are Servants of Naamah, sworn to her service. When we indulge ourselves in the Night Court, we make reverence to Naamah in the ways we like best" (KJ 60).
Alyssum
motto: With Eyes Averted
canon: a little modesty, a little hesitation; "patrons fed their fancies on illusions of modesty - that which is rare is always prized" (KJ 43); shame is a spice; pleasure akin to the violent ones of Valerian House
beliefs: Naamah trembled to lay aside her modesty; "there are those among us who believe that Naamah trembled at what she did when first she lay with a mortal man - at the audacity of it, at the shame of it, at the glory of it" (KJ 47)
the House itself: deep courtyard lined by tall cypress trees, twin deeply recessed entries with high pointed arches (KJ 46); the entrances are separated by gender - a woman, robed and veiled, and a man in a long surcoat with a high collar (girls go in the left, men in the right); private salon for contracts and whatall, no commingling
assignation: patrons whisper their desire to the Second and are led one at a time into another room to choose adepts; adepts present themselves robed and veiled ... in sheer, nearly transparent linen, unveil and stand with eyes downcast; the adept asks for lamps to be extinguished, trembles, blushes, whispers to Imri all the things she wished him to do to her
adepts: Agnes Ramel is the Second of Alyssum when Imriel and Mavros visit
Mignon is the female adept Imriel chooses
notable moments: Alyssum adepts were robed and veiled as Yeshuite priest(esse)s at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque
Imriel wonders if patrons go to purge their own shame or to revel in that of the adepts.
Balm
motto: Rest And Be Soothed
canon: comfort and solace, gentle, healers, peaceful, trust, caught between empathy and desire, grave and joyful, tenderness
beliefs: Naamah came in compassion, to heal the pain in his soul
the House itself: Balm House is low and sprawling; reception salon arranged with carved screens into smaller areas, clusters of couches, hanging lamps, potted plants, a small fountain
assignation: she undresses him, anoints him with oil all over, he weeps
adepts: Eugenie's niece, Clory, studied with a masseur from Balm House - she then says Master Lugard said a raw apprentice wasn't fit to tend to Kushiel's Chosen, so maybe the Balm Adept was Master Lugard
Nathalie no Balm is Dowayne when Imriel goes in KS
Emmeline is the adept Nathalie chooses for Imriel (her Naamah's Hands is of gleaming wood)
"Here, there is healing and Naamah's grace." (KS 218)
Bryony
motto: Wealth Seeks Company
canon: shrewd, wealth is their specialty, financial acumen, greed, fueled by avarice and desire, carnival atmosphere
beliefs: Naamah made a good bargain of it; "it is a merchant's gift to know the secret desire of her client's heart" (this is from KA, but I've lost the page number)
marque: delicate tendrils of bryony climbed her spine, sprouting pale flowers above the spade-shaped leaves (KJ 56)
the House itself: three stories high, steep gables, every window lit, mullions adorned with ornate reliefs of bryony vine; receiving salon modelled after Hall of Games in the Palace - dice, cards, rhythmomachy, among others
assignation: Mavros tells the Dowayne what they seek to earn through a wager, and she names the terms of the bet - the hourglass, Imri, a forfeit if she wins
adepts: a Bryony adept was Denise Fleurais's (one of the delegates in Menekhet) mother
Janelle no Bryony is the Dowayne when Imri and Mavros visit
notable moments: Hyacinthe's mom's story - a patron paid Bryony House for the pleasure of seducing a Tsingani virgin; "Why are you crying?" ... "Was the victory worth the cost?" (KJ 59)
other information: wealthiest of the Thirteen Houses, only House whose adepts are willing to wager for their favors, an adept takes a bribe to see that Gillimas's cup is never empty, treasury renowned for being more secure than the palace's; first rule of Bryony's patrons is 'never wager against its Dowayne'
There are those for whom nothing is more titillating than money.
Camellia
motto: Without Fault Or Flaw
canon: perfection, punctilious, proud
beliefs: Naamah's perfection unveiled left the Persian king blind for a fortnight
adepts: Edmonde Noualt is the Dowayne during Phedre's training under Delaunay
his Second is a tall woman with a long fall of black hair and skin the color of new ivory
two adepts for the Showing Phedre and Alcuin watched: man with black hair (the Second's brother), woman a handsbreadth shorter than he with hair like an autumn tumbrel, even paler of skin
Daphne, a pale, flawless beauty Simon no Eglantine trysts with at the Midwinter Masque (MM)
other information: When Mavros is speculating on which House Sidonie went to, he thinks nothing less than perfection should suit a princess, but "she might not care to be reminded that her lineage renders her less than perfect in the eyes of Camellia House" (KJ 45).
There is no canon save perfection in this House ... both amply met the standards of their canon (KD 81).
Cereus
motto: All Loveliness Fades
canon: fragile transience, pale and exquisite, frail bloom and pallor, pale, swooning, unobtrusive grace, beauty of a most ephemeral nature, delicacy of conduct, taught to move like a swaying willow, limbs disposed to grace, heads high with pride, fragile and beautiful; Joscelin's appearance fits the physical canon [clear blue eyes (the color of a summer sky) and hair the color of a wheatfield at harvest (KD 255)]
beliefs: beauty is at its most poignant when Death holds poised to wither it; it is a mark of delicacy to find the stronger passions immodest; appreciation for the transient nature of life and beauty
marque: intricate patterns of pale green vines and night-blue flowers twining up her spine; a last blossom to shape the finial (KD 24); the livery of Cereus House is a deep twilight blue bearing a subtle gold cereus blossom
adepts: Miriam Bouscevre is the Dowayne when Phedre is born and adopted/bought
Ellyn, a girl Phedre's age, to become an adept here
Suriah, adept of Phedre's childhood, Winter Queen, Second to Dowayne Jareth
Jareth Moran, Second to Dowayne Miriam, sits on the cabinet for the Guild of the Servants of Naamah while Phedre is revolutioning
Jacinthe, a girl whose marque Cereus bought in Phedre's childhood
Donatien, a boy whose marque Cerues bought in Phedre's childhood
Sommelier, Second Assistant in the kitchen in Phedre's childhood
Cecilie Laveau-Perrin, adept under Dowayne Miriam, Phedre and Alcuin's teacher, widow of Antoine Perrin
Jean-Louis, the adept who 'entertains' Phedre at Melisande's fete
notable moments: Jareth Moran provides the 15 tokens for Phedre's Boys while he is Dowayne
other information: founded by Enediel Vintesoir, credited as founder of the Night Court; has always been First among the Houses: from it grew Night Court proper; first and greatest lesson we learn in Cereus House is silence; Dowayne has a seat on City Judiciary; hosts the Midwinter Masque; always supplies the Winter Queen and maintains that theme; they tell a story of Naamah's temptation of Cassiel (KD 512)
All beauty's transient, but I'm not one to ache at its passing - or at least not to relish the ache (Ti-Philippe). In Ysandre, Phedre sees "steel beneath a fragile bloom" (KD 211).
Dahlia
motto: Upright And Unbending
canon: brassy gold hair, reserve and solemn air, dignified, proud, haughty
beliefs: Naamah bestowed herself like a queen
adepts: Juliette, a girl Phedre's age, was to become an adept here
notable moments: "challenged Cereus's sovereignty" with cloth-of-gold theme at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque
Mavros think Sidonie wouldn't go here because "she's haughty enough as it is, she's not seek more of the same" (KJ 45)
Eglantine
motto: To Create Is To Live
canon: madcap genius; artists' House - players, poets, artists, musicians, dancers, and tumblers, and clothiers; limit to the acceptable number of freckles; repository of lore and learning; supports behavior in its children reckoned brazen in Cereus; know the art of telling tales as well as that of draping cloth
beliefs: Naamah charmed with the sweetness of her song
marque: green and gold livery for the adepts (KD 274); Phedre sees an apprentice "wearing the green and white of Eglantine House" (KC 40); adepts at Sidonie's 17th birthday wear green and gold ribbons twined in their hair
assignation: Eglantine adepts appear at all kinds of parties throughout the series: Phedre's fete for Hyacinthe, Sidonie's 17th birthday fete, and Imriel+Sidonie's wedding. Additionally, Eglantine stages/hosts a feast with dancers, tumblers, singers, and musicians for the Carthaginians in KM
adepts: composer of Passion of Naamah, Japheth no Eglantine-Vardennes, was born to a male Eglantine adept
Favrielle no Eglantine
Livia, Favrielle's apprentice
Roussillon no Eglantine - writer Phedre meets at Favrielle's (KC 56)
Moirethe Lereux - Dowayne when Phedre pays off Favrielle's marque, plays the harp, lacks the "madcap streak" of the rest of her House
Anselme, a male apprentice attending Moirethe when Phedre paid Favrielle's marque
master drummer, _____ Duval, had daughter Audine Duval (with an Ephesian dancing girl) who translated Phedre's Jebean scroll (the Khefra Neghast)
Simon no Eglantine, adept wearing satyr's mask that Imri meets on Longest Night, performs at Sidonie's 17th birthday fete
Dorian no Eglantine, an adept who travelled a year in Skaldia collecting myths and making sketches which he gathered into the book that Favrielle shows Phedre
notable moments: dressed as Tsingani at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque
other information: has a copy of Sarea's History of Namarre; adepts here have leave to design their own costumes for the new-made adepts' debut
"worth visiting for the poets and players alone"
Gentian
motto: Truth And Vision
canon: mystics, dreamers, all adepts trained to aid patrons in giving voice to night's visions
beliefs: Naamah was filled with a mystic purity of spirit
marque: mark of the House: gentian flower circumscribed by a full moon; marque of Gentian ... complete even to its moon-and-flower finial
assignation: bath with attendant apprentice and two House musicians, two apprentices dance for their pleasure, massage by young female adept while male lyrist plays, opium, sex while girl watches, sleep, woken by dream
adepts: Louvel, the priest who taught Phedre, earned his marque here - he also trained Nehailah, the priestess Imri met in Alba
the Dowayne (in KC) is tall man with greying hair and leaf-green eyes
Raphael Murain no Gentian, Phedre's adept, ash-brown hair to his waist and grey eyes, reminds her of Alcuin, becomes a Priest of Naamah by KJ
notable moments: Gentian House was masked as seers with opium censors at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque
other information: adepts take an oath to keep secret what they see in the dreams
Mystics and visionaries number among her adepts, and many of of them join the priesthood of Elua after their marques are made.
Heliotrope
motto: Thou And No Other
canon: ardent, devotion, adoring
beliefs: Naamah basked in love as in the sun
adepts: Felix Duchamel plays the Sun Prince the year that Imri goes to the Night Court at the Longest Night (MM)
notable moments: Mavros thinks Sidonie favors unwavering devotion and thus chose Heliotrope for her first assignation (KJ 45)
Adepts there will make you feel like the only man ever to touch their hearts.
Jasmine
motto: For Pleasure's Sake
canon: indolent and sensual, ivory skin is too pale for their canon, desire, sensuous, pure unadulterated sensuality
beliefs: Naamah lay with the Persian king for pleasure
the House itself: reception salon is an undulating space, full of semiprivate niches, thick Akkadian carpets, massive cushions, and fretted lamps
adepts: Liliane de Souverain (Phedre's mum, line ancient in Naamah's service)
Dowayne Jehan ___? in Phedre's childhood (KD 8)
Dowayne Yolande Caradas in KM
Marielle, the adept who helps Imriel get the jump on the Unseen Guildsman
Alain, a dusky adept at the Midwinter Masque when Imri attends as Diogenes (MM)
notable moments: Jasmine House flaunted the exotica of faraway lands- the young Second danced in a cloud of veils- at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque
other information: there is Bhodistani blood in the torrid lineage of Jasmine House; adepts will leave you limp as a dishrag, half drowned in the sweat of desire; Sidonie
actually chose Jasmine for her first assignation (nice try, Mavros) (KJ 45)
"Patrons shouldn't come to Jasmine House wine-sotted. They tire too quickly for us" (KM 102)
Mandrake
motto: Yield All
canon: sadism and domination, mastery, delightful wickedness
beliefs: Naamah chose her patrons like victims and whipped them to violent pleasures, leaving them sated and half-dead
notable moments: black velvet/silk and bronze masks (Court of Tartarus) at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque
Black velvet, like a moonless night, and silk like a black river under stars; bronze masks, horned and beaked, at once beautiful and grotesque.
Orchis
motto: Joy In Laughter
canon: bestowing joy in the act of worshipping Naamah; gaiety, laughter, a sense of sunlight, pleasure, merriment, lighthearted
beliefs: Naamah lay with the Persian king for a lark
adepts: Calantia, a girl Phedre's age, was to become an adept there
Mierette no Orchis, a former adept with her own salon, attends Alcuin's debut and later receives him as a birthday gift
notable moments: Orchis House had a stunning aquatic theme with mermaids and fantastic sea-beasts at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque; group of noblemen took Severio Stregazza here for lovemaking and merriment; the Dowayne coaxed a Tsingano fiddler into playing a lively tune at Phedre's fete for Hyacinthe
Cecilie bestowed Alcuin on Mierette, adorned in scarlet ribbons and nothing else... Mierette's laughter, I am told, rang from the rafters.
Valerian
motto: I Yield
canon: propensity to find pleasure in the extremity of pain and trained in the receiving thereof, atonement, sweet yielding, games of power; Imri sees pride in them, "they wanted to be challenged" (KS 346); singular pride, deep and untouchable
marque: a scrolling base of Valerian leaves etched on the small of her back, beginning to climb her spine (KS 349)
the House itself: long entrance warded by trees on either side; the Shahrizai maintain their own chamber here (their standing contract includes no maiming, no branding or flechettes, no scars unless agreed upon in separate contract beforehand)
assignation: Valerian's adepts present themselves, naked, bowing, eyes downcast; the adepts refuse to use clients' first names, calling them rather 'my lord' or 'my lady'
adepts: Jean-Baptise Marais is the Dowayne during Phedre's childhood
Didier Vascon is the Second during Phedre's training and Dowayne when Imri goes with the Shahrizai in KS
Sephira is the adept Imri gets involved with - her signale is "sunshine"
notable moments: Valerian appears in a hareem motif (Pasha's Dream) at Phedre's first Midwinter Masque; the Shahrizai mourned for Baudoin and Lyonette here
other information: lesson of the spiced candies
Phedre's view on Valerian: "Any spark of disobedience or rebellion had long been conditioned from the adepts of Valerian House; and how not, when their motto was, 'I yield'? Mighty Kushiel did not minister to the yielding, but to those who disobeyed and dared suffer the agonies of defeat." (KD 130)
Melisande's comments on Valerian adepts: "the others, who are trained to it from birth, like hounds cringing under the whip for a kind touch from their master's hand" (KD 320)
Delaunay's view on Valerian and its patrons: "whipping toy for ham-fisted tradesmen" (KD 360)
In short, everyone in Dart is incredibly snobby and contemptuous toward this House. Both Imriel and Mavros, though, see and acknowledge the pride of Valerian's adepts. I'm inclined to think that Phedre no Delaunay just skews the perceptions of those around her.
"These are Naamah's Servants, bound to her worship in their own way. And yes, they serve Kushiel, too, and find pleasure in it. No one is here against their will" (KS 344)
The notation (MM) stands for this.
(x-posted a little bit)