Winterborne — Places

Winterborne

Realm

Also known as the realm, Six Northern Kingdoms

• Bk 1The realm across Albethea from the Ordinary Realm; the Six Northern Kingdoms.
• Bk 1Has a summer, but the snow barely melts; a purple haze crosses the stars at night.
• Bk 1From the air: snow-buried rivers, hills and forests, scattered homes with smoking chimneys, under dense gray skies.

Centurion

Winterborne

• Bk 1Seat of the Throne of Bones and the Icehearts.
• Bk 1Vendis keeps bar in its northeast corner.
• Bk 1A castle is carved at the top of a mountain, with snow-covered peaks behind it.
• Bk 1Cobblestone streets and courtyards lined with houses, stores and tall iron lampposts burning blue flames, even by day.
• Bk 1Merchants sell spices, perfume and strange fruit from wooden stalls; the air smells of sweat, smoke and citrus.
• Bk 1Horse-drawn carriages with iron-rimmed wheels rattle over cobblestones; there are no engines or wires.
• Bk 1Residents wear cloaks, jerkins with silver and gold thread, tailored coats, structured gowns and gold jewelry.
• Bk 1The street bends toward a cliff, where a narrow road climbs to a wide gate in a dark stone wall guarded by knights.
• Bk 1Its northeast corner, on a mountainside past the palace woods, glows with clusters of golden light; humans, elves and magical folk live there together.
• Bk 1Narrow streets of houses with terra-cotta roofs and walls mostly red, turquoise or purple; some hang Tryorian sovereignty flags.
• Bk 1A stone courtyard at the woods' edge holds tents selling drinks, fruit and grilled meat, and a street stage built between two houses.
• Bk 1A broken statue stands there: a headless robed torso, one handless arm outstretched, the other holding a snake's head with silver-glowing eyes.
• Bk 1Elves live in lit districts on the outer mountainside, pushed to the city's outskirts even before the Dark Rebellion.
• Bk 1Curls around the base of a jagged-peaked mountain, with the castle shimmering at its very top.
• Bk 1Enclosed by a wall manned by outer guards; a forest lies east of the castle, and a field with a lake lies within the city.

Oothrum

Winterborne

• Bk 1The Scorpion Rebels' lair lies beneath Aveenar's statue here.
• Bk 1Site of the battle where Audrey was taken, Hundarian struck by ghoul blades, Caspiden killed and Tellimor's sons killed.
• Bk 1A snowy graveyard in a winter forest, beyond the mountains from Centurion; black tombstones jut from the ground like teeth.
• Bk 1A frozen lake lies near its trees, with mountaintops in the distance.
• Bk 1Under a grave ledger near Aveenar's statue, stairs lead to a cramped room of sagging shelves, a blue-lit candelabra and stacked leaflets.
• Bk 1That room's map, The Realm of Winterborne, A.D.R., hides a compartment holding the twin Ring of Udebar.
• Bk 1The rebels' hideaway lies near a forest with tombstones at its edge and a frozen lake nearby.

Sifti

Winterborne

Also known as House of Many Pleasures

• Bk 1The House of Many Pleasures, where Veesha served drinks.
• Bk 1Henric, drugged, killed a Verimor and two elves here with an ice blast.
• Bk 1Kellenen kissed Henric here.
• Bk 1Its entrance has two thick columns carved as naked dancers, open wooden doors, and SIFTI engraved in elegant stone letters.
• Bk 1Inside it is nearly dark under red light from red-candle chandeliers; statues of sexual positions line shelves high on the walls.
• Bk 1A round central stage is ringed by drums of pelt and wood adorned with fangs and bones, played by performers in glowing body paint.
• Bk 1Its entrance is unguarded, and a deep choir sings to the drums.

Doomhall

Winterborne

• Bk 1Ruled by Lord Fredween's house.
• Bk 1The Wild Elves left for Doomhall after the war.
• Bk 1The Crown's story makes Audrey's mother a Doomhall peasant.

Gheragol

Winterborne

• Bk 1Where most settlers fleeing the Single Belief went, following the Icehearts.

Prison of Elemar

Winterborne

Also known as Elemar

• Bk 1Traitors were sent here after the Tryorians' defeat.

Royal palace tunnel

Centurion

Also known as dining library, tunnel

• Bk 1The tunnel beneath the dining library is covered in Onsthelot's frantic drawings.
• Bk 1Its door is inscribed Au Parti Santius Dragonius Esquici Timere (“To the Holy Dragons Forgotten by Time”).
• Bk 1Onsthelot's dragon-sealed wooden boxes sit on its shelves.
• Bk 1The dining library's dusty shelves hold leather-bound books and glass jars of limbs, fangs, claws and organs.
• Bk 1The dining library has a boarded-over window and candelabras burning blue.
• Bk 1Floor slabs beneath the dining table fold inward to open a narrow, steep stairwell breathing cold, damp air.
• Bk 1Its narrow walls are lined with metal shelves of dust-covered wooden boxes of varying size.
• Bk 1Onsthelot's drawings show ice dragons, warriors, death, letters and symbols, some nonsensical: eyes for snouts, wings as horns, armed centaurs.
• Bk 1The inscribed door opens onto snowy woods, where a stone path is lit by blue-burning lampposts.
• Bk 1Rock slabs set with blue-flame hollows open into doorways when an elf's palm sends glowing veins across them.
• Bk 1Beyond a mist lies an iron gate of silver bars bearing two welded dragons locked mid-fight.
• Bk 1Behind the gate, a black-walled lift lit by one torch rises when a metal plate is pressed.

Henric's chambers

Centurion

• Bk 1Hold blank books sealed by dragon magic.
• Bk 1Silverlamb's portrait hangs here.
• Bk 1Henric took a silver ring with a blue dragon-skull gem from a drawer here.
• Bk 1A white-stone hearth burns blue, with two chairs before it and Silverlamb's portrait above.
• Bk 1The ceiling is carved stone showing a nest of hatching dragons.
• Bk 1A bookshelf holds books arranged by color, deep blues through reds to pale yellows.
• Bk 1Has a reddish four-poster bed, a wardrobe with a tall mirror, a sink with a mirror, and a bathtub.
• Bk 1Two floor-to-ceiling glass doors face the bathtub and look out on the mountains.
• Bk 1Damp, cold and long uncleaned. The door locks with an iron drawbar set in a bracket with lock and key.
• Bk 1The wardrobe holds ornate coats, boots, belts and stitched shirts; a drawer below holds dented, scratched rings.
• Bk 1A balcony overlooks a snowy forest and the mountains.
• Bk 1An elevator at the end of the hall, worked by a lever, leads down into the tunnels.

Royal statue of Thelon and Osalia

Centurion

Also known as statue of the king and queen

• Bk 1A statue of Thelon and Osalia in crowns stands in a city courtyard, its silver plaque bearing the Iceheart motto.
• Bk 1A naked man hung nailed by his hands to its back, feet cut off, beneath a plaque: DISLOYALTY HAS A PRICE. BLOOD SETTLES THE DEBT.

The royal castle

Centurion

Also known as castle, Iceheart castle

• Bk 1A clifftop castle above icy black rocks and crashing waves, among mountains, snow-draped pines and jagged peaks.
• Bk 1Its halls are lit by blue fire in hearths, chandeliers and candelabras.
• Bk 1Balconies have balusters carved into curling dragon wings.
• Bk 1Henric and Audrey were lodged in a hidden, musty wing: a dark, windowless corridor of doors smelling of mildew and age.
• Bk 1Metal bars pinned to its outer walls let intruders climb to Henric's window.
• Bk 1High, narrow corridors crowded with paintings of dragons in flight, burning cities and dying men, with intricately carved doors.
• Bk 1Hangs portraits of Thelon and Osalia and, smaller, of Merador and Luz; none of Calibor or Aveenar.
• Bk 1Tall windows with heavy green curtains overlook a suspended winter garden of ice and stone leaves.
• Bk 1A hall lined with battle relics: dented helmets, torn chest plates, stained capes, broken swords and spears.
• Bk 1The king and queen's sitting room has a blue-burning fire, shelves of dark bottles, a crooked bookshelf and a balcony.
• Bk 1Guest chambers on its far side have dark ribbed ceiling beams, brown-paneled walls, landscape paintings and a massive carved bed.
• Bk 1Armored guards stand along its walls like statues.

Crossbridge paths

Centurion

Also known as crossbridge path

• Bk 1Secret routes built so royals could enter or leave the castle unseen.
• Bk 1One begins in a small cliffside house smelling of smoke and salt, with a blue-fire hearth.
• Bk 1Its entrance hides behind a painting of a hooded figure with jagged teeth and a warty chin, which chews as the frame swings open.
• Bk 1A spiral stair descends into blue-lit corridors whose walls hold rebels' bones and scattered silver coins.
• Bk 1It ends in a glass-clear path of ice over the cliff, leading to a massive iron door carved with the winged W.

Throne room

Centurion

Also known as throne hall

• Bk 1Its antechamber has white stone floors, torches climbing to a dark vaulted ceiling, battle and dragon paintings, and double iron doors.
• Bk 1Six frost-encased columns line the hall, with bowls of blue fire at their bases.
• Bk 1A chandelier of linked bones hangs beneath a ceiling of icicle stalactites.
• Bk 1Elf guards bearing the winged W stand at its doors and columns.
• Bk 1Entered through thick ancient wooden doors carved with the winged W.
• Bk 1Escurion's skeleton loomed over the throne, spine arching overhead and tail suspended.
• Bk 1Has columns, chandeliers, stained-glass windows and a platform holding the throne and royal table; long tables fill the hall.
• Bk 1Silverlamb's prophecy is carved in its stone and flares blue across columns and floor.

Hatchling bone vault

Centurion

Also known as storage room

• Bk 1A wide, windowless storeroom behind a narrow wooden door, holding dragon skulls, horns and bones, old paintings and furniture.
• Bk 1A rope tied to a dragon-shaped baluster carries fire to an iron chandelier with column-wide candles.
• Bk 1Holds ice dragon hatchling bones in piles, plus faded, defaced and blanket-covered paintings.

The palace woods

Centurion

Also known as the woods

• Bk 1Snowy woods of tall trees reached through the door of Onsthelot's tunnel, crossed by a stone path lit by blue lampposts.
• Bk 1Home of the Silvermore twins' three royal singlehorns.
• Bk 1Bounded by a stone wall topped with thorny branches; pressing one block folds it into railless steps toward Centurion's northeast corner.
• Bk 1Smells of frost and pine; left unguarded.

Elkon

Beyond Winterborne

• Bk 1Homeland across the Sea of Snakes from which the elves, and later witches and warlocks, came.

Sea of Snakes

Beyond Winterborne

• Bk 1Crossed by Cebrahim and Romendan with an elven army.

Albethea

Passage

• Bk 1The passage between Winterborne and the Ordinary Realm, built at Silverlamb's command.
• Bk 1A bone-walled sanctum.
• Bk 1Polished white floors and smooth glowing white walls with human bones half swallowed by the stone.
• Bk 1Stained-glass windows show dragons blasting blue fire across battle scenes.

Historicus

Winterborne

Also known as Historicus temple

• Bk 1A temple holding the dragons Specter (twelve horns) and Hondebur (twenty horns).
• Bk 1The Heart of Snow sits in Hondebur's skull, binding the lives of every elf to it.
• Bk 1The holy temple of the elves, holding the remains of the Sacred Three.
• Bk 1Reached by a deep, narrowing palace tunnel ending in a rusted iron door carved with two dragons locked in combat, wings interlaced.
• Bk 1A wide, tall, cold hall with stained-glass windows as high as the building, showing ice dragons, winter landscapes, crowns and weapons.
• Bk 1Stalactites hang from the ceiling and frost covers the floor; voices singing in the crypts below carry through the stalactites.
• Bk 1Specter and Hondebur's skeletons stand on hind legs on a wide stone altar, necks craned apart, jaws wide, locked in battle.
• Bk 1Six more dragon skeletons fill the hall, with pews facing the altar and silver statues of men, women, children and knights.
• Bk 1Its chandeliers light themselves with blue candles as people move; a canvas shows dragon riders bleeding blue amid an army battle.

Meriadar

Winterborne

Also known as Meriadar library

• Bk 1A library of Winterborne.

Archedun

Winterborne

• Bk 1A cave in Winterborne.
• Bk 1A massive cave beneath the royal city with walls white as snow; its name means upholder in the ancient tongue.
• Bk 1Stalactites ring a colossal statue; beside it a waterfall thunders into a dark, steaming warm pool.
• Bk 1A staircase carved by the waterfall spirals up the cave wall to a rock door opening onto the city.

Doorway of Athelan

Winterborne

Also known as Athelan

• Bk 1A doorway named in Book 1.
• Bk 1Trees in the woods behind the trophy cottage twist into a towering wooden dragon with twig horns, stained with dried blood and wedged with bones.
• Bk 1Carved with blood and the deaths of many loyal to the Icehearts; branches at its base form a door.
• Bk 1Inside lies a narrow stone corridor, far longer than the sculpture, lit by torches burning blue with near-white centers.
• Bk 1The passage crosses the world of the dead, with Morgers moving behind its walls.
• Bk 1It ends at a towering ice-covered stone wall carved with the winged W, textured like snowflakes.

Statue of the Architect

Winterborne

Also known as the Architect

• Bk 1A colossal statue carved from the white rock of Archedun, kneeling on one knee and holding up the cave roof in his palms.
• Bk 1Head bowed, pale armor, a two-horned helmet, a mantle over one shoulder leaving the left chest bare, and a belt bearing the winged W.
• Bk 1Depicts the first of the Iceheart lineage to reach these shores, one of the Architects, who built it while alive.

The Scorpion Rebels' hideaway

Winterborne

Also known as the lair, the hideaway

• Bk 1A narrow passage beneath Aveenar's statue, its rough floor veined with pulsing blue light.
• Bk 1Its stone door bears a massive scorpion outlined in red gems that glow when touched.
• Bk 1The main chamber is wide and lit by blue flames, with black stone walls threaded with glowing veins.
• Bk 1At its center stands a massive wooden table carved as a map of Winterborne, ridges marking the kingdoms, with wooden markers for armies and an ice-dragon piece.
• Bk 1Empty frames of metal, wood and twigs on the walls are mirrors showing images redirected from The Pale Quill.
• Bk 1Bedrooms open off a damp stone corridor lit by sputtering torches; Henric's was cold, with a wooden bed and a blue torch.
• Bk 1Reached by a spiraling staircase revealed when a lever lowers Aveenar's statue, which twists into the floor.

Carmel, Massachusetts

Earth

Also known as Carmel, Ordinary Realm, Earth

• Bk 1Where Calibor and Aveenar lived as Calibor Sabio and Charlotte.
• Bk 1Aveenar was murdered at the family's home here.
• Bk 1Home of the Midnight Kings; Silverstein taught English here.
• Bk 1A tiny Massachusetts town of identical houses and holiday decorations, where Rudolph inflatables are rare.
• Bk 1Aveenar staged elaborate reindeer displays at the family house each Christmas; after her death the house stayed dark and grayscale.
• Bk 1Silverstein's attack sealed the family home in a gray dome of wailing mist and destroyed it.

The trophy cottage

Earth

Also known as Salem End, Massachusetts house

• Bk 1The family's Massachusetts house, off Salem End.
• Bk 1Thelon keeps it as a “trophy cottage” of living-looking severed heads behind blank-spined books.
• Bk 1An old house built a few years after the American Revolution, near a cemetery, with woodland to its right; sound carries through its walls.
• Bk 1Its living room has bookshelves on nearly every wall, a stone fireplace and an old green couch; the blank spines are red, blue and gray.
• Bk 1An upstairs bedroom has a fireplace beneath a painting of a lonely snow-capped mountain at sunset.
• Bk 1The spacious kitchen, in browns and reds, has heads lining the cabinets in place of vases and cookie jars.
• Bk 1One head bears the dragon-eating-a-snake carved on its forehead.
• Bk 1A large glass door opens from the kitchen onto a winter woodland.

The Galmundam

Mythology

Also known as Galmundam

• Bk 1Elven faith: three stars fell from it, bringing Gelinbur, Nosthet and Ur.