[Location] Lantaraana's Clothing

[Aqua]

In one of the better parts of the city there was a small shop run by a esh'lahier lady named Lantaraana. Lantaraana was old; she had been born several centuries before the Aetherfracture, and it was showing in everything. She had been a tall, slender woman that turned heads wherever she went once, but those times were long past. Now her body was bent and twisted. She had broken her left foot once, and the wound had never healed properly so that she was only capable of limping now. Her once shimmering white hair that had drawn the envy of all other women had long dulled. Only her eyes had stayed the same. They were still the same bright violet they had always been, big lively eyes that gave people a glimpse of the woman she had been a few centuries ago. Her clothes were slightly old-fashioned and not exactly suited to an old woman. She always wore the same white silk dress with silver embroidery that would look better on a young maiden.

The house was a rather beautiful one story affair made of the same shimmering marble laced with dozens of pink veins that was found throughout Ethgan’tor. The four windows at the front were made of stained glass. There was a small, well kept garden between the shop and the street. It was filled with a number of small flowers and bushes that bore fruit during the warmer seasons. A wooden bench that had been painted wait stood at the wall, inviting people that were visiting the shop or just passing by to sit down and relax for a while. Birds sung in the single tree in the garden, a tree with branches that touched the roof. When Lantaraana had bought the house a few patterns ago, it had been in a rather bad condition, the last owner had not taken care of it properly, but she had renovated it and made it one of the better looking buildings around.

A wooden sign above the door, white like the walls and the small bench, with the picture of a pair of scissors, a needle and a ball of yarn clearly told anybody that passed the shop by that clothes could be bought inside. A number of bells in different sizes and made of different metals hung on the ceiling above the door. Whenever somebody entered, they created a soft, pleasant melody that was just loud enough for the old elf that owned the shop to hear.

The floor on the inside of the house was made of simple white marble tiles that matched the colour of the walls perfectly. Various racks with clothes and shelves that contained bolts of cloth could be found in the front room. Each piece of cloth and each bolt was neatly labeled with a short description as well as a price. The area near the window was filled with a couple of mannequins that displayed Lantaraana’s best and most expensive clothes. There was a floor length dress made of pure white silk adorned with dozens of pearls, each perfectly shaped. A cloak made of velvet and trimmed with silver fur at the edges had been draped over it, and a pair of snow white leather boots stood on the ground in front of it. Another mannequin showed a midnight blue dress with silver embroidery that was best worn at an evening ball, and yet another one displayed an outfit that would suit a wealthy lord, a perfect ensemble of a blue silk shirt, pants and a cloak trimmed with jet black fur.

Lantaraana herself sat on a chair behind the counter. She had long given up walking about the shop and approaching each customer, her feet just didn’t tolerate such movements anymore. The old esh'lahier offered a pleasant smile to everybody that entered. A leather bound book where she wrote the orders down and a quill were arranged in front of her. There was another thing that was worth noting on the counter too. Strangely enough a crystal pitcher filled with a red liquid – either juice or some type of alcohol, two glasses and a bowl filled with all manner of fruit stood there, just as if the old lady wanted her customers to stay a while, eat a bit and chat with her.

Credit: Kalinda