House Camellia
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Within the Court of Night Blooming Flowers on Mont Nuit, House Camellia is known for its canon of perfection. Flawless beauty, flawless grace, flawless manners and demeanor, and an ability to bend and adapt with the the fickle thing that is the enigma of perfection. For after all, perfection is in the eye of the beholder, and each and every one of us have our own view of what perfection may be. It is the purpose of Camellia House adepts to strive to meet these expectations among their patrons, that none may part in disappointment but rather as awestruck as the King of Persis himself was when Naamah lay with him.
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Training
Training within Camellia House is a strict discipline, for after all it is a House driven by perfection in all its forms. The result is a reputation for perfect decorum and etiquette among its adepts, a variety of skills with which to please a patron, and of course nothing but the most flawless, perfect beauty to be found even within the Night Court.
Whether it is in grace and poise or the arts of the bedroom, in so simple a thing as pouring a drink of water for a patron or the many ways one may rouse the passions of desire, Camellia Adepts strive to please and do so well, above all else. One might think that Camellia Adepts would be a bore, for surely they must all be cut from the same mold, and what beauty is there to be had in that? But this is not the case, for while Camellia Novices are trained with a strict sort of discipline in order to achieve perfection, they are also encouraged to pursue that which will bring them the greatest joy. Such pursuits, however, must always be subject to perfecting one's art, wherever one's passion may lie.
In this House, Novices and Adepts undergo years of training, so that they may become well-versed in a number of skills, talents and arts that they may carry with them for the rest of their lives. One of the most closely kept secrets within Camellia House is that the Adepts therein truly learn a little of the arts of every House, and then some more. There is a syllabus of sorts, though it adapts and changes to meet the needs of each individual Courtesan.
- Novices of Camellia House learn the following skills:
- How to serve with perfect, unobtrusive grace.
- Proper etiquette in all situations.
- History, Geography, Writing, Reading, Numbers and other scholarly pursuits.
- Camellia novices must choose one handicraft to learn.
- Each novice must choose one performance art to learn.
- Every Camellia House member is required to maintain a perfectly groomed appearance, and is expected to be tidy and precise in all tasks they are given to perform.
- Camellia adepts are trained in sensual arts, such as bath service, hairdressing, manicures and pedicures and sensual massage.
- In the final three years of novicehood, education in Naamah's arts begins officially. (Though by this time, some may have already been learned 'unofficially'.)
Debuts
The Camellia Novice whose training is complete will choose the manner in which she or he will be presented at their coming of age Debut. Most often, Camellia Novices are encouraged to present themselves in such a manner as to attract the attention of a specific patron. In particular cases, the Dowayne may drop hints to various patrons before the auction, or outright invite them personally if they feel the debutante would suit well to that patron's needs.
History and Current Events
One of the smallest houses in the Hill, Camellia is still home for perfection and flexibility. Dowayne Solaine no Camellia held the reins tight through the disassembling of the senate, the fimbulwinter and the changes in the crown itself until her time of resignation where she named her successor to be not one of the older courtesans of the house but a newly debuted one, Maylea. An example of the Camellia Canon, Maylea has led the house since Solaine's retirement with success. A favorite of the King for quite some time, His Majesty's visits appear to have become more sporadic as time passes. Her Majesty has been seen much more frequently between the Camellia walls though, and the presence of the royal carriage at their doors is not unusual.
The recent events around Mont Nuit don't seem to have affected Camellia overly much, and while their Dowayne was known to have spoken against the first decisions made in council it has stood by them until the time was ripe to change them. The last month of Novembre a council meeting was held in Camellia that set all those matters to rest at last. In Mont Nuit itself, the House has always had a policy of inclusion since the first council was appointed during king Francoise's reign. That is that while the courtesans are based in one house and trained to their canon, they should know and learn to appreciate the others as well, in order to form a more cohesive environment for all.
As the Court left in Progress, several of the courtesans of this house accompanied the move, and things were moderately quiet afterwards. Rumors of the Dowayne's being unhappy at having to remain in the city have gone fully unconfirmed, but upon the progress return and few days after the midwinter masque of 1085 change took over the house once again with Maylea's decision to travel away and leaving Gautier no Camellia in charge. The new Dowayne can be seen often enough in the palace, alone in a morning walk or in the company of those young adepts close enough to Debut age, learning their strengths and weighing just where their place is to be in the days to come.
Quotes
- " Guy drove us to Camellia House that evening. I was surprised to find it even more punctilious than Cereus, though I shouldn't have been; the canon of Camellia is perfection, and they adhere to it in strict detail."
- ― Kushiel's Dart
- " She stood a handsbreadth shorter than he, even paler of skin, with hair like an autumn tumbrel. There is no canon save perfection in this House. "
- ― Kushiel's Dart
- " "Ah, well." Gilot was oblivious. "There's Dahlia if you like 'em haughty instead; or Camellia, they're a proud lot. Or, of course—""
- ― Kushiel's Scion
- " Camellia, mayhap? Nothing less than perfection should suit a princess. But no, she might not care to be reminded that her lineage renders her less than perfect in the eyes of Camellia House."
- ― Kushiel's Justice
Perspectives On Camellia
- "Perfection is always subjective, and in being so adaptability becomes one of a camellia courtesan's most important values. On the other hand, in all societies there is the perceived ideal of perfection which must be embodied by every Camellia hopeful. It is the meeting of the two that makes us what we are, and even in so it is not always enough. The ability to discern this is foremost for any of the House's members, for to adapt to a patron's needs one must first be able to glean just what these are, and Camellia patrons are oft-times unaware of or reluctant to admit their true desires."
- -Gautier no Camellia
Members
| Picture | Actor | Character | Age | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Osvaldo Rios | Gautier | 43 | Dowayne |
 | Unknown | Josephine | 28 | Courtesan - (Open NPC) |
 | Eliza Dushku | Joie | 16 | Novice |
 | Unknown | Andreas | 16 | Novice |
 | Unknown | Jeanette | 15 | Novice - (NPC) |
 | Isabella Rossellini | Solaine | 47 | Retired Dowayne - (Background NPC) |
