Winter Ball Details
In case you're at the Winter Ball at Aragon and don't want to spam yourself with the details in your window:
The long buffet table along the back wall of the hall is laden with a veritable feast. A large roast of venison is being carved by a servant with a wickedly long knife, whilst other dishes warm in chafing pans. Among them, one might find: quail roasted in garlic and honey, roast boar glazed with brandy and apples, lake perch crusted in lemon and paper, candied yams, roasted baby potatoes and dill, crusty rolls and a salad of fresh greens, along with other dishes.
Green- and gold-clad servants mingle, passing drinks amongst the folk gathered. There is, of course, mulled cider and wine, along with blush, white and red wines that remain unmulled. Additionally, a fine cherry brandy from deSorgo is being served, along with eggnog spiked with a solid dash of spiced rum. Other cocktails appear throughout the night, from the sugary-minted Snowman to a concoction of chocolate, almond and coffee liqueurs being called a Dirty Snowball.
Unsurprisingly, a table is devoted to sugary confections, from lacy cookies in the shape of snowflakes that glitter with sugar sprinkled atop them, to rich cheesecakes adorned with strawberries and chocolate sauce. There are also smaller desserts: tiny, perfect little pastries are arranged amongst individual cups of rum-soaked bread puddings and impeccably singed creme brulee.
The ride from the village to the manor would have been a chilly one, for those making it, but sleigh-drivers - provided by the Countess Aragon - ensured that guests were tucked into piles of furs and provided with hot chocolate on the way up. Thus it is that the jingling of sleigh bells can be heard throughout the manor grounds, as folks are escorted up the luminary-lined path to the main doors. Once inside, a wave of warmth and light greet the guests, along with servants to take cloaks and offer drinks.
Aragon Manor is set high upon a hillside, overlooking Stillwater village and the lake below. It is a rustic home, something between a grand farmhouse and a hunting lodge, but anything else would seem entirely out of place in the surroundings. A low stone wall surrounds the grounds, old, weathered stones stacked with precision as the wall follows the contours of the land itself. What once must have been an alpine meadow has been tamed into informal gardens, both in front of the manor house itself and beyond it. The road that leads up to the manor traverses the hillside at a gentle slope, making the climb longer, but far less arduous, whatever the means of travel.
Though the manor grounds are snow-covered, they're not without a certain beauty. Evergreens add splashes of color, while the bare branches of other trees are coated in glistening ice. The path from gate to doorstep is flanked upon either side with luminaries of simple white paper, their glow gentle in the evening. Garlands of fragrant fir are wound 'round the iron bannisters of the steps that lead up to the doors, while a wreath of bittersweet hangs upon the heavy wooden door itself.
A flight of stairs leads up to the manor house, while an iron gate opens to the road that leads down the hillside.
The long buffet table along the back wall of the hall is laden with a veritable feast. A large roast of venison is being carved by a servant with a wickedly long knife, whilst other dishes warm in chafing pans. Among them, one might find: quail roasted in garlic and honey, roast boar glazed with brandy and apples, lake perch crusted in lemon and paper, candied yams, roasted baby potatoes and dill, crusty rolls and a salad of fresh greens, along with other dishes.
Green- and gold-clad servants mingle, passing drinks amongst the folk gathered. There is, of course, mulled cider and wine, along with blush, white and red wines that remain unmulled. Additionally, a fine cherry brandy from deSorgo is being served, along with eggnog spiked with a solid dash of spiced rum. Other cocktails appear throughout the night, from the sugary-minted Snowman to a concoction of chocolate, almond and coffee liqueurs being called a Dirty Snowball.
Unsurprisingly, a table is devoted to sugary confections, from lacy cookies in the shape of snowflakes that glitter with sugar sprinkled atop them, to rich cheesecakes adorned with strawberries and chocolate sauce. There are also smaller desserts: tiny, perfect little pastries are arranged amongst individual cups of rum-soaked bread puddings and impeccably singed creme brulee.
The ride from the village to the manor would have been a chilly one, for those making it, but sleigh-drivers - provided by the Countess Aragon - ensured that guests were tucked into piles of furs and provided with hot chocolate on the way up. Thus it is that the jingling of sleigh bells can be heard throughout the manor grounds, as folks are escorted up the luminary-lined path to the main doors. Once inside, a wave of warmth and light greet the guests, along with servants to take cloaks and offer drinks.
Aragon Manor is set high upon a hillside, overlooking Stillwater village and the lake below. It is a rustic home, something between a grand farmhouse and a hunting lodge, but anything else would seem entirely out of place in the surroundings. A low stone wall surrounds the grounds, old, weathered stones stacked with precision as the wall follows the contours of the land itself. What once must have been an alpine meadow has been tamed into informal gardens, both in front of the manor house itself and beyond it. The road that leads up to the manor traverses the hillside at a gentle slope, making the climb longer, but far less arduous, whatever the means of travel.
Though the manor grounds are snow-covered, they're not without a certain beauty. Evergreens add splashes of color, while the bare branches of other trees are coated in glistening ice. The path from gate to doorstep is flanked upon either side with luminaries of simple white paper, their glow gentle in the evening. Garlands of fragrant fir are wound 'round the iron bannisters of the steps that lead up to the doors, while a wreath of bittersweet hangs upon the heavy wooden door itself.
A flight of stairs leads up to the manor house, while an iron gate opens to the road that leads down the hillside.