B1 - External Description
Any observer of this establishment will immediately notice that there
are no windows. Blocky and made of dark bricks and stucco, the building
has the appearance of some bunker or solid fortress. Above the thick
wooden double doors is a plain sign reading, simply, "the Board, School
of Shaolin, Master Chevalier."
B2 - Front Desk and Viewing Room
This large room, about ten by thirty feet, is entirely glass on one side
save for a single door. This allows guests to watch the goings-on in
the main training room. Chairs are set against the southern wall,
allowing people a place of comfort if they need to rest or wait for
someone. Near the eastern end of the room is the front desk where
people can check in, request information or conduct any other necessary
interaction with the staff. The room is decorated with a several large
plants and numerous framed pictures of notables in the school's
history. Always a bustle of activity and conversation, the front hall
of the Board is rarely dull.
B3 - Administrative Offices
This room, equal in size to the front office and viewing room. This
office is not for the public, however. Filled with desks, filing
cabinets, computers and all the various sundries of running a business,
the office is busy during the usual work day hours. Kept brightly lit
and filled with plants and comfortable places to work to compensate for
the lack of windows, the office and its staff work efficiently. There
is a door which opens onto a staircase to Rook's private quarters. Kept
locked at all times, Rook is the only person in the Board who has a key
to access it.
B4 - Training Room
This large training room has a fold-upable partition. When folded up
the room is quite large and ideal for a great number of people. As
necessary it can be brought out to cut the room in to two equal halves.
The training room offers all the amenities for those working within.
The air resonates with the heat and determination of the countless souls
who have pushed themselves to the limit in these rooms in years past.
B5 - Women's Locker Room
B6 - Men's Locker Room
B7 - Storage Rooms
B8 - Back Gate
The Board looks much different from this side. Extending outward from
the equally formidable boxy walls of the building is a solid brick wall
of a lighter color rising only a story high. The brick wall obviously
holds some kind of garden for trees rise above its height in abundance.
A single heavy steel gate along the eastern side of the garden allows
entry. Rook has keys which he gives out to guests as necessary.
B9 - Garden
At odds with the severity of the walls that rise on either side of it,
this garden is an island of comfort and inviting tranquillity. Built in
an eastern motif, there are numerous plants, small pagoda-like
structures, fountains, flowers and greenery on everything. Benches sit
here and there, offering a place to relax. Two staircases rise from the
garden to reach doorways on the second story.
B10 - Rook's Chambers
Rook's main chamber serves as bedroom, office and study all in one.
Although decorated here and there with colors and accents of eastern
lands, the room is largely utilitarian and scrupulously neat. There is
a bed. Though it looks as though it is never slept in, which it isn't,
the unknowing observer might attribute this merely to Rook's tidiness.
B11 - Master Bath
This bathroom, immediately off the master bedroom, also has the
appearance of never being used. Everything that should be there is;
towels, toothbrush, tissue and floss, and the entire room is in
immaculate condition. Should any person try to turn on the faucets of
the bath they would find them resistant. After many years of non-use
they have somewhat calcified into place.
B12 - Chamber of Artifacts
Unlike the bedroom that belongs to him, Rook has spent a great deal of
time and energy into the appearance of this room, even though he is
generally the only person who enters it. This room is dimly lit
overall. Rather, small lights in the ceiling and floor spotlight key
areas and objects. The room is warm and smells of eastern oils and
incenses. The walls are a rich variety of hues. The religious
artifacts of countless beliefs are displayed in this room. Some could
be easily identified by almost any observer. Others remain a mystery
even after careful examination, relics of religions unfamiliar and even
some long dead. The room is carefully maintained and shows a loving
hand, an attention to detail and a warmth quite uncharacteristic of the
remainder of the Board. Nothing is labeled and the door is locked.
This room is intended for the silent appreciation of only the one who
created it.
B13 - Rook's Private Exercise Room
This room looks exactly like the practice rooms of Rook's early days on
earth when he was living in the east and first began his studies there.
Red dominates, dragons and tigers abound. There decorated rice screens,
plants, paper lanterns and sweet incense. This room serves to focus
Rook on his duty. It is where he comes to meditate and conduct all his
private physical work. Although he readily practices his art in front
of others when he is teaching, his stretches and personal work-outs are
done only here. Here Rook can show his true capabilities, test them and
improve upon them. Here Rook translates his devotion to God through the
expression of the physical. This room is kept locked at all times.
B14 - Celestial Meeting Room
This room is devoted to any interaction that might be necessary between
Rook and other celestials. The room is comfortable but unadorned. It
is filled with books, maps and any other kind of information that might
be necessary for the planning of a mission. The information is not
infinite, however, and Rook often goes to the library run by his friend
Giles in order to research. Weapons and other items that might be
necessary are also kept hidden here, secreted beneath the floorboards
which are themselves covered by a huge, ornate Nepali carpet. Medicines
are kept here as well, to be carried along during missions in case
humans are injured in the celestial crossfire. The tone of the room
overall is something of a strategic bunker, a place from which to plot
and then begin a mission.
B15 and B16 - Guest Rooms
These rooms offer all the amenities of a fine guest room and are a great
deal more comfortable than Rook's own room. Though Rook does not
personally require many human comforts, he knows that many angels have
grown quite accustomed to them or, worse, their very nature necessitates
them. With harmony in mind, he has made these rooms as homey as
possible. Though there are no windows, the rooms have ample
illumination. Plants grow in abundance. There are televisions, phones,
books, small refrigerators that can be stocked in a moment's notice
Ševen bath tubs and vanity mirrors. Computers offer Internet access and
there are other modern tools available to meet whatever need the
occupant might have. The rooms are neither masculine nor feminine.
Though all the furnishings are modern, their styles do show a certain
antique proclivity and, naturally, the occasional eastern accent. All
the doors can be locked. Entirely self-contained, these rooms can serve
any angel in need, allowing them as much anonymity as they wish. These
rooms are accessed from the garden behind the Board.
B17 - Guest Room Hallway
This hallway is dark and plush. It allows entrance to the two guest
rooms from the back garden. The only objects in the hallway are two
fine antique chairs on either side of a large, ornate side board. The
sideboard has a mirror of somewhat grainy glass, showing its age. On
the top of the side board is a lace runner and on top of this is a fine
silver tray. It is here where Rook leaves message for or receives
messages from his guests if necessary.