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What is with the Dreamers' Houses?!?! Part 3.25 Lurien's Spire - Windows and Colors

Welcome back to talking about the Dreamers' Houses! Today we're discussing more about the Watcher's Spire and what it tells us about Lurien's character.

Last time, we talked about Lurien's Telescope and what it spoke of Lurien's character. Yet there was something else I noticed with the placement of the Telescope itself.

It is on the Left Side of Lurien's office, facing the Left half of the City. While some might state that this is because of classism, I am not so sure. Not when I noticed this particular detail.

We have three bugs with unique designs with unique dialogue. From the dialogue, it seems that they took up the duty of the Watcher's mantle, placed there possibly by Lurien himself. Of all the sides of the Spire, these three are also facing the left side. What could be on that side of the City that Lurien went out of his way to leave his Telescope facing the left side and appointed watchers to guard that side? 

Oh.

Wait.

Taken from ntvv.vn.

The entire Soul Sanctum and the Soul Master is on the LEFT side of the City. The same group responsible for THIS carnage.

 Tragically, that is not even half of the people butchered by the Soul Master. If Lurien had an inkling, however, of the Soul Master's doings, then he would keep watch over that portion of the City in order that he can find evidence of the Soul Master's wrongdoings. Unfortunately, as we all know, Lurien ran out of time to prevent the full tragedy.

That did not, however, stop Lurien from doing everything he could to stop the Soul Master. He left the Telescope and appointed not one, but three mini watchers to keep an eye on the Soul Master. Who knows how many notes and networks he left behind to the mini watchers as well that we never got a chance to read. What we do know is that Lurien made sure that every tool and opportunity to protect his City was left at the Pale King's disposal. Lurien wasn't just protective, he took preventative action and was willing to include others to best protect his City.

Though that begs the question of how many back-up plans Lurien had to protect the City.

Moving on, I could dive into how Lurien is one of the few bugs to have a statue in the whole of Hallownest. I could also talk about the sheer size of his Spire or the fact that Lurien, confirmed to be mortal, has a stone lore tablet that so far only the Pale King has. But I will not as fellow Tumblr user Eggbuggo already talked about that.  Don't worry, I found the post so you don't have to scroll down to March 2nd, 2023 to find it.

https://www.tumblr.com/eggobuggo/710665789135634432/i-think-lots-of-people-tend-to-forget-how-much?source=share

Instead, I will talk about the color of the Spire, or colors.

The City of Tears is mainly divided into two colors: dark blue for the Left side (commoners + business) and red for the Right side (noble houses). The Watcher's Spire, however, has three colors: Blue, Red, AND Purple.

For comparison, here is a picture of the left side of the City of Tears.

Vs. the Right side of the City.

The Watcher's Spire, meanwhile, has three colors.

The floor is red, the pillars and elevators are blue while the wall is purple.

What does this color design say about Lurien the Watcher? For starters, the Watcher has not one assigned color to his Spire, but tastefully uses all three. Even a person from far away can see the beauty in how Lurien creates a contrast with these colors. Considering that each side of the City is predominately one color, this speaks volumes on how Lurien did not side solely which one side of the City.

For example, there is no red or purple glow in the left side of the City. Compare these two images.

Vs.

The lamps inside the Watcher's Spire produce this violet/pinkish glow whereas the lamps on the left side of the City only glow white. Same glass shape, but different light.

On the flip, or right side of the City, the nobles seem to hide any blue inside their home unless it is completely necessary, such as the elevator shafts. Compare:

&

Vs. Lurien using the red as the floor, but decorating with the blue pillars and window frames. The contrast here is used as framing, creating something beautiful even if it is just a hallway.

I believe the color choice for the Watcher's Spire speaks the exact same thing of Lurien's character as the Spire's placement in the City of Tears. Lurien was the mean between extremes for the City. Not only is the Spire in the middle of the City where everyone can reach it, but the use of purple in particular, a color created by mixing blue and red, shows both a claim of connection, yet also distant from the citizens of the City. This is important as purple isn't predominantly seen anywhere else in the City of Tears.

One last thing regarding color, Lurien is also the only one person to employ both blue and red sentries. Except for the one Great Husk Sentry and the Winged Sentry in the Resting Grounds, the blue and red sentries are never seen together. Given the sole location of both the blue and red sentries in the same is the Watcher’s Spire, it speaks to Lurien’s character that he was able to bring those two sentries together. Unfortunately, we do not know if the Watcher was able to pull it off due to his high position, geo, or his personal character, but the feat is still remarkable.

We have reached page 18 of Lurien's section, so I believe it would be best to cut off here for now. To recap: Lurien is proactive to protect his City, even though he would lay dreaming forever. We notice this in the placement of items and people by certain windows. We also learned how colors reflect Lurien's character as the mean in-between the two extremes of the two sides of the City, especially the use of the color purple which is a mix of blue and red. While this creates a distinction between the Watcher and the other citizens of the City, Lurien is still able to bring the people together as noted in the kinds of guards patrolling in his Spire.

If you wish to read more of the Essay, click one of these links below.

Part 1.0: Herrah's Den : Here

Part 2.0: Monomon's Archives: Here

Part 3.0: Lurien's Spire: Here

Part 3.25: More of Lurien's Spire (You are here.)

Part 3.5: Lurien's Spire: Pillows and Patriotism: Here

Part 3.7 Lurien's Spire: What is wrong with Lurien's Office?! Here

Part 3.8: Even, even More of Lurien's Spire: Secret Room: Click here

Part 3.9 Watcher Knight Boss Room! Here

Part 4.0 What We Know We Don't Know About the Dreamers' Houses: Click Here

Link to essay on Ao3: Here

If you have thoughts you wish to share, please feel free to comment or reblog!