Vardo

"My vardo is my home. It is my livelihood. It is my sanctuary.My vardo is part of my life. Each grain in the cut of wood, each rivet of steel, every inch of paint, the panes of glass, everything about it...it is me. It is what I made it be, to be me, and I am it."--Uriel Levistus

A Vardo serves as a typical means of conveyance for the Romja people. Unlike a carriage a vardo serves as a travelling home to the Romja, in many cases it is their most prized and highest valued possession.

History
The vardo is a tradition going back centuries, long before the rule of House Devla and her corrupt kings. While the truest form of the vardo has always remained the same, across different caravans and time, many variations have appeared. In the most basic form, a vardo is a large, shelled wagon, constructed out of wood and hitched to a team of beasts, with the inside of the vardo arranged as a small living space for the owner. The interior is usually blocked off by a door set at the rear of the chassis, while at the front there is a small ledge for a driver to sit and direct his animals.

In the far north, the caravans mimic the animals in the area, being squat and thick. Wide wheels allow them traction over the frozen tundras, and they have little or no windows. Many interiors are decorated in warm colors that mock the world around them, and many furs can be found as well. Often times, the northern caravans are traders, and as such, one special vardo is constructed just to house market goods. Because of the draw of such ready goods, they are prey of bandits, but often times the thick wood can deflect many blows.

In the humid jungles south of the Crystallyn Peninsula, beyond the Harlen Plains, the vardos are light affairs with many screened openings to allow the air to flow. Many of these vardos, because of small size and equally small weight, can be pulled by a pair of horses instead of a full team. Construction is of native woods, which means many slender beams, which leads to interesting patterns on the exterior of the vardo. Members of a caravan can often tell apart the other vardo's just by the unique grain patterns, and when two caravans meet, there is usually much 'ooohh'ing and 'aaahhh'ing.

Then there are caravans, like the Luci Carnivale Caravan, that travel all about. They pick up many different aspects and blend them together. The vardos of the Luci Caravan are larger than average, able to house between two and four people inside the shell, and a full grown man can lay across the wagon comfortably. The shell is made of ironwood with metal reinforcements, and both exterior and interior are painted, usually with bright and gaudy colors and designs. Personal touches adorn each vardo, and a tradition has sprung up of actually leaving the occupants names visible somewhere on the outside. A few extra (normal) wagons accompany this caravan, to hold all of their accoutrements and tools of the trade.