The window is about fifteen feet wide and twenty feet tall, with its base about three feet above the floor. The colors it contains are primarily blue and white. Formerly, the eastern third of the window overshadowed the first part of a large pit that filled the nearly half of the Corridor of Prudence.
Town scene. Various people engage in industry. In the center of the scene is a woman in dark blue robes: she carries a sieve on her head, a mirror in her right hand. Against her shoulder leans a long coffin. In the background, people repair a dam, while others put out fires.
After a short period of study, Kyu was able to decipher the symbolic elements present in the window’s scene.
- The woman in dark blue robes embodies the virtue of Prudence, the capability to consider the mode of action in order to deliver change. Prudence as depicted here is not simply a skill, as it involves not only the ability to decide how to achieve a certain end, but also the ability to reflect upon and determine that end.
- The mirror signifies self-knowledge as a resource that enhances practical wisdom. (There’s also the chance that it refers to the Ice Mirror in the Viewing Room.)
- The sieve symbolizes the ability to distinguish the helpful from the frivolous.
- The industrious activities of the the persons in the picture, such as fire-fighting and dam-repairing are examples of using practical wisdom to prepare for the unexpected, as well as mobilizing to respond to unexpected occurances when they happen.
- The coffin symbolizes the inevitability of death, which all mortals must take into account.
Looking at the window reminded Kyu of an old maxim:
Think of the future and weigh all conceivable outcomes.
The window was dark and opaque, and the party need to use their lights to see the design.
The party is able to phase through the surface of the window to find themselves in the Viewing Room. Unfortunately, they must clamber over about three feet of wall every time they do this.