A compact but still fairly impressive building owned by the province of Dorlaf. Velex stands on the corner of East Street and Dorlaf Avenue, just a little set back from Vellers Square. It is principally used as a conference hall, often hosting medium signed foreign summits due to its proximity to Huwdone House and the embassies, as well as occasionally holding Dorlaf's roving regional assemblies. In addition it holds assorted trade fairs, the occasional art exhibition or theatrical performance and is often booked for parties and balls during the winter months. Velex was completed in 1031, originally intended to be a private dwelling but bought by provincial funds and converted in 1091. Following the fashion of the day, a single, semi-subterranean great hall with an immensely high roof was made to dominate. The walls of the hall are currently decorated by assorted murals, all supposed to depict Christoté and its international allies. It is being planned to be redecorated, however, and local artists are competing for that lucrative commission. One idiosyncratic touch is the huge golden chains which hang in great loops from the ceiling, glittering in the light of the chandeliers. Apparently the only other rooms at Velex are the kitchens at the rear, and a collection of alcoves set into the walls of the main hall. However, there are a number of 'spy nooks' also built into the walls. Capable of holding up to two men and with arrow slits allowing surveillance of the hall, they are a handy place to put Guardsmen for some of the trickier conferences.
"Velex Hall is a twin of Routledge Hall in terms of size, simplicity and entirely unsubtle impact. As it stands in Jalkin it is a far more recent construction, built in the early 1000's for the new elite of the new Confederacy who were energetically mimicking the old elite of the old Kingdom in almost every respect. When the wind changed fifty years later, Velex Hall passed from private ownership into the hands of the province of Dorlaf. Apart from receptions for foreign diplomats (for it lies close to the East Street embassies) it chiefly hosts rotating art exhibitions. Branwen was a frequent caller and the scene that afternoon was very familiar. Badly curated clusters of pictures hung from the walls, many shrivelled into insignificance by the sheer size of the room. Gazing at them were well-dressed visitors who were generally more concerned with who could see them studying art than what they were studying. Overhead loomed a large banner proclaiming which family's generosity had made the exhibition all possible - the Tannerzs, of all people - together with Velex's incongruous loops of golden chains. If she concentrated on the actual paintings, which were often superb, Branwen could just about enjoy it."
(from The Innocents)