Blackstone
Blackstone Specifics
- Blackstone and all of the buildings it protects are made of black marble and obsidian while its ramparts are black basalt.
- The Gatetowers' main gate faces south with Gothtyrdan to the west. The gates and towers are heavily fortified.
- North through the gate is the main plaza and Blackstone Keep. A large trebuchet stands center of the plaza in front of the keep.
- Blackstone Keep is where the king, his family and escort reside when staying in Blackstone. It is ten stories high with a huge dungeon below.
- East from the gate are stone homes and under the southeast wall a gate to the Lake District, where all of the commanding officers of Blackstone are housed in fine homes around a small, pristine, quarry lake.
- The large tower on the northeast corner of the Lake District is the Command Tower, where from the windows and turret the lands to the east are watched and within war plans are laid.
- The Southeast Tower above the Lake District houses the guards of Blackstone. The tower it connects to by a bridge is the south watchtower.
- The Southwest Tower houses two manors which Blackstone's mages occupy.
- Surrounding the Plaza are businesses and on either side of the keep are fine apartments called Black Square.
- The City Stables connect to the Black Square from the south where they are near the gate
- Both central Towers east and west will house the Blackstone Wardens
- North Beyond the keep is the Falls District, were waterfalls tumble down the walls of the many homes east and west to fill reflecting pools all over this area, and center of this district is another trebuchet.
- In the east and western corners of the Falls District are manor houses which the country's most welcomed and honored residents reside in.
- Through the northwest gate is a walled in manor which the king's most honored of all guests reside in when staying in Blackstone.
- Housed within the north wall is the Warlord's Hold, where the realm's most loyal warriors, their armory, and mounts are housed in apartments ten levels high. The rooves and ramparts of this hold are spacious enough to accomodate a number of dragon mounts (anywhere from 4-20 depending on their size). There are two trebuchets on the turret's east and west walls.
- The North Towers house battlemages and their servants.
- Beneath Blackstone is a large dungeon filled with many cells and chambers of many sizes, the entrance to this area is well hidden.
Blackstone Keep
Keep 1st Story: a large foyer opens in a huge reception hall with an arching doorways north into an east to west corridor and across into the immense throne room.
Corridor east leads to corner stairwell upstairs then south to the enormous banquet hall. The kitchens are off this hall.
Corridor west leads to a corner holding chamber then south to a series of ample guest rooms with adjoining baths.
Keep 2nd Story; rooms and suites for honored guests. Each room and suite is painted wall to ceiling with scenic murals by the queen and has a bath chamber with hot running water, the baths naturally shaped of solid stone.
☆ the Oasis Suite,
☆ the Savannah room,
☆ the Coastal Suite,
☆ the Polar Room,
☆ the Island Suite,
☆ the Forest Room,
☆ the Canyon Suite,
☆ the Lake Room,
☆ the Mountain Suite.
☆ the Jungle Suite.
Each room features animals and various landmarks from those environments.
These were the quarters on the second story reserved for special guests. There were many many other rooms in the palace keep as well, guest and otherwise. Blackstone keep is ten stories high.
Desiree put a lot of her love for nature and Morashtar into her beautifully styled and cleverly laid out murals. One felt as though entering an ephemeral landscape of those environments she depicted.
Keep 3rd Story: The central area above the courtyard is a training hall with an armory. The east wing houses palace guards and the west those knights and wardens that live in the city whom the king wants close at hand.
Keep 4th Story: The central area is a hub for the servants with kitchen, dining and a gathering hall for off duty servants.
The east wing houses menial servants while the west is where the noble and royal servants reside.
Keep 5th-7th Stories: Various rooms used for guests, storage, bath houses for the servants, and several libraries.
Keep 8th Story: west wing is a school for palace residents older children. West wing is a school for their younger children.
Keep 9th Story: West wing is the queen's art studio. East wing is reserved for children, relatives and close friends of the king and queen.
Keep 10th Story: West wing is the king and queen's suite, called the Nocturnal suite.
The East wing is the War Compound and houses the war room, armoury, training hall, hall of the arcane, and a comfortably situated meeting hall.
The eastwing stairwell continues its ascent up to the subtly convex, solid stone, open rooftop. Large enough for a dozen standard dragon mounts, or half a dozen large dragons or one great dragon to land on.
The king and queen's Nocturnal suite was built like some great Roman hall fit for an emperor, the architect Sarku's way of honoring the king's proud Roman heritage. The entire suite was painted like a forest at night with star lit night skies, while in the sitting room was a swirling cloud in the sky above, surrounded by stars on the ceiling, three winged vampires swooping out of the clouds, one of them resembling Seth. Wolves, thorn and shadow dragons, and wild cats peered out from the forest trees with other nocturnal animals throughout, while night wings flitted here and there between the clearing and the tree canopy leaning over the edges of the ceilings. Their bed was in front a pair of ancient, vine twisted trees that framed the bed's frame and canopy.
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