Blackstone Specifics

Blackstone Southside

• Blackstone and all of the buildings it protects are made of black marble and obsidian while newer buildings may be black basalt.
• The main West Gate Tower (F-2) faces north on West side of city with Gothtyrdan to the west. The gates and towers are heavily fortified.
• South and then North again from main  gate is the main plaza (G,H-5,6) and Blackstone Keep. A large trebuchet often stands center of the plaza in front of the keep.
• Blackstone Keep (D'G-5'6) is where the king, his family and Honor Guard reside when staying in Blackstone.  It is ten stories high with a huge dungeon below and a Titanic obelisk joined to its central Northwing Tower.
• Stone homes and keeps are scattered throughout the city and east from palace and below it to the south is the Lake District , (H'J-1'10) where all of the commanding officers of Blackstone are housed in fine homes and towers around a small, pristine, quarry lake.
• The large tower on the northeast corner of the Lake District is the Command Tower (G-7), where from the windows and turret the lands to the east are watched and within war plans are laid.
• The Guard Tower north of the Command Tower (F,G-7) above the Lake District houses the guards of Blackstone. The tower connects to the Command Tower by a land bridge.
• The Tiered Building between the command Tower of South Eastern Watch Tower is a School for the Arts (G,H-8'9) and houses Blackstone's mages who are also the instructors in arcane and elemental disciplines.
• The huge southeastern tower is the Southeast Watch Tower (G''I-10) and houses the Blackstone Garrison and it's elite rangers.
• The Tower to the southwest is the Southwest Watch Tower and houses the Nine Cups Wardens (I'K-1).
• Surrounding the Black Plaza is a market place (G-5,6).
• On either side of the keep are fine apartments called Black Square East (D,E-7,8) and West (D,E-2'4).
• The City Stables are beside the East Wing of the Palace near the plaza and gate pad (F-7).
• Horses are also kept and grazed at the Dragon Den Inn and Pub (H-2) in the southwestern corner of Southwatch (G'K-1'3) near the Lake District and Southwest Watch. 
• The high tower west of the palace obelisk is where Blackstone's best kinds conduct thaumaturgical and scientific research.  B'D-4
• The huge keep north of the palace and behind it is Highspire Keep (A'C-5'7), home to captain Artorius of the King's Honor Guard and Commander of the Dragonguard, and his family Ris, Belial and their many children.
• Through the West gate is Twin Tower (F,G-3,4), a large walled in manor where the king's most honored of all guests reside in when staying in Blackstone.
• Housed within the large northeast Dragon Hall (C,D-8'10) are the realm's most dragon warriors (riders and those with dragon forms), their armory, and mounts. The halls and chambers of this keep span ten levels. The rooves and ramparts of this hold are spacious enough to accomodate a number of dragonsv(anywhere from 4-20 depending on their size). There are two trebuchets on the turret's east and west walls.
• The towering North Spires are huge towers of obsidian in crystal form and house the Blackstone Knights (west, A'C-5), their squires and servants, and the Blackstone Cabal battlemages (east, A'C-6,7).
• Beneath Blackstone is a large dungeon filled with many cells and chambers of many sizes, the entrance to this area is well hidden and has a substantial Guard Room guarding it's egress.

Blackstone Northside

• North Beyond the Palace and the back of Highspire Keep is the Falls District, where waterfalls tumble down the walls of manor houses to fill reflecting pools and small lakes. There are several lakeside Manor houses in this district which welcome the country's most honored residents. The Falls District takes up the entire northern side of the city and is where the majority of the city's civilians live.
• The City Watch occupies the three towers in this district to watch over its residents. The most impressive of these towers is the Obsidian Eye Obelisk where a third of the City Watch and their commander is housed and works (D,E-2).
• Another tower is Cascades Tower where another third of the watch resides and works (D-6).
• The last tower is Garden Park Tower and is attached to a manor surrounded by trees with a garden and pool and is where the Watch Officers other than the commander live and work (D,E-8,9). 
• The public is welcome to explore Garden Park (E'H-8,9) which takes up roughly one quarter of the city's Northside. It spans two tiers on the northern westside of the citadel.
• Grassy Path (G-7) leads from Garden Park's upper tier to its lower tier.
• The City Watch also patrols the roads on the city walls around the city while the city guards patrol the inner city roads.

Blackstone Keep

Keep 1st Story:

All of the rooms on the first floor are immense, each guest suite large enough to accommodate five or six people or for a single person to really sprawl.  Sarku wanted the palace first floor to feel open and spacious, freeing and safe, and accomplished that vision well.

Artorius: "Liberating? These halls just feel too damn big. I do love all the space though."

Accessible to Public:

• From the palace entry a large foyer opens into a huge reception hall with three arching doorways that all open into the  forward part of the Reception Hall. 
• From the forward area doors east and west open into huge Event Halls used for various public functions and festivities. People are free to preamble these halls at will. The forward area funnels in people bringing concerns before the throne.
• A northern door opens into the huge throne room. Those wishing to address the king or his representatives enter from the forward to form a line to a well marked stopping point before the throne.  If it gets crowded the line moves over to the right side of room and a new line is formed to the left.

Limited Access: (Areas accessible only to the royal family, special guests and trusted officers.)

• From an anti chamber hidden behind the throne's dias is a warded gate exit into the east and west wing corridors. Only the royal family, permitted guests and trusted officers can utilize the gate which accesses the remainder of the palace.  The gate will also deliver people to called destinations if permitted.
• East Wing Corridor leads to a corner stairwell that accesses the upper stories. 
• Continuing South a large set of double doors opens into the enormous banquet hall.
• The kitchens are off the banquet hall.
• The Tower at the very end of the East Wing Corridor is the residence of the Duke, Niall Nystori.  Niall's residence in Gothtyrdan is also in a southeast tower.
• West Wing Corridor leads to a corner holding chamber then south to a series of capacious guest rooms with adjoining baths.
• The Northwing has two large chambers used by the king and his officers. The east chamber is a Ready Room for planning and even interrogation and the west Chamber a comfortable gathering hall for long discussions with his officers or other people of interest.

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. 

 

The Towers