• Gothtyrdan Castle Specifics

  Basic Description: Above the castle is a wide swathe of rich, flat land with scattered trees and orchards which meets a very high seaside cliff. A road winds down the cliiffside into the deep precipice to the fortress's drawbridge and main gate. All of the walls, the rampart and keep walls alike, are solid stone, carved from the cliffs, as are the supporting pillars. The cliffs themselves curve around the fortress to form massive walls north and south. The stone is a smooth dark grey basalt which looks jet black and like obsidian when wet. This fortress bores deep into the cliff it was chiseled from and is enormous. As such the immense cliffs themselves act a secondary wall. The entire place and the city beneath it was raised by Sarku over a hundred year period. Maelmorda shall always consider the place Sarku's until the animist dies a final death, but Maelmorda does not always let Sarku know this.
  
  

• Above the Cliffs:  There is a guard house here, large enough to house five guards with a large dining area and medium sized kitchen. The guard house stands on open grassland between Gothtyrdan and Blackstone (below). Another guard house like it stands east of Blackstone on a savannah with scattered trees,  copses and some orchards scattered throughout and around it.

  Gates and Gate Towers

• There are four gate towers, two west and two south.
• The south gate meets the road by the draw bridge.
• The west gate opens from a terraced garden to steps which descend to the beach.
• The massive northwest gate breeches the paddock and arboratum rampart and opens to the pasture which meets the shore.
• The massive southwest gate breeches the southern courtyard rampart and opens to the pasture which meets the shore.
• The gates are made of 6x6 well seasoned, weather resistant planks of strong-wood reinforced with steel bands (strength of 246).  Each gate is also protected by a black diamthrill portcullis (strength 298).

First Floor

Floors: 

There are six floors and a dungeon.  The 4th - 6th floors are called The Maze, and can only be accessed by 'the spiral' a centrally located staircase.  It is off-limits to all but Maelmorda and Sarku, and a few others, who know who they are.

The Spiral: a spiral stairway which looked as if it was designed after the heart of conch shell.  These stairs lead to the central towers, the maze and turret, bypassing the floors in between. Rising up through six stories, the spiral is quite a climb.

Towers: the towers have anywhere from seven to ten floors from foundation to turret.  

• There are six great towers, two on each corner west and east.
• The west towers loom high and overlook the ocean.
• The eastern towers are against the cliff, and from them doors access tunnels and chambers carved into the cliffs. The east towers are so high that they overlook the land above the cliffs.
• The last two towers rise up from the castle center, and are joined by an arching bridge. Running horses are carved into the length of the bridge on both sides.   The chambers in these two towers house the resident realm knights and the Morning Star knights when they sojourn.

The Keep 1st Floor

• Entrance Hall: southside central of the main floor, opens into the Main Hall.
• Main Hall: goes straight north then splits off east and west around the second story staircase.  Each side opens into a large hall. Both of these halls are check points where guards are stationed which check any unknown or little known visitors.
• Social Chambers and Baths: rooms made for cozy gatherings and public bathing, east and west off the Main Hall's East and West Halls.  Also make good waiting rooms.
• East Hall is between entrance hall and Banquette Hall.  
• West Hall is between Entrance Hall and Throne Room.
• Banquet Hall: north from the East Hall.  A large hall for dining with the kitchen off the hall northeast. Three meals a day here are served to the castle residents, visitors, knights, honor guard, and wardens of the realm.
• A large pair of double doors stand closed on the north wall of the Banquette Hall. The doors are always secured when the Castle common area is open to the public. The doors open to the outter hall which follows the outside wall all the way around the first floor accessing the war, combat, throne rooms and officer's quarters including the king and queens chambers.
• Kitchen: off a short corridor northeast from the banquet hall.

The Outer Corridor West

• Warroom: A large room adjacent to the Northwest Corner break rooms off the Warroom.
• Armory: south of Warroom.
• Combat Hall: south of Armory, used for training, southwest corner.
• Playroom: A huge children's playroom with a vaulted ceiling and many windows on the first floor of the Southwest Tower.  Many toys for children to play with.
• Entrance and first floor living area of Sarku's Tower is in the Northwest Tower.

Outer Corridor North

• Door to Atrium:  opens to the atrium and gardens in northeast courtyard. The gated area of the Garden leads into Durasgard which likewise has secret access points into Anwnn.
• Captain's Quarters: occupied by Artorius Xavier.  Exit leads into the Atrium Garden.
• Northeast Tower: stairs ascend to the rampart then above it to the land at the top of the cliffs within a short walk to the guard tower and about a ten minute walk to Blackstone. There is also an entrance to a corridor which burrows through the cliffs and leads to the Southeast Tower.  Large chambers extend from each floor of the east towers into the cliffs making the space inside the tower much more substantial.  Above the ramparts however there are only two additional staggered expansions of this sort on the eighth and tenth floors of the towers.

• The mysterious Gothtyrdan garrison resides in the east towers.  Legend tells that the Gothguard was created by Sarku to guard the castle and it's residents many ages ago.

Outer Corridor East

• The Royal Wing: The East Wing is where the royal family presides and includes the King's Suite, the Special Guests Chambers and the East Wing Baths.
• The King's Suite: The northeast corner rooms.  There is a hidden and heavily warded door in the dressing room that opens into the kitchen.  This suite of six huge rooms has its own bath house.
• Special Guests Chambers: south of the King's Suite.  As the King's family grows some of these rooms might be designated as family rooms or an additional nursery.
• East Wing Baths: for the special guests and royal offspring.
• Dungeon Access: a well concealed door in the east wall central opens into a tunnel that descends into the dungeon carved into the cliffs.  Further tunnels extend beyond the dungeon to access Gothardda and it's underground river below.
• House Library: first three floors of the Southeast Tower.
• Southeast Tower: above the library the stairs continue to ascend to the rampart then the all the way to the land above the cliff.  Tunnels connect the two eastern towers. Large chambers extend from each floor of the east towers into the cliffs making the space inside the tower much more substantial.  Above the ramparts however there are only two additional staggered expansions of this sort on the eighth and tenth floors of the towers.

Second Floor

Third Floor

The Keep 2nd and 3rd Floors

• Bed Chambers: all the bedchambers for guests and residents are on these floors.  The only exception are the apartments and chambers reserved for Maelmorda and his special guests on the 4th-6th floors.
• Bath Houses: each room on these floors has its own roman style bath house with large bathing pools and saunas.

The Keep 4th-6th Floors

• The Maze: includes the 4th - 6th floors, and can only be accessed by 'the spiral' a centrally located staircase.  It is off-limits to all but Maelmorda and Sarku, and a few others, who know who they are. If any unauthorized person enters this maze they will become quite lost, unable to find their way out or to any resident chambers. One might find their way to an empty or unused chamber, but if they leave they will not be able to find their way back to it. Chance of accidentally finding way to a staricase; 15%. Chance of accidentally finding way to a master chamber; 5%. Roll once a day.
• Master Apartment: four rooms and a bath which are the residence of Maelmorda and his wife.
• Guest Chambers: there are five on each floor, and they are almost always empty. Two connected chambers adjacent to Maelmorda's apartment is the chamber of Keir and Rain, Maelmorda and Galaxy's sons.

(Further Details and Map Pending)

The Main Towers:  there are four great towers, each on a corner of the main keep.  Each of these towers is a keep in and of itself.

      The two eastern towers are built against the cliff face and are immensely high, towering not only above the keep but the cliffs as well, offering a watch of the land above. Built partially into the cliff face these towers are incredibly strong.

     The two West towers overlook the West Tempest Ocean and the Southwest tower offers a clear view of the only road down the massive cliff face to Gothtyrdan.  A huge children's playroom with a vaulted ceiling and many windows is on the first floor of the Southwest Tower.  Sarku resides is the northwest tower when sojourning at the mighty fortress he built.

    Each floor of the great towers contains either one single large chamber or are split into three or four rooms with cross walls for added support.  The single chambers are always over a split chamber.  The Garrets and floors just beneath in every tower has a murder hole in the floor should enemies make it that far.

      The three lesser central turrets are all linked together by a bridge.  Though not as immense as the great towers they are high and a good vantage for defending the roof with ample battlements, arrow slots and ballista for defense and any aerial foes on the attack.  

     The entire roof and it's wall-walks have heavy battlements to both guard against attacks and to allow for rooftop offense.

The Roof and Towers

Other Features

The Dungeon:  Two sprawling levels deep inside of the cliffs off the eastern side of the castle. It contains many cells, pits, large open cells, corridors and tunnels.  During the rainy season parts of it flood but drain off into conduits which dump into the castle culvert.

The Culvert: a dungeon in and itself; The culvert below the castle is quite as large as the castle's main floor.  The waste and grey water from the castle enters this channel from conduits.  The culvert water itself dumps into an aggressive, underground algea pool, where light filters in from vents along the west wall. The algea uses the waste as food and filters out the waste before it seeps through a layer of sand and highly porous rock into a spillway that pours the clean filtered water into the sea.

Plumbing: the castle has plumbing; and the water for washing and bathing comes from large, black, soapstone cisterns on the roof.  This water is almost always hot from solar heating.  Drinking water is tapped from any small, marble sink in the castle and comes from very clean, cold springs in the cliff table.  The water pressure is always very good because of small pipes and the water sources being above the pipes.

Children looking at a Gargoyle in the Entrance Hall.

Stone Guardians:  The animals and creatures which lurk in all corners of the castle, on the columns and trestles, the lintels and arches, the pedestals and crowns, the molding and doors, the tables and chairs, well, all around, are many and splendid, sometimes terrible.  Moreover these statues can come to life, even the dragons, the kelpie and the re'em, if Sarku calls them into this life, whereby they shall attack enemy invaders! 

Sea Cave: This cave's pool is large and deep enough to shelter six large ships and can be reached from the northern stretch of beach.  There is no other protection for ships, no cove or bay. An enormous Kardan Dragon lives in the back of this cave, sleeping on the sandy rock bank which is level and deep with a wide path to the sea past the pool. The dragon's name is Svaugren

The Shore: Gothtyrdan is above the flood plane and on a rocky hill which slopes down to the beach. The West Gate exits from a terraced garden onto stone steps which descends to and meets the path to the beach. The sand is fine and of white colour, the water almost a turquiose hue, like Carribean waters. The water is shallow for quite some meters before gradually deepening, though northward the bottom drops off steeply where a deep channel leads into the sea cave. The fishing is very good because of that deep channel and cave, which means sharks can be a problem for swimmers. They have to keep alert for sharks and other predatory sea life. Further north and further south the cliffs thrust up from the sea itself in deep waters, so the beach just ends at these cliff walls. This makes Gothtyrdan very secluded and well enclosed, with only the one road leading to the castle.