Cloud palace A cloud palace or cloud castle was an abode of cloud giant s kept floating on a single large cloud by magic . Description . A cloud palace was like any other cloud giant castle , only it was constructed upon a magical , solid cloud . In addition to the castle structure itself , the island of cloud upon which it was built was said to contain giant - sized gardens with luscious fruit trees . Cloud giants could not steer or control where a cloud palace went ; they relied on the blowing of the wind and would dock their palace at various mountain peaks whenever they drifted to such points . Construction . The construction of a cloud palace was an especially complicated endeavor , which was exhausting to all those involved . To begin , it required at least twelve cloud giants working together and using their inherent control over clouds and fog to gather a massive cloud centered over a single runecaster . This waiting runecaster performed a ten - hour ritual involving a rune - inscribed pebble contained in a small leather pouch . If he or she was successful , the mass of cloud solidified , and the other runecasters forced the cloud into the sky again . After this , the lead runecaster had to take the leather bag with the runestone and hide it somewhere in the middle of the cloud . Tampering with the sack or the pebble it contained could cause the cloud to crash . The rune required for the creation of a cloud palace was the most complicated rune ever discovered by any of the giant s and took more than a year to properly inscribe . Only after the cloud was solidified could construction of the palace itself begin , which was no different than the construction of any castle or palace on the ground . History . The first cloud palace on Toril was created by the giant god Stronmaus as a small duplicate of his own realm of Stormhold . The father of the cloud giants , Nicias , won this palace in a bet with Stronmaus , but the palace eventually crashed somewhere in the region of Anauroch . Many years later , runecasters were able to duplicate the magic that had kept the palace afloat . Early in the history of the Vast , before human rule , a flying cloud castle was defeated in some magical battle . It crashed in the area , near the later site of Thindilar , and tumbled across the ground , steadily obliterated as it went , causing ground tremors and leaving a trail of destruction . Debris , bits of dead cloud giant , and giant treasures were left scattered across the countryside . Dwarves looted much of the treasure , reworking them into their own artworks . Notable Cloud Palaces . It was rare for cloud giants to live on cloud palaces ; most lived atop high mountains . A notable cloud palace was often docked at the storm giant aerie located atop an exceptionally tall mountain in the center of Lake Woe . Stronmaus himself inhabited a fantastic cloud palace , which was moored to Annam All - Father ' s steading at Gudheim . The palace contained a massive pool with healing properties . The Plain of Standing Stones , the central region of Anauroch , contained the ruins of a storm giant cloud palace called the Shattered Tower . Whether this palace was the original cloud palace of Nicias was not known .