Eyrie Keep

Capital of the Kingdom of Eyrie, and the late capital of the Eyrian Empire. Eyrie Keep is known as the largest castle on Greyhawke. The city of 20,000 within the castle is still inside the third ring of defenses. The castle has a Dragonwall At the third tier. There are 25 square miles inside the fifth tier defenses.
The government is an appointed Mayor-General. The niceties of civil law are observed in times of peace and the same man is general of the third tier defenses in times of war. Of necessity the Mayor General is an experienced officer of the Army with the flexibility to be an able civil administrator that builds consensus not rules by fiat, and the wisdom to know when to change from one to the other.
==History==
The Village that became Eyrie Keep was founded well before the empire. 40 years before the start of the empire Tesral dropped in and had a house built. He wanted to kick back and rest a while. Circumstances did not allow that. Monsters still roamed the lands and they frequently raided. Tesral soon found himself proclaimed the village leader by dint of being the best monster stopper. Nearby villages heard about it and soon he had a small kingdom going. At this point the First Keep was built on a defensible tel.
The Empire and the renamed Eyrie Keep grew. At the founding of the Kingdom, also the date zero of the Imperial Calendar the Keep was a decent sized castle. In 311 with a growing Empire needing a large administrative and protective structure. It was conceivable that Eyrie could be warred on in those days the first three tiers of the current Keep were built. Over the next hundred years the final two rings of the keep at the one half mile and the two and a half mile radius were built.
The defenses were tried twice. The three tier city was attacked in 348 IC, and the Full five tiered keep in 418 IC, No further attacks have ever made it as far as Eyrie Keep. In both cases the defenses held. In the second attack the besieger found that you cannot lay a proper siege to a structure that large. Mordrun lacked dragons or other fliers that could have over come the first two tiers of defenses. And they would not have taken the third tier and the Dragonwall.
Currently Eyrie Keep serves two main functions outside of being the Capital of the Kingdom of Eyrie. The first is the Eyrian Army training center. The second is the Imperial Mint.
==The Tiers==
Eyrie Keep is set up in five defensive rings.
 Full sized map City Plan
===Tier One, the Inner Keep===
The inner keep has three elements. 
*The Center Tower. A 50 foot diameter 12 story tower is the very center of the Keep. The elevators were a great innovation. Within are the Royal Apartments, the mint machinery and the primary location of "The Doors".
*Inner wall. The inner wall is thick enough to provide ample apartments and office space. It is eight stories tall and goes completely around the Center Tower. There are six corner towers as well each two stories taller than the Wall itself. Barracks, storage rooms, official and noble housing are found here. A wise lord sees to his estates during the season of fire.
*Outer Wall. Sixty feet tall it has no interior spaces. Six bastions guard the corners. It has a continuous wall walk.
===Tier Two; the Outer Keep===
The Outer Keep has two elements. The Inner Wall and the Outer Wall. the walls of the Outer Keep are spaced fifty feet from the Outer Wall of the Inner Keep. the interim space is used for recreation.
*The Inner Wall is fifty feet thick and seven stories tall. There are towers on each corner. The interior space is used as barracks and storage of siege supplies. Quartermasters are kept busy seeing that the supplies are rotated and used. Nothing is wasted. 
*The Outer Wall is twenty foot thick and also seven stories tall, but located twenty feet lower than the inner wall. It has no interior spaces. The outer wall has the first mid wall towers on the Keep.
===Tier Three; The City===
500 yards from the Central Tower are the walls of the Third Tier. This is the full extent of the Dragonwall. The magic would not go further than that. Between the Outer Keep and the Third Tier walls is the city itself. The city is mainly of half timbered construction with a few all stone buildings. Tile is the required roofing material Buildings must be four stories or under. 
The City enjoys running water and an efficient sewage system. The streets are lit by continual lights. Population minus the Army is about 20,000
*The inner walls are forty foot thick with a twenty foot thick facing. There are regular cut ins for arrow loops every forty feet on the third through fifth floors. 36 towers gird the wall with a gatehouse on three sides. The interior is capable of holding the population of the villages around the keep in cases of emergency. No one can think of a reason to house that many soldiers. They have been used on occasion, but never to capacity when flooding drove people out of their villages. 
*The outer wall is fifty feet high and twenty feet thick. It has 36 towers and no interior spaces.
===Tier Four; The Army Training Grounds===
Not shown on graphic.
Nine Hundred yards from the Central Tower are the walls of the Fourth Tier. Between the Third Tier walls and the Fourth Tier walls are the army training grounds. The Eyrian Army is both a citizen army and a professional trained force. Every volunteer spends six months here learning what it takes to be a solder for the next six years. In addition the officer training corps is located at the Keep. Having money and a noble daddy is not enough to get a position in the Army. You have to prove you can do the job. Barracks for recruits and officers alike are spaced around the hexagon. 
*The Inner Wall has no interior spaces. It is five stories tall and twenty feet thick. Unlike the fifth Tier there are no barracks as the Army is housed just inside. 
*The Outer Wall is forty feet high, twenty feet thick and and likewise has no interior spaces.
===Tier Five, the Rice Paddies===
Not shown on graphic. The outer most ring, two and a half miles from the Center Tower, consists of either roads, or rice paddies. The paddies serve the dual purpose of growing rice, a highly sustainable crop that can sustain people for long periods of time. the second reason being that rice paddies are difficult to move through. An invader that breached the outer walls would have to either stick to predictable roads or slog though water and mud.
*The inner wall is the typical 50 foot curtain wall seen in the Keep. It is not built with interior spaces. However the wall is built out at the towers with a two story barracks area for the comfort of assigned troops. They are seldom assigned. Cleaning and maintaining the outer barracks is considered grub duty and assigned to those with less than sterling discipline records. 
*The Outer Wall is similar and 30 foot tall. It has alternating towers. There are no attached barracks.
==Places==
===The Hall of Doors===
A location that many people see, but few know the location of. The Hall of Doors is physically buried under the foundations of Eyrie Keep. There is direct access, but is is not easy to get at.
The Doors themselves are fixed gates to various locations around the Empire. It is actually several halls. The Magistrates System goes between the various courts. The Diplomatic System between Embassies and offices. The Official System to governmental units around the Empire. The doors themselves are not labeled. They are in different colors and different styles. The user is expected to know where they are going.
Bureau 13 file: This fantastical location has been spoken of and described. Thus far it is reported as hearsay. The existence of the permanent extra-dimensional gate certainly confirms the possible technology.
===Imperial Mint===
Located in the lower floors of the Central Tower the mint supplies coinage for the entire Empire. Yes there is enough precious metals inside this place to beggar the imagination. No, you can't get a tour. Only the coining presses are located here. The roller mills are elsewhere.
===The Sign of the Arms===
Top notch Inn near the castle gate proper. It is favored by the well to do traveler with an appointment to see the Patriarch, and not enough pull to get a room in the castle. Expect to pay several crowns a night. 
===The Sword & Board===
A tavern inside the west city gate frequented by soldiers. It is known for its cavernous tap room that can comfortably seat several hundred. A small army of beer wenches serves the tables. Plate armor bustles are recommended.
Beer and ale are the primary stock in trade. Spirits can be had, but are not generally favored. Food is limited to salty snacks. Soldiers are well fed and notoriously stingy about spending their pay on food. 
Category:Greyhawke
Category:Greyhawke Gazetteer
Category:Cities