Royal Palace of the Magistrate

File:Royal Palace of the Magistrate.png

*"Aye, mate. The only thing that makes sense about the palace is that nothing about it makes any sense."*
―Pablo[src]
The **Royal Palace of the Magistrate** was a large tungsten complex located in Idaho. Originally erected as a science tower in accordance to the plotting of Zira Miranda Grover, the buildings eventually fell into the hands of the newly crowned Empress. While the structure underwent many additions in the way of fortification and technological advances, the basic structure of the complex remained the same throughout its existence. Deep in the castle's subterranean chambers, Zira Miranda Grover made a throne room which sat below the Death Pit. The Empress used the arena for a dual purpose: protection and entertainment. The palace was highly technologically integrated and was wired by Zira to be run by her personal A.I. assistant, Goldie.

## Description

The Royal Palace of the Magistrate was a large tungsten complex located at the fringes of the Idaho tundra in America. While the structure underwent many additions in the way of relevancy and technological advances, the basic structure of the complex remained the same throughout its existence. Composed of a central rotunda and a taller spire adjacent to it, the ridge-side retreat also boasted a hangar and maintenance bay. The Palace also boasted a huge kitchen to cook lots of food for the Empress' large appetite, run by Pablo and his kitchen boy, Marco. On Zira's orders, cameras were installed into the palace to record almost everything that went on in there.

### Motor pool and subterranean passages

Located underground, the motor pool was a hangar where the Magistrate's luxurious vans and priceless limousine the *Gemotre* were stored. Several of the Nortorans worked and slept there. Its primary access to the outside was a large hangar door, just outside of which were a series of hallways and small rooms housing an assortment of amenities for the palace. Above the hangar was a small watch tower, and a roadway located adjacent to the garage was circuitous to Idaho itself and provided an up-ramp for swoops housed in the garage. The floor of the hangar itself was made of polished stone, and on the ceiling was a ventilator. Additional subterranean passages delved deeper into the ground than the motor pool. Levels below that, the empress had established a spice-cultivating chamber, where only the highest quality of the illicit substance was produced.

### Death Pit

Deep in the tower’s chambers, Zira made a throne room which sat below the Death Pit, a huge indoor arena slightly more narrow in diameter than the architectural level beneath it. Two bands clamped around Zira's throne and elevated her to the peak of a lavish balcony that would slide into the mainframe where she could overlook executions in the Death Pit. The spectator stands resembled a donut-shape that was missing a section of its circumference that functioned as a ring around the palace, and it would levitate at the beginning of a match so thousands of people could step inside and get all the good seats. After a match, the ringed spectator booth would simply land on the floor and wreath the palace once more.

### Throne Room

Zira made her throne room deep in the chambers of the palace complex. Accessed by a winding stairway, the throne room’s air was constantly filled with the sounds of music per Zira’s delight in live song. Reclining on a large throne, Zira could oversee the gathered masses she permitted to enjoy her company. Behind Zira was the door to her majordomo’s own private quarters which allowed quick arrival to join her. Behind that room was her own private quarters, which she used when she wanted isolation but didn't want to go to her city quarter. The door leading to her room was ornately made of priceless jewels and frequently guarded by a small battalion of soldiers. The likes of assassins and mercenaries filled out the often crowded alcoves of the throne room.

At the center of the room, the polished metal floor gave way to a viewing screen which recorded events up in the Death Pit where Zira’s beasts would fight, entertaining the Empress and her guests. Amongst the beasts were Zira’s unnamed alien and a lion. A suction field set in front of Zira’s throne could be opened by a trigger mechanism in the Empress’ armrest, blowing air upward towards threatening or otherwise bothersome guests and escorting them into the pit to be devoured. The throne room was beyond welcome to Zira’s private band. The band, headlining vocalists Thomas Carter and Makenzie, performed at Zira’s whim, occupying a band room above the chamber adjacent to the Death Pit.

The largest alcove in the room, hosting the stairs to the dancers’ pit, band lounge, and the private elevator that ferried Zira up to her private chambers, was also home to a wall of trophies collected by Zira. Amongst these items were the taxidermied heads of several beasts and, for a short time, a bound and intricately shackled Helen McKeen.

### Guest quarters

Several resting chambers are also in the palace, leading off from the lobby that open to spiral staircases. There were two staircases opening off the lobby into the palace itself, dividing them by gender when the residents were not sleeping together. The girls' staircase was technologically advanced so that if a boy set foot on it and persisted for a few steps, a wailing siren went off and the staircase temporarily turned itself into a metal slide, sending him and anyone else on the stairs sailing to the bottom and sending them back into the lobby. Amongst Alliance Central, a common belief was that girls were more trustworthy than boys, so that while the girls' staircase was wired to prevent boys from getting in, the boys' staircase did not carry reciprocal technology. Torin X went into the boys' room on several occasions. The staircase once turned on Mark, who had been trying enter the girls' guest quarters to contact Torin, only for the stairs to turn into the magnificent slide and Mark to fall, at which point Torin herself came down moments later, following a pair of laughing girls.

### Dungeons and meeting chamber

*"What he saw nearly made his heart stop. The room was filled with prisoners that were possible slaves, if not those that foolishly challenged Zira or got involved with the wrong politician. Each of them were strapped to either the wall, to chains hanging from the ceiling, to chairs or tables of any kind. All of the prisoners were being tortured in some way by guards or un-manned devices that were hurting them on any part of their bodies."*
―*A Diamond in the Rough: The Story of Melinoe*
The levels below the throne room were prison cells for Zira’s enemies, dungeons whose occupants often suffered a slow, public death. While some prisoners were allowed to freely walk around the cell, most were strapped to the wall, to the ceiling, or to furniture. Several un-manned devices were attached to them as a means of torture. Some of the prisons were open for visitors to inspect potential slaves, who could be purchased in lieu of capital punishment. The guards, who frequently tortured the prisoners themselves, resided with their families in these dank levels. The males maintained order in the palace, while their women raised their children and kept the palace tidy.

The meeting room that sat opposite the prison facility was overseen by Tom Harper, a sadistic worker who oversaw that assessment of anyone that would see service in Zira’s palace.

### Sub-levels

Below the dungeon levels were cellars in which Zira kept various flasks and barrels of alcoholic beverages. Deeper were various passageways, tunnels and chambers. Even deeper still below these levels were vast networks and labyrinths of tunnels and corridors.

### Communications tower

The main tower that rose from the building housed communication, surveillance, and defense systems including anti-aircraft emplacements and shield generators. Capped with a communications dome, the tower's exterior was pockmarked by extra-dimensional wave transceivers that kept the palace tuned into the Internet and much less official communications networks.

## History

### Construction

During her early years in politics, Zira Miranda Grover had a friend pull some strings, leading to the construction of a luxurious science tower in the state of Idaho over several years, ultimately taking eleven years to build. Many complicated experiments were performed within its walls, including the construction of the infamous Techno Drones. This extended to the augmentation of organic beings, who believed in isolating themselves from all physical stimuli, into what would one day become the Aerial Techno Drones, as these cyborgs released themselves of all their temporal tethers, achieving true and complete freedom to be part of something far greater than themselves.

Subsequently, Zira finished founding the International Alliance. The tower had in fact been built as the perfect palace Zira enormously anticipated to satisfy Zira's high standards without anyone knowing she intended to rule from there when she became the unchallenged ruler of the Eight Worlds. She seemingly disappeared from the public forever, but in reality she went to the sophisticated and technologically advanced tower and took up residence there having a throne room erected in the top floor, creating an Artificial intelligence system that helped out in the palace, naming it Goldie, and residing there on her reclining and decadent throne, living a life of luxury there. Despite that, Zira allowed the Techno Drones to still roam around her appropriated palace, believing that they may have some future use for her as she intended to make her goals a reality. Upon her arrival, Stellan Howard, who had long been working in top secret as Zira's chief architect, was ordered to design additions to her palace, focusing on the dungeons. Amongst Alliance Central, a common belief was that girls were more trustworthy than boys, and as such, Zira had the girls' stairwell wired by Stellan to turn into a slide should a boy set foot upon it, but not vice versa. However, he failed to provide adequate space for Zira's personalized servants, leaving the existing dungeons intact for them to lounge in to cover up for this. This made Zira so furious that she executed him. Upon her arrival, Zira remained in her throne room, in the heart of the Palace, scarcely wandering far and rarely appearing in public.

Despite Zira's isolationism, the rest of the Palace bustled constantly with activity. As Zira’s empire grew in reputation and power, more and more miscreants began to occupy the palace. Zira captured and employed many guards, allowing their families to reside in a wing of the palace in exchange for security. The empress occupied the palace for decades, dividing her time between this retreat, and her home in San Diego, California.

### The Magistrate's regime

During the First NoHead War, the Magistrate hosted the bounty hunter Blue Garantan, whom she hired to hunt down Bladepoint, who had attacked her value assessment tax collectors in 1995. As a display of his fighting prowess, Garantan single-handedly shot several of Zira's nobles in her throne room. Garantan tracked down Bladepoint but failed to kill him. Fearing the Magistrate's wrath, the hitman fled the United States; yet he did not get far as the Magistrate had a way of finding unfindable people.

During the era that in which the reign of the NoHead Empire was threatened by Lily Elazar's War, the Magistrate remained wealthy and corrupt. In 2017, Susan Marshall and her Shade Union traveled to the Royal Palace of the Magistrate. They attempted to force their way to Zira's throne, but the palace was too well fortified and the overwhelming force they were faced with left the Shade Union with no choice but to turn away and leave.

Jim Newman and Melinoe kept capturing and enslaving people for the Magistrate and eventually found one who would become famous all over America: the Prime Beast. Seeing the fully sentient monster as a formidable and ferocious fighter, the Magistrate quickly took a liking at the greyish-blue giant, who became the new favored champion of the Tournament. Leading an elite circle of Arena Beasts alongside Keeper of the Beasts Luke Jones, the Prime Beast fought and killed numerous other contenders, defeating every enemy ever brought to fight against him, including Ianevski, and was widely acclaimed by rich and poor affiliates of the International Alliance alike who enjoyed watching him defeat his opponents. Later, after having a son named Eegan Grover, Zira subverted most of her isolationism and the palace became alive as never before with music and cheer.

### Entanglement with the criminal underworld

 File:Entourage League of Red Stars.png
Following the Battle of Orem, several members of the Warrior Guild, including Torin X, visited the Royal Palace of the Magistrate to reckon. Meanwhile, Baron Coulson traveled to the palace to successfully implicate the mercenary Avara for kidnapping his daughters. The staircase turned on Mark, who had been trying enter the girls' guest quarters to contact Torin, only for the stairs to turn into a magnificent slide and Mark to fall, at which point Torin herself came down moments later, following a pair of laughing girls so she and Mark could discuss what was coming. Torin proceeded to fight several Nortorans and defeat them.

### Rescue of Helen McKeen

*"I'm merely asking that you impose some sort of control over research within the alliance so that it doesn't cross any ethical lines!"
"Wrong, that's what you'd like me to think you're asking. I read your ideas, most if not all of your terms weren't predicated on morals but on fear. You want me to halt research into space flight because it’s an 'affront against nature to leave the realm we were meant for.' I'll impose restrictions, but they shall be mine, not yours. Hey, why are you pointing to the Death Pit button, he expressed himself man, that's not a felony!"*
―The Holy Man and the Magistrate[src]
Helen McKeen was brought prisoner for failing to capture Cedwell, and Zira shackled her to the end of the throne room. However, the Boy-Team wanted Helen back, and to do so, they concocted an elaborate plan. First, Vincent Organa sent a message to a guard to give to Zira. The guard successfully delivered Vincent’s message, which asked to bargain for Helen, but Zira rejected the offer. By this point, Annabeth Black had arrived and befriended Zira.

Afterward, the Magistrate listened to her musicians perform, leading to a disguised Summer freeing Thomas Carter. Later that night, Summer freed Helen from her bonds. However, Zira caught her and Helen. Helen tried to bargain with the dictator, saying that she was at war, but Zira said it was too late. Helen was put in a cell while Summer was taken as Zira’s long-anticipated heir. Vincent arrived two nights later and was able to gain entry, at which point he demanded that Zira free Helen and Summer, or else face her destruction. Zira refused and Vincent pulled a large firearm on her, at which point Zira activated the suction field and sent Vincent into a dark room which opened at once to escort him into the Death Pit. However, Vincent's role in the Tournament of the White Roses was short-lived when he defeated the Arena Beasts and Wes Bomee executed the last and most powerful one, infuriating the monarch. The Magistrate ordered harsher punishment: the prisoners would be taken to the Temple of the Relinquished and fed to Devorar. While most of Zira's courtiers accompanied her to the temple, very few returned, one being Zira herself. Zira returned to her Palace and it rocketed away from Idaho, only to return to its original position in 2028. Whatever Techno Drones had survived the rage of the School War continued to walk about the Palace premises during this time. Zira continued in her laid back, gluttonous ways for another decade. She brought about the deaths of several more people, usually for sport. Anyone who dared enter her Palace was sentenced to death unless they had an excuse she considered to be exceptional. The International Alliance as a whole had been dealt a heavy blow. Candy Man crashlanded at the Palace after leaving New York in July of 2041.

### Fusion

In a possible future where Sol is invaded by the Black Queen, she partially materialized into the Royal Palace of the Magistrate shortly after the demise of Steven Thompson. Currently being there with Zira herself, Summer Petersen succumbed to arzneillium as Zira watched with evident delight.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 *League of Red Stars*
2. ↑ *Before The SMSB: What is a Bloodbath?*
3. ↑ *Before The SMSB: Who Will Hold Dominion?*
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 *Boys vs. Girls 2*
5. ↑ *S.M.S.B.: Where Are You Now?*