Argent Castle

In the Realm of the Moon, there is a castle made of silver and marble, one of the few anchors of stability in the Realm's changing scenery. Yet its location changes. The Argent Castle has its own beauty like the Zenith Castle of the Sun, and it has its own surprises.

## History

Before the Devourer of Worlds's destruction of the Aether civilization, this castle was inhabited by perhaps, a lord serving the kings of Aether World as the Realm of the Moon 's governor. It was one of the buildings destroyed in the battle between King Athos, his father and the Devourer, and left in ruins until the students of Aether World Cosmic University visited it to find some artefacts.

As part of their final-year project, the students have to rebuild Aether World's ruins, the castle included. Ranald, Mayari, and Cerynitis's family visit the castle first in A New Generation of Protectors (Part 2). Revati, Cerynitis's adopted son, separates from the group and was found at the treasury. He was found with one of the 28 silver badges, and Cerynitis allowed him to keep it.

## Description

Made of silver and marble, it is notable for its five towers named for the five phases of the moon and being surrounded by a hedge of thorns that can put people to sleep by pricking them. It has many rooms like the other realm palaces such as a Hall of the Moon where the Silver Deer Warrior holds her assemblies, a dining hall, a library, a training hall, and the Deer Warrior's bedroom. The Argent Castle is near Fort Buwan and the Garden of the Four Guardians. Tapestries, columns, stained glass and sculptures decorate the castle, with lunar motifs being common.

### Interior

Cold Light Foyer: The main lobby of the Argent Castle, it has marble stairs leading to a door at the bottom. On the top of the staircase is another door which leads to the other rooms of the castle. The ceiling is decorated with real stars, and the doors are made of wood and silver, inlaid with moonstones. A chandelier hangs from the ceiling.

Hall of the Moon: The throne room where the Silver Deer Warrior meets the 28 Knights of the Lunar Mansions. It has a white silk baldachin which shelters a silver throne with deer antlers on a raised dais. It too has a ceiling decorated with real stars. On important missions, the Knights assemble in this room, and the Silver Deer Warrior addresses them via holograms produced by the flying orbs found in the Hall or in rare occasions, live in person. Like with the Zenith Castle of the Sun and some palaces, it can be converted into a ballroom.

Blue Moon Ballroom: An elegant ballroom. While the Hall of the Moon can also be converted into a ballroom, this one is for even bigger events. Its ceiling is covered in real stars during both day and night, and the silver orb hanging from the ceiling can turn into a disco ball. Its silver-trimmed columns support a viewing gallery on the second floor where guests can see the events happening on the ground floor, and the windows have blue curtains.

Ladies' Private Quarters: The lady of the Argent Castle's private quarters. It has a bedroom, a bathroom, a personal bookshelf, a private garden, a balcony overlooking the scenery and a receiving area. In the bedroom, there is a holographic projector for when Mayari needs to contact someone such as the Knights, other Celestial Dimension Warriors, or even her parents on Earth.

Harvest Moon Dining Hall: Like all palaces, this dining room is connected to the kitchen. In this case, it's by a hallway. The kitchen and pantry have the usual stoves, ovens, refrigerators, and more. Fantastical items such as a drink synthesizing machine and a silver bowl that can produce medicinal dishes are also found in the kitchen. There is a storage area next to the kitchen which is enchanted to keep the food in it cool. The dining hall has representations of the lunar phases on its ceiling and a dining table covered by silver silk tablecloth. The chairs are made of lacquered wood and Snow Diamonds on the walls keep this room cool. The table and chairs smell like lily flowers.

Library: Where scholarly-inclined people go to study. It has a glass dome to let the sunlight in at the day and moonlight at night. And the dome can amplify the strength of moonlight passing through it, making it as bright as sunlight. It contains everything from books, scrolls, tomes, magazines, comics and more. Topics cover mundane subjects to the arcane. Like with the Stars of Destiny, some Knights work there as translators and librarians, and books from Earth and other dimensions are donated there to be recorded and copied, and then returned to where they came from. They also protect the forbidden lore found in the library from the intruders.

Training Hall: It is an indoor gym with punching bags that can self-repair, weights, and exercise equipment. It's connected to another room with mirror walls and ballet bars, suited for Knights who are skilled at dancing or forms of combat resembling dance.

Vesperal Spa: A pool-like bathing chamber supported by columns with silver trim. This room has a circular jacuzzi and a massage parlour. It is where the Silver Deer Warrior goes to relax.

Treasury: It is where all treasures lost are found. The 28 badges used to be kept there are given to the Knights. It has torches that burn with silver flames which turn red when a thief enters. If you have lost something, you can go to the treasury to find it, and you can recognize the thing by the silver sheen the treasury gives it. The treasury also holds abstract concepts that people have lost and then found, with the common one being their sanity.

Medicinal Hall: While the Knights of the Lunar Mansions go to Fort Buwan to rest and sleep, they go to this room when injured. It has an infirmary with healing pods and behind its right door is the office with medicinal texts and medical technologies such as diagnostics tools that are far more advanced than those of Earth. Behind the left door are the stairs leading to the storeroom where healing potions and medicines are stored. The infirmary has an indoor herb garden next to it, which has special windows that can capture sunlight in the day. Lepus can be found there delivering medicine to the sick held in there.

Laboratory: Found near the Medicinal Hall, this room has the latest scientific equipment that reminds the Silver Deer Warrior of her chemistry classes on Earth. Aside from the usual lab equipment such as beakers, test tubes and such, it also has tripods and furnaces for the formation of medicinal elixirs. Thus, it also serves as a medical lab. A machine that scans a person to find out any abnormalities inside and a medicine synthesizer are one of the more fantastical equipment found in this lab.

Teleporter Room: A small room decorated with a holographic 3D map of the Realm of the Moon on a silver table and a teleporting crystal in a stand. The user simply needs to put her hands on the crystal and say where she wants to go. On the map, a hologram of Argent Castle will appear on the desired location, and the actual castle will teleport there. In pre-fall Aether World, it was used as a way to evade enemies and perform surprise attacks on them. But that use was quite rare until the Devourer of Worlds arrived.

Armoury: Where weapons and armour are stored. Sandstone walls are decorated with Lunar Pearl-torches and weapons such as moonbeam swords and polearms dating from pre-fall Aether World mounted on the walls. There is a section where energy guns are stored, and where armour can be fitted on. Most of the weapons in there are crafted by Mayari in her AWCU student years, and they have been given to the Lunar Zodiac Generals.

Perfect Circle Cistern: Named for its shape of the holes used to collect water, it is found in the basement of the castle, under the armoury. Where water is stored. Rainwater is collected by silver pipes connecting the roofs of the castle to the cistern, above which is a hole, where it is filtered by the sand and stored underground. It's where the castle gets most of its water from.

#### The Towers

Full Moon Tower: One of the towers of the Argent Castle, it has an antechamber as a receiving area on the ground floor, a lookout room and a portal room to the Empyrean Castle at the top floor. It is topped with a silver deer vane and has silver steps and a white tile roof.

Crescent Moon Tower: One of the towers of the Argent Castle, it has a lookout room and a portal room to Fort Buwan at the top floor. It has silver steps and a black-and-white tiled roof that looks like a crescent moon when seen from above.

Half Moon Tower: One of the towers of the Argent Castle. It has a lookout room and a portal in its top floor leading to Earth. It has silver steps and a half-black and half-white tiled roof.

Gibbous Moon Tower: One of the towers of Argent Castle. It has an antechamber serving as a receiving area on its ground floor, a lookout room and a portal in its top floor leading to the Zenith Castle of the Sun. It has silver steps and a black-and-white tiled roof that looks like a gibbous moon when seen from above.

New Moon Tower: One of the Towers of Argent Castle. It has a lookout room and a portal leading to the Garden of the Four Guardians on the top floor. It has silver steps and a black onyx tiled roof.

### Exterior

The Hedge of Somnia Thorns: Before the fall of Aether World, its previous owner grew a hedge of Somnia Roses around Argent Castle. Now, even if the said previous owner is gone, his legacy remains in this line of defence. Even if a traveller swims across the moat to the castle, he must be careful, for one prick of the thorns growing on the stems of the Somnia Roses sends him into a deep sleep.

Moat: Around the Argent Castle and its thorny hedge is the moat which is filled with water from the Silver Light River via a channel that can be blocked by a gate built in it. It glows at night, nourishing the Somnia Rose hedge surrounding the castle.

Midnight Gatehouse: Incorporated in the castle walls, this entrance is made of rose marble trimmed with silver, attached to the Gibbous Moon Tower and the New Moon Tower by covered walkways. It has a wooden door overlaid with silver.

Portal to the Sun: A portal made of sandstone and gold that leads to the Realm of the Sun.

### Defenses

While the current landlady of Argent Castle can teleport it anywhere she wants to avoid direct confrontation with enemies, there are some defensive powers King Athos added to the castle in case anyone succeeds in breaking in...

* Consecrated Ground of the Moon: *Creatures of darkness – such as nightmare monsters and vampires – could not recover motes or will within the castle, and would take one level of aggravated damage and lose one will per minute they spent there.*
* Celestial Confluence: *Amplifies (double effect or half cost) all holy powers, transmutations, and illusion powers, and diminishes (double cost or half effect) all powers of the underworld, the Nightmare Realm and the Dark Side of the Universe.*
* The Sleeping Curse: *Anyone who passes through the hedge of Somnia Roses will fall asleep in the castle grounds.*
* Cloak of Nighttime Shadows: *Wraps the castle and its surroundings in a veil of shadows and illusions, causing it to be imperceptible to non-supers unless they walk straight into its doors. Superpowered people may mistake it for a pile of ruins under a fog or a haunted castle.*
* Ice's Will: *Allows the castle to manipulate ice within itself – and to assault its unholy intruders with celestial hailstorms and icicles.*
* Night Terrors: *The castle manifests the worst fears of its intruders as tangible illusions if they enter its gatehouse.*

**See Also**

* Empyrean Castle
* Zenith Castle of the Sun