High Palace

High Palace is the seat of power in Rhoman, fortress of the royal throne.

## Description

*"As backdrop to the festivities stood the great palace itself. Spires rose up beyond the braceways and battlements, many of them, reaching high towards the sun. Around them domes and steeples stood, their flags billowing indigo and minarets crested with jewels of which leapt rainbows in the morning glare. Arching windows were set into the pale masonry, the stories within the crystalline tapestries hiding the great halls and sanctres inside the ancient architecture."*

High Palace sits astride the hill High Ostre is built upon. It is called the Jewel in the Girdle, for it is in the here Man was first placed, in the girdle of the great shadow. Once just a steading, the palace became a full fortification towards the year 300, and upon its restructure the underpass was implemented, a tunnelled archway beneath the palace through which the Five King's Road travels.

The oaken doors stood tall as a chamber and proud as the two who stood beneath it. Men lined the marble steps, Men in uniforms of purple and uniforms of white. Men of High Palace, and Men of the Orthenwick.

## Construction

The conception of the fortress came in the shack Gwathredion and Irennae built on hill they were placed. They were then alone in the world, and from nearby forests took wood and vines to erect a shelter they would thereafter live in. After Ostre placed others on the hill with them, Gwathredion and irennae were revered by their new companions, and in goodwill they helped expand the house into a hall in return for passing on their knowledge and workmanship. As society progressed and further needs arose, the hall was expanded further to house a grain store, tool barn, treasury and banquet hall.

## History

### Year 0-1000

#### Year 0

High Palace played host to the Gathering in the First, where the five kingdoms along the road converged and met for the first time. The gathering was far greater than expected, and the city was unprepared to house so many people. Bedrolls were slept on in the newly-built halls of the palace at first, but the visitors- both grateful for the improvised hospitality yet uncomfortable in such lodgings- took it upon themselves to add to the palace further. Two new wings were constructed, and with over two hundred members in the workforce the arcitecture was completed within days. Many weeks they stayed here, and so by the end of their living the place was furnished to the content of even Gwathredion and Irennae.

#### Year 1

In the wake of the Gathering in the First

#### Year 48

Gaun of the Forge failed to extinguish the fires in the palace forge. This led to a fire that brought down the west wing of the palace- which housed several guest bedrooms. Gaun was tried, but found innocent, his actions rightfully deemed to be of neglect rather than maliciousness. However, in his shame he left the city and headed east. His younger brother, Daun, took over his duties.

## Sanctres of High Palace

There are fifteen halls recognised as sanctres in High Palace, the largest of any architecture in Rhoman. These are Morion's Sanctre, the Sanctre of the Table Square, the Sanctre of Stories, the Sanctre of Armistice, Hall of the Burning Log, Hearth of the Girdle, Fryyl's Sanctre, the Sanctre of Scripture, Ostre's Chantry, the Goldvault, the Grand Sanctre, the Gallery-Over-The-Balcony, the Chamber of Sacrament, the Hall of Treasures and the Sanctre of Kings and Queens.

## The Crystal Chronicles

*See main article*

There are twenty scenes told in the great windows of the palace, which themselves are cast from the sands of the Starfell Lochen. Five stained-glass archways sit either side of the palace doors, and this arrangement is mirrored on the back of the castle. From left to right, the transparent murals tell chronologiclly of historical landmarks of the city beginning with Gwathredion and Irennae, and ending with Lost World.