Skyloft Palace

## Architect

* Krevelir
* HyperSilence

## Motto

*Novigrad welcomes you.*

**Skyloft Palace** was a grand castle built upon a series of floating islands. It served as the gateway to and capital of Midgard during the Ninth Era and Novigrad during the Eleventh Era.

No monsters spawned on the castle grounds. All visitors received the Speed III, Jump Boost, and Fire Resistance II effects and were immune from fall damage for the duration of their stay.

It was a common misconception that talented architect Sharkberries built Skyloft Palace, owing to a rumor started as a joke by Tox, but it was actually built by Krevelir and modified by HyperSilence.

# History

    Skyloft Palace was originally built by the offworld architect Krevelir sometime in the Eighth Era on an unknown planet.

HyperSilence tasked Sharkberries and the other Arbiters of Halfast with designing a new gateway and capital for the land of Midgard. However, progress was slow and when he doubted their work would be done in time for the upcoming Ninth Era, Hyper used his phenomenal power to transport the castle to Halfast. He made extensive modifications to the structure to make use of newly discovered materials and tailoring areas to fit his world's needs.

Because the man's work went unused, Tox started a rumor that Sharkberries himself built Skyloft Palace, and given the respect the community had for his exceptional architectural talents, many residents never doubted that he was responsible for the impressive castle and continued to believe the myth even years later.

    Skyloft Palace again served as capital of Novigrad in the Eleventh Era, receiving a major renovation and seeing the addition of the Novigrad Market, Top Survivor Hall, and Wan Shi Tong's Library. The castle was also an integral part of the quest to find the Black Market.

For unknown reasons, many of the palace's secret passages were inaccessible during the time period.

On 11E:78, to ring in the new year a fireworks show began launching every hour above Skyloft Palace and continued over the course of the next four days. Some attendees set off their own themed rockets from the HalfastMC2023 Kit.

After the expansion of the outer border of Novigrad on 11E:257, HyperSilence decorated the castle grounds with cherry blossoms and remodeled the Banquet Hall to house a new Armor Trim Shop.

# Points of Interest

### Landing

The Landing was the gateway to Midgard and Novigrad, the place where new arrivals entered Halfast and where they resurrected after death. It was a stone balcony perched on the northern edge of the castle at the foot of the grand staircase leading to the Main Hall. Krevelir built the original Landing, but HyperSilence turned it into a proper entry point by adding a glass dome and amethyst, raw gold, and deepslate flourishes. A purple beacon—later black—intersected the platform's center and a map of the surrounding area lay against the back edge.

In the Eleventh Era the Landing received a makeover from HyperSilence using newly discovered materials such as froglight and sculk. Four portals provided instantaneous teleportation to and from the Gate Ships. A ladder led down a hundred meters to the ocean surface.

The platform was home to Navi, the Toad Prince, The Elder, the Boat Salesman, and briefly the Novigrad Market.

### Warp Hall

Warp Hall was the largest room in Skyloft Palace, serving as a central hub for quick teleporting around the area to useful locations, while also providing access on foot to places deeper within the castle. Krevelir designed the original hall, but HyperSilence transformed it into the nerve center of Halfast by adding warps and giving it a deepslate makeover. The vast space housed warp portals at the base of large stone columns that supported an arched roof, lit by natural light that streamed through colored glass windows and froglight from the floor-to-ceiling aquarium behind a raised podium altar at the back of the hall.

Hyper also installed a beacon—a purple beam in the Ninth Era and a black one in the Eleventh Era that shone through the podium's altar.

At various times, Warp Hall had portals to the Midgard Markets, Top Survivor Hall, Dueling Arenas, Novigrad Market, Hall of Fame, and the Nether Hub. Passageways led from the hall to the Bridge, Dungeon, and a number of other important locations in the Palace.

### Top Survivor Hall

*Main article: Top Survivor Hall*
Top Survivor Hall was a prize shop and victory shrine for winners of Novigrad Survivor. Located in the above Warp Hall, the three-story attic was constructed from bedrock and lit by verdant and pearlescent froglight. The first two floors contained prize crates that could be unlocked using a Top Survivor Key while the third contained a shrine displaying past winners.

HyperSilence built Top Survivor Hall.

### Hall of Fame Tower

*Main article: Halfast Hall of Fame*
Hall of Fame Tower was the tallest point in Skyloft Palace, housing the Halfast Hall of Fame. HyperSilence developed Krevelir's original empty tower into a furnished museum for Halfast's most accomplished residents. Podiums displayed the current top five leaders in seven different statistical categories and were automatically updated live.

The tower was reached via a portal in Warp Hall. Visitors could exit and return to the Landing by using the "spawn" magic word or dropping down from a narrow slit in the wall.

### Courtyard Gardens

*Main article: Novigrad Market*
The courtyard gardens were a park-like greenspace at the rear of the castle filled with grass, flowers, trees, and several ponds. Krevelir designed the original gardens and were left largely unchanged by HyperSilence.

In the Eleventh Era, the Novigrad Market opened at the gardens, becoming home to a number of vendors.

### Covered Bridge

The Covered Bridge connected the main castle to the library, spanning the gulf between two floating islands. Krevelir built the original bridge superstructure and HyperSilence added deepslate and amethyst flourishes.

In the Eleventh Era, HyperSilence replaced the amethyst roof with the recently discovered sculk block and began opening up the bridge's roof attic for an expansion of Wan Shi Tong's Library.

### Library

The Library was located in a tower separated from the main castle on its own floating island, connected to the main castle via the Covered Bridge. The library occupied the upper level of the tower and featured a level 11 enchanting table. The lowest level, accessible by a hidden piston door, concealed a secret grotto which led to the isle's base.

In the Eleventh Era, HyperSilence added amethyst flourishes to the tower. The tower became the temporary location for Wan Shi Tong's traveling library where residents could purchase a variety of contemporary and historical books from both Halfast and Dragonhollow.

### Dungeon

The Dungeon served as a jail for criminals, rule-breakers, and ne'er-do-wells. It was originally constructed by Krevelir, but HyperSilence turned it into a far more foreboding prison with deepslate walls lit only by flickering candles.

In the Ninth Era, the sole prisoner was Jrod4342. By the Timeline#Eleventh\_Era|Eleventh Era]], most of the cells were filled. Among the unidentified inmates were an evoker, a creeper, a shifty-looking fox, and a witch. Those seeking out a path to the Black Market could purchase information from a jailed enderman.

There was a secret passage between the southwest cell wall and the Residential Wing.

### Residential Wing

Located on the castle's southwest corner, the Residential Wing contained royal chambers, living quarters, kitchen and cafeteria, workshops, and balconies that overlooked the gardens. A series of narrow spiraling staircases and twisting hallways made navigation confusing. The wing was first built by Krevelir and left untouched by HyperSilence, aside from the general deepslate changes made to the castle's entire superstructure.

### Banquet Hall

The Banquet Hall was a large dining room on the ground floor of the south side of the castle. Lit by a series of chandeliers and a roaring hearth, the hall's central feature was a large dark oak table bearing bread, cake, fruit, and other foodstuffs. A balcony overlooked the dining area and contained a level 7 enchanting table. Krevelir designed the original Banquet Hall and the interior was initially retained in full by HyperSilence.

The hall was often overlooked because it was only accessible from the gardens, rather than the castle corridors themselves.

With the advent of smithing templates on 11E:257, Hyper remodeled the Banquet Hall's upper balcony with a series of armor sets backlit by froglight against a bamboo block backdrop. The enchanting table was replaced with the Armor Trim Shop, where visitors could purchase templates in exchange for ethereum.

### Beacon Chamber

The Beacon Chamber was a large stone cavern located beneath Warp Hall. It was excavated by HyperSilence. As the name implied, its primary purpose was to house the beacon he installed that shone through both Warp Hall and Hall of Fame Tower.

However, the chamber was also the location of the bedrock bunker, a small enclosed secret workshop where HyperSilence manufactured and stored new items. By the Eleventh Era, the entire chamber had become his laboratory and it was filled with many double chests and command blocks awash in the soft glow of froglights that lit most of the cavern.

The Beacon Chamber was only accessible via direct teleportation and thus could not be reached by mortals.

### Novigrad Bank

Novigrad Bank was located in a tower built upon its own floating island and was reached by an elevated bridge at the southeast corner of the castle. Krevelir built the original tower to serve as the headquarters of the castle's guard, with the lower level housing their barracks. HyperSilence replaced the superstructure with deepslate elements and exchanged the roof material, first with amethyst and later with sculk.

In the Eleventh Era it became the Novigrad Bank, home of Plutus, who operated an ethereum exchange with currencies greater than those offered by the rival exchange at the Novigrad Market.

### Secrets

The castle's layout was far more complex than its exterior design would suggest. This led to a number of hidden passageways that most visitors never discovered.

A private reading library existed beneath the small study on the castle's south side.

There was a secret tomb in the castle's Residential Wing. To reach it, one had to enter the kitchen and descend a ladder into a root cellar pantry. Concealed among the cobwebs was a stone button that triggered a piston door that led to the tomb. It was unclear who was buried there.

A hidden grotto lay beneath the Library, accessible by a secret piston door on a landing between the tower staircases and from a recessed door at the tower base. The underground grotto had a pond and a small wooded grove with flowers and azalea leaves.

There was a secret passage from the southwest dungeon cell to the Residential Wing. A severed head was located in this passsage, perhaps belonging to an unfortunate soul who discovered a prisoner using it. In the Eleventh Era, an evoker occupied that cell, but it was unclear if he knew about the hidden tunnel.

### Thinkpad

High above the Landing Pad was an invisible platform made from barrier blocks dubbed the Thinkpad. It was constructed by HyperSilence, who said "this is where I go to think."

He could sometimes be found there, appearing to float in mid-air deep in thought.

# Gallery

Stairway to Warp HallCherry blossomsRibbitSkyloft PalaceAt sunsetAt middayIn the rainSleekit observes *Naflgar*At nightGlass window of Top Survivor HallWest sideSouth sideFrom belowAKVothe at Skyloft PalaceLadder from sea levelTop Survivor Hall towerCourtyard gardensNovigrad MarketPondSharkberries and others at Warp HallSoutheast stair to courtyardEast end of courtyardCovered BridgeBeneath the east sideNorthwest cornerJrod in the libraryWarp HallWarp Hall podium altarWarp Hall at nightAltar at nightHallwaysA hidden severed headSecret passage from dungeon cellPalace bannersAbsurd and FlyingPokemonStudyHidden library beneath studyDining Table in Banquet HallKitchenCafeteriaCellar pantryVisitors in Warp HallSecret tombSleekit visits Skyloft PalaceRoyal chambersScribe's officeWatchtower beaconWatchtower interiorCastle guard barracksPrivate chamberWest terrace gardenLibrary tower spiral staircaseThat's a lotta lecternsFlyingPokemon and Grinsepaulespoopy dragon caveCrossing the covered bridge at sunriseBeneath the bridgeCourtyard gardensBoo wanders the hallwaysSouth side at nightCourtyard at nightCourtyard at sunriseSkyloft Palace in the 9th EraSouth side in the 9th EraWest side in the 9th EraLanding in the 9th EraSkyloft Palace above the Midgard MarketsJrod imprisoned in the dungeon

# Behind the Scenes

*The following is out-of-universe information about the real world Dragonhollow.*

    Krevelir published Krevelir's Palace, also known as the **Fantasy Palace**, at Planet Minecraft on July 6th, 2021. Ranqstrail assisted with the palace interior. The sprawling castle originally served as the spawn for another survival server before Krevelir reimagined in the sky atop a floating island.

HyperSilence, owner of Halfast, originally assembled a build team that included his Arbiters of Halfast and LaplaceCircus to construct a new spawn for the Midgard map. When the project ran behind schedule, Hyper decided to use the Fantasy Palace as a temporary spawn until the new one was ready. He ended up liking it so much he used it instead as the permanent spawn for Midgard yet gave it no name.

Tox, as historian of the server, originally named it **Midgard Palace**. But after HyperSilence brought the build back in October 2022 to serve as the spawn for the Novigrad map, Tox renamed the castle **Skyloft Palace**.