Dinas Emrys: The Council Keep
The Council Keep, near Beddgelert in Gwynedd (north-west Wales). It serves as the central shared space for The Council's work. The keep has both more public spaces for events, petitions and requests, and gatherings wtih those allied with the Council, as well as private spaces. There's a modest domestic staff who see to the public spaces, with the Council Members seeing to the necessary cleaning in the private spaces.
Public spaces include:
- A large hall for Council events and some ritual
- A memorial couryard honouring those assocaited with the Council who have died.
- Some smaller gathering and meeting spaces to coordinate projects.
- A few sleeping rooms for people who need to remain at the Keep overnight.
- Multiple magical workrooms
- Individual offices for each Council Member
- An extensive private library and archive of past decisions and notes.
Architecture
To non-magical eyes, Dinas Emrys appears like any other ruined castle: a pile of rocks here, a fallen wall over there, a lot of bracken and shrubbery around the edges. For those in the magical community, it looks like a 13th century Welsh castle, with periodic additions. The keep lies along the top of the ridge, in a roughly rectangular shape. The curtain walls hold a number of smaller buildings. The Keep proper has the public rooms, including the Great Hall, while smaller passages connect to the private spaces and to the Tower itself. The Tower is a classic Welsh round tower of about eight stories. Other buildings hold storerooms, a small stable, and sufficient supplies and materials to withstand a siege of some months. Since the Council Keep also has its own portal, large enough to bring fully loaded carts through, this is much less of an issue than it used to be. (Also, it's been quite a while since they had a siege.)History
The keep is based on a much older hill fort of the same name. The current keep was built in the 13th century, and claimed for magical use well before the Pact of 1484.References
Thesan asks about the history of the Keep in Eclipse. chapter 21. Several chapters of Old As The Hills take place at the Keep, as do several in Upon A Summer's Day. Read the description of the history
Thesan considered, then decided not to ask about the precise timing, though she suddenly had a suspicion that it was during the Grand Conjunction in November of 1484. Instead, she asked, “May I ask when the keep was established?”
Hestia laughed. “An older castle, repurposed for the Council’s use. Which is why we are some distance from Trellech. It was established by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Gwynedd, in the 13th century, and built in the Welsh style.” The Welsh names rolled off her tongue smoothly, making Thesan wonder if it were her first language.
Hestia went on just as readily. “It had been claimed for magical use before the Pact, the incapable thought it in poor repair, a scenic ruin. Excellent for our purposes, as it is well fortified, private, and easily overlooked. Quite secure in a siege, and very roomy.”
“Unlikely to be attacked.” One of the other men pointed that out, amused. “It is a bother to be an obvious target in the landscape. And over the years, of course, various legends.”
Thesan nodded, thinking. “Magical work in the foundations, then, like Schola, or the warding wouldn’t take as -” She faltered for a moment, wondering how to avoid giving insult. “As surely as you’d prefer.” She’d read an article by one of the specialists on that, last month, about the different kinds of protections and what they did. Magic in the foundation stones and mortar, but also ritual burn marks, or the enchantments that would be renewed on a regular cycle, like the ones in Schola’s salle.
