Dumali Grand Courthouse
When I first saw the building that sits on the island of Dumali, I admit I would not have guessed that it was the home of Droden's High Arbiter. A modest structure, built of the same white stone and grey marble as many of the buildings in the Arawat area, it appears much less hostile than some other courthouses around the country. Only from inside does the Grand Courthouse's true scale become apparent, with two floors set into the stone below and another two above ground. The entrance tower connects all four floors together, with two enormous pillars from floor to ceiling adorned with imagery of flames reaching towards the skies. Beyond that, in the centre of the whole structure, sits the courtroom itself, where the high arbiter resolves issues brought to him from throughout Droden, and where the judges meet in order to make decisions on laws or policies. In a way, the Grand Courthouse is similar to Droden itself, in that both are much grander and more influential than their appearance would suggest.
Purpose / Function
The Dumali Grand Courthouse is the home and workplace of Droden's leader, the High Arbiter. It serves not only as a courthouse, but also the location where laws are written and stored. The meeting rooms in the building's south wing are open to the public, subject to reservation, and prominent orators are sometimes invited to speak in the grand courtroom, an event which can draw thousands of listeners from nearby. The Grand Courthouse is also the location where each high arbiter passes the title onto their successor, which can attract equally large crowds.
Architecture
The upper section is constructed from the same kind of bricks of white stone that are popular in Arawat, with pillars of grey marble. The roof is a made of Thorol slate, sloping gently upwards to the raised vaults over the grand courtroom and the two wings. The lower section of the courthouse is dug out of the rock itself. Inside, the entrance consists of a foyer and, just beyond that, a cylindrical tower connecting all four floors, with curved staircases between levels. The walkway crosses the tower from the foyer to the doors leading into the grand courtroom itself, while stairways lead to the courtroom's gallery. The rest of the Grand Courthouse is less grandiose, showing a clear practicality in its design. One floor down from the ground are the meeting rooms and the High Arbiter's quarters, while the lowest level holds the repositories of law and history, as well as a large library.
History
Originally, the Arawat courthouse was home to the high arbiter, but after a dispute about preferential treatment, High Arbiter Joel Scoria made the decision to build a separate courthouse on the nearby island of Dumali, and was also part of the team who drew up the plans for the Grand Courthouse, though the construction only finished just a few months before the end of his term. Very little of the original design has changed since, short of frequent cleaning ash off the outside walls.
Type
Courthouse
Owning Organization
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