The Royal Spires
Ravenna has faced revolution, war, heartbreak, angst, division, and a myriad of other challenges. But there is one thing we all have never lost sight in. These spires represent us and our right to our land. We shall stand with it. We shall fall with it.
~ Jamesyn Mendago ~
Landmark Philosophy
Towering high into the sky and reaching to the clouds, the Royal Spires is a landmark impossible to miss even for people miles outside the City of Defiance. Its construction came in the year 761 AC when Victoria Lamonia was in high into her success as the then absolute monarch. It was a joint effort between her and the citizens of the capital in an effort to create a monumental piece of architecture that symbolized Ravenna's eternal place in the world.
The years that went by saw the use of every resource the land had at its disposal. Hard resources from local and foreign supplies all went into building this skyscraper of a place. Luxuries were all prepared to furnish this place, so much that it could fill up to ten small castles. Even every school of magic was weaved in anyway possible to add onto its constructive magnificence.
When it was finished twenty years later, its highest tower rose so high that its tip rested just below the clouds. It became one of the kindgom's most historical successes to the present day, and one of Victoria Lamonia's grandest acclamations. Its architecture, a mix between a cathedral's design and a castle's bulk, was well worth the philosophical foundation supporting it: as long as the Royal Spires stood, Ravenna would never fall.
The Ravennian Civil War
Even during the Ravennian Civil War centuries that saw the Lamonian family thrust from power, no rebels or loyalists dared destroy the spires. It remained untouched even as the Mendago family line became the new ruling family. Its statues made to memorialize Victoria Lamonia were not removed. Its new king, Marcus Mendago understood that even though the land rebelled against the Lamonian family, the icons in these spires stood for much more than just that name. Gaining the support of the people who thought the same, these symbols remained fully integrated into the spires. They were not separate objects to be disregarded, rather they were smaller pieces to the larger whole of the spire's entire philosophy. Like it or not, the people knew that without Victoria Lamonia, they would not have such a place as this today. These decisions also began to cause a small domino effect with other elements associated with the former monarchy, one of which was Lamonian steel retaining its same name. From then on, the spires became a place of continual addition. Every year something new was added into it: libraries, an arcane academy, royal cafeterias, foreign embassies, etc.The Spire Grounds
The Royal Spires stand in the epicenter of the capital's streets. Its walls tower high above the rooftops of the outer buildings, and inside the grounds are a network of gleaming stone pathways stretching from one structure to the next. The primary bridge just beyond the royal gate leads straight into the main palace, decorated overhead by a pair of statues commemorating the spire's original craftsmen, Victoria Lamonia. Stored inside the main palace are small libraries and museums and other halls retelling Ravenna's history through the ages. Through its noble foyers, the throne room stands tall with golden Ravennian banners hanging from the overhead balconies and pillars decorated in the finest marble. The floor itself is a glossy tile designed like the stained glass window of a cathedral to the Dawn Father. Every room in this place, from the royal ballroom to a maiden's bedroom is glorious and meticulous, and the outer buildings separate from the palace are no different. These structures were later additions to the Royal Spires, a process that still continues even to the rule of Jamesyn Mendago. It ends up being one of the greatest facts about the spires, its construction has never really ceased. Barracks stand at the walls as the Royal Division garrisoned in them stand ready at all times. Stables are marked all over the lower grounds of the spires as the Royal Cavalry does the same. A foreign embassy from Endolin, the Olden Tusk orcs of Gohn, the Tokoa of Gohn, and the Tenelean Empire rise comfortably inside the walls. Not to mention, the spires has a heavy magical presence as the main location of the Department of Arcane Magnetics. Several wizard towers stand throughout the grounds which includes the grand wizard's, Ardor Pelota's. His is directly connected to the main palace. Its these spell weavers that actually play a bigger part in defending the spires than the royal guards do. Proficient with magic, the wizards' main priority is maintaining the integrity of the spires and spotting out intrusions. The crimson guard simply rush to dispose such intrusions after they have been found. But only the people with a royal pass are allowed to enter and exit these grounds. Royal passes are gained in several ways: holding upstanding favor with the monarch or other official of the royal council, being employed in the spires as anything from a housemaid to a diplomatic official to a crimson guard, or having valid reasons for requiring use of one of the active embassies.I've got eyes in many places. I aim to forever keep the palace a safe place, so I won't let a single thing get by, or my name is not Ardor Pelota.
~ Ardor Pelota ~
Type
Castle
Short Story
"Oh, you're going to have to do better than that if you want to catch me." Captain Garnes' words egged on Peter Yamhill as the two galloped on horseback through the paths and corridors of the Royal Spires. The buildings all around them rose like columns to the heavens, but Peter's eyes were not set on that. They were locked onto the large ring hanging off the side of his captain's helmet.
His lance steady in hand, he continued to spur his horse faster and faster to chase after him. This was a common routine cavalry did in the kingdom. Like some game of tag, one rider holding their lance chased the other wearing the helmet with a large gold ring on it. The rider with the lance was expected to pierce the ring as quickly as they could, the other was to evade their pursuer for as long as possible.
Peter hated to admit it, but his captain had avoided him for far too long already. Their horses' hooves clopped through the gardens, narrowly missing the well-trimmed hedges. The both made tight turns around one building and the next. A group of nobles even ducked out of the way as the two of them bulleted past. He could only imagine the frustrated words escaping their mouths.
Normally, this happened in the stable yards. He still couldn't believe himself that he had been goaded by his captain like he was. Their training had started and he'd immediately took off out of the stable yards. "Too afraid to break some rules to achieve victory?" He had said with a tone that made Peter's blood boil.
Continuing to taunt Peter, in the end, his anger had gotten the better of him, and now here they were. Chasing and being chased through areas horses were never meant to go.
"You're still holding yourself back, Yamhill!" The captain shouted over his shoulder. His horse leapt onto an upper bridge and Peter followed. Now, they were on the royal bridge, galloping in the direction of the main palace.
The stairways into its halls were wide open. No matter what Peter did, he wasn't able to catch his captain. When they reached the stairs, to his utter amazement, Garnes spurred his steed up the stairs and into the doorway. Peter came to a halt, dumbfounded. If there was ever a place not to recklessly train in, it was the palace.
Garnes also stopped just inside the doorway. He jingled the ring on his helmet as he turned to face Peter.
"I'm right here my boy! All you have to do is come here and the ring is yours." But Peter didn't budge. He couldn't bring himself to endanger such a place like the palace. He didn't know what he'd do he if wrecked anything.
Garnes seemed to notice because his next words were much softer. "Do you see the lesson I've been trying to teach you yet, Yamhill?"
Peter simply stared. "What lesson could come from such reckless behavior?"
"That's exactly it my boy. We train for one thing: war. Now, war does not care about the pretty potted plants around us, and I know the day will come when war reaches these stairs. When it does, you have to be ready to be reckless. Or else, you lose sight of the enemy in your effort to preserve what they're attacking."
Be... reckless?
"Now, get up these steps Yamhill, and take this ring."
I... couldn't take that ring...~ Peter Yamhill
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