Elbar's Rest
A fortress situated at the heart of Luxor, the capital city of Tyr. Elbar's Rest is the official residence of House Sondeheim and is the headquaters of the Tyran Military.
Origins
The Fortress was originally conceived by Lord Elbar Sondeheim, written in a series of letters to his heir Lady Elizabeth Sondeheim during the last year of his life in 2565. Parts of the document named Protocol Rond were declassified by Lord Frederick Sondeheim when he modernised the fortress and the defences around Luxor in 2620. Initially called the Sondeheim Hold by Lord Elbar, it was envisioned to be the centre piece to Tyr's defences as part of "A ring of steel and concrete surrounding the Capital and inside" to reinforce the planet and allow it to withstand siege as the dying Lord was concerned about future Karkouri or Zzenddi invasions.
Construction started in 2566, a few months before Lord Elbar's death. The project lasted until 2570, with contractors sworn to secrecy about the finer points of the defence. In the half a century since its construction, few details became common knowledge about its the defensive fortifications it forms the core off.
Location
Elbar's Rest is located at the centre of Luxor City, Tyr. It resides on a natural hill overlooking the National Mall that leads to the front entrance. The Mall is used for the military parades that the planet hosts every five years and other ceremonial occasions, the Mall has statues of Lord Kentan, Lord Elbar, and Lady Elizabeth featured prominently.
Architecture
The fortress is a typical construction of the mid 26th century. Fearing orbital bombardment, the walls are heavily reinforced with emplacements at the corners of the outer perimeter as well as on the main buildings. The guns atop the fortress complex are anti-land, then anti-air, and finally anti-orbital as you move further into the centre of the complex. Echoing a medieval castle the keep, and other buildings are enclosed by the walls with one main entrance in and out. The buildings are connected by paths above ground, and tunnels underneath in times of war or heavy rain.
There are large Sondeheim banners hung from the walls and entrances. The sigil is carved into the keep entrance and flags decorate the towers present throughout the complex.
The fortress complex is said to be able to garrison 10,000 militia in times of war, with large scale supply reserves and storage underneath the complex. The fortress is rumoured to be connected to certain sections of the city using the underground tunnels built by Lord Kentan Sondeheim during the Desert War in the late 2510s which allows the fortress to act as a logistical hub for the city in the event of a siege.
Elbar's Rest is the official residence of House Sondeheim, with the scions personal standard being flown whenever they are in residence. It also is the home to the Tyran Military, with the Knight General and the Knight Admiral of Tyr having offices in the keep along with the Tyran Marines possessing a barracks in the complex.
The Sondeheim family have a few suites of apartments that they use, they are different sizes so depending on the size of the family dictates which one is in use. The Luxorian Apartments sit at the mid section of the building, it is technically two that can be joined if the Head of House has a lot of children. The Oasis and New Cairo apartments are smaller but meant as family units. The Washari and Electrum apartments are the smallest, and meant for the smallest family units. The apartments are usually let to additional family members staying in Luxor as well as an special guests the Sondeheims have visiting the planet.
The main keep has a ball room, which is used for state functions and dinners when the Lord-Governor is entertaining guests. During his brief tenure as Lord-Governor, Lord Aurelian hosted large dinners for the Sondeheim Household, inviting all of the workers of the fortress to dine and party which usually went on into the small hours of the morning.
History
As of the 50th anniversary of the Fortress' founding, it has yet to have been attacked in any significant way. While Tyr in early post FTL Terran history was attacked multiple times, eventually the border has shifted and with the Terran's being on peaceful terms with the Vatu Empire and Hressan Republic, Tyr is now not threatened by foreign powers since the collapse of the Karkouri Regime in the late 26th century.
The closest the defences came to being truly tested was in 2586-2590 when Lord Aurelian Sondeheim was revealed to have plotted to overthrow The Terran Republic in a coup. RFP agents came to Elbar's Rest and attempted to arrest the rebel Lord. With the gates shut the RFP agents had no way of arresting the Lord and promptly left. During the intervening years, rumours of an invasion circulated, with military pundits calling Tyr a "Fortress" world and saying that even with the Republic's military apparatus pointed at the planet, it would take 10 years at least for the planet to fall.
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