Great Strait Palace
Central Palace of Old Ashton, and home to Island Oni Mukaga. The Great Strait Palace is an ancient ruin that existed on Old Ashton since before the founding of the town.
Purpose / Function
The original purpose of the Great Strait Palace has been lost to time, but many believe it was once a temple from the time of Asteria, the time before Pallet. It was originally left abandoned as it’s proximity between Ravagor and Orbesta made it susceptible to incursions from both sides sides, but since the Neutrality pact after the Invasion of Gallaland it has been inhabited by Mukaga, who sought to turn the isles into his own town.
Upon attuning to the Isles, Mukaga’s first goal was to claim the Temple as his own. Using his magic, he removed the cave concealing the temple to make it open air, and created a water treatment facility to purify the water using a combination of his influence, alchemical solution, and natural silt to filter the grime, before returning it to the ocean.
In addition to treating the water, Great Strait Palace also serves as a museum, allowing the artists and crafters of Old Ashton to display their works for the tourists.
Alterations
The Great Strait Palace once served as an underground temple to some unknown deity. Upon claiming the Vircook Isles as his own, Mukaga surfaced the temple, exposing it to the air. He made drastic changes to artitecture, making it more presentable for the public.
He turned the Shrine into his Throne Room (although he does not use it as often as one would think), the prayer rooms into Galleries, and opened up some side rooms to storage and housing.
Architecture
The Great Strait Palace is primarily made of limestone and granite, being formed with Mukaga’s ‘Shape Stone’ spells to help form the shell. Using this method, Mukaga was also able to clear a lot of the debris off the isles to make room for settlement.
After forming the walls, he set on forming the basement. This took much longer time to ensure the structure was solid, but eventually he was able to secure foundation with assistance from contacts in Northern Pallet. With the help of kobolds and goblins, they formed a sewage system with copper pipes and turbines.
Tourism
With Old Ashton being one of the first places in all of Southern Pallet with a water treatment facility, The Great Strait Palace is a popular destination for artificers and nobles to visit to gain inspiration for their own homes. Unfortunately for them, a lot of the secrets in how the systems work are just that, secrets. None of the alchemical solutions that go into cleansing the water (during Mukaga’s absence), is kept secret.
The Palace also serves as a museum of artwork, portraying elaborate stone carvings, coral art pieces, and expensive jewelry. It also holds artifacts from the Deep Ocean, viewing for educational and cultural purposes.
Comments