Buildings & Landmarks

The scattered castles and towers, villages, and cities, and other settlements of Tarien consist of countless buildings, fortifications, monuments and neighborhoods. The staggering variety of construction has fueled the theses of countless scholars, but generally can be classified into a number of different types.

Private residences and publish establishments may make up the largest segments, with even the smallest village boasting a half-dozen homes, a tavern, and a general store. The great cities of the Inner Seas hold hundreds or even thousands of such establishments. Made of stone or plaster, wood or brick, they represent a utilitarian construction more often than not, eschewing art for structural integrity while keeping the costs of construction low. At the other end of the spectrum, however, are the mansions and palaces dedicated to Tarien's wealthiest and most powerful citizens. These large buildings are often more art than home, with staggering costs and floorspace to spare, they offer luxury to their owners while making a statement about their power with their sheer ostentation.

Finally public edifices often stand alone in spectacle. Ranging from the many levels of the Nerrid National Library to the open killing floor of the Arenas of Carboth, these buildings belong to the people of a city or nationstate. They vary in size and style across an entire spectrum of possibilities. Of special note are the places of worship to the various deities of Tarien. Like homes and mansions, they can be small and humble, like a roadside shrine or grand and massive, like the many cathedrals of Andaran Galen, or anything in-between. While not public buildings, neither are they publicly owned, unless one considers the gods themselves as proprietors.

As one travels beyond Human lands, the architecture evolves away from familiar structures of bricks, stones or planked wood. In the Underground Kingdom, Khadric masons coax great blocks of granite and marble into fantastic shapes, curving and twisting the stone until it grows into a dwelling or establishment without the use of mortar or joins. Further east the marvels found in the Soulmeliti Forests blend construction with nature itself. Trees bend, leaves drape, and the very earth itself swells to form the homes of the great forest's people.

Indeed, no matter where one travels, the buildings and landmarks of the continent prove a marvel of one sort or another.