The Tyrant's Palace

The Tyrant's Palace at Carafon stands at the peak of the hill under which the city itself has been constructed.
It consists of two parts. Above the ground, there is a small fortified manor house with a tower. This is called the crown and is shown in the illustration at the head of this article, looking south in the early afternoon.
Below the ground is the root of the palace, linked via long staircases to the crown. This consists of an extensive suite of rooms where the tyrant and his family live and where he meets with advisors and governs the city on a day to day basis.

Purpose / Function

The palace is the official and public residence of the tyrant and passes to the new Tyrant upon the death of the old one. It serves also as a centre of government in Carafon, with an audience chamber where the tyrant meets with his advisors and those to whom he delegates authority within the city.

Architecture

The palace is a heavy construction and robustly built in a simple and strong style, rather than an especially elegant one. The rooms are well appointed and comfortable. It has internal plumbing, which uses fresh water supplied from a tank in the tower of the crown, which is kept permanently topped up, both with rain water captured on the roof and barrels brought daily from the eastern mountain streams by the tyrant's servants. This is a luxury of which no other Carafon dwelling can boast.

Defenses

The building is not designed to withstand a seige, but merely to provide adequate internal security during peacetime. Above ground there are sentries who patrol the crest of the hill. Underground, entry to the root can only be gained through a staggered entrance which funnels visitors along a narrow stone corridor. The Tyrant mainly relies on his loyal soldiers for personal security, such as the ones shown here, guarding one of the root doorways.
Whilst the palace defenses themselves would be relatively easy to overcome by a serious invading army, first it would have to reach the cavern city and no enemy has ever been foolhardy enough to attempt to cross the mountains and subjugate Carafon.

Type

Palace

Parent Location

Cavern City of Carafon

Ruling/Owning Rank

Tyrant of Carafon

Carafon - Tyrant's Palace Tyrant's Bedroom by DMFW with Midjourney

Carafon - Tyrant's Palace Root Guards by DMFW with Midjourney