The Heart of the Kraken - Krakonia Castle

The Heart of the Kraken, also known as Krakonia Castle, and formerly known as Silver Gull Castle, is the home of King Daerius Quintus of Krakonia , as well as quite a few other nobles, elites, diplomats, and, strangely enough, a bunch of random adventurers. Located in the Core District of Krakonia City , it is considered the singular most important structure in the capital, and therefore the entire Kingdom of Krakonia , as it keeps some of the most important assets in the kingdom safe from harm. It somehow functions as both a publicly accessible tourist destination as well as a closed-off, secure government building, depending on which wing one intends to visit. Because of this, in order to actually get inside, a background check is required, although the scrutiny in which these background checks abide by is, for lack of a better phrase, inadequate. As long as a visitor isn't quite literally an active criminal on the run, or in the middle of an attempt to seige the entire castle, they should have no issues getting inside. The background check is essentially meant more to explain to visitors what the code of conduct is while inside the castle so that guards do not profile visitors that are simply unaware of basic cultural norms. 

This lack of security by the entrance is because Krakonia Castle is home to three places of general interest to the public, the first being The Hook , home of the Adventurer's Guild of Krakonia (AGK), and a universally beloved tavern that is considered a national landmark. The second is The Diplomats Guild of Krakonia(DGK) , the guild responsible for negotiating terms, disputes, and trade agreements, both foreign and domestic. It would not do if it was difficult to walk into the place one has to go in order to settle a dispute. The third is The Krakonia National Postal Service HQ(KNPS) , owned and run by the DGK, and is the place responsible for delivering messages in a timely, safe manner. 

With that said, it's not like the castle lacks security. The deeper wings of the castle are off limits to the general public, protected with serious, well-trained soldiers of The Kraken's Reach (Krakonia's Military) and fortified with durable defensive structures and secret paths known only to security and certain castle staff/residents. Behind this level of security is, among other places, The Krakonia National Treasury(KNT) , where the funds for kingdom-wide projects can be found. This is also where many of the higher-ranking, national officials of the kingdom live, including many of the heads of The Guilds of Krakonia , as well as the king himself, of course, along with Mayor Norin Bladewing . There are a couple of secure back entrances to the castle so that residents and staff can enter and leave the castle in peace without dealing with the general public traveling through the main, front entrance. 

The history of Krakonia Castle is a somewhat lengthy one compared to most buildings in the kingdom, considering The Dawn only occurred less than a century ago. It started out as nothing more than a tavern, known as The Hook, revived and maintained by The Harbingers of the Rising Dawn in the early years following The Dawn. Eventually, in order to accommodate the many people requesting help to adventurers at the tavern, the Harbingers built a castle around it, calling it Silver Gull Castle. This would be the first step of many that eventually led to the founding of Krakonia City, and later the Kingdom of Krakonia. After founding Krakonia City, the castle was renamed to Krakonia Castle. Once the kingdom was founded, along with its new military structure, the Kraken's Reach gave the castle a second name, The Heart of the Kraken, in order to share in the nomenclature of its newer structures. Historically, the castle has lived up to this new name, as it truly is considered the beating heart of the kingdom's culture, being where The Hook is located, as well as many of the old members of the Harbingers of the Rising Dawn.