Skyretaine Castle
Skyretaine is the home of the Unseelie monarchs. Built of stone, with orchards and gardens surrounding it, the castle sits high atop a cliff. The only way in or out is by the ice gate. When Moriath took the throne, she used her ice magic to cover the entire castle and created ice constructs, carved around the doors in the shapes of gargoyles, wolves, and a giant dragon, to guard it. See Moriath's Skyretaine Castle
When Niamh defeats Moriath, the enchanted ice shatters, revealing the orginal castle beneath.
Slowly, I opened my eyes. Silence had fallen over the battlefield as everyone stared at us. Then the dragons launched into the air as Skyretaine Castle shimmered, then exploded. The thick layer of ice covering everything shattered into sparkling dust before melting into tiny raindrops that fell down all around us, revealing the stone castle beneath.
Audrey lay sprawled on the rug in front of the fireplace, wearing the navy Sailor Moon t-shirt and jeans she had arrived in yesterday.
I really need to move that higher before their next visit. - Of Frost and Feathers
The Royal Suite:
The Sitting Room:
Audrey stepped around me and collasped on one of the two red velvet settees in the sitting room, her coffee sloshing up against its invisible barrier.
Liadan gracefully leaped onto one of the wingback chairs flanking the carved marble fireplce lit with a crackling fire. My sword and Kylian's axe hung on the wall above the mantle.
I dashed across the room, my shoes sinking into the plush cream carpet, aiming for what appeared to be a dress stand covered with a sheet. Thick velvet curtains neatly pulled back with gold cords framed the draped mystery. The sun shone through the diamond-paned windows behind it, sparkling on the frost feathering the glass.
Audrey cracked open a door to the right of the sitting room. "Oh, nice bathtub!"
"You need some plants," said Ella. "A nice moss bath mat, and maybe something viney with white flowers, I think."
Next came a dressing room filled to the brim with Ella's creations in a rainbow of colors and patterns on one side, the other half containing our fighting gear. Racks of weapons, beautiful but deadly, gleamed on the wall, and a very small selection of black pants and tunics hung at the end.
The door on the left side of the sitting room opened to the bedroom, and my breath caught at the sight of the giant four-poster bed with its rich red curtains, heaped high with feather pillows and a plump duvet.
Neve's Personal Kitchen:
This bright and airy kitchen with its mint green cabinets, marble counters, striped yellow curtains, and pink wallpaper featuring apples and blossoms had been my birthday gift to Niamh last summer. Estrid had helped outfit it with dwarven, crystal-powered appliances, and it was furnished with the various impelments her parents had brought when they sold their farmhouse and café in Pilot Bay to move here to Skyretaine Castlenot long after our official engagement.
The Ballroom: (as decorated for the wedding reception)
I opened the tall wooden doors to the ballroom.
"Amazing," I agreed, watching her eyes light up as she took in the frosty wonderland, the inverse of the spring orchard outside. Golden trees with sparkling bare limbs grew out of the mossy patches on the ballroom floor and reached up toward the vaulted ceiling strung with icicles of crystal.
The Crypt:
I turned to go, and the six faoladh followed me out of the castle with the coffin, toward the icy stairs of the crypt. In addition to the coffin bearers, I counted at least twenty more faoladh trailing us by the time we reached the doors of the crypt. Moriath and Dylan remained behind in the throne room, which only made it more likely that she was planning an ambush while staying safely out of the way. It would seem that Moriath planned for me to join the previous Unseelie rulers in their final resting place. I pretended not to notice, my gaze fixed on Niamh’s still form as they carried her into the ancient mausoleum.
They slid the glass coffin onto a stone slab between two marble pillars, a statue of a winged fae with a sword in each hand guarding the spot. The sound of the thick doors shutting behind us echoed in the room of cold stone, punctuated by the thud of a heavy plank barring the doors from the outside. - The Frost Gate
The Kennels:
See Faoladh "Kennels"
When Niamh defeats Moriath, the enchanted ice shatters, revealing the orginal castle beneath.
From The Books:
The Exterior:Slowly, I opened my eyes. Silence had fallen over the battlefield as everyone stared at us. Then the dragons launched into the air as Skyretaine Castle shimmered, then exploded. The thick layer of ice covering everything shattered into sparkling dust before melting into tiny raindrops that fell down all around us, revealing the stone castle beneath.
I wanted to take it all in, the graceful arches, sunlit windows, and balconies crawling with growing vines and flowers. To watch as the magic continued to pour outward, grass and flowers bursting through the snow around my feet. But I wasn’t finished yet. - The Frost Gate
The Royal Chicken Coop:
The hen didn't even wake up, her fluffy white legs dangling as I checked for an egg in the soft, red-velvet-lined nest box. There were five such boxes set into the wall of the royal chicken coop, one for each of my hens to lay her eggs in, marked with a golden nameplate attached to the front. Meringue had laid her cream egg in Clem's nest box, but I supposed chickens couldn't read the golden nameplates affixed to the front of their boxes, which were spelled against mess and egg breakage and kept at a comfortable temperature year round.
***
I waved my hand around the luxurious chicken coop, truly a palace for my feathered family members with roosts carved to mimic blossoming apple tree branches, an airy ceiling with skylights spelled to give them exactly the same hours of sunlight year round, and indivdual watter bottles hanging on the wall with gold spouts. The wood shavings on the floor were changed every day and their bowls filled with the best mix of seeds and grains, thanks to the royal chicken keeper who loved my spoiled birds as much as I did. - Of Frost and Feathers
Interior:
The iron heels of my boots echoed on the stone floor as I strode through the empty halls of the castle. Once, there had been plush rugs, velvet curtains, and masterful paintings of previous Unseelie rulers to soften the echoes. Once, the halls had been filled with the bustle of courtiers, pets, servants, and a loving family with two beautiful little girls. Today, not even a frightened scullery maid ran across my path. They must be hiding. All wise creatures stayed out of the way when Moriath was in a mood. My mind sifted through all the things that might be upsetting the Unseelie queen today, and I prayed that I wasn’t one of them. - The Frost Gate
The Library:
The iron heels of my boots echoed on the stone floor as I strode through the empty halls of the castle. Once, there had been plush rugs, velvet curtains, and masterful paintings of previous Unseelie rulers to soften the echoes. Once, the halls had been filled with the bustle of courtiers, pets, servants, and a loving family with two beautiful little girls. Today, not even a frightened scullery maid ran across my path. They must be hiding. All wise creatures stayed out of the way when Moriath was in a mood. My mind sifted through all the things that might be upsetting the Unseelie queen today, and I prayed that I wasn’t one of them. - The Frost Gate
Audrey lay sprawled on the rug in front of the fireplace, wearing the navy Sailor Moon t-shirt and jeans she had arrived in yesterday.
***
Isobel and Amber sat on either side of Ella on a velvet settee as the Seelie queen flipped through her sketchbool, explaining her fashion designs in a low voice.
***
On the matching settee across from the ladies sat my handsome, black-clad fiancé sandwiched between Tiernan and Saoirse.
***
"I've got Neala," added Leith from where he was attempting to keep his daughter from pulling out an infinite number of books from the Royal Seelie Library self.
I really need to move that higher before their next visit. - Of Frost and Feathers
The Royal Suite:
The Sitting Room:
Audrey stepped around me and collasped on one of the two red velvet settees in the sitting room, her coffee sloshing up against its invisible barrier.
***
Dark wooden wainscotting paneled the lower walls, perfectly complementing the pale green wallpaper above. I had commissioned the wallpaper myself. The pattern appeared to be just leafy branches, but if you looked closely, you might see a glimpse of a unicorn's horn or an owl's eyes peering through the trees.
Liadan gracefully leaped onto one of the wingback chairs flanking the carved marble fireplce lit with a crackling fire. My sword and Kylian's axe hung on the wall above the mantle.
I dashed across the room, my shoes sinking into the plush cream carpet, aiming for what appeared to be a dress stand covered with a sheet. Thick velvet curtains neatly pulled back with gold cords framed the draped mystery. The sun shone through the diamond-paned windows behind it, sparkling on the frost feathering the glass.
***
You haven't seen them yet?" asked Isobel, who had been poking through the row of books on the mantle.
***
The Bathing Room:
Audrey cracked open a door to the right of the sitting room. "Oh, nice bathtub!"
***
The chicken-footed tub was just as cute as I had imagined, resting on the floor of green marble tiles. "It feels like it still needs something, though," I muttered, taking in the golden shower head on its stand above the tub, the cozy white towels neatly stacked on the shelves, and two plush robes on hooks by the tub.
"You need some plants," said Ella. "A nice moss bath mat, and maybe something viney with white flowers, I think."
***
The bathing room connected to a small room with a large double-sink vanity and an alcove with a toilet tucked in it.
***
The Dressing Room:
Next came a dressing room filled to the brim with Ella's creations in a rainbow of colors and patterns on one side, the other half containing our fighting gear. Racks of weapons, beautiful but deadly, gleamed on the wall, and a very small selection of black pants and tunics hung at the end.
***
The Bedroom:
The door on the left side of the sitting room opened to the bedroom, and my breath caught at the sight of the giant four-poster bed with its rich red curtains, heaped high with feather pillows and a plump duvet.
***
"I thought I didn't have any memories of this suite," I said quietly. "But I seem to have set up this room just the way my parents had it. Even the balcony." I waved my hand at the glass double doors that led to a magically climate-controlled balcony with a table and chairs for private meals. - Of Frost and Feathers
Neve's Personal Kitchen:
This bright and airy kitchen with its mint green cabinets, marble counters, striped yellow curtains, and pink wallpaper featuring apples and blossoms had been my birthday gift to Niamh last summer. Estrid had helped outfit it with dwarven, crystal-powered appliances, and it was furnished with the various impelments her parents had brought when they sold their farmhouse and café in Pilot Bay to move here to Skyretaine Castlenot long after our official engagement.
***
Saoirse leaned against the pantry door while Neala grasped her boot and pulled herself upright to pry at the beveled wooden doors.
***
Tiernan cracked open the window above the sink.
***
Gavin nodded and snagged an apron off the hooks on the pantry door. - Of Frost and Feathers
The Ballroom: (as decorated for the wedding reception)
I opened the tall wooden doors to the ballroom.
***
Niamh held out a hand to catch one of the tiny shimmering snowflakes drifting down from the vaulted ceiling of the ballroom. It disappeared in a puff of golden sparkles on her hand. "It's amazing!"
"Amazing," I agreed, watching her eyes light up as she took in the frosty wonderland, the inverse of the spring orchard outside. Golden trees with sparkling bare limbs grew out of the mossy patches on the ballroom floor and reached up toward the vaulted ceiling strung with icicles of crystal.
***
She turned to take in the magical space, her wide skirts gliding across the polished wood of the floor. - Of Frost and Feathers
The Crypt:
I turned to go, and the six faoladh followed me out of the castle with the coffin, toward the icy stairs of the crypt. In addition to the coffin bearers, I counted at least twenty more faoladh trailing us by the time we reached the doors of the crypt. Moriath and Dylan remained behind in the throne room, which only made it more likely that she was planning an ambush while staying safely out of the way. It would seem that Moriath planned for me to join the previous Unseelie rulers in their final resting place. I pretended not to notice, my gaze fixed on Niamh’s still form as they carried her into the ancient mausoleum.
They slid the glass coffin onto a stone slab between two marble pillars, a statue of a winged fae with a sword in each hand guarding the spot. The sound of the thick doors shutting behind us echoed in the room of cold stone, punctuated by the thud of a heavy plank barring the doors from the outside. - The Frost Gate
The Kennels:
See Faoladh "Kennels"
Fun facts
Pronunciation: Sky-er-tane
Article by Channon and Hanna