Imperial Palace

Imperial Palace
Settlement
The Imperial palace, as seen from Mount Koshiki
RPG	BZPRPG III
Type	Settlement
Island	Kentoku Archipelago
Region	Sado
City	Sado
Affiliation	Dasakan Empire
Population	Dasakan Holdouts
Status	Under Siege

More of a city than anything else, the Imperial Palace is the jewel of the Kentoku Archipelago.

Layout

The Palace of the Dasaka Empire is an expansive collection of crystalline towers, grown by skilled menti architects into a variety of prisms and colored hues, which covers all but a thin strip of beach on the island of Sado. Sado's palace reflects the sunlight from its roofs back into the clouds to create a rainbow pattern. The palace refers not only to the Imperial Residency, where the elites live, but also to the wards surrounding the inner circle of lavish extravagance and politics.

Taking up most of the island of Sado, the city is hexagonal in shape, with six distinct sections forming the outer ring and the Imperial Residences at its center. Made almost entirely of crystalline protodermis, The Imperial Palace is a place of sheer beauty as well as defense, the only locale never to have been conquered by an opposing force in wartime. Lightstones line its elegant crystal corridors and glow both during the day and at night; it could be said that this place never sleeps.

Landmarks

The Imperial Residency

Located in the center ring of Sado's crystalline city, this is where the imperial family lives, works, and presides. Spacious bedrooms, meeting halls, living quarters, and the Throne Room all are located within. Only high-ranking Dasaka were permitted entrance here, although now many of the spaces have been converted into enormous war rooms, bustling with Menti warriors and strategists conferring on how to defend Sado and make a push to reclaim other key islands in the Kentoku Archipelago

The royal family, which include Yumiwa and Desdemona after the death of their mother the Rora Yusanora, lived in the center of the Imperial Residency with a palace all to their own.  The Imperial Garden's highest levels adjoin themselves to the royal palace, and long crystal bridges and spires attach other towers.  The most notable locations are:

Throne Room

A grand and majestic room where the Rora held council with her Toroshu.

Dragon Hall

This grand party hall was designed by the Dasaka of old with a commanding view of the city below and the ocean beyond.  It is majestic, with sweeping balconies and vaulted ceilings, and positioned on a hilltop with connecting bridges and towers to the rest of the residency.  Its great dance floor was made large enough for a kanohi dragon to find it an ample lair.

Clan Housing

Each clan has their own wing in the Imperial Residency for their personal use when on business in Sado.  These wings are comprised of crystal towers looking down on the gardens.

Towers of Knowledge

The educational center of the empire. Home to the most prestigious of schools, the finest of museums, and the best libraries, these towers stand as the tallest pinnacles of the palace. Past, present, and future all collide here in unusual harmony; the silence of studying and research is at home next to the bustle of active discovery. The Dasaka's archives are also stored here, the annals of their entire cultural memory recorded within.

Some crucial records - genealogies and histories of the Roras of Clan Umbraline chief among them - were saved by the fleeing royal fleet or disseminated by looters, but for the most part these great histories remain untouched.

Subsections:

The Coliseum

The social center of the empire, it is here where all the major sports and other spectator events take place, everything from Paero to gladiator combat to theatrical performances. There is always an event going on here, and considering the myriad of inns and eateries bordering it to accommodate the constant influx of Dasaka, it is the premier meeting and gathering place on Sado - and, under periods of Rahkshi siege, the only fortress large enough to protect the large civilian population left behind on Sado.

The Yards

Military stronghold and training facility. Here is where young Menti warriors go to be trained in the art of psionic and physical warfare. There are schools, training grounds, and instructors dedicated to each discipline stored within. In addition, the palace's docks are located nearby, so the Imperial Navy has its base of operation here as well. Besides the Imperial Residences, this is the most heavily guarded and fortified place in the entire empire. Menti are being trained almost to the point of exhaustion by harsh Dastana mercenaries and veterans of the Fursic Wars and Rahkshi sieges, and the Yards now bustle with activity day and night.

Subsections:

• Palace Dockyards

• Imperial Navy Headquarters

• Imperial Navy Barracks

• Arohi School of the Mind

The Wards

The massive apartment complex of the palace. Here is where most of the population of the palace lives and sleeps when not working, making it by far the largest section of the city. Most rooms are sparse if not comfortable, clean, and airy, and usually have two to three rooms, depending on the need. The wealthiest and most influential citizens occupy the penthouses on the top levels. Few Menti warriors live here, as their bunks are either in their barracks or other assigned areas per their duties.

The Markets

The economic center of the empire. Anything and everything is either produced here, sold here, or can be otherwise acquired here. More money and trade goods pass through this section of the empire than all the other islands combined, making the ideal place to do business. Before the war, the upper classes preferred not to go here, as social order, stigma, and pride tended to keep them away from the lower castes. Still, one can find them here often enough, wandering the stalls on the hunt for special items (though the highest of Menti would usually send servants or couriers to do their business for them).

The Dastana, a mercantile clan from birth, were uniquely suited to keep the Markets bustling after the Rahkshi Invasion; without their protection, the entire Kentoku Archipelago, already reeling, would have likely descended into anarchy. Still, their supply lines are constantly harried by bizarre, infected Rahi and Rahkshi, and the atmosphere in the Markets is tense, with haggles as likely to end in brawls as deals.

The Gardens

The massive park that takes up a large swath of the city. From a distance, the elegant layered gardens seem to hang in the air unsupported. A place of beauty and serenity, the gardens are valued therapeutically as places to seek peace and enlightenment. The rarest of plants, endangered species, and cultivating greenhouses spot this place; the gardens are proudly home to a large collection of flora and fauna that are extinct elsewhere on the archipelago. Once, these gardens were sealed off to the lower castes, the jewels of the nobility; now they serve as makeshift refugee camps and packed healing centers, bustling with injured Menti or Dashi who fought to defend their home against the Rahkshi.