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Of all the buildings in the land of Brittania, three stand out as true masterpieces of architecture. Not only are these structures big and have many rooms they also have design aspects that set them apart from the other buildings that we normally find. The three houses are also held by some of the wealthiest people in the land. The first is Lord Britishs Castle, the second is that of Lord Blackthorn, and third is the palace of the royal family of Nujel'm. All three of these estates have a complex variety of design and each has its own unique style. The castle of Lord Blackthorn, although not nearly the size of the other two, is quite nice and peaceful. The castle itself is extremely isolated north of Britain. It is in the middle of a lake and has a long bridge leading to it. Immediately within the gate the is a small strip of flowers and a tiny garden, quite peaceful on a nice spring day. Once inside the castle one does not reach any sort of throne room or reception, ther is a kitchen and dinning room and and then ther are stairs to the next floor. Through out the castle there are guestrooms and other private chambers, but for the sake of not being overwhelming I will omit the smaller details. On the second floor the is a peculiar sort of room. In it are training dummies, even more sytrange is that this room leads to Lord Blackthorns bedroom. Also the room has bookshelfs on the wall. The walls are also fairly bland with only an occasional picture or two. One of the only redeeming qualities of the castle is in the architecture. The castle is the only one to have balconies. There are three on the upper floor. Blackthorn's personal balcony had a small chair and table on it. This piece of architectural genius is one of the most unique parts of the castle and make it worthy of being placed with these other estates. The palace of the royal family of Nujel'm is a masterpiec in terms of its beauty and it's exoticness. First of all the palace lies on the island of Nujel'm, a desert island with very high temperatures and not much vegatation. Yet, when approaching the castle one can't help but notice the troughs of water and the grass that grows all around. To maintain this costs a fortune, but it is a fortune that the royal family has. The door open up into a large open entry with a throne in the middle and staircases running both ways up the back wall. To the north ther is a U-shaped table with a veryu rare type of porceline china and The chairs and table are made out of a rare mahogany from Magincia. Some of the more distingushing features of the building is that there are in fact three smaller building each connected with a overhead hallway. In a sense the entire upper floor is one level but the bottom floor is actually three buildings. To again show the opulence of the Palace, there is a pool on the nmorthern side of the Palace. In the warm sun the servants could hardly fill the pool fast enough, still the royal family wants the pool to never be dry. And finally, the most extravegant, most expensive part of the whole estate is the garden. Normally, the ground in Nujel'm is without nutrients and very dry. In fact it is said that the family actually, paid to have dirt brought from a small island near Jhelom to the Palace. The flora is extremely divers in the garden and the warm climate creates a perfect place for all types of plants to grow. They have the rare Sosarian Orchid and their gardeners have developed over twenty new varieties of flowers. If one visits Nujel'm, they would have to visit the gardens or miss out on one of the greatests achievements in beauty ever. The castle of Lord British is by far the largest of the three estates. This building is definately built with a defensive nature in mind. The high walls and moat surrounding the castle create an impermeable defense. In addition the guards of the manor are some of the finest in the land. In side the military style motif continues. The walls are covers with ornate weapons and shields and full suits of armor line the halways. All are finely crafted and would easily fetch a price of 100,000 gp each on the open market. The layout of the main castle is such that upon entering one would bein the throne room. The marble is of exquisite quality, and most-likely from the mountains near the dungeon of covetous. Pillars line the throne room and statues dominate here. On the bottom floor there are also guest rooms which although not as lavash as most of the castle they are far more ornate that those of the average merchant. Another attraction of the castle is the first class kitchen that services Lord British's feasts. The head chef is Pierre, from the Culinary Institute of Nujel'm. Each night the chef prepares a unique feast ranging from crisp lamb with a sweet mango sauce, to roasted pig with juliened papaya, mangos, and melon. This is all served on a set of silver dishes that make every thief's mouth water. Moving on from here one would eventually reach a small chapel and finally British's personal meeting room. There is room to seat all of Lord British's generals, advisors, and ambassadors. After this one must move to the upper floor. The upper floor has a more homely appearence. In fact Lord British's own room appears on this floor along with his secret study (see "The Secret of Lord British"). More quest rooms can also be found on this level. One of the most impressive sites was the library. Books crowded every shelf from floor to ceiling. The mere size of it rivaled those of the libraries in Moonglow. The rest of the upper floor is farely bland with a room that is devoted to some sort of school or instructional facility, long since abandon. The grounds of the estate are not much to talk about there is, though, a blacksmith, a tailor, a stable, and a training ground. Overall, Lord British's castle is a marvel of architecture and beauty. So here are three of Brittannia's most impressive and largest estates. I would suggest everyone visit these marvelous castles, to observe their magnificent form and rich design. |
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