Castle Black
| Castle Black | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Geographical Information | |
| Location: | Southwest Drache |
| Significant Resources: | Royal Treasury, Royal Archives, West Drache's Granary |
| Civilization | |
| Region In: | Arangoth |
Location
Castle Black is a monstrously large feat of architecture, crafted from black marble and situated on the coast of Arangoth on the Southern Sea, southwest of Drache. It sits atop a cliff overlooking the sea, and it can be seen for many miles in any direction.
Behind the Name
King BLKDRAGON gifted the castle to his beloved, Queen AngelSin in the year 465, and it is for him that it is named, as well as for the gleaming black marble on the outside.
Description and History
Just as AngelSin erected the BlkDragon Inn for her husband, so did the great dragon build a home for his Queen. A magnificent structure, Castle Black was built from pure black marble from the mountains of Ruthmarna. Tall towers and steep exterior walls make it a formidable structure to breach, but the castle's dark exterior is a stark, foreboding contrast to what awaits inside. No cost was spared on the construction of the interior rooms, and within the castle walls are dozens of beautiful chambers, guest quarters, and ball rooms, all of which are decorated with fine woods and stones. Elegant tapestries and paintings also grace the inside of the royal seat. The main throne room has walls of grey marble and a dais of purest white stone, upon which sits two thrones, both crafted of ebony wood and carved with likenesses of dragons and angels. Above the thrones, engraved into the stone wall, are the words "Arangoth Menxpirek..." or "Arangoth Eternal..."
It was from this throne room that Drache and all of Arangoth was ruled by AngelSin and BLKDRAGON, who reclaimed the land from the fifty-year curse of anarchy inflicted by the wizard Gadpisi after the death of King Dorn. For two years, they ruled the land wisely before retiring with their children and yielding their rule to their friend and court wizard, The Raven, who was named Regent of Arangoth.
Years ago, The Raven too vanished, perhaps due to some magical accident in his lab, or perhaps by design. The Regency Council then ruled over the city of Drache, though they did not occupy Castle Black out of respect for the Regent and his predecessors. Castle Black remained empty for a time, somber and silent, a monument to the Royal Family of Arangoth, and to some a symbol of their eventual return to power.
The castle did not sit empty for long, King Arlok ul-Dorn, Queen Melinxa Swanneck, and their son, the young Crown Prince Emereth ul-Arlok, resided in the castle and ruled from there during the spring and summer months, along with a full staff to maintain the royal seat year-round.
Castle Black Today
Castle Black is no longer the seat of Arangothian Royalty, now serving instead as the seat of the Sithire of Transdariania after the defeat of the Crownlands in the Arangothian Civil War. The castle grounds are also home to the Royal Treasury, the Royal Archives, and a large granary that supplies West Drache.