The Dark Sun

Chapter 4: Home, Sweet Home

     I looked up at the massive structure in front of me. My home. The Whitemore Palace. It was a large building. The third-largest royal building on the continent, being 4.8 million square feet including royal gardens and 4.5 million square feet without them. The largest royal building on the continent was in Adruvalon. It was the Ardleby Fortress, which was 9 million square feet. The second-largest royal building was Krepheneia's Lamberside Castle, being 5.2 million square feet. These three buildings were remarkably different in style and layout.

     The Ardleby Fortress was surrounded by a giant stone wall in the shape of an octagon that extended roughly 500 feet into the air. It had hundreds of small buildings on the inside of these walls. They were built upon land that rose to almost the height of the wall. A pathway led down from the entry point to the main structure throughout the city to a bridge that crossed 425 feet above a moat surrounding the wall. This moat was 110 feet wide and infested with alligators. Along the walls were dozens of archer outposts, some visible some not so easy to see. The main building was another stone octagon with red brick roofs and bridges leading to towers. Atop this octagon was a stone dome with another circular shape.  The fortress, from bottom to top, was 2500 feet. It also had a perimeter of just under 11 thousand feet.

     The Lamberside Castle was a massive white stone structure with multiple buildings and a navy blue roof. It was built in the mountains with a waterfall flowing through it. It had very few man-made defenses, as the mountains were hard enough to get through. The only path leading up to the castle had several checkpoints along the way. To get to the castle, you had to cross a 140-foot bridge. The front door was attached to a large square with 2 towers on the corners facing the bridge. On either side of this square, a half-circle extended down to the lake below it, expanding by 12 feet roughly 20 feet down. This square was not joined to the main castle in a large way. About 30 feet of roofed pathways and bridges connected the two. The main castle was a large square with an octagon and then a circle on top of it. The square was 200 feet tall and 300 feet wide. The octagon was 200 feet in width/length and 170 feet tall, and the circle was 180 feet in circumference and 140 feet tall. The base of the castle, the square, had a large, 7-floor tower on the front left, facing the bridge, and two 4 story towers on the back corners. The top of the castle was cut off from outside air via a glass dome. Multiple bridges were leading across ravines, waterfalls, and rivers to other structures on the estate, but none as extravagant as the main castle.

     Whitemore Palace was a large, 3 story, light beige building with a dark grey roof and golden trim. It had a perimeter of 8764 feet and a height of 210 feet. The two front corners jutted out about 40 feet from the main entrance. The walls pushed back about 2122 feet before turning 90 degrees and running into each other. While this structure was a sight for sore eyes, the main beauty of the estate belonged to the royal gardens. In front of the palace, the royal garden extended 3321 feet from the entrance of my home to the gates surrounding the property. The gardens extended 3321 feet on all sides of the palace. These gardens are filled with different trees, bushes, and flowers. Dozens of fountains and statues also make a home in the gardens.

     I walked up the steps into my home. 4 guards greeted me by opening the large, 20 foot tall double doors. I smiled and nodded to them before walking through the doors. No matter how many times I entered the estate, I never got used to the beauty of the first room. Opening the doors, you are instantly greeted with a red carpet that covers the floor in almost every room of the palace. walking about 30 feet and you come across the double curved staircase that leads to the second floor. If you look up from that position, you can see the other set of curved stairs leading to the third floor and the big, gold-flecked chandelier hanging from the glass-domed ceiling. The walls are white, to match the exterior, and the railing was gold. Large white pillars held the ceiling up, and several smaller chandeliers were hanging around the outside of the room. The walls held paintings of scenery.