Imperial Palace

SCALE The Imperial Palace is quite large... the poetic estimate of its size is 9,999 rooms between 800 buildings, its red-painted outer walls rise up some thirty feet, and its main squares can often house up to a hundred thousand people. The palace is 900 yards long and 700 yards wide, with an area of 630,000 square yards. One map square = 100 square yards (10 by 10).

The Gate of Elemental Dragons: (1) On the southern side of the palace, this massive fortified gate towers above the nearby city.

Five Dragon Bridges: Five ornately carved jade bridges lead to the Gate of Elemental Dragons, each carved of the appropriately coloured jade in a manner representing one of the elements. It is tradition to cross into the Palace along the bridge of your aspect. Bridge of Red Jade (2), Bridge of Blue Jade (3), Bridge of White Jade (4), Bridge of Black Jade (5), Bridge of Green Jade (6).

Gate of Dedicated Servitude: (7) Anyone who is not Dragonblooded enters the palace through this smaller fortified gate.

The Meridian Gate: (19) Beyond the Elemental Gate lies a vast courtyard, which could house upwards of a hundred thousand people at any given time. It is from this gate that the Empress would deliver direct announcements to her officials, and inspect her armies. It was tradition for victorious returning generals to present themselves and their troops to the Empress here, offering up slaves and plundered treasure to her. This massive courtyard also has two side gates, the Minister’s Gate (17) and the General’s Gate (18), through which soldiers and bureaucrats enter the courtyard and approach the Meridian gate, in whose inner chambers are located numerous audience chambers for meetings with the Empress or high officials.

Grand Offices of the Thousand Scales: (I) Through the Minister’s Gate lies the vast maze of halls and chambers which house the vast majority of the Realm’s bureaucrats, as well as many of their families and servants. The Grand Offices are a city unto themselves, with their own shops and eateries operated by the extended families of the hereditary bureaucrat clans, hidden away amongst the alleys and corridors.

The Impregnable Office of the Treasury: (31) Second only to the Imperial Library in size, and connected to it by underground corridors, the Treasury looms large over the heart of the Thousand scales. Its marble floors and secure offices (once guarded by Legionnaires, now by soldiers under command of House Bal) are filled with the scribble of quills and the clink of jade coins. Stories passed between junior clerks and assistants hold that there are hidden cellars in the Treasury that date back to the time of the Anathema, or even before then. There are supposed to be rooms in the complex of buildings with windows that look out onto different worlds, from the dwellings of the gods to the mansions of ghosts. Some even claim that the building is haunted by Anathema who were killed in it ages ago.

The Imperial Library: (30) A sprawling, multi-level complex of yellowed marble the colour of parchement, whose maze of shelves seek to roost a copy of every text known to Creation, from the Black Treatise of Mela to copies of bureaucratic forms and registers accumulated over seven centuries. Access is restricted, with tight controls to prevent risks that might harm the tomes contained on the shelves, and the convoluted indexing system is understood only by a few families of hereditary librarians who may spend their whole lives within its walls.

Hall of Silent Dedication: (24) Through the General’s gate lies a large and ornately carved building, where the 5,000 men of the Silent Legion live and train, and where both young slave-boys are prepared to join the Legion and old eunuchs find rest in retirement.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony: (36) On the other side of the Meridian Gate, the Hall of Supreme Harmony houses the Scarlet Throne, and the chambers used by the servants, consorts, and children of the Empress for living, sleeping, meetings, leisure, and anything else she might desire of them. It is also the only path through into the Gardens of the Imperial Manse, and current abode of the Regent.

Blossoming Orchid Pavilion: (8) A large teahouse, left open to the breeze in the mornings ands closed against heat in the afternoon. Many Dynasts come here in its public hall or private alcoves to enjoy refreshments such as flower teas and dim’sum.

Gate of Eternal Peace: (16) Gateway into the Square of Imperial Servants (H), housing the offices and chambers of the bureaucracy which administers the Palace itself.

Thousand Horse Pavilion: (21) Palace stables, home not only to the Imperial menagerie, but the mounts & palanquin bearers needed by the Dynasts to depart the Palace.

Pavilion of Painting and Song: (44) A frequent location of Tepet galas in the Palace, this pavilion is filled with beautiful works of art, as well as chambers for artists, musicians, and writers whose work found favour with the Empress. Her tastes were fickle, and turnover of guests here was common.

Palace of Returning Heroes: (22) A vast complex for guests specifically invited by the Empress… Generals and Legion officers, ministers or those who performed outstanding services, were given rooms and offices here. Now, the bureaucrats who operate it are guided less by the will of the Regent and more by bribes from the Dynasts as to what rooms are granted to whom.

All-Seeing-Eye Pavilion: (25) A small gazebo beneath a set of metal supports, atop which rests a wrought-iron sphere. Within the sphere, a flame rendered alchemically a deep red, almost purple, burns eternally, visible from almost anywhere on the palace grounds… a reminder that the Empress sees and knows all.

Altar of Land and Grain: (20) Rituals are enacted here by the Empress (now Regent) at every planting, asking for prosperity, and then at harvest offering thanks.

Flowing Waters Pavilion: (10) A place for the Palace servants to rest and relax, having some tea and scraps from the Dynast kitchens.

Pavilion of Imperial Treasures: (23) The repository for incoming tribute, as well as large stockpiles of jade, magical materials, artefacts, and treasures accumulated over the years by the Empress but not placed on display elsewhere in the palace.

Palace of Imperial Magistrates: (26) Building housing offices and quarters for the magistrates of the Realm. Many rooms are left unused, with only the City’s magistrates staying here regularly.

Pavilion of Sincerity and Solemnity: (45) A special pavilion for Immaculate monks visiting the palace to stay. It has its own permanent clergy, who pray for the glory of the Realm.

Great Halberd Gate: (13)

Hexagon Pavilion: (9)

Waterside Pavilion: (11)

Flowering Garden Gate: (12)

Gate of Rehearsing Rites: (14)

Gate of Defending Peace: (15)

Hall of Wise and Knowledgeable Advisors: (27)

Hall of Honourable and Humble Caretakers: (28)

Hall of Infallible Conveyors: (29)

Hall of Humble and Honest Assessors: (32)

Palace Artisan’s District: (33)

Gate of Kindness and Tranquility: (34)

Gate of Peace and Longevity: (35)

Scarlet Palace: (37) Empress’ living quarters. The Regent has not taken up residence here.

Pavilion of Shining Enlightenment: (38)

Tower of Cultivating the Mind: (40)

Tower of Accumulating Beauty: (41)

Tower of Seeking Clarity: (42)

Tower of Abstinent Meditation: (43)

Thousand Waterfalls Creek: (A) River flowing eastward from the central mountain ranges, passing the Imperial Palace and sinking into the sewers of the Imperial City before heading to meet the sea at Vatamu.

Lake of Auspicious Carp: (B)

Great Square of the Eternal Realm: ( C)

Palace Gardens: (D) A vast expanse of gardens that intermingle and flow into each other, including one garden for each aspect of each season featuring seasonal plants, herb and vegetable gardens for the Palace kitchens, quiet meditation groves, moon ponds, drinking streams, and many more.

Square of Receiving Good Fortune: (E)

Square of Preserving Supremacy: (F)

Courtyard of Blessed Entry: (G)

Square of Imperial Servants: (H)

Palace Moat: (J)

Great Wall of the Imperial Palace: (K) Forty-five feet high.

Square of the Chosen: (L)

Square of Wrathful Storms: (M)

Square of Fruitful Harvests: (N)

Gardens of the Imperial Manse: (O)

West Wing Palace: (46) Sprawling maze of rooms and courtyards, where the Houses live at the Palace. Tepet, Ledaal, Cathak, Sesus, and Peleps occupy sections of the West Wing Palace.

East Wing Palace: (47) Sprawling maze of rooms and courtyards, where the Houses live at the Palace. Ragara, Mnemon, V’neef, and Cynis occupy sections of the East Wing Palace while Ragara negotiates with Nellens over including that House in the East Wing.

Imperial Manse: (39) The Imperial Manse was constructed in the distant past, during the First Age. During the Shogunate Era it was abandoned and forgotten until the woman who would become the Scarlet Empress entered it during an attack on Creation by the Fair Folk. In the more than seven centuries since no other mortal or Dragon-Blood has ever entered it and returned to tell the tale.

The Imperial Manse is the centerpiece of the Imperial Palace and is at the center of a large garden. Physically it is a huge, squat octagonal building decorated with orichalcum and marble, it possess a single door that is a slab of black jade. Inside this impressive building are controls that unify all the war manses of the Blessed Isle's Imperial Defense Grid as if they were a single weapon. In addition to these controls, the manse contains First Age mechanisms that made the Empress an equal to the Shoguns who came before her. The Realm's senior leadership today is greatly worried over its inability to access the Imperial Manse, as it is one of the Empire's most important military resources. This concern is twofold. First, no one among the Realm's current leaders has any idea how to get inside the manse, much less how it work. Second, a number of sorcerers have been studying the manse and everyone knows that whoever emerges from the manse knowing its secrets and its powers will be the next Emperor or Empress by default. In order to prevent this the Great Houses have mounted a number of security precautions to keep anyone from entering it.