the palace in Mabid (the Elven capital) shows up frequently in my stories but i have never really pinned down a description of it. so here goes.
the Elven palace is massive. Elves are taller than Humans and therefore need more headroom. the ceilings need to be higher. the tapestries need to be higher. the seats need to be higher. the beds need to be longer. everything is big. an NBA player's dream house where everything has been made to fit him. unfortunately if you happen to be short like a couple of my characters you feel like a small child climbing up on a large couch that you can't quite get up on without assistence. even the stairs are big. and the banisters are extra long. wheeeeeee!
the Elves live in the great western forests. Mabid is surrounded by rivers and trees on all sides. the palace furniture is all wood. much of the visible structure is wood as well. all carved and polished. underneath is granite from the northern mountains of the Dwarves. what stone is visible on the inside of the building is green marble. the green marble and the woodwork give the palace a foresty feel.
in many of the rooms are great stained glass windows. the Gnomes of the east are renowned for their glassworks. when the palace was built they did their part in doing the windows. the large windows of the throne room depict the world and peoples of Orean. they are intricate, huge and a sight to behold.
it is here where Enelia comes to be a princess of a people she had never known to exist. it is here where Trebor was Governor of the Elves. it is here where Delemetre, Rennio and Peter come to do their jobs. it is here where Eylyn works. it is here where countless others come and go, live and die. this place comes up over and over in my stories. it is thousands of years old. it is riddled with servants' secret passages. the basements are full of storage and dark dungeons. the central courtyard is large and is a village all its own. this place is the center of Mabid. its northern star. its place of order. this place has is garrison of soldiers and its myriad of magics for protection. the magic seeped into its walls for countless ages has almost made the place alive. as alive as a place can be. it is its own entity.
the Gnome and Dwarf palaces of Eisoj and Nocaj have similar stories. but they do have their differences. the Gnome palace shines inside and out with reflected glass and has considerably smaller furnishings. the Dwarf palace is solid stone and has no dungeons. both have their contributions from the other races. from a time in the past when Orean was at peace... even with its other long forgotten denizens.
Elizabeth Williamson Copyright © 2008
5 comments:
Again with the 2,000+ words. Are you going to change your rules? Or keep making entries that exceed your words per post ruling?
Extremely entertaining read. I like the vivid description (even if it is over 2,000 words). I get a real sense of what the setting is, and the peoples who inhabit it. Very nicely done!
no it isn't! i checked the word count! it about 500!
I stand corrected. Apparently, I was looking at the character count. It was 1 a.m.; it's a legitimate excuse for acting blind and dumb.
I apologize... for enjoying reading your post. :P No, actually, I did enjoy it. Good work!
(P.S.) Cool avatar. So what are you, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? This doesn't bode well for the rest of us. Good thing I'm animated stone, or I'd be in trouble. You can't kill me! Ha!
it's death and binky from discworld. death's my favorite character from that series. apology accepted. graciously. because i'm just gracious like that.
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