Winterkeep

The castle at Winterkeep is a mammoth construction of dark granite hewn from the Earthspur Mountains on the lowest slopes of Mount Edain centuries before the coming of Impiltur. The castle was, according to legend, constructed by Brandon the Builder during the Age of Heroes centuries during the struggles against the hated Empire of Narfell, and flew the banner of the Dainish Northkings until finally bending knee to the bearer of the blade Ellendrin, Arthrwys ap Llaiddraig, High King of Cymru in 1054 DR. After the death of Arthrwys in the Kinslayer Wars of 1070 DR, the Winterlord of House Dain rallied to the banner of Imphras I Heltharn to repel the Witchling Horde and so, under the Heltharn Dynasty were created House von Doin, Lords of Winterkeep and Wardens of the West.

Winterkeep is actually two keeps surrounded by a double set of curtain walls, both perched upon a spur of rock at in the foothills of the Galenas known as the Winterberg. The two keeps, known as the First Keep and the Great Keep respectively, are joined by their mutual connection to the Godswood. Three (once four) large towers dominate the view of the surrounding lands. These are the Broken Tower and the Castellan's Tower attached to the otherwise sealed First Keep, and the Master's Tower and the Bell Tower attached to the Great Keep.

The Great Keep

The Great Keep serves as the main bulk of the castle, and as the current abode of the ducal family and their retainers. It was added to the collection of structures within Winterkeep in 627 DR by King Edwyle the "Godstouched" after a great fire consumed the First Keep. The Great Keep consists of a massive Great Hall that is flanked by the smaller Bell Tower in the front and the massive Master's Tower to the rear.

The Great Hall

The Great Hall is a single, massive room over eighty feet long, fifty feet wide, and sixty feet tall with a steeply sided roof heavily crenelated along the edges. Six colossal fireplaces dominate the room, each large enough to roast a full-sized ox, fronted by dozens of heavy tables of black oak. The rear of the room is occupied by a raised dais upon which rests a heavily carved half-moon shaped shadowtop table and the seating for the ducal family and their closest retainers and guests. The walls are lined with ancient tapestries depicting the legacy of House von Doin, as well as the captured shields and weaponry from hundreds of battles. The throne of House von Doin is carved from a single piece of massive duskwood inlaid with mithril threading and the yellowed claws of the long-slain red dragon Kiisonriaxthes. The throne alone weighs over eight-hundred pounds.

The Master's Tower

The Master's Tower is the tallest structure of western Impiltur, towering two hundred feet and more over the cobbled courtyard below. This massive rectangular tower houses the ducal apartments as well as housing for the hundreds of retainers and servants that keep the castle functioning. The library of Winterkeep is housed in the middle of the structure, with tall glass windows to provide natural light for readers. The tower is served by thousands of insulated copper pipes that receive thousands of gallons of water driven up the structure by ancient water pumps from the vast cisterns of naturally heated hot spring water deep beneath the castle. The pipes are both insulated interior pipes and non-insulated exterior pipes, and most suites are served by two pump spigots that deliver both hot and cold mineral water suitable for drinking and bathing.

The Rookery

Attached to the Master's Tower, near the sheltered stone watch-fire at its summit, is the Rookery, a narrow turret four stories tall. The lower levels of the Rookery serve as quarters, study, and laboratory for the currently residing Magister of the High Tower and his apprentices. The upper garret is wooden and gives the turret it's name, as it houses the Magister's rookery of messenger ravens. Cleaning the cages in the winter is considered frozen torture. The Rookery is attached to the nearby Bell Tower by a narrow bridge of granite known as the Widow's Perch.

The Lady's Garden

Attached to the lower middle of the Master's Tower is a flat-topped turret of pale stone. The inner two levels are given over as the part of the private apartments of the current Duchess of Winterkeep, whoever that may be. The flat-topped roof of the turret is covered by a small but well kept garden of winter birches, summer roses, and pale marble statuary.

The Bell Tower

Much smaller in volume than the Master's Tower, the round Bell Tower is still visible over the inner curtain wall from the outside. It is a slender tower whose lowest levels serve as the Ducal chapel and whose dizzying heights hold a massive bell molded of pure alchemical silver known as Garran's Call.

The First Keep

The narrow and huddled First Keep was built over the original dwarven foundations of Winterkeep. Badly burned in a fire that took the lives of the wife and seven children of Northking Edwyle the "Godstouched", the First Keep was virtually abandoned in 627 DR. Having constructed the Great Keep as a tribute to his lost family, Edwyle began the construction that would dominate the remainder of his life, transforming the First Keep into a house of the dead. Once surmounted by two large towers, one collapsed in a lightning strike 100 years ago and has not been rebuilt. The only structure that remains inhabited from the original structure is the Castellan's Tower, a towering, round edifice whose lower levels house the strength of Winterkeep's soldiers and armory, and the upper levels serve as the apartments of the current Castellan of Winterkeep and his family and servants.

The House of the Dead

The bulk of the First Keep is given over to house the honored dead of House von Doin and House Dain before them. The entirety of the upper levels serve as a mausoleum for the Northkings since Edwyle, whereas the under-levels extend deep into the Winterberg, level upon level housing the dead of the western lands. The true extent of the House of the Dead is unknown even to the current residents of Winterkeep.

The Castellan's Tower

This ancient drum tower serves as the armory and barracks of the legion of Winterkeep, currently housing 800 permanent men-at-arms and twice their number in staff and support personnel. The upper levels of the tower contain the private apartments of the Swordmaster-at-Arms, and above that, the Castellan and his family and retainers.

The Hunter's Gate

This narrow postern gate in the rear walls of the inner curtain ring opens directly onto the twisted, forested paths through the foothills of Mount Edain. It is fortified and secured by the troops housed in the Castellan's Tower.

The Godswood

In the forested hills behind and between the two keep structures but enclosed within the inner curtain wall of Winterkeep is the Godswood, over 3 acres of tamed woodlands criss-crossed with old granite pathways. It is made up of sentinel, oak, and ironwood trees which are packed close together creating a dense canopy. At its heart is an ancient weirwood tree whose spreading roots and branches seem to touch the all life in the grove of shadowed trees. The tree stands over a pool of flat black water. The bark of the weirwood is craggy and pitted with whorls of red and white lichen that seems to pick out a gnarled and ancient face.