skin, bone, and arrogance
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create and codify a newly rebuilt Imperial Palace on Dosuun and to create a setting/location for roleplaying.
- Image Credit: Jie Ma
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Avalonia
SETTING INFORMATION
- Structure Name: Imperial Palace
- Classification: Palace/Fortress/Headquarters
- Location: Dosuun
- Affiliation: The Palace is owned by the Crown Estate of the First Order, an institution currently invested in Natasi Fortan
- Accessibility: The Imperial Palace is one of the largest and most imposing buildings in Avalonia, positively dominating the city’s landscape and skyline. It is quite easy to locate. The Palace is partially accessible to the public; the massive courtyard and plaza in front of the Palace is routinely used for national events and gatherings. Certain portions of the Palace and grounds are open to the public year-round, including the Supreme Leader’s Galleries, the Bakuran Gardens, and the Memorial Exhibition. Other portions of the Palace are opened seasonally, when Her Majesty and the Imperial Family are not in residence, most notably the State Rooms including the Ceremonial Throne Room, the State Dining Room, and others. All areas of the Palace are subject to intense security, both in terms of physical barriers, automated security, alarms, and manpower, making infiltration via the public spaces difficult. Access to the non-public portions of the Palace is strictly controlled.
- Description: The Imperial Palace is described in the singular but it is actually a complex of many buildings, one of which being the Imperial Palace proper. It is a towering structure, taller than any other structure in the capital. It is built in the footprint of the old palace and outwardly identical in most respects, but more advanced, more secure, more solid. Designed by the First Order Corps of Imperial Engineers with the lessons of the Sack of Dosuun in mind, the Imperial Palace was designed to be able to withstand the elements and most attacks, up to and including an orbital bombardment of the same magnitude that felled the first palace, at least for brief areas. Obviously, the structure is not impervious. The building is a mixture of First Imperial strength and efficiency in the exterior, with a mixture of the same strong and efficient architecture and, in some places, old-world Galidraan-inspired charms in the interior, as befits the tastes of the Supreme Leader who funded and designed it: Natasi Fortan. The Palace Complex contains formal gardens, guard houses, conservatories, and other associated security and domestic structures to facilitate the running of the Palace.
The Ellipse
The large, semi-oval space that sits between defensive barrier and gates and the Palace itself, the Ellipse is essentially a broad driveway that allows for ingress from and egress to the Mall to the Imperial Palace proper. A reinforced porte-cochère stands at the entrance to protect those entering or leaving the Palace from the elements (or worse). The Ellipse is the site of formal and ceremonial military drills such as the Changing of the Guard, which tourists from all over the First Order come to view from the barriers.
The Ceremonial Throne Room
Used for formal state occasions and royal ceremonies, the Ceremonial Throne Room is almost entirely for show. Real governing does not happen there, but it looks the part as a large room with a vaulted ceiling, with elegant red damask walls and beautifully upholstered chairs for both visitors and Sovereign. The throne itself is an ornate, gilded chair, upholstered in filigreed crimson damask and emblazoned on the seat back with the Natasi Fortan’s cypher reflecting NRI for Natasi Regina Imperatrix. The throne sits on a raised dais, beneath a canopy of lush velvet trimmed in gold brocade.
The State Banquet Room
A massive room paneled in white with gold accents, the State Dining Room was built to impress. Featuring a double-height ceiling, and no less than eight crystal chandeliers that cast the room in dazzling light. The room is meant to convey the power, prestige, and wealth of the First Order, to provide irresistible hospitality as a tool of diplomacy to foreign visitors graced with invitations.
The Balcony
A relatively small outcropping from the front of the Palace, and reasonably low to the ground, the Balcony (actually one of many balconies across the Palace) allows the Supreme Leader and the Royal Family to be seen during events of national importance, and so it is close enough to the street that subjects in the plaza in front of the Palace can see whoever is on the balcony.
The Bakuran Gardens
Situated far to the rear of the Imperial Palace, the Bakuran Gardens are open to the public and are thus separated from the Palace Grounds by extreme security. These gardens, done in the ornate, formal Bakuran style, are also where the Supreme Leader occasionally hosts outdoor events.
Chapel Royal
On first observation of the Chapel, one could easily mistake it for modern. However, this is more a result of its minimalist design than any specific modern aesthetic. The Chapel is a space of quiet reflection and religious observation when the Supreme Leader is unable to attend the Temple of the Enlightened Balance elsewhere in Avalonia. Natasi Fortan requested a small, simple space, devoid of finery, and that’s what it is. Designed to seat no more than twenty, the Chapel may also serve as the location for small religious gatherings like christenings.
The Situation Room
A large conference room, dominated in its center by a massive conference table that can comfortably fit thirty, and uncomfortably seat sixty. The conference table is equipped with all manner of technological advancements, including holoprojectors, communications devices, and other gadgetry. The walls are lined with monitors providing readouts from any number of sources, from public holovision to status and scanner readouts from any location or ship in the galaxy.
Government Offices
Each Moff has an office in the Imperial Palace, accompanied by offices for support staff. These are in addition to the other are they may have elsewhere, allowing for a convenient place to work, meet, or prepare for meetings at the Palace. In addition to the Moff’s offices, there are hundreds of other offices for sub-cabinet officials, support staff, and members of the civil service, as well as members of the royal household, like the Supreme Leader’s private secretary, press secretary, and others.
Royal Apartments
Spanning three stories at the apex of the Imperial Palace, the Royal Apartments are the personal domain of the Supreme Leader and the royal family, for their exclusive use as and when they choose to occupy them. Given the security requirements in place, the space is much less traditional and Galidraan-inspired than some of the previously-described state rooms in the public spaces. There are traditional elements to the furnishings and setup, but the architecture is pure Imperial efficiency. Sleek and modern, with touches of subtle luxury, it is outfitted with the latest in First Order security measures to ensure the safety of its occupants.
SECURITY
Maximum
- Defensive Autoblasters
- Tractor Pressor Beams
- Ray Shields
- Turadium-reinforced doors, frames (and impervium wall reinforcement near vital portions of the palace)
- Advanced Biometrics
- Extensive Security Holocamera Systems
- Disruptor Security Beam Grids
- Modular Nutrient Frame Compartments (near vital portions of the palace)
- Mass and Lifeform Sensor Systems
- Advanced Mass Sensor Grid and Extensive Security Camera/Motion Detection Systems
- Fortress-grade Guardian-Class Shield Generators
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Imperial Palace began its life with the original incarnation of the First Order. Created to be an impressive edifice of strength and dominance. It served as a residence for Sieger Ren and the headquarters of the First Order’s imperial authority, the Supreme Leader. The original structure was badly damaged during the Ssi-Ruuk Imperium’s Sack of Dosuun, and scrapped entirely by the newly rechartered First Order when it retook Dosuun. However, when Natasi Fortan was crowned as Supreme Leader, she insisted upon rebuilding the Imperial Palace to its former glory and, indeed, to surpass it. Leveraging cutting-edge technology to increase the durability, stability, security and efficiency, the Imperial Palace was reborn from the ashes and footprints of the old Imperial Palace.
The Palace was redesigned from the ground up, with the only limiting principle being that it be identical, from the outside, to the former Imperial Palace. The First Order Corps of Imperial Engineers incorporated new technologies and lessons learned from the Sack of Dosuun to build a structure more resilient, more durable, more secure, and more efficient. The structure was funded in large part by Natasi Fortan’s personal fortune; it forms the lion’s share of the Crown Estate, the properties owned not by the First Order nor by any individual but by the entity of the Crown, embodied by the current Supreme Leader. The furnishing of the interior spaces has been more or less completed, though adjustments are being made as staffing needs demand.
