Lady of Ice
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
[SIZE=9pt]Intent: To create a location for RP for the Azure Imperium[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Image Credit: Martiniere.com[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Canon: No[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Links: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Azure Imperium[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]@Lunara Azure[/SIZE]
SETTING INFORMATION
[SIZE=9pt]Structure Name: The Imperial Palace[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Classification: Palace - the Residential, Administrative and Military centre of the Azure Family[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Location: Zernia[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Affiliation: Azure Family, Alexander Azure, Lunara Azure, Azure Imperium[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Accessibility: The Imperial Palace is one of the landmarks of Zernia, and acts as the seat of the emperor. It is from the palace that he manages the [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Empire,[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] and acts as a central location for the various branches of the government, military and Church of the light. The palace contains both public and private areas, and both citizens and tourists are welcome to tour the open areas of the palace and the ground. The air above the palace is, understandably, a no-fly-zone[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Description: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]A complex of several large domed buildings set in an enclosed estate the Imperial Palace is one of the main attractions of the Azure Imperium. Part showcase, part administrative centre the palace represents some of the best of Azurian Architecture, with its gently domed buildings, the gardens and walkways all enclosed within the palace grounds. The palace grounds are cut through be a series of waterfalls, the sound of the running water a pleasant accompaniment when you’re walking in the grounds [/SIZE]
POINTS OF INTEREST
Public Areas
[SIZE=9pt]The Public Areas of the Imperial Palace are those that are generally open to any visitor, public or official. It is these areas that the tourists and visitors to the palace come to see when they visit. [/SIZE]
Gardens
[SIZE=9pt]The Imperial palace features an extensive garden, one of the best kept lawns on the planet with a variety of award-winning flower displays and a large maze. It is a popular destination for visitors and those living at the palace who want to relax. The Imperial Palace is built on the water and the gardens are cut through with a truly impressive series of waterfalls (the edges sealed by forcefields to prevent people accidentally falling in) that make the grounds such a delight for people to visit and such an unusual sight. [/SIZE]
Entrance hall
[SIZE=9pt]Upon arrival at the Imperial Palace, the majority of guests, whether public or official disembark from their speeders or ships and enter the palace through the main entryway. This corridor is seen by many as one of the main tourist attractions of the palace, the walkway lined with statues of the great heroes of the Azure Empire. The corridor leads off to the main Atrium, and while there are some doors that lead off, these are generally for staff or services use. Sheltered alcoves and nooks do exist where people can pause to have a quick conversation before going about their own way, even when there are no tourists, the Entry is still a hub of activity as the machinery of the Emperor’s Bureaucracy generates a constant stream of bodies carrying information and instructions.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]There are other entrances to the palace that are used by staff, official visitors and the Imperial Family that allows them to bypass this public area if needed, however, those entrances are heavily guarded and not for the use of the general public or visitors.[/SIZE]
Ballroom
[SIZE=9pt]The grand ballroom, the site of many of the season's dances and social galas, recitals and performances for the public the grand ballroom is a [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]two tiered hall set just off the Atrium of the palace. The large open area of the room is a very versatile space that the palace staff can often reconfigure to suit the needs of an event. Balconies run the length of the room down either wall, providing a view over all of the room and spaces where people can meet and watch the proceedings without being on the floor of the ballroom. When not in use for an event the ballroom normally acts as a museum, with a variety of displays rotating through the space[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] on a monthly basis.[/SIZE]
Library
[SIZE=9pt]Set in its own large building within the palace grounds the Imperial Library is a vast collection of knowledge that has been drawn from all over the galaxy. The Library is a joint effort between the church and the Imperial family to provide a repository of information, and members of the Order of the Leaf mingle with Imperial Archivists bustling through this space night and day. The main library is open to the public, and anyone can request the information available. Little offices and tables are strewn through the area for people to work and examine the information. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]The library does contain documents which are deemed classified or are not made available to the public and the Emperor’s chief Archivist will approve members of the public's request on a case by case basis. A copy of every book or journal published within the Empire finds its way into the Library for storage and access by Citizens of the Imperium in the future. The library even houses some artefacts and hard copy books and [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]holocrons[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt], although all the physical objects must be handled with care.[/SIZE]
Banquet hall
[SIZE=9pt]At times it seems like every diplomatic function ends with a banquet, a vast feast that everyone involved has to attend. Such a feast can be a [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]hurculean[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] task to organise, and the Banquet Hall is a venue designed to make that task just a little easier. With access to the Palace kitchens, and set across the Atrium from the Ballroom the Banquetting hall is another large space that can easily be reconfigured to whatever form it needs to be to suit the purpose of the event planners. While it is sometimes also used to host events and concerts, most days the room serves as a cafeteria for the palace staff and visitors. [/SIZE]
Throne Room
[SIZE=9pt]The Throne Room of the palace is just that, the location of the Imperial throne and the room in which the Emperor holds court on those few occasions which require it. [/SIZE]
Official Areas
[SIZE=9pt]The Official Areas are those that are concerned with the management of the Imperium, these areas are mostly filled with the staff who support the Imperial Family in their work.[/SIZE]
Command centre
[SIZE=9pt]The Emperor is the head of the Imperial Military, and while the Military [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]do have their central headquarters set away from the city, it is difficult and unwieldy for the Emperor to travel there to constantly recive[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] updates from his commanders or make decisions. Instead, a secure bunker exists beneath the palace which contains a command, control and communications facilities from where the Emperor and his advisors can receive updates on, and give orders to handle situations across the Imperium and Beyond. The Command Centre is staffed by a team of analysts from I and II Legions who answer directly to the Emperor as their Imperial Legate. [/SIZE]
Barracks
[SIZE=9pt]The Barracks [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]are[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] the name given to the collection of buildings at the back of the palace that make up the homes and offices of the Palaces Military Contingent. This complex is the home of the Praetorian Guard, the Elite fighters who make up the Imperial Bodyguard, as well as members of the I and II Legions who provide the staff of the Command Centre, and who provide additional security to the Palace. [/SIZE]
Chapel
[SIZE=9pt]In his position as the head of the Church of Light, it was decided that the Emperor would need members of [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]hte[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] church in the palace along with him. One building of the palace, set in the public area, is given over to the Chapel. A church and housing complex for the members of the Church of Light who are chosen to provide the Emperor with advice and to support him when needed. The Chapen also acts as one of the political hubs of the Church of Light, allowing them easy access to the halls of power, and providing the Emperor with a cadre of force users to hand if needed.[/SIZE]
The Spire
[SIZE=9pt]The tallest building in the palace, the tower stretches up above the main body of the palace and serve a dual purpose, both residential and official. The sides of the power are studded with sensors and communications equipment, allowing the flight control centre which is located in the base of the tower to monitor and control the airspace around the palace. The Palace Control monitors all flights near the palace, and in the system, as well as providing assistance to outer flight control systems across the system as needed. The Tower’s control functions are based on a Freyja Communications system reinforced with Locke and Key’s Harmonia System to provide secure communications across the system. The upper part of the tower contains offices and meeting rooms, with the topmost area being reserved as an observatory and balcony for the Imperial Family. [/SIZE]
Ship Landing Area
[SIZE=9pt]Not everyone visiting the Imperial Palace is willing to come in via speeder, there are sometimes that a ship or a shuttle will need to land there directly from space. The Imperial Palace is therefore equipped with a small spaceport, only capable of handling a few ships, those belonging to the Imperial family and their guests. The landing area is tucked back out of sight, and visitors will have to catch a speeder ride to the palace proper after they land.[/SIZE]
Private Areas
[SIZE=9pt]The Private Areas of the Palace are those places that only the Imperial Family or those with their permission are allowed access to. It’s where the Emperor and his family can relax without the weight of the public constantly watching them. [/SIZE]
Residences
[SIZE=9pt]The Imperial Palace is first and foremost a residence, the home of the Imperial family. Everything else is just add-on to that, way to make the job of managing the Imperium easier. But to be a residence, there needs to be a place to live. Set away from the public areas, and even the official areas is another building, barely indistinguishable from the rest of the palace, but it is here that the Emperor lives, in a suite of rooms, a house within the structure of the larger palace. Ther[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]e are[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] several of these structures scattered through a series of nearby buildings, spaces for his family, and the other friends and confidants who live at the palace, suites for visiting dignitaries a place where they can relax in the confines of their own walls. [/SIZE]
Studies
[SIZE=9pt]The Emperor doesn’t often rule from the Throne [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Room, or even the Command Centre. An official office exists in the middle of the spire, a place around which all the bureaucracy is centred, but most of the decisions are made from the room with real books liking the walls, comfortable couches and knick-knacks from his travels strewn around, the private Sanctum of the Emperor, where only the most trusted are allowed to tread. Other members of the family and their entourage have their own spaces to work[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] and think, places that belong to just them. [/SIZE]
Private gardens
[SIZE=9pt]Located off from the private residences are a few enclosed green spaces far from the beaten track. With no overlooking windows and views to die for these are the private gardens. Known only to the gardeners who tend them, many of whom are members of the Praetorian Guard the gardens are said to hold the rarest and exotic of plants, the most awe-inspiring of arrangements. The truth of the matter is they are just gardens like any other, their only unique qualities coming from their seclusion. The guards and their families are [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]hte[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] only ones who visit this greenery, the people who know the Imperial Family best. Foremost amongst these private gardens was the one built for the current empress by her husband, a garden that she has tended and worked at through their long years of marriage turning it into a true wonder. [/SIZE]
The Balcony
[SIZE=9pt]Set atop the spire the Balcony is a part lounge, part observatory and part balcony. The walls of the room are large [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]transparisteel windows that can be withdrawn leaving the room open to the elements, or protected by a shield. With a spectacular view of the Palace and nearby city this is a room where people can go to relax, or to hold an impromtu[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] conference. Built large enough to fit 20, but designed to not feel empty by yourself the palaces interior designers struggled with this room, but the result has been a long time favourite.[/SIZE]
Dining hall
[SIZE=9pt]Not every meal is a state [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]afair, but not every meal can be a modest family affair either. Certainly no ambassador would ever be invited into the Emperor’s suites, but a small intimate dining room exists within hte[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] residences, somewhere to hold a small function, or to deposit the grandchildren when the branches of the Imperial family descend upon the palace.[/SIZE]
SECURITY
[SIZE=9pt]Medium[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Security for the Imperial Palace is provided, primarily by the Praetorian guard. The small unit of Elite fighters [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]are[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] a common sight around the palace in their trademark golden armour. The Praetorian Guard are supported by men from the first and second legions. The palace itself is protected by turrets secreted around the walls of the palace, anti-air missiles hidden away around the building. The airspace around the Imperial Palace, all the way up to orbit was a no-fly zone. The only way to gain access was contacting Palace Control in the Spire and being cleared for entry. The majority of the palace’s defences were dependant on the strength of the legions nearby being able to respond to any threat.[/SIZE]
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
[SIZE=9pt]Every monarch needs a palace, it’s one of those unwritten rules of history no-one ever really explained because it just was. The Emperor of the Azure Imperium was no different, in the early days of the Imperium, as they had just landed on the planet the Emperor was present in the middle of his people, helping build the houses and farms that would sustain them. However, as the Imperium grew and expanded the Emperor found his role becoming more and more administrative. He no longer spent his days helping with the people, but instead organised the material of the Imperium as it flowed back and forth. To do this he needed a central location to work out of, and so the Imperial Palace was built. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Starting as a single building the Imperial Palace expanded over time, each successive generation adding more and more to the palace as it grew from a single building into a compound and then into the complex that it is today.[/SIZE]
