The Palace of the Wind and Stars is the icy fortress atop the mountains at the North Pole of Umora.[1] It is home to Indri and her retinue.[2]
The palace is huge, with many towers, ramparts, bridges, and more than 10 keeps all spanning various mountain peaks at the literal top of Umora. Much of the palace is made of ice, which reflects the dark sky, aurora, and starlight above.[1] Many buildings are made of ice; others are built into the rock of the mountains themselves.
All rooms listed below are located in the main keep of the palace, the Keep of the Wind and Stars, unless otherwise stated.[3]
Council Chamber
The Council Chamber, like the rest of the palace, is made almost entirely of ice. The walls are deep blue where light filters through the thick ice in shadow. The floor, especially where directly illuminated by the North Star above, is bright white. The roof of the chamber is either entirely open, or has some transparent opening directly under the North Star, such that the room is illuminated by a pillar of light.[4]
Thrones
The focal point of the room is a circle of large black thrones on a central platform. Moving clockwise around the circle, the thrones are assigned as follows:
- Ame, Witch of the World's Heart
- Indri, Witch of the Wind and Stars
- Mirara, Witch of the Waning Moon
- Gramore, Witch of the Wild Hunt
- Hakea, Witch of the Woodland Green
Hakea's throne is buried under deep moss and vines which erupt from the cracked stone as Hakea sits. The throne effectively becomes a mound of green and flowers, complete with spring water flowing out and down the steps of the throne platform. Ame's throne is a comfortable armchair that smells of dust and lilac. The other witches' thrones appear to not be decorated at all.[4]
Great Hall
The Great Hall is the main foyer of the palace. It opens to an outdoor promontory via a set of massive double doors more than 14 feet tall. The room is so large, it feels as if it might as well be a quarter mile in length.[5]
On the far wall, built into the ice itself, is a massive roaring fireplace. The fire casts a warm golden glow throughout the room. Near the fireplace is a set of long sedan chairs and high-backed chairs with grey and white furs draped over them. The chairs, and a small table, sit on rug patterned in red and green.[5]
Library of the Stars
The Library of the Stars is the main library and observatory for the palace. It also appears to function as Indri's private study. The outer doors are made of rough hewn wood hung on metal hinges. The wood is stained and decorated with glowing 8- and 16-pointed geometric star patterns. Entering the library reveals a large chamber of breathtaking beauty.[6]
The roof of library is a large observatory dome. The top of the dome is made of glass, giving a clear view of Umora's fixed North Star and its circumpolar companions. Standing tall amongst the platforms and landings, centered under the dome itself, is a large ornate silver telescope the size of a small tower. The dome is supported by an icy wall. It is unclear if the dome covers the whole room, or if the dome is the central focus point of the roof.[6]
The layout of the rest of the room resembles the intricacy and precision of interlaced clockwork gears. Elegant curved and spiral staircases rise up to landings and platforms of varying height. Many platforms host large reflecting pools and upwards of 20 wells, with flickering light emanating from each. Throughout the space, the plethora of stairs, interior walls, platforms, railings, and wells intersect and join each other creating many secluded places, quiet corners, nooks, and crannies. These spaces are not wasted, but filled with shelves and cupboards of their own.[6]
Deep slanted shelves are built into the icy walls of the dome, designed to store stars in large quantities and be easily accessible. The stars themselves appear like round gems, but emitting their own light instead of simply reflecting it. Standing near a shelf of stars means one will suddenly have thousands of shadows, each nearly erased by the light of another star. The shelves are labeled with silver plaques inscribed with the names of constellations in an ancient northern language. This area of open shelves serves as Indri's workbench. The vast majority of the library's collection of stars is stored in icy cupboards lined with red velvet inside the roughly two dozen wells throughout the room. The wells that store stars extend a hundred feet into the ground.[6]
More coming soon... (ep 28-30)
Tephmet's Chambers
Tephmet resides in a room off a nondescript, icy hallway on an upper floor of Indri's personal keep.[3] The interior is cluttered with many items that appear to be junk to the untrained eye; a broken piece of metal fencing and several carved masonry stones. Additionally, Tephmet has brought various academic items including bags of scrolls, a large quantity of books, and a arcane mobile that generates magical protections when activated by wax runes aligned with the user's position on the globe of Umora.[7]
Keep of the World's Heart
Near the outer edge of the palace grounds, partially carved into a rocky mountainside, is a much smaller and humble keep: the Keep of the World's Heart.[8] The exterior of the keep, facing the Statue Courtyard, has icy walls like the rest of the palace. However, upon entering, the building materials quickly transition to mountain stone.[8] The large front doors are decorated with small wicker charm tied with a red ribbon. The charm was originally crafted by Grandma Wren, but has been repaired and refilled with treats for the ice fairies.[9]
Compared to the palace, this keep is small, but significantly larger than The Cottage. The front doors open to a main hall with a fireplace, wood pile. Wide doors lead to other rooms and chambers in the keep. A staircase leads down to private kitchens.[10]
Overall, the hall is sparsely decorated and efficiently appointed, in stark contrast to the cozy, full chaos of the Cottage. A few carpets insulate the stone floor. Tidily packed on the floor lie a box of dishes and a tote of other assorted items that Wren left as they were annoying to bring every time she visited. The stairs down to the kitchen are scraped from when Wren lugged a stove upstairs to avoid spending so much time walking to and fro between the various rooms of the keep. The stove, in addition to a bed, a sofa, chairs, and a standing wash basin, form a "stone henge" of furniture gathered around the central hearth.[10]
Keep of the Watching Fire
Coming soon... (ep28)
Keep of the Woodland Green
Coming soon... (eps 29-31)
Tower of the Crescent Moon
The Tower of the Crescent Moon is a beautiful tower near the Great Hall. It has large double doors made of white ice that open to the interior of the palace. These doors are inlayed with intricate silver runes.[11]
The tower can be accessed from the Great Hall via a sky bridge, though the entire route was not described. This bridge is about 150 feet long with large bay windows overlooking massive snowy courtyards between the various keeps, towers, and other buildings of the palace. Golden torches are mounted to the walls between the windows on either side of the bridge.[12]
Tower of the Half Moon
More coming soon... (ep32)
Court of the Evergreens
The Court of the Evergreens appears to be the name of a collection of inner courtyards near the central keep of the palace. They contain the only plant life seen thus far in the palace. Throughout these courtyards are many evergreen trees adorned with small ethereal points of light or "ghost candles." Out of the corner of one's eye, the small points of light may appear to be carried by little faeries, more somber and potentially older than the more playful ice fairies. However, this fades when the lights are viewed directly.[13]
Statue Courtyard
The Statue Courtyard[14] is a large stone courtyard immediately outside of the Keep of the World's Heart. Scattered around the massive space, from feet away from the keep to the base of the palace wall, are a plethora of icy statues covered in various amounts of snow. They range in size from small like a child to monstrously large. The statues hold dramatic poses -- some with their hands to their faces in fear and others mid leap with weapons drawn and angry expressions. One statue of a woman stands near the center with a solemn sorrowful expression and hair frozen in place as if it was blown by a breeze.[15]
The statues look suspiciously like people Indri may have turned into ice and brought here for display. Perhaps some sort of symbolism she wishes the Witch of the World's Heart to be especially aware of?[16]
Beneath the snow, the courtyard floor near the keep bears an inscription carved by the first Witch of the World's Heart. This inscription has yet to be deciphered or inspected.[17]
The Statue Courtyard is also accessible to the Tower of the Crescent Moon by going back inside, up a staircase, and through a walkway.[15]
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