[Dragaera] The New Palace

[Scott Schultz]

It occurred to me today that while Vlad may think of the Palace as "old",
that it's actually quite new in Dragaeran terms. Scarcely 200 years old. The
stories that we've heard about this happening during the 12th Cycle or that
happening during the 10th Cycle are stories about the original Palace.
Zerika's Palace still has the new upholstery smell, in comparison.

This isn't a particularly earth-shattering realization. It's just that Vlad
talks of the Palace frequently and in my mind it became THE Palace. I never
really considered that it's actually a copy of THE Palace.

It became interesting to think about when I realized how large it is.
Particularly in Iorich, where Vlad describes it as practically being an
indoor city in its own right. Granted, this is partially due to the
maze-like nature of it, but it's also partially due to sheer size. 

It seems to me that it must be in a state of constant construction for it to
reach the scope and grandeur of the present day after only a couple of
centuries of work. Granted, sorcery is stronger now and it no doubt plays
its part in the construction of large buildings. I think, though, that your
average Vallista is the sort who values hand craftsmanship over mass
producing things with sorcery. I would expect that the actual construction
is carried out using typical medieval technology, with sorcery used to
reinforce it in places where some extra support might be necessary. (That
assumes that you don't need someone to constantly maintain the spell. I've
never been 100% clear on that.)

With that in mind, I'd expect that at any given time, several parts of the
Palace are being built, demolished, and/or remodeled. Navigating these
sections might well be similar to navigating a section of busy freeway
that's under construction. Traffic jams, detours, and opportunities to
become lost or otherwise end up in places you didn't intend or aren't
supposed to be allowed into.

On another note, what do we suppose Piro's position is in the new Empire? Is
Viscount of Adrilankha a meaningful title when Adrilankha becomes the seat
of the Empire? Would Zerika repossess that title and award him another
instead?