Okay. Going Out On A Limb Here And Posting My Skyrim/miraak&ldb Series Just To See If It Gets Any Traffic.

okay. going out on a limb here and posting my skyrim/miraak&ldb series just to  see if it gets any traffic. there are 6 fics in all. please be gentle, it’s been written over the course of 3 years after a long long drought of me not writing at all. there’s inconsistencies and bad writing galore (especially the first fics, BIG OOF) but eventually i will edit everything into coherency. like fine wine, the fics get better and longer the more you progress, with eventually revenant as my crowning glory. enjoy!

when someone new joins the Miraak fandom

SOME OF Y'ALL SIMP FOR MIRAAK AND IT SHOWS!!!!

( enable my rambling // always accepting ) @aureli-us​ WROTE: IM INTERESTED NOW–what do you think starkhaven’s palace/top tier looks like, in detail? i always thought the knight errant depiction was cool, since it was our first (?) depiction of starkhaven, but i also thought it was pretty bland and somewhat boring. IM INTERESTED IN YOUR THOUGHTS

I LIKED THE OVERALL STRUCTURE of Starkhaven myself. The tiering, the high walls, the clear Tevinter bones, the three waterfalls, being literally in the Minanter on an island — all very good. That bland brown coloring is really all I can’t accept. I much prefer the descriptions of it in Last Flight.

          In the novel, it’s described as “a glory of marble palaces set on green hills and ringed by broad boulevards”. The walls are bright gray. The wealth of the city is shamelessly displayed with an abundance of marble (presumably white) and gilding. The palace itself is constructed of marble with a granite pathway leading to it. The streets are spacious, and there’s no shortage of green gardens. I really lean on the white and gray color scheme because that explains the name: Starkhaven as in stark white. It’s not a bland sort of paleness but gleaming and gilded and glorious with these spottings of colorful mosaics (esp. red and blue) and vibrant gardens. Much like in Val Royeaux one can hear the Chant of Light at all hours, and Chantry bells ring clear through the city; there’s hardly street corner without a chantry on it. This mingles with the sound of water rushing through a gate on the north side creating a constant roar like the sea.

          I further imagine that every level of the city is stunning. However, one can clearly see that the poorer parts have fallen into disrepair, especially following the coup in 9:31. The third and lowest tier contains the docks, warehouses, alienage, poorer neighbors, a handful of markets (large city so you need multiple with a fish market near the docks, etc.), various shops, basically the business district as well. It’s comparable to Lowtown in Kirkwall. There are fountains but more practical ones rather than decorative. And of course bath houses!! Bath houses are a big thing in Starkhaven, even in the poorer areas. There’s a couple of public gardens / parks, too.

          The second tier is comparable to Hightown in Kirkwall. This is where the wealthy live and also the location of Starkhaven’s university. There are a number of private gardens along with perhaps a couple of public ones, and there are statues and trees decorating the tier. There are plenty of fountains, not merely functional ones but ornamental — and even the functional ones are gorgeously tiled. There’s again an open air market along with many businesses such as the wealthy would like to frequent. This is where you find the high end goods. There are bathhouses but also so many palatial estates that absolutely have their own baths. The point of there being public gardens and public baths in addition to what is privately owned is socialization. The bathhouses especially are social places. Cafes are another big social spot regardless of what tier you call home. The drink of choice is a style of coffee originating in Starkhaven that is comparable to Turkish coffee; this drink was truly vaulted to popularity after Sebastian became prince as he all but lives on the stuff.

          Another notable difference between the tiers is that the first and second tiers (the wealthy ones) would have well-lit streets even by night. These lamps are probably lit by mages to be extra fancy. The third tier is gonna have a lot of unlit streets, and what lamps they have are lit in a mundane manner.

          The third tier contains the palace! This is the largest and most opulent building in the entire city. It might even be taller than the Viscount’s Keep in Kirkwall. Certainly their chief chantry is larger than Kirkwall’s. In my mind, the palace structure we see in Knight-Errant is actually split into two parts. The larger structure in the back is the city’s largest chantry; this is where one can find Grand Cleric Francesca. I would say the smaller (but still massive) structure in the front is the palace.

          There’s concept art of Starkhaven I quite love which shows striped columns. Aesthetically, I would draw on Azm Palace in Hama, Syria, and Al-Azem Palace in Damascus, Syria, to get an idea of what it looks like. I also like to take influence from Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. Neither the palace nor the chantry have domes because these are repurposed Tevinter structures and that wasn’t a key element of their architecture at the time. But, they’re stunning marble: white striped with tones of black and gold and red. There’s magnificent tiling and mosaics all throughout the palace, commonly done in red and blue and gold. Patterns are mostly floral but there’s an abundance of geometric as well. There’s lovely lattice-style stonework decorating the tops of many windows and mashrabiyas brought to life with stained glass. (The stained glass in the wing housing the royal family is imported from Serault.) There are gilded ceilings with the ceiling of the audience chamber being absolutely covered in gold, and there are gilded columns, and there are gems inlaid in key places — truly no expense was spared. Not only are there baths for servants, guards, and other people living in the palace but the finest rooms (i.e. those for the royal family, very high-ranking officials, etc.) have private baths attached to them. You have not seen opulence until you have seen Starkhaven’s palace. It puts the imperial palace in Val Royeaux to shame, but it’s harmonious. It’s not garish. There’s a coherent color scheme, and every room has a theme, and it all blends beautifully to make a massive work of art.

          As for the grounds themselves, it’s truly a massive garden. There is the wide granite pathway leading to the palace, and there are paths and roadways (all stunning examples of stonework well-maintained) weaving about. I like to think they’re not only practical but form a beautiful pattern when viewed from above. One has to be standing on the roof of the chantry to glimpse it. A portion of the grounds are, of course, dedicated to the Chantry. This includes a stone labyrinth that is a smaller replica of the massive one located at the Grand Cathedral (in my hcs). I actually like to think there’s some space between the chantry and the palace and that the labyrinth is located there. The idea is that one should walk this labyrinth in solemn contemplation, relieving themselves of mundane concerns and preparing to genuinely and humbly come before the Maker and His Prophet.

          The grounds feature groves of trees bearing apricots, figs, pomegranates, oranges, limes, etc. (And, these are separate from the kitchen gardens growing fruits, vegetables, herbs in addition to what they have brought in. The chantry has a food garden, too, as most chantries do.) The air is absolutely heady with the perfume of these fruits in addition to a dizzying variety of flowers. There are blooms from all across Thedas, some of which require the aid of magic to thrive. Animals of every variety are seen as well. Stray animals are common in Starkhaven; the community takes care of them, and it’s frowned upon to shoo away or mistreat a stray. Certainly, strays find the palace tier to be paradise. More than strays, there are the royal dogs, the royal horses (with an area dedicated to their exercise, etc.), the royal cats, the royal birds. There are peacocks, parrots, falcons, cockatoos, doves, songbirds. At one point they had an elephant. Rare creatures from other lands make for good gifts to royalty.

          There are areas for lounging cooled by fountains, and there are intricately tiled pools, some for decoration and some for swimming. There are low couches and plush cushions and lush rugs of so fine a weaving as you’ve never seen. Everywhere there is music: the Chant from the chantry, chimes upon the boughs, birds in the trees, minstrels entertaining the wealthy or nobles who wish to practice / display their own skill. Some gardens are open to anyone on the palace grounds while others are restricted to people with access to certain areas and others still are completely private (i.e. the princess’ own garden). The latter — the ones that are completely private — may change according to a person’s individual tastes. I simply cannot emphasize to you enough what a paradise this entire tier of the city is. No expense has ever been spared. It’s buck wild.

          Now, the city did face a lot of instability after the coup in 9:31. Much of the palace and the grounds fell into disrepair, and the palace is essentially haunted. They slaughtered everyone during the coup, even servants, with very few survivors; that sort of bloodshed weakens the Veil. When he came to the throne, Sebastian did clean it up and effect repairs, but he’d much prefer to pour money back into the city rather than waste it on aesthetics. He did not change everything, but I think a larger portion of the ground became dedicated to actual food production, and a portion of the yield was redistributed to those in need such as orphanages.

          A long-standing headcanon of mine is that he passes a number of sumptuary laws restricting displays of wealth through clothing, parties, etc. But! he incentivizes public works! There’s no way to keep the wealthy from displaying said wealth; he only wants them to spend it on the city. So basically because they can’t really spend it on personal displays like they used to, they spend it on repairing roads and building public parks / gardens and building libraries and erecting street lamps and renovating chantries + orphanages. He is adept at swindling the wealthy into being charitable.

          He also brings greater prestige to Starkhaven’s university. He takes a few classes, personally checks out their printing press, emphasizes the importance of education, and everyone is tripping over themselves to both donate and attend. We also get hints that, in Nevarra, the Chantry provides a basic education to all children, and I’d say that’s the case in Starkhaven, too. So reading, writing, basic math, basic history. Sebastian enthusiastically supports these programs as well and probably builds a schoolhouse (or multiple).

          Another thing I’ve talked about is how he actually gives Starkhaven’s elves a voice in their government by appointing a bann (chosen by them) and giving that bann a place on his council. I could sit here all day detailing the changes Sebastian makes to his city. The point I’m trynna get across is that, although Starkhaven is truly the jewel of the Minanter, there are still destitute and vulnerable who are either taken advantage of or ignored. They’re common targets for the Tevinter slavers we know plague the city. (Who Sebastian absolutely reviles. They became prolific — bold — in the absence of a strong ruler, so one of his first missions when he returned to the city was personally hunting them all down.) Sebastian is unwilling to ignore the suffering and corruption in favor of making it all pretty. Starkhaven can only be as great as its humblest citizen; it can only be as beautiful as its poorest district. So, he engages in and incentivizes charity, public works, education, reform, so on.

I can guarantee these won’t Faile. Eh? eh?…  Also no one wants to see your white tower this valentines day, unsolicited pics will be met with unsanctioned amounts of balefire.  The pictures are from cover art by Darrell K. Sweet.   Also i guess i could have done better but i impulsively decided to come up with them on the spot.  

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