Soranni Castles and Manors

Soranni Castles

Overview

Soranni Castles are a long development, tracing their roots back to old Ingharan manor fortifications.

History

Castles in Nirann can trace their heritage back to the first hill forts made in the pre-Ingharan age. By the Ingharan age, the first fortifications and manors had developed. Poorer manors were made by people building stone and wooden walls around groups of houses. The richer manors were made of low stone walls with earth packed behind them.
By the Soranni age, these forts had become much more advanced. They evolved into massive complexes, in which a central house was surrounded by layers of walls where retainers lived. These structures were built atop hills and on the sides of mountains on inaccessible locations where they were used to house the lords safely.In the modern day the castles still focused on using the earth to their advantage and being primarily out of stone, although now spires and towers have become common unlike in the Ingharan age and previous periods.
On the other hand, manors were inspired by Ischurri style noble houses. Manors were built from stone and plastered wood, and encased a house on a flatter location; manors were built usually in cities or in plains or even forests provided the land was flattish. The main point of these manors was to have a main house surrounded by a wall that housed a few retainers and the workers while the fields were outside the manor walls. Typically peasants had to live closest to the gates, while knights lived by the home of the lord who owned the place. This style of home was preferred by the Ischurri influenced knightly class, while castles were built more by nobles.

Construction

The base of a Soranni castle is made primarily of stone and earth that covered a large territory, with settlement all along it where the retainers would live. They primarily had low lying walls with a keep in the center at the highest point. This keep was only one to two stories high at most, with decorative finishes all around. The keep itself was made largely of stone to act as the last defense if all of the other walls were breached. These castles typically had towers, which were eventually replaced by lower battlements in the most recent age of cannon.
In contrast to castles, manors were a large wood and stone keep that was one story typically, surrounded by a low wall complete with guards and towers.

Significance

These structures are significant due to the fact that they allowed the nobility and warrior class to prosper. In the age of the cannon, their large desigs and slowed stone walls prevented siege cannons from gaining as much relevance in Soranna.

Castle Concept Art (Note: Not Canon Yet)