Hawk's Vigil Keep
An imposing, abandoned fortress in the eastern Cloudkeep Mountains, which for the majority of its existence was the headquarters of The Dragonslayer Order.
A windowless, but highly defensible cuboid, one-hundred metres in height, accessible only via a precarious mountain track, the keep has lain abandoned since the disappeance of the Dragonslayer Order in 1048 AoU. The fortress' solid construction, relatively tactically unimportant position (for fighting anyone but dragons), and inconvenient inaccessibility has meant that although it has been abandoned for centuries, it has not fallen to ruin, been reoccupied, or indeed seen much looting.
Some whisper that one day the Dragonslayers, a highly respected order of warriors, will return to reclaim their home, and perhaps this superstition itself has been enough to spare the keep the worst ravages of time.
Purpose / Function
Intended as a stronghold, meeting place and training ground, Hawk's Vigil Keep would intermittently see service in a variety of the activities of the Dragonslayer Order throughout their centuries of operation. The keep was also intented to be the Order's one major long-term fixed estate, as the nature of the work of the Dragonslayers themselves would see them spending the majority of their time on the road and in the wilds, hunting their prey.
Architecture
Ranking as one of the sturdiest built fortresses in all of The Kingdom of Vallanna, with the express purpose of withstanding an attack from the Dragonslayers' winged foes; Hawk's Vigil Keep is an imposing one-hundred metre high pillar of thick granite and marble perched on the side of a mountain in the eastern Cloudkeep Mountains, rising hundreds of metres above the valley below.
A smooth-sided cuboid shape, with very little ornamentation, the keep's exterior walls are between ten and fifteen feet in thickness, designed to protect against the power of a dragon attack, as well as giving an attacking dragon little in the way of external structure upon which to grapple. As a result of these defensive design choices, the keep has no windows, and is instead lit internally by a combination of traditional lanterns, torches and other fires, and arcane illuminations.
The keep's rooftop is also similarly free of ornamentation, but does have a quartet of specially-modified anti-air siege weapons sited within defensive emplacements on its perimeter, as well as many smaller cover emplacements from which defenders may return fire at any attacker.
The keep has a single entranceway at its lowest level, which can only be reached by a precarious mountain trail, snaking up from the valley below the fortress.
Type
Fortress
Owning Organization
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