The Debate Hall

History

Constructed originally as an unofficial meeting hall for the Rostrum, while the Vestrial Tower was still in use as the formal seat of government, The Debate Hall has been where Anhara's laws have been created since The Crossing Over. Here, the Rostrum meets for their annual legislative season, the Cinquial Season, beginning on the first of Churus, the third month, and concluding on the last of Pyrae, the seventh, with assorted adjournments in between. The day-to-day management of the facilities and the upkeep of the structure is under the control of the Rhetorlord, who generally maintains the building. However, a handful of Rhetorlords have made crucial expansions to The Debate Hall, such as the addition of the first Anharan Bellows at the height of the spire, or the addition of sleeping quarters within the otherwise-unused floors above the Debate Hall, reducing costs for nobles who otherwise would be forced to purchase homes.

Architecture

Located at the center of the Snowmelt District at the base of a great spire of marble arches and bluestone peaks, sits the Debate Hall. A domed chamber within a larger circle, the outer ring consists of a library for research, small rooms for practicing oratory before sessions, and the desks of a number of research assistants and attendants. Outside of the entrance to this portion is the beginning of the Deluge Stair, and around the doorless, arched, opening gather reporters awaiting the results of votes or the content of speeches.

"With its great archways, wind flows through the Debate Hall as fluidly as the voices of its Rhetors float up to the heights of the room's dome." - Architectural Facets of the Capital

Within the innermost chamber is the main debating hall for the Rostrum. This consists of a large table, two-thirds of a circle, with the empty third facing the entry way. Outside the empty portion sit the scribes tasked with recording speeches and discourse for posterity as well as for eventual release to the reporters outside. Around the table sit the Rhetors of the houses, with the Rhetorlord in a raised chair at the far end. When one is called upon to speak, they walk to the center of the circle, so as to be audible from all sides and equidistant from all listeners. The table itself is of stone, with the original laws of the nation as handed down by Vestria herself carved upon it.
Mounted above The Debate Hall is the capital's Bellows, the main means of communication to the rest of the nation. From here, Bellowers loyal to no house, and trained by the Vestrial Priestesses, tap into the ancient powers of Anharans to send messages into the winds.

Alternative Names

The Rostrum

Type

Government complex

Parent Location

Meridia

Owning Organization

The Rostrum