Royal Palace of Ymhilean

Known as Fanyion yn Arash (King's castle) or Qasr alarash (the Royal Fortress) in the Sun elf dialect. The Palace complex is the biggest building at the capital and is one of the most worldwide known places of the Sun Elf capital. The Royal Palace is one of the oldest buildings in the city, perhaps even the first one planned once the Second Dynasty rose to power and stablished the capital of the Kingdom at Ymhilean around 2500 BP. The site of the palace was chosen due to its geographical position (its the highest point in a mostly plain area and also allowed the Sun elf Kings to control and secure the caravan routes that went north and east in earlier times).
From the citadel on top of the mountain you've one of the most beautiful views of the city and its surroundings.

Organization

The Palace Complex at Ymhilean is divided roughly in two parts, the lower and upper parts. Each one of them has different purposses. The Lower Part is meant to show the elegance, prestige and power of the Kingdom of the Sun elves, while the Upper part is the "private" area of the Palace complex, where the king, his family and his Court live.

Lower Part

The lower part of the palace is composed of the famous "Ambassador Courtyard" were foreign embassies wait to be received by the King and the High Council of Unhellion. It was built around 627 BP and was restored after an earthquake in 128 BP when it got the look we can see today.  Its famous for its beautiful brick walls covered with blue tiles and also its beautiful and serene gardens where you can find literally every tree and flower specie known in the world. This porticoed area is also home to many offices of the different ministers of the king. The Courtyard has four doors; Two monumental ones, (one called the Lions gate (because of the statues of two lions that flank each side of the gate) and the other is the Glory Gate or Gate of Magnificence), and two smaller ones located at the western and eastern walls. The Western one (that leads to the Aladkha Temple) is called the Faithful Gate while the Eastern one (called Sunrise Gate) leads to the River district.
North of the courtyard lies the famous Palace of the High Council of Unhellion, where this assembly meets and holds its debates. This building is famous for its height, its round shape and beautiful stained glass windows . West of this building you find the Aladkha Temple (Aladkha meaning "The brightest" in the Sun elf dialect) and its the temple where the Sun Elf kings conduct the most important religious rituals at the capital including the ceremony of welcoming the New Year). The temple is famous for its two gigantic domes covered in silver in their interior and their walls covered with beautiful paintings done by Narai yn Misr Silverblade (one of the first recorded female painters in Unhellion) and also the calligraphy on the upper parts of the sancturary done by the famous poet and callygrapher Afaryn Bei Taryn. There is a very old tradition in the city that stablishes that the first call to prayer (at sunrise) is sung from the towers of prayer from this famous temple.

Upper Part

The Upper part of the palace complex is composed mainly of the citadel itself. It is connected with the Ambassadors Courtyard by a gigantic staircase composed, according to legend, of 1000 stairs!. The citadel is protected by strong and tall stone walls. Inside it there are multiple buildings like the barracks of the Royal Guard, multiple gardens, a little temple and the Throne room and the different living rooms and bedrooms for the monarch, his family, servants and court.

One of the Courtyards of the Palace by ahmed maihope

The throne room is famous for its golden throne decorated at the top with a golden statue of a peacock with gems incrusted on its eyes and tail (thus giving it its name "The Peacock throne"). It is from this throne that the living avatar of the Sun God rules his kingdom, receives ambassadors and administers justice. The throne room is also home to many treasures an important works of art; for example, just at the left side of the throne room you can find the masked helmet of the last known dwarf king of the Chain of the Gods, Ma'yn Dur knicknamed "the Wretched King" who was defeated by king Amaryn II of the Second Dynasty in 2349 BP or a bronze bust of King Arathel III done by the Ikarian sculptor Cornelius of Blati in the second century AP.

The throne room of the Royal Palace at Ymhilean shares another interesting feature wth the Royal Palace at the Tower of Light, near the Sun lake, that is its gigantic golden door whose leaves remain closed until the moment in which the king grants audience to the people, ministers and ambassadors, all of them competing to get just a minute of his precious time (this makes for a very symbolic moment, its like unvealing the statue of a god at the temple, entering into his divine presence (thus reinforcing the quasi-divine status of the Sun elf King).

throne room by Callyxtus with Artbreeder

The palace is also home of very exotic fauna. One can see peacocks walking around the gardens of the palace while parrots and other birds fly from tree to tree looking for the best shadow to help them fight the hot climate of the land of the Sun elves. One Sun Elf King even had an domesticated elephant that he used to have a walk around the biggest gardens of the palace and to impress his courtiers and foreign dignataries. 

Gardens of the Palace by Callyxtus with Artbreeder

Founding Date

2500 BP

Type

Citadel

Location under

Ymhilean, capital of Unhelion

Owning Organization

Kingdom of Unhelion

Curiosities related to the palace

• No one is allowed to climb the staircase without getting permission from the Chamberlain of the King or by the monarch himself. If you try to sneak behind the guards you might be arrested.
• Another curiosity related to the palace many of the gardens have orange trees that give the palace a pleasant and peculiar aroma but part of the oranges they produce are used to make juice and the other to make the famous "Royal Jam" that is not only consumed by the king and the court but it is also sold at the markets of the capital and even exported to other realms across Karia!.
• Many of the gardens of the palace served as inspiration for the gardens at the Seris and Blatian Imperial Palaces. Many gardeners that worked at the Royal Palace were invited to the courts of these two powerful human realms in order to create and mantain its gardens.
• A callygraphy and painting contest is held every year during Spring at the Ambassadors Courtyard. The work of the artists who participate in it are displayed in the arcades of this great square
• On top of the Glory Gate, that leads to the giant staircase there is an inscription in Classical Elvish  that contains the first verse of the Book of Radiance, one of the elven holy books that reads: 

  Blessed be the Sun, the source of all light and life. It is by the grace of the Sun that we are able to see, to grow, and to thrive. Let us praise the Sun and offer our gratitude for its eternal radiance.