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Queen Margot of the Catmint Queendom, Vera, has announced that she will be leaving her ancestral home of Niamark Castle before the end of the cycle, having had ‘quite enough of the monumental effort it takes to navigate the place, never mind the endless harassment one suffers on account of the bloody ghosts’.
Built sometime during the Endless Fire Epoch, the castle is the largest in the System (unless you count Zancastle, which you shouldn’t, because it’s a citadel that was named by idiots), over half of which was still unmapped at last surveyance.
Much of Niamark’s interminable history remains obscured in mystery, largely due to it’s construction being deeply rooted in the arcane. Secretscryers believe there could thousands of secrets still to be uncovered there, should anyone feel inclined to dedicate theirselves to such an obviously perilous (and likely pointless) undertaking.
Niamark has been the Queen’s seat since she ascended the throne in 34 AC (having spent her childhood in the Wilderwood), and has been a significant encumberment for her ever since. In 41 AC, a retinue of visiting dukes from the neighbouring country of Allodynia met a gruesome end when they went left at the Great Crossroads instead of right (not necessarily the tragedy it might seem, given that Allodynians are wildly masochistic — they probably loved it), and just last cycle the entire castle spontaneously rearranged itself. This was an upheaval that for many occupants was the final straw, not least the castle cartographers who had just started to make some progress.
‘Our Royal Highness sees no reason why she cannot rule the realm from the Sweeping Edge or her cottage in the Wilderwood,’ Niamark’s castellan Setivere St. Alderwit told me. ‘These days you can do almost anything remotely. Why should reigning be any different?’
When I asked what would happen to the castle once the Queen moved out, his face darkened ever so slightly, before assuring me that ‘Her Majesty needn’t worry. The castle will be well-tended in her absence — nobody knows these walls better than I. She has my word that her home will be suitably taken care of under my supervision.’
I got the distinct impression that Her Highness couldn’t care less about what happens to the castle after she leaves, though something about that castellan tells me she might want to at least keep an eye on things here once she’s gone.
• • •
Nelecrae Vascero joined as the Portal's cultural correspondent following a bout of severe budget cuts on the KHAZERES, and has proven ever since that their loss is mostly certainly our gain. Her intricate knowledge of Meridian heritage frequently places her in the midst of the most culturally significant events in the System, making for some truly compelling exposition.
Nelecrae currently resides in Ambit Village on the Portal's fourth floor, along with her two cats Filligree & Ferguson, her long-suffering partner, and her impressive collection of occult antiques.
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