Aegiskeep


 * "Sculpted from a huge mound of granite near the looming Aegis wall, the ancestral home of Emperor Talus Kahar XIV rises from the grassy plain outside the township of Aegisport.


 * The great keep is fashioned to look like a luxuriating wildcat, with two massive clawed forepaws flanking the portcullis that leads into the castle below the stone head that holds Aegiskeep's residential quarters."

History
Aegiskeep was designed by the renowned Nillu artisan Harlim Nillu, like many of the buildings and structures in the river city of Aegisport. Designed during the reign of Talus Kahar II, it wasn't until 86 ATA in the reign of Emperor Talus Kahar III that construction began. Aegiskeep has, since that time, been in the hands of the Imperial family Kahar. The Keep also holds the Wildcat Throne, the throne of Talus Kahar I, used during the Wildling Wars.

It was in the parlour of Aegiskeep that the Emperor Talus Kahar V pondered the crisis sweeping the old realm, the Shadow District. Therein a deadly plague that blinded, disfigured and ultimately killed its victims afflicted the area, and Healers from Light's Reach and Priests from the Sun Keep could do nothing to stem the tide. It was in the very same parlour that the Emperor came to decision to have all within the Shadow District killed, before the plague could spread to the rest of the Empire.

The Keep is famous for a number of reasons from recent years, also. It was in the dining hall of Aegiskeep that an attempt on the life of the the Empress Erista Nillu, wife of Emperor Talus Kahar XIII, at a dinner meant to announce that there would soon be a new Imperial Prince. From the walkway that runs along the spine of the wildcat the servant Ashadi fell to her death before she could be questioned regarding the poisoning of the Empress. The walkway has been known since as Traitor's Leap.

Design
Aegiskeep is constructed to look like a wildcat. Both strikingly beautiful and a functional fortress, the Keep is very large with all the amenities a Kahar noble might require. Passing the forepaws that flank the portcullis, the open roofed central torso of the wildcat houses the main keep. The stone head of the wildcat houses the residences of the current Lord, and from the torso courtyard the receiving hall and the servants quarters can be accessed.

The receiving hall is particularly beautiful, lined with white marble pillars depicting the heads of snarling wildcats. The hall in turn leads into the ballroom at its head, the mastery and the warm, comfortable parlour nevertheless known as the 'Bleak Room' for its association with the actions of the fifth Emperor.

The remarkable and expansive ballroom houses a colossal silver chandelier, and a fountain the work of Harlim Nillu depicting the Emperor Talus Kahar I. The mastery hosts the Wildcat Throne and provides a formal setting for audiences with the current lord and meetings regarding the estate. The dining hall wherein the attempt on the Empress Erista Nillu's life was made leads off the receiving hall and leads to the kitchens.

In the head of the great wildcat, accessed by steps from the torso, are the residential quarters, the luxurious imperial suite, the guest quarters, and the nursery. The expansive balcony is shared by all the sleeping quarters and rests in the open maw of the wildcat, looking out over Aegisport and the beautiful Fastheld River.

House Kahar
Fastheld Keep is currently the home of Alath Kahar, and has been in the House Kahar since its construction. It is the ancestral home of the former Emperor, Talus Kahar XIV.