The SkyWing Palace is the heart of the Sky Kingdom and home of the queen. Half of the palace is made up of tunnels and caves within the mountain and half is open to the sky.[1] There are several collapsed towers and scorch marks from the War of SandWing Succession as well as a ravine half full of dragon bones.[2]
Arena[edit | edit source]
The arena is a rock bowl with sand at the bottom and sheer walls, below rows of benches, balconies, and caves for spectators.[3] The largest balcony, which has a large, flat boulder, is for the queen.[4][5] Circling the edge of the arena are about a hundred towering rock spires with small stone platforms at the top.[3][6] During Scarlet's rule, prisoners were held on these towers with their wings clamped with thin metal bindings.[3] Wires were connected to clasps around their necks and legs and attached to the wires of other prisoners, resulting in a web of wires above the center of the arena.[7][8] Each platform has a ring in the center where wires were clipped when a prisoner was removed.[9] These rings can also be found on the queen's balcony.[10]
Tunnel[edit | edit source]
There is a hole in the wall of the arena.[11] Inside is a torch-lit tunnel with occasional skylights wide enough to fit three dragons side-by-side with wings spread that slopes upward into the mountain.[12] Connected to the tunnel is the cave where Peril lived, separated by a pool of water nearly as deep as Clay's height.[13] Inside was a full-length portrait of Queen Scarlet, but it was burned by Peril.[14] Up a flight a long, wide, black stairs is the queen's balcony.[15] At the end of the tunnel is the third level of the large hall. Before the end of the tunnel, there is a branching tunnel that leads left and up two levels and to a doorway as tall and wide as five dragons leading to a half-circle plateau between cliffs.[16][17] The tunnel branches into several directions, with one that leads down under the half-circle plateau and to a waterfall.[18]
Half-Circle Plateau[edit | edit source]
There is a tall golden throne for the queen.[19]
Central Hall[edit | edit source]
The central hall is a large square tower that is open to the sky. There are seven wide balconies without railings suspended above the ground floor wrapped around the square walls. Large windows are cut into the walls on each level.[20] The bottom floor has a metal grid embedded in it with a prison cell below that was used to keep Kestrel.[21] The floors were embedded with gold-lined designs of talon prints, and there were gold veins carved into the walls as well, creating designs of flames or clouds.[22] The talon prints on the balcony of the third floor led to the throne room.[23]
Throne Room[edit | edit source]
The throne is a rock column carved in the shape of clouds. Behind the throne, the room is open to the sky and is positioned above a steep cliff with jagged rocks below. The room was excessively decorated with gold.[24]
Landing Field[edit | edit source]
Out of view of the arena, there is a landing field for visitors.[25]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 14, paragraph 13. "At the bottom of his tower, there was only bare rock. But from up here he could see the heart of the SkyWing kingdom stretched across the mountaintop. Queen Scarlet’s vast palace was carved into the gray- and-black rocks of the peak. Half of it was inside tunnels and caves while the other half was open to the sky and bristling with defenses."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 14, paragraph 14. "The war had slashed this kingdom with sharp talons. Clay spotted collapsed towers, scorch marks along several walls, and a ravine half full of dragon bones."
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 14, paragraph 12. "His rock-tower prison was one of about a hundred spires, spread out in a huge circle. Nearly every one had a dragon trapped at the top, like him. Like him, they each had thin metal clamps on the outer edge of their wings. In the center of the circle was a bowl of rock, like an empty lake, with sand at the bottom and sheer walls. Above the walls were rows of benches, balconies, and caves for spectators to look down into the arena."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 14, paragraph 59. "Queen Scarlet stepped out onto the large balcony and spread her wings, catching the sunlight in the reflection of her orange scales."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 14, paragraph 69. "Queen Scarlet settled herself on a large flat boulder, looking pleased, and flicked her tail for silence."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 14, paragraph 5. "His prison cell was at the top of a towering spire of rock. A narrow stone platform gave him just enough room to walk in a circle and lie down. There were no walls. There was no roof."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 14, paragraph 17. "The wires stretched from him out to the necks and legs of other prisoners, who all had them as well. One went to his left, to one leg of a moon-silver IceWing on the next column, who was asleep with her tail over her nose. One wire was attached to the dragon on his right, a fuming SandWing whose pacing made the wire shake. The last three wires snaked out across the circle. He couldn’t tell where those wires went; they disappeared into a tangled web above the bowl, connecting all the trapped dragons."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 21, paragraph 40. "The wire had a curious clasp that held it in place around his leg as long as it was mostly taut. But now that the wire was loose at one end, he could see how to slide it out by worrying it with one claw."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 14, paragraph 72. "Meanwhile three of the SkyWing guards flew up to the prisoner on Clay’s right. One of them seized the SandWing’s venomous tail and held it out of the way. The SandWing fought, howling angry curses, as the other two unclipped his wires and hooked them to a ring in the center of the ledge."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 25, paragraph 8. "Fat chains were wound around their necks, and Clay and Starflight were bolted to rings on the balcony floor. Burn stood next to Scarlet, ignoring the throne provided for her. She glowered at all the dragons equally. Clay got the feeling she preferred actual fighting over watching other dragons fight."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 14, paragraph 54. "Finally she flicked her tail and vanished into a dark opening in the side of the arena wall."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 17, paragraph 13. "So he let them lead him into the smoky tunnel, lit with flaming torches and an occasional skylight cut through the rock overhead. The tunnel was wide enough for three dragons to walk side by side, wings spread. It sloped upward through the mountain, into the palace Clay had seen from his prison perch."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 22, paragraph 35. "Clay surfaced, coughing and sputtering. The pool was almost as deep as he was tall. He could stand on the bottom and hold his head above the surface if he kept his neck extended."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 22, paragraph 2. "Clay noticed that the full-length portrait of the queen was gone from the wall. A pile of ashes smoldered on the floor under the spot where it had been. He saw the queen’s eyes dart to the empty wall, and more smoke curled from her nose."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 25, paragraph 6. "They were standing on the queen’s balcony, overlooking the arena."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 23, paragraph 25. "Shortly before they reached the central hall of balconies, the tunnel turned left and began to rise."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 23, paragraph 30-31. "Clay guessed they had climbed two levels, circling behind the balconies, when they reached an open doorway as tall as five dragons and just as wide. They hid around a corner of the tunnel and peeked out. The doorway led out onto a flat half-circle plateau between the cliffs, packed with SkyWings and SandWings and lit by floating globes full of fire."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 23, paragraph 43. "From here the tunnel branched in several directions. Peril took the one leading down under the cliff where the feast was. The torches were spaced farther apart as they went along, so the tunnel grew darker and darker. Soon Clay could hear roaring up ahead, and this time he knew for sure it was a waterfall."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 23, paragraph 35. "Queen Scarlet lay on a tall golden throne, looking down at the other dragons."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 17, paragraph 18. "He was standing on a wide balcony with no railing, two levels up from the ground floor. The balcony ran all the way around the hall in a large square, and above it Clay could see five more levels of balconies, and above that, the open sky. Dragons were hurrying everywhere, glowing in the light. Large windows were cut into the walls all the way up, so the hall was flooded with sunshine. The floors blazed as if little rivers of fire ran through them."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 17, paragraph 25-26. "At the bottom of the hall, under a metal grid, a dragon was trapped like a pinned squirrel. The bucket was rolling across the iron bars. All the suds and water had spilled out over the prisoner. It was Kestrel. She seized the bars and rattled them angrily as a murmur of laughter rippled around the hall."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 17, paragraph 19. "When Clay looked more closely, he saw a design of talon prints, inlaid with gold, running through the stone under his talons. Gold veins were carved into the walls as well, some of them branching into flames or tracing shapes like clouds in the rock."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 17, paragraph 27-29. "The guards yanked him back and shoved him along the talon-print trail again. ... He stopped thinking about Kestrel as the guards pushed him into Queen Scarlet’s throne room."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 17, paragraph 30. "The queen was seated on top of a rock column carved in the shape of clouds, staring down at the dragons on the floor below her. The wall opposite her was entirely open to the sky, revealing a steep drop and jagged rocks below. The gold tracery in the rocks and floor went over the top in here, as if a giant dragon had stumbled around the room vomiting gold all over the place. Clay could barely see at first through the blaze of reflected sunshine."
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, chapter 21, paragraph 28. "They swooped toward the queen’s palace, staying in perfect lines, and vanished beyond a distant wall, where Clay guessed the landing field for visitors was."