Maitre's Manor

As most Manors, this siheyuan style estate is designed to be the seat of power for the local Lord as well as the dwelling of their family, advisers, and personal servants and guards. The original owner was a Sisämeri who was from Talamh Biotáille and belonged to the Mage's Guild after coming to An'Croílár hence the style of the dwelling.

As a siheyuan, a rectangular courtyard complex made of wood on a stone foundation with tiled roofs, it was no wonder the Manor fared poorly in open conflict despite being completely walled in with a stone wall as a siheyuan usually is. However, with the redesign and rebuilding overseen by Maitre during and after the conflict baileys were added to act as extra protective courtyards, complete with training fields and barracks in addition to thick walls topped with many powerful siege weapons and hidden traps.

The typical siheyuan has a main gate facing the south which leads to a small courtyard and foyer for greeting guests and a small courtyard behind a secondary gate which serves the servant's quarters before leading into the main courtyard of the siheyuan. Though the main walls were broken through Maitre kept this layout after rebuilding the walls (and reinforcing them) but added several baileys with their own gatehouses surrounding the Manor in a defensive parameter.

Originally serene with the muted sounds of work being done in the workshop this Manor has been transformed by war and even months later the scent of death and destruction hangs in the air while loud construction rings out day and night overshadowing the shouts of the militia training in the baileys outside the Manor proper.

Maitre Na'Daoine, the new Lord of this Manor lives alone with his new fiance, the previous Lord's daughter in the main house to the north under heavy guard. Though they both officially live in the main house, Maitre rarely actually spends the night there, preferring to constantly keep busy overseeing the many tasks in the manor and usually sleeping within the study. The Artisans and Mages previously under their command (those that survived at least) still live within the workshop and laboratories in the east and west houses and the servants still dwell in the servant's quarters, though of the previous advisers to the lord, only the Steward still remains alive.

The main house is richly furnished and both stately and comfortable, if lonely, while the workshop and laboratories are state of the art. The servant's quarters is a bit bare, save for the Steward's room therein, and was mostly untouched by the assailants.

Though the converted harem used to be full of valuable resources, most of it was converted to the war effort leaving it almost entirely empty and now is being restocked slowly as an armory instead full of Maitre's personal, if mostly untested, creations. Though most of the valuables that remained weren't damaged, the Manor is but a shadow of its former opulent glory.

During preparation and reconstruction entire minefields were planted under Maitre's command and during the conflict the explosions left the grounds riddled with deep craters, though many mines remain not triggered. Likewise the walls, new and old, were converted for war with battlements, machicolations, and anti-ground and anti-air artillery support. Honestly, the entire Manor was converted into a death-trap.

In addition to the physical defenses such as wall and traps, Maitre personally put down a formation restriction which combined the traditions of Talamh Biotáille with the enchanted barriers of Fásach Draíocht and serves as an invisible dome of protection around the manor only visible when attacked. Though it wasn't finished before the conflict it now acts as the primary defensive barrier protecting the Manor.

The previous Lord before Maitre Na'Daoine (Origin) altered the Manor design with manufacturing and research of both magical and scientific fields in mind. The Lord's entire family lived within the northern main building of the complex while each of the eastern and western side buildings (usually reserved for branch families belonging to the lord's children) were converted into a workshop on one side and a laboratory on the other. The private dwelling usually belonging to the harem and children was converted into the storage area of the Manor while the servants quarters on the southern side of the complex remained mostly unchanged from the typical design aside from the fact that the various advisers lived there as well as the typical servants of the Manor. The largest change, however, was to the courtyard itself with a magnificent ivory tower that served as the previous Lord's private study and laboratory and watched over the complex.

A courtyard complex of the Siheyuan design a total of four buildings to be used by the Lord's family on the northern, eastern, and western sides of the complex. The northern, main building held the Lord and his advisers as well as the elders of the family while the rear complex (behind the main building) usually holds the harem and children of the lord. The eastern and western buildings however belonged to grown children of the lord with their respective families. On the southern side of the complex is the servants quarters, housing maidservants, butlers, and guards as well as a separate foyer to greet guests inside the main gate, but outside the complex itself.

Many centuries ago it was originally build by a Sisämeri of the Mage's Guild who had fond memories of Talamh Biotáille. Though renovations were done, the greatest remodeling was done by the Lord Maitre Na'Daoine (Origin) served as both Court Wizard and Grand Artificer which entirely restructured what each building was used for as well as added the ivory tower in the courtyard. Through the process of Maitre being appointed as the new Lord by the previous the entire Manor was nearly destroyed in the defense and is currently being rebuilt under Maitre's guidance - while they look for a much more defensible location for a new Manor.