Sapphire Palace
The Sapphire Palace, also referred to as the Palace Proper, is the official residence of the Empress of the Sapphire Empire. Located at the center of the Imperial City in Athomathia, it has served as the residence of the reigning sovereign since its completion in 2 AFE, when the Imperial City was established as the Empire’s central seat of power. “The Sapphire Palace” is also used as a metonym to refer to the imperial court and the sovereign’s household.
The residence was designed by court architects Altheryn Draemos and Cael Veyric in the New Imperial style. Draemos is believed to have drawn partial inspiration from the Great Hall of Velshar in Alagor, though on a far grander scale. Constructed between 0.6 and 2 AFE over the site of the former Royal Palace of Athomathia, its structural frame is of clysteel with pearlstone accents and a massive diamond-shaped Voor stone set into the central front spire. When Empress Salena Athomath and Virellia Irisa Athomath took residence in 2 AFE, the Empress requested that the peristyle of the Moonwalk Gallery be replaced with a darker pearlstone than originally chosen, a change completed within the year. In 3 AFE, during an attempted kidnapping of the imperial heir, the northern wall facing the Marasé Valtar was breached, destroying a section of the outer defenses and damaging several interior blast shields. Repairs began the following morning, and the Palace remained occupied throughout. Exterior work continued with the addition of balconies to the Nightingale Court’s office and dining hall in early 4 AFE.
Because the Empress had declared that the imperial heir would begin formal public training in governance, the Nightingale Court was constructed in early 4 AFE to provide dedicated judicial chambers and reception halls for hearing petitions. Later that year, balconies were added to the Court’s office and adjoining dining hall to allow for outdoor audiences and private receptions. In 5 AFE, a new ceremonial pavilion was built within the western gardens, intended for seasonal celebrations and smaller state gatherings away from the main halls. In late 8 AFE, several sections of the palace were temporarily closed to install expanded security infrastructure, including reinforced access points and updated internal monitoring systems, all concealed within the existing clysteel framework. Once completed, the interior spaces were restored to their original appearance
The present-day Sapphire Palace complex includes the Moonwalk Gallery, the Nightingale Court, the Eastern Wing, and the Grand Rotunda, as well as the Azure Hall, the Imperial Archives, and the Celestium. The Moonwalk Gallery occupies a single level of the palace, divided into expansive suites for the Empress and the imperial heir, each with its own gardens, reception areas, and private chambers. The palace grounds contain the central ceremonial avenue, the grand fountain before the main stair, two side gardens accessible by wide stone steps, and the Glaive Barracks. Beneath the complex lies a two-tier subterranean section containing secure passageways, service halls, and vaults. The Sapphire Palace is maintained under the direct authority of the Imperial Household Ministry and is designated a protected heritage site of the Empire.
Early History
0.6-2AFE
Following the unification of the realms and the formation of the Sapphire Empire, Empress Salena Athomath relocated from Whispering Pines, a royal retreat in the forests outside Athomathia, to the Royal Palace of Athomathia, where the imperial heir, Virellia Irisa Athomath, had resided since birth. In 0.6 AFE, Salena directed that a new imperial residence and ceremonial complex be constructed to serve as the seat of the sovereign and the centerpiece of the newly reorganized Imperial City. Court architects Altheryn Draemos and Cael Veyric were commissioned to design the structure, which would be built on an unprecedented scale.
Construction began with the clearance of surrounding districts, the acquisition of land, and the relocation of displaced residents. The first new foundations were laid for what would become the Grand Rotunda and the eastern service halls, connected directly to the functioning Royal Palace. As new sections were completed, they were linked to occupied parts of the old structure, which were then dismantled and either reused in the new build or discarded. By late 1 AFE, the Royal Palace was entirely enveloped within the emerging Sapphire Palace. Upon the completion of the Moonwalk Gallery in early 2 AFE, Salena moved her residence from the royal state rooms into the new gallery. Irisa remained in her original quarters until mid 3 AFE, when her own suite in the Moonwalk Gallery was completed. No part of the former Royal Palace remains today.
Architectural commission
The Sapphire Palace was a major feature of the Empress’s early plans for the Imperial City, drafted in 0.6 AFE as part of the restructuring of Athomathia into the Empire’s capital. These plans were circulated through the Collegium of Design, an association of architects and engineers, where refinements and corrections were proposed before construction began.
From this process, two architects emerged as the principal designers: Altheryn Draemos of Avalon and Cael Veyric of Roxabor. Draemos, trained at the Collegium of London on Earth, had earned recognition for his monumental civic works in the United Alliance. Veyric, educated in the academies of northern Roxabor, was noted for his large public forums and state halls.
Both were summoned to Athomathia in mid 0.6 AFE and met directly with the Empress to present their designs. Construction of the palace began later that year under their joint supervision. Draemos focused on the integration of the palace with the radiating plan of the new city, while Veyric developed the façades and ceremonial halls that defined the New Imperial style.
Draemos modeled the main façade on the fortress-cathedral complexes of Avalon’s Old Earth heritage, particularly the Cologne tradition, while Veyric incorporated the spired forms favored in Roxaborian civic halls.
Design influences
The New Imperial design of the Sapphire Palace is based primarily on architectural traditions drawn from Avalonic Gothic cathedrals and the fortress-halls of Roxabor. The central spires and soaring verticals echo the Cologne tradition of Old Earth, while the diamond-shaped Voor stone set into the façade recalls the placement of stained-glass rose windows in Avalonic ecclesiastical architecture. The flanking domes on the lower terraces are modeled on Roxaborian civic courtyards, a form intended to balance the otherwise vertical emphasis of the structure.
The floral vine patterns cast into the main gates were a direct request of the Empress, reflecting her personal influence on the design. The initial pearlstone in the Moonwalk Gallery was replaced at her insistence with a darker stone, completed shortly after the residence opened in 2 AFE.
Several later commentators have suggested that the diamond-faced spire of the Palace was influenced by drawings of the Avalon Spireworks preserved at the Collegium of London, though there is no record that either architect studied these plans directly. Supporters of the connection argue that the Empress herself may have been shown such works during her consultations with Avalonic advisors, and that she in turn directed the architects toward their inclusion.
Construction
Construction of the Sapphire Palace began in the latter half of 0.6 AFE, following the dismantling of Athomathia’s former capital district. Clearing the central grounds proved more difficult than anticipated, as runoff from nearby waterways repeatedly flooded the excavation pits and temporary staff quarters. On one occasion, water reached as far as the Queen Mother Nichole Katie’s apartments, forcing the construction overseers to divert additional crews toward emergency drainage before progress could resume.
The primary structural frame was assembled from prefabricated clysteel girders, produced on The United Alliance planet Helcon and transported into Athomathia via early Leyline hub. Debate remains among historians whether all the pearlstone used for ornamentation came from the quarries of Seravain, or whether darker stone from the Vaelric coast was substituted during shortages in the winter of 1 AFE. Public invoices from the Ministry of Public Welfare suggest both sources were tapped, though official accounts at the time credited Seravain exclusively.
The installation of the Voor stone — a massive diamond-shaped sapphire alloy mounted in the central front spire — required one of the largest cranes yet constructed in the Empire. Engineers recorded several failed attempts before designing a counterweighted frame strong enough to suspend the gem without twisting its mounting cradle. The ceremony marking its placement in early 2 AFE was widely covered by imperial dispatches and effectively signaled the symbolic completion of the structure, though interior fittings would continue for several months.
Much of the labor force was drawn from Alagor itself, supplemented by skilled masons and metalworkers recruited from other realms. The use of imported artisans sparked some resentment among Athomathian guilds, but the Empress’s insistence on rapid completion muted most opposition. Dismantled stone from the old royal palace was reused as filler material in foundation walls and service corridors, a decision credited with both saving time and preserving fragments of Athomathia’s older identity within the new imperial seat.
Despite initial estimates of at least four years, the project was completed in under eighteen months, with Empress Salena and Virellia Irisa Athomath taking residence in 2 AFE. The accelerated schedule was achieved through continuous shifts of labor and extensive prefabrication, though later restorations would reveal irregularities in some of the earliest masonry work.
Evolution of the Sapphire Palace
Alterations and Expansions
In its earliest years, the Sapphire Palace was already tested by overcrowding. At the first state gathering held in the Grand Ballroom in 2 AFE, the number of guests exceeded expectations, and the hall proved too small for the assembled dignitaries. The walls were later pushed outward to enlarge the space, and a mild refurbishment followed. During construction, runoff water frequently caused flooding in the lower areas of the still-functioning Royal Palace. Staff and attendants were often inconvenienced, and on one occasion even the Queen Mother Nichole’s chambers were nearly overrun. A proposal was raised to build a new capital entirely outside Athomathia, relocating the seat of government to newly planned grounds elsewhere in Alagor. The Empress rejected the idea, insisting that the governmental seat remain in Athomathia, where realm leaders and officials were already accustomed to its location and could adapt to the restructured Imperial City.
In 3 AFE, the northern sector of the palace was restructured to accommodate a large Vethrani presence, who remained within the palace for three years. Access to this wing was restricted to the guests and the Sapphire Glaive, and no official explanation was ever given for the arrangement. That same year, alterations were carried out in the Atrium, later hinted by the Ministry for Public Works to involve refurbishments to the subterranean Lav Rail system. The side gallery of the Throne Room was also altered after the Empress expressed dissatisfaction with its detailing.
By 4 AFE, the Nightingale Court was constructed at the Empress’s order, formally beginning the imperial heir’s public training in governance. Reports circulated of a disagreement over the Court’s decoration, though it was later clarified that the heir chose an indigo palette instead of the Empire’s traditional sapphire blue. In the same year, the palace was decorated for the winter festival of Reshlorain with elaborate displays of garlands, sculpted ice fountains, and seasonal flora. The first decorations were arranged by the artisan Deyrian Halcor, including a massive suspended wreath in the Grand Rotunda. The following year, the Empress oversaw the decorations herself, stating that she enjoyed the custom.
The palace’s most serious early damage came in 3 AFE, when an armed group breached the northern wall facing the Marasé Valtar in an attempt to kidnap the imperial heir. The wall was repaired immediately and reinforced with an obdurium shell.
