Aidan's Rock

History

  Aidan's Rock was constructed from 103 to 110AR by Lord Aidan I Castel, beginning during his father's reign but finishing during his own. It was constructed as the first of two fortresses defending the mouth of Meridia's Current, and thus the capital, Meridia, from attack. It also served the purpose of protecting House Castel's only foothold on the eastern bank, in what would otherwise be the territory of House Prominere, as well as collecting tolls from river traffic.    The fortress served its original purpose well, however as the world opened up after The Crossing Over, and The Litoric Islands unified, Aidan's Rock and its brother, The Castellion, proved inadequate in defending the region from the Litoric Fleet. This became particularly evident during The Waterspout War, which lasted from 42 to 44AM, when the Litoric Marines slipped past the fortifications to destroy ships at anchor in Meridia and Port Castellion.    Following this embarrassment at the hands of the Litoric Islands, defenses in Honeyo Bay were upgraded in general, especially around Fingerwatch. Aidan's Rock and The Castellion were no exceptions, and these fortifications were expanded.   

Architecture

  Aidan's Rock, as the name implies, sits atop a rocky promontory overlooking Honeyo Bay. The rock itself towers above the surrounding area, offering a commanding view as far as Fingerwatch's light at the entrance from the sea. The face of the cliff extends out over the water, receding back as it approaches the surface, forming an overhanging lip. This creates a small, shaded harbor, which allows for a series of lifts for naval resupply to be dropped into the sea, and has saved Aidan's Rock from multiple landward sieges. On the opposite side, the cliff has a more gradual incline to the land below, with a relatively easily navigable path down to a walled-in courtyard at sea-level.    It is in this ground-level courtyard where most of the barracks, blacksmiths, mess halls, and other necessities for maintaining an army are located. As the cliff is climbed however, the older, and more defensive measures, are found. Here, towers of local stone jut from the ground, and the castle proper rises high above the already-skyscraping cliff. As well as reaching for the skies, the defenses of Aidan's Rock proper, as the original structure was only atop the cliff, also extend downwards, into the rock. Hollowed out chambers and halls crisscross within the ground, and exit from the side of the cliff-face in two locations. These exits are formed by covered bridges of stone, stretching out from the northwest and northeast (forming a V-shape), and connecting to towers which stretch from small islands relatively nearby to the shore.   These towers were later expansions, after the Waterspout debacle, as was the increased capacity for hosting soldiers down at sea-level. However, the most prominent addition was an engineering masterwork. From the lower levels of the northwestern tower, mentioned previously, stretches a large chain, connecting with a complimentary tower in The Castellion. This chain lies dormant on the riverbed, but can be hoisted in times of need by massive capstans within the towers, powered by many hundreds of soldiers.