CITADEL OF MAREILON
[this entry seeks to describe the Citadel as it was in 398 GUE]
At
the center of
Mareilon lay the Citadel, a strong, fortified structure
from the days before
Entharion and easily was the most strategically
defensible place in the entire city. Outward in all directions lay the
newer city government buildings. As the city grew away from the
Citadel, and the need for such a fortress decreased with the foundation
of the
Kingdom, large portions of the Citadel were converted into
historical museums. Each new city ruler, lacking any pressing problems,
spent his time ordering the construction of new buildings in his honor.
The city government was highly particular about who could gain entrance
to the Citadel.
Forming
the imposing border between the Citadel and the rest of
Mareilon sat a hulking wall that extended far to the east and west and
then curved northward, looping around to form a slightly curved
rectangle of towering stone laced with fortified metal work.
A deep, low-hanging arch made up the frame for the Citadel's
gate itself. The walls
were well guarded, not because of any real threat to the safety of
those inside, but more out of a sense of tradition that stemmed from
the days when the people of Mareilon had been slightly more independent
and militaristic. Inside the walls stood rows and rows of government
buildings and convulted streets, arranged in a confusing jumble of poor
planning and tight
space.
Everything
remotely official and self-important had a branch
office among the countless buildings scattered in the far reaches of
the Citadel. Departments in charge of horse-drawn vehicles, subsections
involved in licenses to sell wiskus products, printing houses ordered
to create triplicate request forms for the
City of Mareilon Dental
Referral Service. The list of various government agencies functioning
within the Citadel seemed nearly endless. Not even the Mareilon Postal
Offices, protected safely within the womb of the towering walls, owned
records that could begin to describe the location and function of every
building here in the heart of the city. The newest structure was a
small, flimsy-looking wooden structure, only just erected to deal with
government relief of recent Mareilon
zorkquake victims. Over to the
right stood a more impressive structure, two stories in
height, built of proud brick, with many sculpted balconies gracing the
shaded windows. This was an annex of the
Mareilon Historical Society.
Farther beyond the annex and countless other building in the distance
stood the
Firestone Mansion, towering powerfully over every surrounding
structure in the Citadel. A vast building, it stretched to the east and
west for nearly half the length of the actual Citadel itself, and
towered many stories into the sky, tapering into three intricately
carved spires that gleamed in the noon-day sun.
The Citadel of Mareilon was raided by the forces of
Zarfil during his rebellion in 398 GUE.
Along with the rest of the city, the Citadel was destroyed in the
Endless Fire of 773 GUE.
| SOURCE(S): Zylon the Aged, A History of Quendor, Enchanter |