As said by the title, we shall today tour this tower of II, yes it is late, yes it should've been done earlier, I know this but there were more pressing matters to attend, now that the situation seems more stable let me guide you through mine tower.
As you may well know, the Towers are made of words and concepts, those words in this case being granite hewn from the heartlands of mine demesne, oak grown and chopped by our grovetenders, glass and metal born of the most skilled hands in our service and of course, raised by our peerless architects to resist both time and crisis yet be welcoming and worthy of being called a home.
Now, onto it's appearance, it is not a spire piercing the clouds in an affront to whatever god may exist, but it is not humble nonethelesss, it is what can be expected of a grand watchtower, built on a hill overlooking the surroundings and on a metaphysical [2,0], the rock it is made of gives it it's color, the wood is mainly used for the inside but it also supports the fenced balconies, there are many windows to let light in, but they are reinforced against most mundane weapons and only the most brutal of strikes would shatter them.
The Tower is not alone on it's hill however, next to it stands the barracks for most of the garrison, more on them later, there also is what you'd expect of a stronghold, perimeter walls, two wells, stables, a kennel, a smithy, an armory, a bowyer, baths, a garden and training grounds, I shan't describe each and every one of them as the focus of this visit is the Tower.
Well, let us enter the Tower proper now, once past the door we enter the great hall, it serves as both a place for the garrison to feast and a throne room for any visiting nobles and of course, Me.
Other than the great hall you can find the kitchens, the ever stocked pantry and the stairs to the underground and the first floor.
Underground, the many barrels of booze that the garrison quickly go through are stored, my people are not much lovers of wine and my councilmen of coin are happy of that fact gahahaha.
There also lies the gaols, for less than savory individuals, don't worry, most only stay here for a short period before they are tried and sent elsewhere, only the monsters so atrocious that it was deemed more fitting a punishment to let them rot forever stay here.
Onto the first floor, it is split in three main parts, the leisure room where so many games are that even I know not all of them, the library where knowledge mundane and mystic can be found by those seeking, and the offices of those needing one, be they the less martially inclined among the garrison, the watch commander, her captains and the head arcanist.
The second floor is simple, it is entirely dedicated to rituals, the entire surface has never been needed as only smaller scale rituals were cast, but this may soon change due to the shadow over the horizon, we may require some of the greater ones like a teleportion ritual to call in some reinforcements, I'll tell the officer of supply to prepare additionnal components and especially what is needed to teleport large quantities of personnel.
On the third floor stands the guest and officer rooms, this tower rarely receives guests due to it's position on the fringes of mine demesne but this also may change with how it became crucially important thanks to it's metaphysical position in the universe, scholars will surely want to study the phenomenon and champions of all causes will come to what is now the place most likely to erupt in war and chaos.
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The fourth floor houses the treasury, now you may ask, why put the treasury on the fourth floor and I asked the same thing to the architects, those damn excentrics answered "Because we could and it adds a floor to the Tower to make it higher", A younger one, noted for a suspicious amount of knowledge and skill for his age also added "Shouldn't the treasure be at the end of the dungeon?", damn it, if they weren't so skilled i'd get rid of them but I can't.
The fifth and final floor is the smallest because there's only one thing here, MY room, ever prepared were I to visit the Tower, which proved to be useful in this case, I won't tell you of my accomodations because I still like my privacy but what I will tell you, is that here is 57-FG1-752, you don't know what that is? it doesn't matter, the best case scenario is that it shall never be used for it would mean war has broken out. Hmmm, before leaving I should show you something.
This here Bow is Tyra, an heirloom from my predecessors, probably the most powerful artifact of my lands and my personnal weapon, it is made of thought and strung of concept, it shall ever strike true and has the power to pierce through the narrative, it's arrows are made of emotions manifest, whether they be resent, hate, sadness, loathing, jealousy, mirth, pride, love, anything that can be felt, can be fired from Tyra, and will strike true no matter what protections are raised.
So now we have visited the whole Tower, but there remains still a thing to do, present to you the garrison, bolstered due to the dire circumstances.
Firstly and most importantly, the watch commander, Suma val Pugilis, hailing from the lineage of a local count, this kitsune made herself known even to the capital during the incursion of an eastern ennemy some years ago, stalwart, brave, incorruptible, martially gifted.... on and on goes her qualities, now how did even the capital hear of her? Well, because this girl damn near wiped the entire invading army of 12000 with only the garrison of the Tower that was of 800 at the time, now grown to around 2500 with more coming by the day, she slew the general herself and shattered every ennemy on her way, she is accredited 342 kills on this campaign alone, sure she had more magicians at her disposal than the invaders but this is still a major accomplishment, any lesser than her would've failed.
And you know what's funniest with her? once she broke the spine of those bastards, she was invited to the capital to receive her due rewards, she accepted those gratefully, but when I proposed to make her the general of an army, she refused, saying she preferred having a somewhat calm life on the border, not so calm now eh.
I always regretted not being able to convince her to be a general, but it seems it was for the best in the end, her skills shall be needed if the Beast wakes.
Secondly in the hierarchy of the Tower, the head mage, there's not much to tell about him, a lupine graduated from the capital school of a magic, a force specialist but also very skilled with earth and water, he trains three apprentices and much is expected of them.
Thirdly, the non-martial officers, in time of strife the captains outrank them but in peace they lead, they ensure that the Tower and it's associated buildings are maintained, that food and drink is available to all, that the treasury increases more often than not and other vital tasks.
Fourthly, the captains, they are the ones drilling the troops when Suma doesn't do so herself, they maintain discipline and mediate conflict between soldiers, they are also responsible for patrols in the zone of influence of the Tower and stamp out monster and bandits infestation.
Those are the most important people of the Tower, but without those under them they would not be able to do much seeing as they are only around 50 people out of 2500.
For the non or less ranked, we have of course the rank and file, soldiers mostly local, some veterans taking this assignment to end their career in peace, some youngs hoping to prove their mettle and climb up the ranks, all trained to the stringent expectations Suma has of them, they are around 1800, divided roughly into 1000 regulars, 500 bowmen and women, and 300 cavalry.
The mages, those believing themselves to be superior to the non-gifted are quickly robbed of this idea here, most of them using the four primary elements but there are some specialists like the healers or the ritualists among their ranks, they are around 500.
The remaining 150 people are those needed for their specialist knowledge to run the Tower, the smiths, mostly humans or half-kin due to the intense heat of the forges, the beasmaster and his assistants, taking care of the horses and the hounds of the Tower, the gardeners, growing mostly medicine to supplement the healers, the bowyer maintaining the bows and creating ever more arrow, the cooks to feed the growing numbers and other people of less direct relevance like the many menial servants.
The tour of this Tower is now done, excuse while I take my leave, there are still preparations to be made, I shall see you again later.