The house of Qu'ellar Delyl is built on the largest island of the Starless Seas, where the matrons have,
through the years, developed a massive compound including all of the essentials from circuit wall to
towering citadels. The architecture maintains the drow's affection for heights in order to avoid sprawl
and appear to grow taller toward the center of the island where a number fuse together to form a kind
of penthouse for the ruling mother.
The following details the details of each region under the direct control of Qu'ellar Delyl.
The Port and Market
The lowest level of the island is encircled with a cycolopean circuit wall
of stone save for a large port on the south side of the island. There the
wall on both sides slip into two, one to protect the city from behind the
port and another sweeps out into the deep water to form a loose coil to
hide the harbor.
The buildings and docks which make up the Delyl harbor vary from
warehouses and taverns to grand halls for any visiting lower nobility. The
roadways are wide enough for vehicles and lit enough to deter most petty
crimes.
The City
The second level of the island is filled with somewhat taller buildings of a
more attractive persuasion compared to those of the port and market.
Here is where workers and lesser clan members live and most of the nitty-
gritty corporate housework takes place.
The roads here are made of a flat, ground boulders, and building walls
tend to be made of a polished stone. Each building has an emblem in the
drow script which form a track for small blue lights to travel. In all, the
city is where someone from the island would buy something for
themselves. This is the home for food vendors and in the few locations
where there are shallow pools, small fisheries and stables.
The Lower Citadel
When you enter the Lower Citadel from the city it becomes blatantly
obvious you've wandered into the realm of Delyl nobles. More than half
of those who reside here are uniformed guards in silver, white and navy
blue, who patrol and stand in front of doors to the heart of the Delyl
fortress. Finer things are found in the Lower Citadel, including places of
worship for visitors and centers of the arts. It is only the taller buildings
which are reserved for military and governing which arch together to
form the tallest building of the island. It's adjoined cap is the house of the
Matron. The underside of the penthouse forms vaults and arches
underneath which the same small blue lights mimic both stationary and
jetting stars.
The Matron's Penthouse
Positioned as the collective peak of the tallest towers of the island, the
Matron's Penthouse is a many-storied complex of ceremony and duty.
Here is where business between major factions takes place, and where
discussion of aid, alliances, or business of that ilk. There are few
balconies, and the windows do not open from either side of the glass.
The first floor is dedicated to stand as a training area for the city guards.
The second holds among necessary rooms like kitchens and servants
quarters, the empty rooms of the matron's daughters and sons. These
rooms are filled with ornate navy and silver decor and are serve now as
private rooms for visiting dignitaries.
On the third floor is located the clan's treasury, dining hall, library, and a
quiet, mostly unused 'war room'.
By far the level of the penhouse with the tallest ceiling is the fourth floor
which is made of a grand stair and hallway leading to the throne. Hidden
from view, there is a heavily guarded room behind the throne which leads
to a narrow staircase that curls upwards once again to the top of the
complex.
The fifth floor is truly the matron's penthouse, where her suit is
surrounded by a ring of windows (and curtains) to look out at the rest of
the Starless Seas. From the distance and angle required to see her bower
in detail, it would look like an over-glorified light tower.
