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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Stormonu" data-source="post: 9795372" data-attributes="member: 52734">My thoughts on Cynelsa:Mount Cynelsa:  Simply called "The Cynelsa", this towering mound hosts the Ars Rex Magnifica (ARM) at its peak.  The only access to it is a switchback road approached from the southeast.  The switchback serves two purposes: defense against a straight push up the mound, and a stunning view to those glimpse the approach to the ARM from the side windows of their carriage, with each sweep bringing the magnificent view of the towering ARM looming larger and more detailed with each pass.Surrounding the base and partway up the sides of the Cynelsa are a series of concentrically ringed roads.  The rings form 3/4 of a circle, with the gap where the switchback leads up to the ARM.  Within each circle are side roads leading to the various estates of the 76 noble/landed families of this quarter.  Each estate is itself a series of concentric rings.  The central area of these rings house the primary family estate and its well-tended grounds.  The innermost circle consists of lesser houses occupied by various family members, relatives or reserved as guest houses.  The next circle comprises housing for the skilled members attached to the household - including personal playwrights, advisors, accountants, master butlers and the like.  The outermost circle on older estates are actual defensive stone walls that separate the estate from the outer world.  Build against the interior side of these walls are servant quarters, storage facilities, barracks, workshops and all of the estates needs that likewise would like to be kept out of sight beyond the decorative gardens dividing this section from the inner courts.  In newer estates, the outer circle is generally actually built of connected buildings that convey a sense of a wall but are actually functioning buildings.  Many of these buildings lack windows or doors facing the outside world, but the most modern often have multi-dwelling apartments that do have windows and doors to the outside world to allow servants to visit and shop in the outer area without their coming and goings to be monitored at gate accesses.  Of course, some of these estates are skiles, though they are kept anchored to keep from intruding into other land-bound estates.There is at least one major road to each adjacent borough from this central hub (one to Robinford, Wavesmith and a bridge to Lambeth and Circle Isle), but most of the outer country area is sparsely populated - with gardens, crop fields and rustic get-aways dotting the borough.  Footpaths are common throughout the borough, many of which have rest stations and covered walkways in more well-travelled sections to protect walkers from times of extreme heat or cold.  The most undeveloped area is the arm along the Cynelsa up towards Lake Ellendam, which gives the ARM a gorgeous unspoiled view towards the lake and spectacular sunset vistas.A low barrier wall has been erected along the borough lines in the north at Robinford and south at Waveswith.  In ancient times, before the Great Burning, they demarcated the old outer edge of the most ancient part of the old city (though even by that time, the city had grown well beyond those borders).  The foundations of those old walls still exist, though they are now more of a decorative border between the boroughs meant to signify the transition into the "hallowed" ground of the city's masters, and in Robinford's case, to hide the industrial bleakness of that borough.</blockquote>

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