This is just one of the many palaces of this ancient city, itself one of many such cites of the Drowned Empire. While some are ruined, rarely one block left upright upon another, this one is near fully intact. While some palaces are fully under water now, or lift only their uppermost turrets above the murk, this palace is but half-flooded. This is due in part to its unusual construction; all of it is interconnected in such a manner as insured that water would flow in at its gates and through its halls, coursing down stairs and through rails only to flow out again at the same level as it entered.
This architecture is based upon the use of portals, similar to those rare and terrible Gates and Portals which let continents be traversed at a single step, in combination with pocket-space, as is used to create portable holes and flat closets.
The Stables
The Court of Mounts lets, via portals, into twelve separate stables. Each is a ring of box stalls broken by four gates. One is from the Court of mounts, while to either end gates lead to paddock entries. The fourth gate leads to the garage, filled with wagons and carriages, and to portals to the Masters' Walk above, to the restrooms, and elsewhere in the stable-folk's realm. Above, the Masters' Walk forms an encircling balcony.
Each stall has at its rear three boxes, one each for water, grain, and hay. Portals above let the stable-hands simply let a portion flow down as needed. Between each stall is a narrow post, standing as if it were a framing member. When pulled out, it reveals itself to be a panel issuing from one portal set in the actual framing post and having set within it a portal-accessed closet with the tack for that stall's mount arranged within. Trapdoors in the floor, easily flipped open with a foot, are conveniently located for the raking down of trampled hay and manure, which falls through a horizontal portal to the great rottery for composting.
The paddock entries are thirteen-sided chambers. Each wall, aside from that leading from the stable proper, is a portal letting into one its twelve associated paddocks. Each paddock is twelve-sided ring some two acres in extent, each side a great portal communicating with one of the other twelve associated paddocks. Each paddock has been assigned a colour, primary, secondary, or tertiary, the twelve letting into one end of the stable being darker hues while the twelve letting into the other end of the stable are tinted light. The fence dividing one paddock from another is the colour of the paddock one is in, while the gate in the fence letting into the adjoining paddock is of that paddock's colour. These are arranged chromatically. The side that is the same colour as the paddock contains the gate and portal leading back to the stables, with the Masters' Walk corbelled out above.
The sliding gates are cleverly balanced and latched. The latches are recessed in slots set within the gateposts and gate frames. A stableboy's hand (or a giant's finger) may be easily slipped in to lift the latch, but the slot is too narrow for a mount to nuzzle in to. The paired gates are connected below groundlevel, so sliding one slides its twin. Simply withdrawing one's hand locks the gate in position, whether open, closed, or somewhere in between.
The paddocks vary in equipage. One may have four sections of fence set in a cross for the practice of cornering, while another may have steep ramps and bridges for learning trust and stability. Jumping-grounds may have low fences or adjustable horizontal poles, hedges or water. Large or small rectangular or circular corrals and training rings serve other purposes.
Horses are unknown under the Bar-Sun. Instead, and array of beasts are utilized, some quite specialized, whether for riding pleasure or hunt, or draft under heavy panniers or wagon-tongue. Sturdy Dwarv-bred ponies and elegant riding deer are not as much of a surprise as special facilities for training by centaurs (lower-case "c" brutes, not to be confused with Centaur folk) and the use of other mounts rather more exotic.
The Gardens
* Garden Mazes, some half-drowned, others completely under water now. How fast can you move a tiny basket-boat or hide coracle though a maze? A punt or skiff will be too long to turn the corners!