Dun Gemrad

Dun Gemrad, roughly translated from Old Speech as Castle Winter, is the residence and throne of the House of Winter. As the residency of the Earl of Frostern Hold and head of House Wintersblood, Dun Gemrad was the capital of the Kingdom of Frostern and a major point in the map of the Great Western Empire.

The castle is best known for never falling in a siege. Even during the Civil-War, the Siege of Dun Gemrad outlasted the peace treaty.

Description
Dun Gemrad is a large stone castle weathered with age and impressively fortified. The castle towers over a small valley, and is approached by a well kept road that leads to Talvel's Point.

Like most other Imperial Era Frosian castle, Dun Gemrad is protected by a wooden picket set atop a ten-foot tall earthen ring, with two entrances to the castle on either side. Further in, the 25 foot curtain wall, rimmed with merlons, guards the entrance to the castle proper. The passageways through the curtain wall are positioned forty-five degrees from the two exterior entrances. A number of soldiers make their rounds between these walls, each clad in leather and armed with ranged weapons. A total of 5 soldiers and 20 archers are regularly stationed in Dun Gemrad.

A buttress rises up on each corner of the castle to meet a square guard tower with merlons. Beneath the castle is a maze of passageways that serve both as a dungeon and provide access to secret tunnels for escape, as well as a series of chambers that serve as the dwelling and workshop for the Earl's trusted seer and advisor.

The large and wide courtyard behind the wall has a number of small wooden buildings that serve both as the barracks for the armies of Wintersblood as well as a safe place for local farmers in times of crises. A small chapel sits next to a well and there are several pens for livestock. The chapel is said to hold an artefact, the weapon of a long-dead hero of Frostern.

The main building of the castle is a compact but ornate manor of four floors that houses the Earl, and his family and servants. This manor features many great stained glass windows and is noted for the many exotic gemstones studded into the walls of the grand banquet room that also contains an ornate and famed tapestry. Inside the manor also contains a personal guardroom, a magnificent antechamber, and a secondary informal dining room for family matters.

Given adequate foodstores, the castle can sustain 4,000 people while withstanding 7 months of siege.

Third Era

 * High King Alnitak the Weary
 * Prince Varg of Wintersblood
 * High Seer Sindri Utan

Fourth Era

 * Earl Varg the Holy
 * Seer Eyulf Utan