Terrace City

The Terrace City is the common name for the palace in Kien-k'ang, Themiclesia, housing the nation's imperial family and court. It is one of the oldest palaces in Septentrion by date of completion. The palace is held in high regard by artists, curators, conservationists, and architects as a unique example of Themiclesian architecture of the archaic period. The palace is a symbol of imperial authority, but it is also used for public functions.

Location and Layout

The Terrace City is situated slightly northwest of centre in Themiclesia's capital city of Kien-k'ang. It is completely enclosed by the Capital City (京城, krjang-drjong) and situated to the latter's centre north. The Capital City is itself enclosed within the outer walls (籬城, rjar-drjong) of Kien-k'ang.

The Terrace City itself contains several nested citadels within its walls. The outer is called the Middle Citadel (重城, drjowng-drjong). The inner is called the Palace Hall (殿中, dionh-trjung). The Palace Hall itself is latitudinally separated into the Outer Court (前殿, dzian-dionh) and the Inner Court (內廷, nobh-ding) or Official Enclosure (省中, sring'-trjung); the two partitions are connected by the East and West Pavilion Gates (東西閤門, tong-si-klop-mon). The Outer Court is where the Emperor discharges his ceremonial functions as head of state, such as holding audiences and receiving diplomats. The Inner Court is the residence of the Emperor and his family; within the Inner Court, the Emperor and Empress each possess their own quarters. That of the Emperor is called the Barred Enclosure (禁中, kljom-trjung); of the Empress, Barred Enclosure of the Middle Palace (中宮禁中, trjung-kjung-kljom-trjung).

The palace is laid out according to two north-south axes. On and around the western one is distributed most of the buildings related directly to the emperor's functions, such as holding regular court; the eastern one, the Council of Correspondence, which is the government. Other important agencies are situated around these two axes. The palace of the Empress Dowager is likewise found within the Palace City.

Gates

There are five gates on the Terrace City, two on the south side and one each on the remaining sides. The southwest, on the western axis, is the Grand Marshal Gate (大司馬門, dad-sjo-mra'-mon). The remaining four gates are called "Side Gate" and prefixed with their respective cardinal direction, except the one on the north side, called "Brjang-hljang-mon", meaning "Gate of Peace and Prosperity".

There are five gates as well on the Palace City. The one directly facing the Grat Sih-mra Gate is called the "Carriage Stop Gate"; since this gate symbolically delimits the imperial sanctum from the common soil, all mounted individuals must dismount here and then proceed into the palace; failure to do so will result in prosecution. All other gates on this wall carry the same significance, and there are tablets set down at prominent locations before these gates to remind the negligent. The gate facing the South Side Gate is called the Gate of Luminescent Illustrious Gate; it is the entrance to the compound of the Department of Library Administration. The eastern gate of the Palace city has the name Gate of Ten Thousand Springs, and its directional opposite, Gate of a Thousand Autumns. The gate on the northwest, on the western axis, bears the title of Gate of Perpetual Tranquility.

There are four gates on the Meridian Enclosure. The southern and main gate is the Gate of Rectitude (端門, tun-men), traditionally held to require all who pass to maintain purity of intention. This gate is actually a complete building by itself, and the walls around it are more decorative than defensive; it is intentionally short to avoid obscuring the view from within its confinement; these walls are also lined with a wide corridor, whose roof sits above the wall. Instead of being finished with bricks or stone, the walls feature glazed ceramic blocks. The east gate has the fantastical name of "Gate of Nephic Dragons", and the west, "Gate of Spirit Tigers".

Halls

In keeping with the traditional Themiclesian way of constructing a dwelling, the Terrace City consists of a precisely arranged, functionally connected series of individual buildings. The significance of such buildings are denoted by its distance from or position on the axes. A building on an axis is more important than one off, and those off progressively more important the closer they are. Since the Terrace City has two axes, the buildings on the western axis, which is associated with the Emperor, are accorded a higher status than those on the eastern axis, associated with the government.

Great Hall

The Great Hall (太極殿) is the most important edifice in the Terrace City, and accordingly it is centred on the western axis, directly north of the Gate of Rectitude.

It sits on a pedestal about 1.5 meters tall, with two sets of steps to the east and west of the hall to access it. Measuring from pillar to pillar and ignoring the canopy of the roof, it measures 112 by 64 meters, giving a total floor area of 7,186 m², probably making it the largest building that stood in Themiclesia at completion. This building was enlarged several times in history, though without changing the number of bays (spaces between pillars) to maintain appearance. The massive, floating roof is supported by a 15 by 9 grid of pillars fashioned out of the tall, straight logs of the Phoebe zhennan trees. The hip roof is not supported by a triangular truss structure, which would have made the slope impossible; instead, progressively shorter beams are stacked on top of each other horizontally; by varying the length of each superimposed beam, the slope is greater the closer to the main ridge; this permits rainwater to shed quickly from the centre of the roof, where the load is the greatest, but slow as it reaches the edges of the roof, so as not to create a jet of water rushing off the roof. The outer most ring created the pillars is reserved as a corridor, and the doors on the building are set into the spaces between the second ring of pillars.

While it certainly is the grandest building in the entire Terrace City, it is not often used, in view of its ritualistic gravity, save on the first day of each lunation, coronation, Winter Solstice, New Year's Day, state receptions, and state banquets. The Emperor's funeral hearse is led off from the Great Hall, on whose west steps it lies in state for seven months.

East and West Parlours

These halls flank the Great Hall on its left and right. They sit on the same pedestal as the Great Hall and measure 72 by 40 meters, they are noticeably smaller than the Great Hall, yet perhaps due to their more modest size they are more often frequented. Between the two Parlours and the Great Hall, there are two Pavilion Gates; these divide the OUter Court from the Inner Court.

The East Parlour is where the Emperor dines or hosts guests. Here, he meets officials who requested audiences; before the introduction of Westminster-style government, policies agreed upon by the Council of Correspondence will be presented to the Emperor here for sanction; the current monarch holds court here every fifth day to listen reports on affairs of state and give assent to legislation, though by custom he does not comment while his ministers and legislators debate, which may be intensely contested. Almost every single major government policy that has ever changed Themiclesia since the 4th century has been given sanction here. The hearses of imperial relations are led off from the East Parlour.

The West Parlour is where the Emperor routinely stays during daytime. The Imperial Canopy Throne is usually found here but moved when the Emperor needs to make an appearance elsewhere for an extended period of time. By custom, the Emperor will not meet any solitary visitor here; there must be at least a party of two people for the Emperor to grant an audience. A private meeting between the Emperor and another person in a private location arouses suspicion and comment. The West Parlour is also where the Emperor rests when the main residential hall, the Sgljik-grian Hall, is unavailable.

Hall of Celestial Principle

This is the Emperor's official bedchamber. An alternate name is "Hall of Scarlet Thunder", because in Themiclesian astronomy, the star associated with the Emperor (Ursa Minor B) is located within the Scarlet Thunder Constellation. It measures 72 by 38 meters, and before it there is a relatively small gate called the Gate of Scarlet Thunder, around which there is another corridor that encircles the Emperor's bedchamber; there is no wall in it, however.

Similarly arranged as the Great Hall, there are two smaller buildings flanking it. During days when the Emperor does not hold court and no audiences have been scheduled, he may stay in Scarlet Thunder or remain in the side buildings, where he is at leisure; by custom, if he reads official papers, he proceeds to the West Parlour to do so. However, for emergency meetings with his ministers, this hall is also used.

Hall of Hallowed Sun

This is the Empress' Bedchamber, which is designed identically as that of the Emperor.

Court Hall

The Court Hall is not located within the western axis of the Terrace City associated with the Emperor, but occupies the eastern axis associated with the central government; it is located within the complex of the Department of Library Administration, which is set on the southeastern corner of the Palace City. The physical building is only eclipsed in size by the Great Hall and measures 92 by 52 meters. However, unlike the infrequently used Great Hall, every morning the Director of Library Administration, the two Ministers, and the four Administrators meet here to discuss affairs of state; indeed, this is the appropriate place where state policies are discussed and agreed upon. It is also traditional that the Emperor does not enter the Court Hall.

Palace Schedule

As an element of the nation that links its present with its past, the Palace follows a very traditional schedule that today is rarely found outside. In conformity with the ancient provisions on timekeeping, the date advances at what is 11 p.m. the previous day according to the modern calendar; however, each day is still its standard length of 24 hours. This length is divided into 12 "hours" instead of 24, and they are named according to the "earthly stems" used by the ancient Themiclesians as a method of counting. Each mark is then subdivided into 8 equal "marks", which is exactly 15 minutes in modern terms; the entire day thus has 96 marks.

The palace's activities revolve around several indicators, the most important of which is dawn. The statutory definition provides that dawn begins 8 marks before sunrise in the 30 days after Winter Solstice; every 10 days after that, the commencement of dawn is brought forward by 1/3 of a mark, until 30 days before Summer Solstice, on which dawn will occur 12 marks before sunrise. The precise time of sunrise is predicted by the Department of the Secret Library according to the best astronomical techniques available, at the close of the year prior. In practice, dawn corresponds to 6:00 a.m. on Winter Solstice 2017 and 12:06 a.m. on Summer Solstice of the same year.