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 Posted: Wed Dec 25, 2024 6:42 pm
A castle on the banks of a river within a mile or two of the sea, in a place very similar to what we would recognize as Brittany, the Garde is more notable for beauty than for size. Originally a place of pleasure and hospitality, its character gradually shifted to a more martial one by becoming a place of military strategy and training, before its current owner took steps to restore it to its original purpose - embodying not the guard of the name, but the joy. gaia_crown Climate: Temperate and Earthlike; generally pleasant but often prone to light rain and chilly mornings and evenings. Follows a typical day/night cycle. Generally breezy and airy, with frequent wind and foggy mornings due to its proximity to the water. gaia_crown Environment: Temperate forest; the main structures are located on a woody ridge of manmade hill and designed to overlook the river and ocean more than any terrestrial approach. The river is broad and slow-moving, with pebbled banks and overhanging trees. The side of the castle away from the river was once sheltered by a broad manmade moat which ran right up against the curtain walls on this side, but this has long since grown over and mostly dried up, leaving only swampy areas here and there. Walking along the curtain walls on this side of the structure puts one at about eye level with the tops of the trees occupying the former moat. gaia_crown Structures: The most intact structure is a towered keep, small but fortified. It oversees a bailey (which houses a tiltyard) and is ringed with largely-intact curtain walls, although the curtain walls running down towards one curve of the river have largely collapsed, leaving behind scraps of interior staircases that make them scalable. On top of this curtain wall is where most visitors to the Wonder will arrive. Guests tend to arrive on top of the gatehouse, where there is an entry into the main hall, which stands above the ground level. There are several underground and partially-underground structures as well, including a chapel and a maze of crypts and storerooms. OOC note: The architecture is generally in-keeping with circa 1000-1100 France, but with some later medieval creative liberties mostly borrowed from post-1066 Norman conquest buildings in what is now England, and some later liberties (mostly, the tiltyard). This extends to the artwork and ornamentation as well, which is generally 11th to 13th-century accurate, but has some later-medieval creative liberties.
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Posted: Wed Dec 25, 2024 6:42 pm
 (click to enlarge)𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖆𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝖑𝖔𝖈𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘 𝖔𝖚𝖙𝖉𝖔𝖔𝖗𝖘
gaia_crown River - A large stretch of bank is fully accessible and forms a sort of beach area, with a combination of sand and pebbles on the bank, as well as numerous large, flat rocks (great for sunbathing, if it's not cold and rainy!). The water is cool and slow-moving, and the remainder of the banks are shaded and overhung with old trees and thick undergrowth.
gaia_crown Boathouse - Houses a couple of small rowboats and one impressive pleasureboat outfitted with an enameled hull and canopy. While not as functional as it once was, boats can still be launched from this location with some effort.
gaia_crown Pavilions - While not always present, when they are, this selection of tents provides a more opulent - but less weather-resistant - option for visitors to relax. They are lushly decorated and outfitted with furs, carpets, and tapestries, as well as small but comfortable furniture. Some also feature contained fire pits beneath vented roofs - the panels of said roofs painted with gilded stars and moons.
gaia_crown Forest - Dense and winding, with some entrances into the crypts built into the land below the Garde. Contains most of the Garde's fauna, it was once the site of festive hunts of native Garde quarry - quail, deer, rabbits, foxes, and even wild boar. This is also the evident home of the Garde's singular unique magical inhabitants - the Accolade herd.
𝖎𝖓𝖉𝖔𝖔𝖗𝖘
gaia_crown Keep - Primary living and work area. Surrounded by squared towers, from which the ocean can be seen. Most windows were always unglazed; those that were glazed have lost their glass, save for one or two panes which remain and are brightly painted (albeit very chipped and faded). With arched ceilings and tiled floors, and with gradually-returning painted plaster murals still clinging to both the walls and the ceilings as well as rich tapestries, it is clear that it was once a place of some opulence.
The main hall, located above the ground floor, has been almost fully restored. A turret staircase in one corner leads up and down to other rooms, which have largely been converted to makeshift guest quarters and a large storeroom area.
Most of the ornamentation depicts scenes of romance or hunting, and it does appear that one is a metaphor for the other, although it's not clear in which direction the metaphor is intended to go...
gaia_crown Bailey - The central courtyard, mostly cleared although ivy and flowers have been allowed to remain scaling the walls in areas where they receive enough sunlight to thrive. While largely built for function rather than form, there is an expanse of tiled courtyard before the bottom floors of the keep and near the fallen gatehouse - featuring beautiful mosaics but the worse for wear. It was sometimes also used as a training area and tiltyard. It is surrounded by outbuildings in various degrees of wear, and also houses the Garde's most luxurious feature - a naturally heated shower built into one wall.
gaia_crown Chapel - A semi-sunken chamber with vaulted ceilings, the roof housing a small structure containing a large bell. Encompasses a central dias with a richly-engraved platform and altar, and walls engraved with humans and creatures of all kinds. Lit by small windows at ceiling height, and by battery-operated fairy lights and a few candles. Converted to something like a bedroom/quarters for Joy, with the bed rather sacrilegiously made up on the altar, for lack of any better place to put it.
gaia_crown Guest chambers - Simply outfitted but sometimes beautifully ornamented, several rooms of the Garde which served various purposes a thousand years ago have now been outfitted to receive visitors in relative comfort. The lack of fireplaces means that the rooms can be chilly, but they are comfortably arranged with beds and other simple furniture, and lit with battery-operated lights as well as candles.
gaia_crown Library - A small outbuilding converted by Joy into a place to house recreational items for visitors to the Garde. This includes a small selection of books - mostly modern translations of medieval romances and poetry, along with some other modern fiction - and some board games and decks of cards. Has a couple of cozy places to sit and extra blankets for chilly Garde days and nights.
gaia_crown Lower Keep - Converted to a storeroom for necessities, including camping supplies, shelf stable food, cleaning and repair supplies, extra bedding, and other things useful to both Joy and her visitors.
gaia_crown Crypts - There are multiple hidden entrances to the winding passageways built below the Garde, which contain a number of archives and storerooms, as well as a crypt which houses the remains of the previous keepers of the Wonder. This area is strictly inaccessible to guests except by invitation, and largely shrouded in secrecy even to Joy herself. Despite the darkness and solitude, the walls and even ceilings here are as richly ornamented as the rest of the Garde with murals and mosaics.
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2025 10:01 pm
The Garde is home to a variety of fauna that grows more varied with time, as it does on all cared-for Wonders and Homeworlds. For the most part the animals inhabiting the Garde are normal Earth animals which are typical of the general area of Brittany in France, although there are a few exceptions. A spreadsheet of all currently-viewable Garde fauna is viewable below. ICly, visitors are encouraged to help Joy take note of birds, insects, fish, and other creatures that she may not have yet seen or catalogued. gaia_crown Joyeuse Garde - Fauna gaia_crown
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2025 1:17 pm
The only known unique-to-the-Garde fauna, Accolades resemble sturdy horses, smaller than modern-day draft horses but of a similar build. They are not domesticated, but can be interacted with respectfully, and some grow quite fond of particular visitors, favoring them with their affection. Inhabiting the green near the bailey and the deep woods - and perhaps at one time other places further on in Garde territory - the Accolades form a small herd. When born, they begin growing in a coat of bark, moss, and other flora that eventually forms sturdy natural armor. Additionally, a hole in their forehead sprouts a lance-like horn made of light wood. These they use to tilt at one another, with the object of breaking the opponent's lance, and they are very happy to carry a human rider in order to make them part of the game - but only for this purpose. They will generally buck their riders off as soon as the competition is finished, being too proud to carry them for any other reason. An annual event was once centered around the capture and competition of the Accolades, with the joust forming a central activity in a days-long festival celebrating feats of arms and chivalry. Their skulls are reinforced in a manner similar to a woodpecker's, and the horns are devoid of nerves or other attachments, so the act is painless for the Accolade, and they seem to delight in participating. Early winter often sees dozens of Accolades with broken-off horns, which they shed before spring and regrow over the summer and fall. gaia_crown You can design an Accolade here! gaia_crown
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2025 2:57 pm
all images are royalty-free from pexels, wikipedia, or my own art
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2025 2:58 pm
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2025 9:40 am
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2025 9:41 am
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2025 9:41 am
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2025 9:41 am
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2025 9:41 am
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2025 9:42 am
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2025 9:42 am
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2025 9:42 am
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