Glade Circle: Glade Castle – Plaza – Lake Park
The southwestern region of the caldera has been the administrative centre since the very establishment of the Sovereign Domain after the rebellion that had begun in Glade Town. This settlement arose around Glade Castle, which itself had been named after the beautiful lake on whose gently curved and sylvan shores it stood. In winter, ice would never cover the lake completely, leaving an expanse of open water, a still mirror that reflected the sky and the stars.
The Unifier struck at Glade Castle first as it was one of the more robust fortifications in the caldera. Afterwards, he made the castle his official residence. The castle has survived three large fires, has been expanded several times, and has retained the status of the residence of the Glade City's ruler, whose title is Chancellor.
The monumental Glade Castle stands on the very shore, with its rear walls and bastions extending into the lake and surrounding a secured dock. The castle is quite picturesque in the evening if looked upon from the opposite shore or a boat out on the lake, when the mist is floating over the water, the windows are lit and every outside lamp is shining bright. Then the sun sets, and the reflection of the illuminated castle appears upon the slumberous basin.
Unfortunately, Glade Castle is not open to public, and the closest a visitor can approach it is its outer walls.
The front gate of the castle opens to Plaza, a large square, surrounded almost exclusively by government buildings: The Treasury, the High Court, the House of the City Council and others. Plaza has two major decorations in its centre. The first one is an imposing stone sculpture of a perched eagle, covering three chicks with its mighty wings. In front of the sculpture is another decoration – a long fountain of black marble and gold, its curved edges richly ornamented with leaf work, and the sublime statues of a bear, a wolf, a boar and a deer standing on the individual pedestals in the middle.
The land west of the lake is known as Lake Park and is home to the richest families of Glade City, whose vast wealth enabled them to build luxurious manors in a variety of styles, some quite extravagant. One residence, for instance, consists of sprawling underground chambers and galleries with barely any constructions on the surface, while another is a faithful rendition of a fortress from the Early Middle Ages, complete with a moat and a drawbridge.
While almost the entire territory of Lake Park is in private hands, the western shore of the lake has a small public park with boat docks. One is able to hire a boat here, head to Charvignie Park and leave it there, or vice versa, as at the northern end of the lake there is a canal that goes to Old Huntlands.