The Citadel, also known as the Riders Citadel, is the home of the Riders Quadrant at Basgiath War College in Navarre.
General Information[]
The enormous stone footings of the Riders Quadrant citadel rise up the mountain to the base of the structure. The citadel has enormous walls. The fortress looms behind thick battlements, carved into the mountain in an L-shaped formation of tall stone buildings that are built to withstand fire. The walls that surround the citadel’s courtyard are ten feet thick and eight feet tall with one opening. There’s twelve inches from the elevated parapet down to the courtyard.
The entrance to the citadel is a fortified door at the base of the tower, just like the infantry entrance to the north. Crossing the river-bottomed valley that divides the main college from the even higher, looming citadel that's on the southern ridgeline is the parapet. It’s a stone bridge that separates rider candidates from rider cadets. To reach the citadel, there’s a worn cobblestone path that connects the main courtyard, through the main gate, to the southern turret.
Notable Locations[]
The Courtyard[]
The courtyard is a sizable open space that connects the turret to the citadel via the parapet. It's where the quadrant holds morning formation. The walls that surround the citadel’s courtyard are ten feet thick and eight feet tall with one opening. There are twelve inches off the elevated parapet down to the courtyard. There’s an alcove in the wall close to the first defensive turret of the citadel. It’s a shady, hidden spot with a hard wooden bench. There’s gravel covering the ground. A tunnel is at the end of the alcove in the outer wall. There's a wide staircase that leads to the door to the rotunda. A wrought-iron gate leads into the first defensive turret. A thousand riders can easily fit in it. It's shaped like an angular teardrop. The rounded end is formed by the giant, semicircular outer wall. Along the sides are stone halls.[1] At the outer wall is a stone dais on the right side of the parapet. The giant arched door at the center is carved with the words “A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead.”[1]
First Defensive Turret[]
It has a circular staircase that leads up three flights to the second- and third-year dorm rooms. It descends a flight lower than the main entry to a passage that connects with the Healers Quadrant. It connects to the courtyard. The third floor is for second-years. It is a building to the right of the courtyard, towering over the cliffs. Dain's room is located here.
The Dragon Rotunda[]
The imposing Dragon Rotunda links the academic wing and the dorms but also serves as the entrance to the gathering hall, commons, and library behind it. There's a wide staircase leading up to the four doors of the rotunda from the courtyard. Inside the rotunda is overwhelming. The room is three stories tall, with polished gray marble floors and a domed glass ceiling. When entering from the courtyard to the left are two massive arched doors to the academic wing, between the orange and black pillars, echoed by two doors on the right, which lead to the dorms. Up half a dozen steps, there are four doorways straight ahead leading into the gathering hall. Equally spaced around the rotunda are six daunting marble pillars carved into the shapes of shimmering dragons: red, green, brown, orange, blue, and black. They're sculpted in a way that makes it appear as if they'd come crashing down from the ceiling above. There's enough room between the snarling mouths at the base of each dragon to fit at least four squads in the center of the rotunda.
The Academic Wing[]
It's a four-story building carved into the side of the mountain with a rounded end located in the Citadel. The academic wing doors are between the orange-and-black pillars in the rotunda.
Sparring Gym[]
The massive gym consumes the first floor of the academic wing. There are twenty-one mats. One wall is made entirely of windows and doors, which are often left open to let in a breeze. Three squads from each wing use the gym at a time.
Battle Brief Classroom[]
It's the only class held in the circular, tiered room that curves the entire end of the academic hall and one of only two rooms in the citadel capable of fitting every cadet. There are creaky wooden seats. There's a recessed floor in the enormous lecture hall where the professors stand. Third-years stand against the walls. There’s a twenty-foot-high map of the Continent mounted to the back wall that’s intricately labeled with defensive outposts along the borders. Dozens of mage lights illuminate the space. There’s no windows.
History Classroom[]
It's located on the fourth floor, second room on the left. It is Violet's squad's first class.
First Year Barracks[]
It's a three-story building, although only the first and third floors house cadets. The first floor houses at least 156 cadets. The beds are positioned in four neat rows in the open space. Once cadets bond with a dragon they are given a private room.
The Forge[]
It's located through the courtyard, in the tunnel to the flight field, and down a set of stairs.
Citations[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fourth Wing: Chapter 3