Noral
Noral /nɔːr'ɑl/ (bukkean: Nōrol) was a keep, notable for its architecture, strong fortification and status as an international political prison, used mostly for the imprisonment of the nobility. It was later revealed to be a major international bank, used by kings all over the Continent for several centuries.
History
Noral was the south-eastern keep of the Taliyally Castle, belonging to the Taliyally clan. The clan joined Stogen in exchange for the protection of its lands. By the end of the 2nd CSR the Taliyally Castle was largely gone, with just its southern wall and the south-eastern keep intact. The wall eventually collapsed, but the keep became the seat of the Treens, who claimed to be descendants of the Taliyally, although this has never been definitively proven and numerous claims were made by other individuals.
Treens, however, were able to defend their claim, as none of the other contestants were able to overtake Noral, nor prove that they were, in fact, the true descendants of the Taliyally. Thus, toors continued to pledge to protect Taliyally lands, which included the keep. Since Treens limited themselves exclusively to the keep, it turned the Taliyally territory into pretty much neutral grounds up until Tavol Aylis conquered and destroyed Noral in 1941 SR, effectively claiming the whole region.
"Noral" means "edge" in one of the older dialects of Nalarli and was a term that was typically used to designate the keeps and walls of a castle.
Architecture
Noral had almost no windows on the outside, apart from a section called "The Ring", which was closer to the top. Most windows were facing the inner courtyard.
Operation
Noral was operated under very strict and unusual rules.
It had a courtyard and a visitors' room that people could visit and leave. However, anyone entering any other area of the keep was never allowed to leave alive. Therefore, most of the servants and prison guards lived in Noral permanently. This meant that prisoners were not allowed to leave either and incarceration in Noral essentially meant that there was no return.
A limited amount of personnel was allowed to leave the fortress to conduct various duties, including the Treens, but a Treen could not leave the fortress if they were the only Treen family member, since the original contract with Stogen would expire in the case of Treens abandoning the fortress, which at some point in history became defined as no Treen being present in the fortress.
Blind dungeons
Noral invented the idea of "blind dungeons", underground cells with no light. These were typically run by blind guards. Prisoners, put in a blind dungeon, would typically serve the rest of their days in complete darkness. In some cases, some prisoners would be moved to normal cells, after some time.