Visitors to Fairhaven cannot help but notice Fairhold, the ancestral seat of Aundair’s rulers. Rising above the tallest buildings in the city, Fairhold is a wonder of architectural achievement, a graceful fusion of style and defense. Behind steep walls pierced by looming gates rest half a dozen towers and twice as many minarets. Here one finds the royal family’s residence, the courts, the garrison of the Knights Arcane, and the stables for their dragonhawk steeds. Clustered around the citadel are embassies and governmental offices, overshadowed by the ancient fortress’s majesty.
Queen Aurala’s palace takes up acres in the center of Fairhaven. Parts of it are open to the public, including a museum, extensive public gardens, and a large winery. Other parts of Fairhold, such as the royal family residences and the detention center within the Courts of Justice, define high security and bristle with both mundane and magical guardians.
The centerpiece of Fairhold is the Crown’s Hall, where Queen Aurala holds audience on a daily basis. The arena-sized hall has gold-leaf decorations on nearly every surface—so much shiny gold that the very walls seem to radiate a warm light of their own.
The head of the palace staff is Adela Fuillerno. She manages more than a thousand workers—everyone from the cooks to the bedchamber servants to the royal executioners. She also keeps the queen’s daily schedule; few ever speak to the queen without Fulirno’s assent.
Fairhold also houses the Royal Collection of Aundair, a peerless collection of historical texts. Access to the Royal Collection provides a +4 circumstance bonus on Knowledge (history) checks that involve the history of Galifar or the original Five Nations. Doing research at the Royal Collection requires permission from First Warlord Adal, Castellan Fulirno, or Queen Aurala herself.
The Tower of Eyes can also be found here, though few people actually understand the purpose or significance of that particular alabaster tower.