Herald of Steel

Alexander and his entourage had decided to take up residence in the western part of the city, reserved exclusively for the nobility.

It was a hilly part of the city, and being higher than the other parts meant cool air and a much better view.

The location also blew all foul smells away from them, keeping its residents sweet and fresh.

Alexander's military commanders and various artisan leaders took up residence in the many empty noble houses, while the slaves and soldiers were placed in the various barracks and servants' quarters attached to the noble house.

Alexander, accompanied by the royal entourage naturally took over Pasha Muazz's estate, which proved true to its status in grandeur and opulence.

The total area it encompassed was huge, almost two square kilometers in its entirety as the manor estate extended well out of the city.

It had its own little village community that oversaw the sixty hectares of farmland around it. It had lush forests surrounding the estate, which was used as hunting grounds by the pasha and his friends in their leisure, with small game animals and as Alexander would find out later, even humans.

The entrance to the beautiful estate was a huge arch made of granite, with ornate cast iron gates acting as doors, its beautiful walkways paved with the highest quality stone and curtained with thick, luscious bushes of flowers, an imposing statue of Pasha Muazz's ancestor standing magnificently at the center of it.

There were two lovely gardens with vibrant and beautiful flowers, rare and beautiful trees with delicious fruits, and exotic birds and butterflies adorning them on either side of the mansion.

The gardens themselves were designed like a maze so walking through them was always exciting, while the back of the mansion was a beautiful open space for the nobleman to host open-air parties, furnished with swings, ornate benches, and even a small horse race track.

And of course, there was the centerpiece of it all, the jewel around which all these landmarks were built, the marvelously luxurious mansion.

The mansion was three stories high, with magnificent spires and windows, made of the highest grade stone and timber, and coated in pure white limestone that reflected the sunlight almost like a mirror, making it look like a heavenly construct on earth.

The mansion stood directly atop a hill, haughtily looking down on the peasants below, while its grandness and regality left none to question who were its inhabitants.

And naturally, the interior matched, if not exceeded the outer extravagance as the insides were huge in scale, more than thirty thousand square feet in area and with over a thousand rooms including the servant quarters, multiple kitchens, halls, ballrooms, and many more.

Just beyond the exquisite front oak door lay the huge grand outer hall, carpeted in a thick, red carpet with golden embroidery, furnished with huge, comfortable couches, ornate tables and chairs to entertain guests, and two massive fireplaces.

The walls had pompous oil paintings of various men, women, and children hanging off of them, along with long fabulous frescoes and intricate mosaics decorated into them.

At the end of the hall, two large spiral staircases from either side led upstairs, guarded by ornate staircase rails made of gold and silver on both sides and with a canopy of chandeliers hanging above them, like the person climbing these stairs was passing through a royal procession.

And the most beautiful structure of the outer hallway lay overhead, where a huge glass chandelier hung off the ceilings, the biggest in Adhania and possibly in the world, like a princess wearing her tiara.

Alexander had come to this place in the first week of Zanzan but found it to be deserted, with no staff in sight and a thick layer of dust coating the natural radiance of the place.

So, he had sent his servants to clean the place two days earlier, and now that they had sent word that the mansion was prepared, he decided to move in with everyone.

"This place is too grand." Cambyses subconsciously commented.

Even after having lived in unanimously the best house in Adhania, the shock Cambyses was experiencing was not any less.

The palace belonged to Ptolomy, which was another man's house, a stranger's abode in which she had taken refuge for a few days.

But this house, this house was her's.

And as the mistress of the house, she would reign over all those who resided inside, save for one, and the thought of having dominion over such a beautiful, magnificent mansion made Cambyses go over the moon.

After all, which girl didn't want a lovely house to call home?

And this was a very lovely house no doubt about it.

Like the traditional Adhanian style, the house was divided into two parts, the outer guest part for reception and general guests and the inner personal part for one's own use and for entertaining close friends and relatives and for the cooks, maids, gardeners, etc, to their job without ever the guests laying their eyes on them.

This second part was situated behind the outer part, being accessible by doors located inconspicuously around the hall, and was where the life of the house existed.

There were the kitchens and servant quarters to the left, the entrance to it was via a solitary door at the far end corner of the outer hall, below the staircase in a dark part of the room, its location chosen as such so as not to draw any attention to it.

In the center back portion of the house was the central hall, where surrounded by high ceiling porticos stood a giant, magnificent statue of Ramuh at the very center of it.

The statue was placed in an open roof square, so as to allow the god to see and feel the world around him, and surrounding him was a huge basin filled with water.

This basin collected the rain which fell through and was a manifestation of Ramuh's domination over thunder, lightning, and rain.

The central hall was the most important part of the house, as this was where one entertained one's important guests, from close friends visiting for a chat, to secret trade deals, to even meeting one's enemy to discuss treaties.

This hosting of one's allies and enemies was mainly done in a study room accessible through the right portico, which also doubled as an art room.

This was Pasha Muazz's personal study and likewise decorated to befit its owner's status.

Rich expensive tables and velvet chairs acted as furniture, couches, and dining tables served as means of entertainment, while hugging the entire walls, huge bookshelves filled to the brim with scrolls and manuscripts showed off the pasha's personal book collection.

The walls had golden mosaics and jeweled frescos all over them, while Pasha Muazz's true masterpieces hung off them.

Magnificent paintings, collected over generations, made with exquisite, expensive colors and painted by the most renowned artists of the last few centuries, depicting the most realistic pieces of art- from the pasha's various ancestral figures in dazzling armor to beautiful landscapes to beautiful women all graced his personal study, while the sunlight from the open square made the golden frames they were encrusted upon sparkled with radiance.

The room even had a primitive type of central heating below it, using smoke and heat from a furnace below to keep the room warm.

It seemed Pasha Muazz really liked this room.

While on the left side of the portico was another dining room and a place designed to recite poetry, make paintings, and debate philosophy, with comfortable couches, beautiful benches, and ornate table stools to facilitate the practice of such art which was viewed as the pinnacle of high class and nobility in the eyes of Adhanian nobility.

Backing away, on the right of the outer hall was the storehouse, filled with all sorts of mischievous things like food, cooking supplies, various tools, etc, with this room being connected to the kitchen on the left by an underground tunnel so as not to disturb the guest in the outer hall.

The second floor consisted mainly of guest rooms on both sides, with a second even more massive grand hall in the center of it.

The primary purpose of this hall was to host balls and end-of-year parties, while the lower outer hall was mainly used for receptions.

And then on the third floor were the personal rooms, another ballroom, and the attic.

It went without saying that all these rooms were lavishly furnished and decorated with no expenses spared.

In addition to these extravagances, throughout the house, there were many small doors and access points, dotted across the entire mansion as a way to move people without others' notice.

This was done to keep the sight of servants away from the guest, for family members to quickly get to far away rooms, and to move unsavory elements in and out of the building without the notice of prying eyes.

All in all, the whole mansion radiated an aura of excess and nobility and Alexander was quite pleased with his new abode.