As I have thought about my stories, I have always particularly enjoyed exploring in my imagination the places where my characters live. I have explored the Steps where the First Clan of Larkin live, the Keep where Hawthorn, Rush and Jay live, and the Renegade Lair. But my favorite place to poke around is the Makerian stronghold at Stillwaters.
The Makerian stronghold is a fascinating place to me! It is carved out of a living cypress stump that is growing out in a small woodland lake. You can enter the stronghold from the shore of the lake by a gate that has been carved into one of the cypress knees growing out of the ground near the edge of the water. This gate leads you to a tunnel that is carved through the center of the cypress root leading to the lower levels of the stronghold.
Stillwaters can also be entered from the water by way of a dock that has been carved into to the side of the cypress stump at the water level.
The inside of the Makerian fortress is a honeycomb of passageways, storage rooms, meeting halls, and living chambers. In the center of the stronghold is the Central Passage, a spiraling walkway that allows the Makerian people to easily travel up and down to the different levels. The top of the stump is the Watch Deck where guards are always posted to watch for enemies, and where there is also a large pole mounted that they use to catch the fish in the lake.
If you were to get on the Central Passage and walk down the spiraling walkway to the lowest levels of the stronghold, you would find yourself in the mysterious workshops of the Makerians. This is where the wise ones spend many hours working on the newest Makerian inventions and discoveries. There are stone furnaces down there that are vented through a large chimney that rises next to the Central Passage.
I haven’t mentioned this in my books yet, but down in the workshops, the Makerians are learning to forge metal items on a small scale. There are also laboratories in these lower levels where the wise ones invented the “light sticks” and are studying the medicinal properties of different herbs. I believe I heard a couple of them talking about how some spiders carry air with them and live and work under water. I wonder what they are going to do with that knowledge.
Some of you readers might want to use your imagination to go exploring around the Makerian stronghold some time. If you learn anything new, let me know. I love keeping up with the Makerians!
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Thanks for reading,
Alan Harris
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