Building Fantasy Castles Part 2

In Building Fantasy Castles Part 1, writers learned elemental castle basics. Now, we'll look inside and learn how to build the castle with the plot in mind.

 

Develop A Plot and Build a Castle

As you develop your plot, don't forget that characters living within the castle walls know their way around. Some better than others. Add secret passageways and rooms. Limit furtive knowledge to a select group. Use the information to interlace elements of suspense. Remember, the keep wasn't just a tower where the lord lived. It worked more like a stockade, or a second line of defense in case the enemy breeched the outer walls.

Build defense strategies into your castle. Normally the entrance of the keep was placed high into the wall and out of reach without a ladder or stairs. Historically, wooden steps leading into the keep could be pulled up behind retreating defenders at the first sign of danger to cut off access. Putting details like this in place ahead of time, puts the reader in the scene when a character fleeing to the keep watches in dismay as his way into the keep is yanked inside. He's left in the courtyard to face…. You get the idea.

 

Inside the Keep

The entrance of the keep led into a tunnel that spilled into a great hall, one of the largest rooms in the castle. The hall served as a dining room, office and more all rolled into one. In fact, in the Hierath Trilogy by Joanne Hall, a great festive feast was regularly held in this hall during Winterfest. The royals sat on a platform separated from the servants. The great hall is a big room available for the fantasy writer to rearrange. Make it a playroom, a war room or sanctuary created to work with your plot.

Sleeping chambers belonging to the lord and his family connected to the great hall by a balcony while in the belly of the keep below the hall, creepy dungeons and storerooms offer settings for the makings of a treacherous rendezvous to overthrow the king, or a secret way into the castle. In the fantasy novel Hierath (the first in Jo Hall's series) large steamy vats reached by ladders present dangers to the young woman employed in the laundry found in the bowels of the castle.

Like I stated in part 1, every castle is unique. Castles underwent improvements as new owners moved in which opens the door to construct a castle that works for your fantasy story. Include enough detail to make navigating the halls a learning experience.

 

Castle Walls and Plot Twists

Take time to determine placement of structures strategic to the plot. For instance, flanking towers often connected the outer curtain wall, which was anywhere from 6-20 feet thick. Servants that lived within the castle confines, but not within the keep, dwelled in small wooden or stone structures in the castle yard, which was known as the bailey.

Passages behind the parapet known as wall-walks, lined the curtain wall. This means of access make for exciting scenes as people prepare for battle, flee from the enemy or even for lovers to meet away from the keep in a secret embrace. Wall-walks were reached by stairs running parallel to the wall. Even the stairs offer a great place for a swashbuckling sword fight.

Another man-made defense built into the curtain wall were three to twelve foot long arrow loops. These were usually narrow slots (about 2 inches or less wide), which allowed the firing of arrows from behind the wall's protection. Arrow slips evolved over time presenting a more practical range for the archer as horizontal and wider slots were added.

Researching historical details establishes facts in the fantasy writer's mind, and also opens new doors within the imagination. Search out enough history to make your castle real on paper, and use the mortar of the imagination to make it an unique experience for your readers.