Through the southern gate, the towering Holy Flame Castle came into view. For now, however, only the three rings of walls stretching from the foot of the mountain to its middle slopes had been completed. Even the foundations of the Main Keep were still being improved. It would probably take another two years to finish.
Holy Flame Castle's outermost wall stood a full fifty meters high and twenty meters wide, broad enough for five or six carriages to drive abreast.
A bastion stood every dozen meters or so, each already fitted with the most advanced giant ballistae and stocked with large quantities of wildfire. Since the walls were built entirely of dragonstone, even a great dragon's dragonfire would struggle to melt them in a short time, so there was little fear of the wildfire stores exploding.
Between the first and second walls lay a maze of hedges and all manner of unexpected traps. Even if someone breached the first wall's defenses, they could easily lose their way among those hedges. The endless traps within would become their nightmare.
Besides the hedge maze and traps, Danyla had ordered the Holy Flame Fleet to gather large numbers of venomous creatures from various places and release them here. Even Holy Flame Castle's Personal Guards, fully armed and equipped with maps of the layout, could not guarantee their safety inside.
Between the second and third walls lay an enormous godswood, home to the weirwood where Myracis dwelled. Besides Myracis, various enclosures for wild beasts were scattered throughout the woods.
If enemies invaded this area, defenders could use underground passages to open the cages and release the beasts against them. Though there were only a few dozen beasts at present, they were already quite terrifying.
Holy Flame Island's eastern district was reserved for the island's