The Lair of the Boar was the Heichi family's seat of power within a remote plateau in the Twilight Mountains known as the Lair, home of its founder, Heichi Jomei, and his descendants. [1]
Appearance[]
A town was arrayed in a fan pattern around the eastern portion of the castle proper, leading to the name of the Boar's Flanks. [2] Of five stories tall, the castle followed Crab design, built into the mountainside for additional support, elevating it further above the village. The exterior wall was surrounded by a moat, created with water diverted from the Three Horses River, which enabled fishing. [1]
Communications[]
Heichi sano Negura was communicated with the rest of the Empire through the Travelers' Path. [3] Located between the mountains and the village, the castle was surrounded to the south and west by mountains, cutting off routes of escape. [1] A tunnel known as Ozashin's Relief connected the castle with a nearby mine called Ozashin, to be used as escape route should the castle ever come under concerted siege. [4]
Interior of the Keep =[]
First Floor[]
The first level contained a grand entrance and visiting area, which extended into the second level. At the head of the room was a stone throne with the daisho set of the first Jomei on display next to it. The walls were clad in thin sheets of copper, and lined with the finest statues created by the artisans of the Lonely Monastery. The copper sheets were etched with the total taxes paid by the Boar every year, including all the taxes which had not been sent to the Empire. [1]
Second Floor[]
Barracks for the guard, armory, and the guest quarters were located in the second floor, one of the most heavily patrolled areas of the castle. The castle's dojo was manned by the most experienced sensei to teach samurai from the family of the Lair's leader. [1]
Rest of Floors[]
The third floor contained the quarters of the Jomei's closest advisors and retainers, the quarters for the few guest shugenja, and a small display room for paintings, sculptures, and other artistic works created to act as the ancestral shrine for the first Jomei's wife. The fourth floor had several small audience chambers for political meetings, and since the first Jomei sealed the Lair off from the outside world, it became a remainder of the world the Boar had left behind. The fifth floor was the personal residence of the Boar daimyo. [5]
Underground[]
The foundations of the castle housed several large storage chambers and a secondary armory. An underground passage led to the underground storeroom where the clans unpaid taxes were stored, the so-called Vault, guarded, both by bushi and traps. [6]
References
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