The Piano

The Piano is the dark looming mountain that gives the name to the Blackshine region, which also includes La Ruelle and the Waxy Swale.

Depending on your mode of transportation, you’ll need between two and three days to reach the foot of the mountain from the Threshold. From there, you can fly upward to the Shiny Stool, but no further, on penalty of being shot down by the sharpshooters of the Great Imperial Army.

Alternatively, littlings with no wings can travel by escargot.

These large and colorful pack snails go up and down on the legs of the Stool pulling decorated baskets that can host two to three littlings. You have to leave your mounts at the stables here, while regularly registered Animal Companions ascend on their own, or also pay for a ticket.

After reaching the Shiny Stool, documents, weapons, and littlings are all checked before you can finally access the Ivory Perron.

The Piano Keys partially collapsed after the Battle of Blackshine in 87 MG, about four years before the founding of the High Council.

Today, they have become a matchless set of stairs, allowing littlings to climb up to Mount Guignol while taking in the beautiful panorama that spans the entire Dining Hall. Coming to the top, you can’t help but be captivated by the crumbling, timeless charm of the wonderful Fae city as you step into the tangled wooden heart of the Piano.

After reaching the inside of the Piano, you’re almost overcome by the mahogany arches of gloomy Mount Guignol, with the elegant sheet music hanging under them to celebrate the Master’s Music that is still taught in the conservatory.

The first level of the city brims with street performers, mostly musicians, small shops, and quaint houses, but it also hosts the Royal Gendarmerie station, and a clinic. Walking through the narrow streets, the smell of wood intertwines with the aromas of bakeries and chestnut flour, and all senses are captivated by a sequence of deliciously refined stimuli.

The inner section of this level is separated by a dense row of hammers, and it hosts many less-elegant inns and joints where you can taste the strongest local liquors and indulge in some gambling. In the inner block you can also find several brothels, most of them legal, with such steep prices, they are clearly reserved for a wealthier clientele.

By climbing any of the many staircases in the city, you can reach the second level. Here, among the arches you’ll find sheet music, but also veritable frescoes of exquisite taste, portraying scenes of war and other historical events. The greatest artists of the Realm work tirelessly to make this part of the city unique, and here you may even attend wonderful theatrical plays, both classical and contemporary.

In the main square, you may sip a good coffee while admiring the monument to the Butterfly Spider, pride and emblem of Mount Guignol.

On top of the Piano looms the Ebony Castle, a real fortress town that hosts the residences of many local nobles, the historical University of Tournoire, and a garrison of the Great Imperial Army, as well as the central branch of the National Bank of the Realm.

Those who have visited the Castle, describe it as a gloomy, crumbling place, that once was possibly the most charming citadel in the House.

Strong gusts of wind make it hard to fly out there, and only the Golden Backs are skilled enough to spread their wings in those circumstances. The Marquis and Duke themselves rely on a special mahogany carriage pulled by two vermilion beetles on the rare occasions when they leave the citadel.