Palace Precinct
The Palace Precinct is perhaps the most iconic neighborhood in all Omrazir, as its soaring stone spires tower above all the rest of the city and are among the first things that any traveler notices when docking in Rassi Bay. Built entirely upon the heights and slopes of an elevated ridge that adjoins the bulk of the western massif, the Palace Precinct actually occupies less ground -- and very much less level ground -- than most neighborhoods in the city.
Naturally, the palace of the bey is one of the most important structures of the Palace Precinct, though it is one of the few buildings in the district to be built upon mostly level ground on top of the ridge. On the hillside below, multistory brick towers are crammed in between the sky-piercing spires, casting the streets below in shade. Since generations of multiple old and influential families are compelled by custom to cram into this small area, the vast majority of the buildings adhere to a vertically oriented plan rather than sprawling out like some of the manors elsewhere in the city. Many of the cities' most important foreigners, such as ambassadors and embassy staff, have homes here as well.
The Palace Precinct is additionally home -- by mandate of the bey -- to all of the city's registered mages, which includes poets from the Poets' and Calligraphers' Guild, mathemagi from the Magisterium, and a variety of alchemists, summoners, and assorted other practitioners of the arcane. The mages like to explain this as a mark of the great esteem in which they are held, but perhaps more likely is the competing theory that they were encouraged to concentrate in this area so as to make it easier for the city government to keep an eye on them.
Local wags often like to refer to the Palace Precinct by a variety of different nicknames, including the Popinjay Precinct, the Panderer's Precinct, and the Palaver Precinct.
Local Landmarks
Harmony Hall
The violet-domed Harmony Hall houses the local Omrazir chapter of the exalted Poets' and Calligraphers' Guild. Unlike most other buildings in the precinct, the guildhall is low -- only three stories -- and its numerous wings take advantage of the relatively large expanse of level ground on which it is built. Its front entrance opens onto Poets' Place, a shaded park with pool and fountain that is popular with both neighborhood locals and travelers.
The Skyspear
Loftier still than all its neighbors, the Skyspear is quite noticeably the tallest building in the city. Unlike many of the buildings around it, the Skyspear stands entirely alone rather than being connected by catwalks to nearby spires. Its exterior is Lunastra marble and golden granite, arranged in bands that spiral up to the tower's pinnacle, and it is dotted with numerous windows and balconies -- well out of reach of the ground.
History
The Palace Precinct came into being only after the Ruvan conquest of Omrazir, as before this time there was little reason to build upon the steep slopes of the western massif, remote from the heart of the city. But when the third Ruvan governor of Omrazir moved the center of government to the west side of the Tamrasset and had a new palace constructed for himself atop the massif there, it was not long before a small host of government functionaries, aspiring elites, and others seeking employment and influence with the new ruler began to cluster nearby. Settling their new residences as close to the seat of power as they could, this necessarily entailed building upon the steep ground just below the palace, which together with the new fortress and forum occupied nearly all the level ground in the area. Despite the obvious difficulties of construction and the equally glaring constraints of space, the neighborhood flourished, in large part thanks to the skill of both al-Sakhnan and Razmani architects and stonemasons (and, some say, mages).