The Estates

Physical Description / Layout
The Estates is where the aristocracy of Sedaire live, in their grand walled mansions with plentiful gardens, plazas and fountains. It is also where some of the royalty lives, as well as the families of the Governor’s elite guard (and some of the guard themselves). Additionally, the Estates holds some of the facilities normally only associated with the richer parts of society, including a forum/theater. Unlike most of the other zones, it’s actually fairly flat here, apart from a slight rise covering its north-western quadrant. The major road here runs from the center of the southern area where the exit to the Sanctum is, first forking into two parts.

The western path goes to the North-West quadrant, circling through the richer estates before meeting with the other road again at the North-East. The other road meanwhile winds its way around the town square to the south-east (which is also where the forum is and where it splits off again to head into the Factories) and then heads through several estates, including the officer’s lodge, which is located near the North-East corner. The road the goes beyond the officer’s lodge and towards the castle gate and ends there. There are a few side alleyways, especially near the concentrated buildings towards the Town Square and officer’s lodge to the North-East. The only other notable feature is that a stream runs from the north, cascading down one level and then turning west and disappearing into a pipe, cordoning off a small corner of the sub-zone much like the slums in the commons. However this section is a fair bit cleaner, with an actual mansion located at its center amidst large gardens.

Mood, Lighting, Look & Feel
While the estates may have natural splendor, the weather is quite determined to block this out as much as it can. Its essentially a very gloomy day, with light rain causing things to feel fairly depressing and dull. However it isn’t the only depressing thing. There are clusters of trees, seemingly placed at random, that have just died even while their neighbors are alive and healthy, while in estates whole patches of grass has just turned to dirt seemingly in bizarre and random patterns. Some lights continue to flicker despite it being a rich area and supposedly well maintained – while around some of the estates the lights simply don’t work at all. Apart from this, there’s not much else special in the look and feel save that it’s a rich area, so lots of shiny things everywhere.

For the lighting, the following pic may give a good idea: http://web.archive.org/20060512025449/home.earthlink.net/~telawson/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/rain.jpg

Important Locations
The Officer’s Lodge

Located to the north-east corner of the sub-zone, the Officer’s quarters represents the headquarters for the Nihilist faction, most of whom are essentially high-ranking members of the Governor’s royal guard. It’s a fairly large compound, with a single story and a basement accessible to the player. The compound is split into the officer’s lounge, which is the main meeting (and currently operational area) for the Nihilists; the Armory (which is where the Nihilist’s weapons and armor are located); and the lodges, which is basically the officers homes and where their families lived. The compound has an exit to the north-east that allows the player to reach the castle gates almost directly. It is from the lounge that the player will get his missions and quests from the Nihilists.

The Ophelias Theater

The theater is located to the South-east corner of the subzone, at the town center and also doubles as a forum for the nobility to gather at when not in use for entertainment. A generally large structure, the player will come here on a late-game quest for the Monastery, where he has to steal a key from one of the Nihilist senior commanders that will gain him access to the a different entrance to the castle wall. The player can obtain the key by either stealing it from the Nihilist soldier or alternatively by killing him and taking it. A third option will be to steal a disguise and trick the commander into giving up the key in the name of an emergency. Once he has the key, the player will move back to the Monastery and then head into the abyss as it will be the Monastery’s final quest.

The Lars Estate

The Lars estate used to be home to Princess Lars, a young girl that was Governor Vandalis’ sister when she was very young. The girl loved dolls however and was nicknamed the “Doll Princess” due to the large collection she had which she never gave up even as she grew older. As Lars grew up though, she married a commoner named Mark and they lived happily for several years. However, after the birth of her second child, something happened and the entire family was found slain violently in their bedroom, while all her dolls basically disappeared. The house has been haunted ever since, with people claiming to still hear the Doll Princess calling out to her children – but never receiving an answer. The Nihilists desire that you go here as part of an early game quest to find the Lars bracelet, a family heirloom rumored to have belonged to Governor Vandalis when he was young. The bracelet is needed to open up a section of the castle that only he had access to. What this involves is going into the Lars estate and through the broken, mutated maze it has now turned into due to Lar’s spirit being in a state of unrest. Once you defeat the spirit, you will receive the bracelet.

However if you’ve spoken to Marcus, you will have an opportunity straight from the get-go to speak to Lars, convincing her that you’re her friend and want to help her, but need to know whats causing all of this. Lars will indicate that the great dreamer is involved in all of this and will tell you of a secret room in the castle that has a special set of glasses and a weapon that will lead you to it.

The Sewers

The sewers (accessible by the open pipe) to the far west of the sub-zone is a place rife with a significant amount of machinery that keeps the entire sub-zone operating at peak efficiency. However, what this means is that the Nihilists can operate at full capacity as well, much to the chagrin of the Society. Well, with your assistance this should no longer be an issue as the society will essentially give you a set of magical tools, which you can have to basically jam into the machinery at various points. What this is accomplish is to sabotage all the systems within the subzone, slowing down the Nihilists activities to a crawl and buying the Society time and some breathing room to explore beyond the wall. Of course the sewers are guarded, so it wont be an easy task at all.

Major Events
1.	If one successfully completes the Lars estate, it shifts from being a maze to a simple house if the player tries to enter it again. 2.	This is one of the few areas where nothing happens during the late game.