Shezinas

Shezinas, often known as Shezinasnoye or Shezinas Fort, is a fort at the foothills of Mount Nodorin in Hyomeniga Province, situated to the east of the mountain. It is ranked alongside Garnoye, Mozavalnoye and Orosantenoye as one of the Four Famous Castles of Risevne; of these four, it has the oldest extant and complete buildings, with certain old towers in the fort dating from around 920 DN or more than 1000 years.

History

The history of Shezinas castle is tightly bound up with the history of the regimes that based themselves in the Hyomene Plateau or extended over all of what is nowadays considered Hyomeniga Province.

Design and Geography

Of the many old castles and forts of Risevne Shezinasnoye contains some of the most extensive defences, reflecting its role in the changing political scenes of the plateau which matched those of the southern kingdoms a lot of the time. It is situated south of the volcano, on a ridge known as the Onoboganse or "Elbow Ridge", and centred around two water features: a large hot spring which serves an important defensive purpose, and a smaller cold spring which is the main source of water during sieges.

While previous designs of the fort reflected more the distinct culture of the mountain kingdoms as opposed to the coastal and southern plains kingdoms, the present fort and main keep are more typical of the latter style, being built after the union of the kingdom.