To the outside world, Drachenburg is a mountain that has donned armor. Drachenburg's City Walls, also known as "The Great Scale", are considered one of the engineering marvels of the continent. Constructed over centuries using the inexhaustible granite of the @Trachen Zahne Mountains and reinforced with Eastborough iron, the walls serve a dual purpose: to hold back the armies of the lowlands and to scour the skies of the @Frostmaw Wyverns that nest in the peaks above.
Height: The walls average 100 feet (30 meters) in height from the exterior base, rising to 150 feet at the major bastion towers. Because the city is built on a slope, the interior face is often shorter, creating a terraced effect that allows defenders to fire over one another.
Thickness: The base of the wall is a staggering 50 feet thick, tapering to 30 feet at the battlements. This sheer mass makes them virtually impervious to conventional battering rams, and sapping efforts almost impossible.
The wall is not solid stone; it is a honeycomb of defensible tunnels known as "The Arteries."
Protected Movement: A central corridor, wide enough for two wagons to pass abreast, runs the entire length of the circuit inside the wall. This allows the Stone Guard to rapidly redeploy thousands of troops, ammunition, and medical supplies from Northborough to Southborough without ever exposing themselves to enemy fire or dragon breath.
The Rails: The floor of the Arteries is grooved with stone rails. In times of siege, teams of oxen (or @Ogres hired from the lower slopes) pull massive caissons of heavy bolts and barrels of pitch along these tracks to the elevator winches in the towers.
The top of the wall is a complex killing field designed to punish attackers at any range.
The Machicolations: The entire rim of the wall projects outward, allowing defenders to drop stones, boiling oil, and "Alchemist’s Fire" (imported from Alendria by @Lugal Amanda Valck) directly onto anyone attempting to scale the sheer face.
The Scorpions: Every 50 feet, a heavy repeater crossbow (Scorpion) is mounted on a swivel. These are the anti-infantry weapons, designed to shred formations or pick off enemy officers.
The Slag-Chutes: Specifically on the Eastern Wall (near @Eastborough, Drachenburg: The Wyrmhearth), there are ceramic-lined chutes. In a dire emergency, the foundries can pump molten iron slag directly to the walls to be poured onto attackers, creating a literal river of fire.
Because Drachenburg sits in the territory of the @Frostmaw Wyverns, the walls are designed to fight a three-dimensional war. A standard castle wall is vulnerable to air attack; The Great Scale is a porcupine.
The Himmelsharpunen (Sky-Harpoons): Mounted on the highest towers are massive, spring-loaded ballistae that fire heavy iron bolts attached to thick chains. These are not meant to kill a dragon instantly but to pierce a wing or flank and anchor the beast to the wall, dragging it out of the sky so the infantry can finish it.
Bunker-Turrets: The soldiers do not stand in the open. The battlements are dotted with stone "pillboxes" with slit visors. If a Wyvern performs a strafing run with its freezing breath, the guards duck into these bunkers, letting the ice wash over the stone, before popping out to return bolts.
The "Peace-Time" Drill: Even when there is no war, the threat of wyverns keeps the Stone Guard elite. During the "Migration Moon," when wyverns are most aggressive, the soldiers drill constantly. Tracking a diving wyvern (which moves faster than any horse) requires immense discipline and lead-time calculation. This ensures that if a human army ever marches on the gates, the Drachenburg's defenders will find hitting a slow-moving siege tower laughably easy.
@Frostmaw Wyvern
@Young Frostmaw Wyvern
@Elder Frostmaw Wyvern