Summer Palace

"Tell me about the Summer Palace."

— Tsunami, asking Riptide about her current location in The Lost Heir

Geography, Placement, and Design

The SeaWing Summer Palace is hidden on an island in the Bay of a Thousand Scales. Supposedly, the SeaWings used to be the only dragons who know it's location. The palace is hidden by a thick canopy of trees, vines, leaves, and flowers enchanted by Fathom and Albatross to hide the palace. The only entrance is an underwater tunnel of unknown length, with breathing holes at various intervals specifically made for Blister and the SeaWings' allies rare visits. A twelve-level stone pavilion built by Albatross was located near the center. He enchanted the pavilion to grow into the shape it holds, although it took a length of ten years to complete, and the extreme use of his animus powers drove him mad. The palace is described as spectacular and beautiful and there are caves for guests, waterfalls, wading pools, and lavish decorations of pearls, emeralds, and other precious gems on the pavilion.

Designer and Appearance

Albatross designed it so the royal dragons could escape to it so that they could enjoy the warmest weather of the year. Fathom tried to help with the design, but most of the ideas he gave to Albatross were changed a lot so Fathom couldn't even tell he had drawn the design. It had been growing for seven years when Fathom first sees it in Darkstalker (Legends).

The island the Summer Palace is found on is described as "ringed with forbidding-looking rocks and presenting only a high, sheer cliff face on all sides. The top was a rioting jungle". A system of islands that are described to look like a dragon skeleton points towards it. The entrance is below two spiralling rocks on the base of the cliff that represent dragon horns.

Fathom described the palace's feeling as "creepy" when it was not finished growing yet. He wondered why dragons would want to come and live there.

There are many levels of the palace, as described by Riptide. Blister's cave is the closest one to the entrance of the Summer Palace. The second level from the top is for visiting royalty. There is a floor for dragonet school visits, one for celebration spectacles, one for war planning, and one for the council, which was the middle floor.

The palace is first mentioned in The Lost Heir and had been the prominent setting of the novel, as well as the home of Queen Coral and the SeaWing heirs before it was destroyed.

The Summer Palace was attacked by the SkyWings, with assistance from the MudWings by using Dragonflame Cactus and flaming logs, after Webs unintentionally allowed a MudWing named Crocodile, a Talons of Peace double agent, to lead SkyWings and MudWings to the palace. After the attack, the SeaWings fled to the Deep Palace where no one has heard of them since. Due to the battle, the NightWings were able to mark the location of the Summer Palace on the queen's map of Pyrrhia, which hid the tunnel leading to Queen Battlewinner's private chambers as seen in The Dark Secret.

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The location of the Ruins were not plotted until the publication of Moon Rising by Starflight.

It is unknown whether the Summer Palace survived the attack and is still standing. Most likely it is somewhat standing and all the scrolls and other flammable items are all turned to ash.