Fire Nation Royal Palace

The Fire Nation Royal Palace is the home of the Fire Lord and his family. It is the seat of the Fire Nation government, and is one of the most recognizable structures in the Fire Nation. It is located at the center of the Caldera City crater in the Capital, and is heavily guarded day and night in order to protect its high-class residents.

History
The building has been subject to modifications as it had been partially rebuilt on at least one occasion, due to damage sustained from an attack.



The original throne room of Fire Lord Sozin was noticeably smaller than the current one. It was brighter and had more red and gold colors, and also lacked the prominent wall of fire that currently separates the Fire Lord from the rest of the room. However, Avatar Roku destroyed the original throne room in the Avatar State when an argument between himself and Sozin resulted in violence. The current throne room was built afterwards.

More than a hundred years later, the palace was intruded by Aang, who was seeking Fire Lord Ozai, who was not at the palace at the time. When the Hundred Year War came to an end, the banished Prince Zuko made the palace his home again after being crowned Fire Lord.

Description
The land immediately surrounding the Royal Palace is barren and rocky, completely devoid of plant life, making stealthy infiltration nearly impossible. The wall encircling this estate separates the palace from the rest of the city. Outside the defensive perimeter are several lush gardens and villas for use by members of the Royal Family, filled with beautiful plants, trees, and ponds.

The palace itself is a single structure; an elaborate tower with triple eaves is at the center, with three distinct wings joining it. The two smaller wings stand on either side of the main entrance to the palace building. There are towers at the ends of these wings as well. Directly opposite of the main entrance is the third, larger wing, which houses the Fire Lord's throne room.

Inside, the palace is comprised of enormous halls and retains an intricate array of wings and chambers. Large tapestries line the walls and elaborate fire-themed images and moldings are laid out all throughout the numerous sections of the structure.

Agni Kai chamber


Another chamber holds an indoor Agni Kai arena complete with seating for large audiences, used to settle disputes of the palace. The Fire Nation practice of Agni Kai, a "fire duel", has long been used to solve conflicts. Anyone challenged to an Agni Kai must accept or be branded as a weakling. On the other hand, anyone who steps into the Agni Kai chamber knows it could be his or her last fight. These duels have claimed the lives of many firebenders, and inflict even more harm on people who have shown mercy on their opponents. This place is also where the famous Agni Kai between Prince Zuko and his father, Fire Lord Ozai happened, later resulting in the prince's banishment.

Bedrooms
Both Zuko and Azula's bedrooms are very large and contain luxurious decoration and furniture, befitting royalty. These bedrooms are often reserved for those in direct line of succession to the Fire Lord's throne, as Prince Ozai and his family lived in a villa outside the palace during the reign of his father, Fire Lord Azulon. The Royal Family's servants lived within the palace to tend to the structure as well as its inhabitants.

Courtyard


In the courtyard, the nobles gather to get a first sight of the Royal Family members at dawn. Zuko was shown being greeted by a large group of admirers and fangirls in the courtyard. The area between the walls and the palace is barren and devoid of any cover, ensuring that potential assassins and spies attempting to infiltrate the palace will likely be spotted by the numerous guard towers.

Royal Gallery
The Royal Gallery is a hallway that carries portraits of past Fire Lords. The only known Fire Lords on the wall are Sozin's grandfather, Sozin's father, Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai.

Royal spa
The royal spa is the Royal Family's own health resort. It was a favorite of Azula's, as she could often be found here getting her hair washed and nails manicured.

Throne room


Also known as the War Room, this is where the Fire Lord makes most of his decisions and also where he formulates plans with his military and civilian advisers. The throne room has many black pillars with elaborate gold bases that support the roof, and has black tiled floors, all designed to reflect the firelight. The Fire Lord sits on an ornate covered throne on a higher platform, and is always surrounded by a wall of fire. An enormous bas-relief image of a dragon breathing fire adorns the wall behind the Fire Lord. The imposing atmosphere is designed to instill awe and fear in all who enter, intimidating all who face the Fire Lord.

During Fire Lord Sozin's rule, the throne room was much smaller than it is now. After Avatar Roku destroyed much of the chamber during his battle with Sozin, the Fire Lord expanded it to its current dimensions. Before its rebuilding, it did not sport the large pillared hall and fire surrounding the throne.

Secret chambers
Fire Lord Ozai had many secret chambers hidden throughout the palace that he used for his own purposes. Azula found many of them while exploring the palace as a child. One of these chambers contained the intercepted letters that Ursa wrote to Ikem as well as several other items, including traditional garments from the Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes, and Air Nomads. The door to this chamber in specific was hidden behind a painting and would open when someone firebent at the painting.

Trivia

 * The art design for the Fire Nation Royal Palace was done by Elsa Gargarza, an architecture graduate right out of school. She was given three keywords by the creators to go on: "Egyptian, Chinese, scary".
 * The palace is the most recurring location of the Fire Nation. It appeared within Zuko's flashbacks and many of Aang's dreams.