Institutions: Magi’s Castle and the Flying Arkship

Another recent major build of mine.
More on the whimsical fantasy side of things.
Inspired by steampunk airship visuals (and think Final Fantasy airships).

My idea that I had originally, was a floating Sorcerer's Castle.
Something like a League of Magi in the Realm.
And this is their continental HQ.
Then the hybrid idea came to me, to instead do part of the castle grounded as normal.
And the other part airborne, in this case a Flying Arkship.

I picked out the site quite some time back.
On a small patch of snowy mountain, just slightly higher than the surrounding meadows.
And perched over a scenic river valley, with the black forest across.
I like places that straddle different biomes.

The grounded castle part of the build is pretty standard.
It contains the main living quarters for most of the rank-and-file inhabitants.
Dining Hall, Mage Academy, Forges, Ritual Chambers, Sealed Vault, etc.
And the foci here is an Observatory, jutting out from valley cliffside.
Boy was it tough, trying to build the 'telescope'.
Using angled pieces to substitute for the 'telescope' part.
And so many tries to get angled parts properly aligned.
I'm not 100% happy with the final look, as it looks a bit like a cannon turret.
Oh well, let's see if we get other build pieces in the future that will make a more convincing substitute.
There's a conclave hall under the Observatory, for the senior leaders of the League of Magi to meet.

There are some ancillary buildings outside the castle.
Small Chapel & Mage Garden Grounds for herbs farming & etc.

The Arkship itself hovers above the castle's roof terrace.
I wanted it to look like there's some magical anti-grav tech at work here.
So I made 4 pillars with shield generators, to look like levitation magicks is being projected to hold the Arkship in place.
Windmills substituted for the Arkship's propulsion mechanism.
And inside the Arkship contains the more important function rooms.
The main Potions Brewery & Laboratory, Arcane Library, and some bunkrooms for the mages.
As well as the most senior Mages' chambers.
You can basically imagine this Arkship flies around the Realm from time to time.
Delivering magical aid & intervention wherever needed.

I would like to export this fun concept on a smaller scale,
To some of the Mage Towers I'm planning to build, with 'helipads'.

Anyways, I'll leave the visuals to tell the story.