The Intow

The intermediary tower, often shortened to the Intow, doesn't have the appearance that the word "tower" might imply. The tower is only three floors above the ground and has been compared to a prison in terms of aesthetic quality. The tower is little more than a concrete block protruding from the ground, inset with windows every so often to break up the monotony of gray stone.

The entrances to the Intow are three: the main entrance, the back entrance, and the side entrance, numbered One, Two, and Three, respectively. These are all on the ground floor and the count doesn't include the dragon doors of the Roost. They are little more than heavy metal gray doors. Door One has a plate that reads "Intermediary Tower" with a postal code beneath it. All the entrances lead into the Evercrest post office, a sprawling complex where mail is sorted, vetted, sent and received.

Below the ground is where the true mass of the Intow is. Below the ground, however, is where the real heart of the intermediary class lies. The Intow is built straight into the earth, digging deep in to the heart of the mountain. The Intow is, all told, forty-five floors of housing, records rooms, various storage compartments, and empty space.

The Tower is poorly designed, in most of the occupants' opinions. It was dug into the earth in a time of need without much heed for planning or finesse. The Intow has more sets of stairs than even Hangman's Point, and none of the sets reach from the top to the bottom of the tower. The building is a veritable maze. To reach one floor from another, an intermediary may have to take three different flights of stairs.

This problem is somewhat combatted by the presence of five elevators at the back of the building that reach from the Roost to Deep Records at the bottom of the building. However, there are only five elevators and they are rickety messes in varying states of repair. The largest one, capable of carrying even the largest jafari, is the most well maintained. Mentors often call seniority when the elevators get packed. Students learn the layout of the Intow by necessity over their twelve year tenure or they quit.

Because most of the tower is buried in the earth, the intermediaries weather the mountain winters far better than the other towers. The building is toasty warm even in the dead of winter, buried in dozens of feet of snow.

The Roost
The only thing visually stimulating about the Intow is the Roost at the top of the tower. The Roost comprises two of the three floors above the ground, though there is no separation. The top half of the Roost is completely made of steel and glass, with sliding glass that pulls back to allow for easy access and exit for flying creatures. The Roost is built like a series of stacked, open-sided boxes along the walls of a giant room. Jafari roost in these boxes, which they and their riders often make up to be very comfortable little rooms. The room, being two stories in height, is perfect for little flying spells, and dragons can socialize with each other if they so desire.

The Roost can house 400 dragons at maximum occupancy. Many intermediaries will agree that the Roost is the most luxurious room in the Intow, including the class head's quarters. In fact, many intermediaries would prefer to spend their time with their dragons in the Roost than in their quarters below the ground.

Housing Floors
Housing units are found on nearly every floor from B1 to B25. Mentor housing exists from floors B1 to B11 and student housing is from B13 to B33. They are separated by B12 where the mentor gym and training rooms are located. Student training rooms and gym are on floor B17. There is a communal kitchen every five floors, a rec room of sorts every three, and a suite with an office on every floor.

The split between mentor housing and student housing is arbitrary; there is no difference in quality. Every two rooms shares a bathroom and comes with a twin sized bed and a desk. The only perk of mentor housing is being closer to the surface. Mentors may and sometimes do elect to stay in the office suite on the student floors to act as a room monitor of sorts. What amenities a student or mentor wants to bring in to the housing are subject to approval by the head.

Rooms generally hold only one occupant unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as the tower reaching occupancy capacity (which is unlikely) or requests made by a student or mentor for a student to live with a roommate. Requests are reviewed by the head and generally only accepted if the reason is sufficient. Mentors can room with other mentors if they choose to without more than a cursory notice to the head. Outside of requests, housing is chosen by lottery.

The Basement
The Basement is the official name of B44, the floor that belongs to the intermediary class head. As the name suggests, this floor is the bottommost set of living quarters in the whole tower. Below The Basement lies only Deep Records, a floor composed solely of filing cabinet upon filing cabinet and shelf upon shelf of information and records hoarded by the Intermediaries. Deep Records is accessible only by The Basement, making it an ideal spot for confidential information.

The Basement is currently comprised of three different subsets: the Gym, the Office, and the Master Suite. The Master Suite is the smallest subset, composed of a bedroom, a full bath, and a closet. The bedroom is typically decorated to the head's desires. The Office is slightly larger, with an enormous desk, a computer and printer, and a few other miscellaneous office supplies. The Gym is far larger than either room; it is a full gymnasium with far more gym equipment than one person could even need.