While not its long-disused official name, the Defenestrative Balcony is the upper of the two observation galleries looking down upon the Hall of Convocation, surrounding the roof’s central oculus. Conveniently for anyone who wishes to place its nickname into effect, the outer ring of windows open onto an exterior walkway surrounding the peak of the dome, and its slope is shallow enough at this point that one thrown off it faces a long and rather uncomfortable, but not terminal, slide to the ground.
(Those thrown off the interior gallery into the Hall, however, will not be so lucky, and the responsible party will undoubtedly face the censure of the Senate along with whatever other pains and penalties may apply.)
Should one be considering practicing the defenestrative arts unofficially, one should be aware that the Guardians of the Senate post guards here whenever the Senate is in session, since the Defenestrative Gallery is believed to be particularly appealing to unsanctioned assassins and their clockbows.
– Orbiting the Center, Lyrisia Solanel-ith-Solanel
I get the feeling this is meant for a less extreme version of the Drowning of the People.
I don’t know off the top of my head if anyone’s ever been thrown off this one. (Especially since this is the second building, replacing the older Senate Spire when the Senate was expanded.) It’s at least possible it got the name just because people noticed the architecture and rolled with it.
@Jade_Nekotenshi.8702 The exact workineg mechanism of a clockbow varies with historical period, but essentially it’s a hand-held semi-automatic crossbow.
Among typical components are a clockwork-powered recocking mechanism and auto-loader, including harvesting energy from recoil like a self-winding watch.