The Man in Soaring Castle

Out in the countryside there is a castle atop a mountain, the locals have always called it Soaring Castle. It was built in the dark ages to watch over the surrounding countryside and defend from invading armies. The castle is reached by a single, zigzagging road cut into the mountain like a lightning bolt, all in perfect view of anyone on the outer wall. The gate is protected by a massive iron portcullis that even breaching explosives would have trouble with. Perched upon the five-meter thick walls sit fifteen massive artillery pieces pointed in all directions. Behind them towers the keep, A large square building, with many windows, balconies and Precision lasers for air defence. Instead of guards, automated gun turrets endlessly watch for trespassers, even drones cannot bypass them.  it’s often said that the visible part of the castle is only the tip of the iceberg, drunken conversations between local men at the pub throw out possibilities from dungeons to nuclear bunkers to secret research labs to rooms full of beautiful women from the Capital. (theories may vary in quality depending on exactly how drunk the conversations are).
The castle’s lone inhabitant is a man, an official of the regime that had brutally installed themselves years previously. Every day, the man looks out on the countryside, and, for a moment, he is visible to the world. Who is he? Some say he grew up close to the castle and moved to the capital to attend university before being swept up in the coup. Some say he was a commander during the coup, one so brutal and merciless, that the new government sent him to the far-off Soaring Castle so that people may forget him. but, of course, as it is all mere speculation, nobody has ever seen him close up. however, some have caught glimpses of him through spyglasses, but never clear enough to make out his face. The few commonalities that those few who have seen him are; that he has short, blonde hair, wears an officer’s dress uniform and a has sharp, clean shaven face. While many disagree on who he is, what he looks like and sometimes even what he is, all agree that the Man in Soaring Castle wants to be left alone.
The Dominion of Soaring Castle is a province within the country. Because of the rather unique circumstances in which the people and their Province’s Minister, the Man, find themselves in, an unspoken, unwritten agreement had formed over time. The Man would only collect enough taxes to keep the Capital happy, and in return, the people would not ask anything of him or the government he represents, as any problems requiring special attention would bring unwanted guests to the castle of a man who simply wants to be left alone. As a result of this, the province is one of the lesser developed parts of the country, only having the high-speed Ubernet network cables that were common throughout the rest of the country installed fairly recently. But, it is also one of the happiest parts of the country. The relatively simple lifestyle of the locals, virtually unchanged for the best part of a century, tended to produce a much more peaceful and relaxed environment than the dreary, oppressive atmosphere of the steel jungle of the Capital and other developed areas.
Despite his mystery, the public’s opinion of the Man in Soaring Castle was that of respect and reverence. He did not attempt to meddle and micromanage as some Ministers try, nor was he a bandit, taxing the people into the ground as some do. Instead he only asked that peace was kept.  The castle stood as a great stony sentinel against anyone who would dare threaten the peace of its dominion.
But, as always, those who seek peace will only become victims of war.