From the Null Encyclopedia of Architecture by Haran Phangad, fifth edition

Not all Nazri are well versed in the ways of magic, and the members of the Cothorane family were perhaps some of the least talented individuals the wizards of the peninsula could give birth to. While the Nazri heritage of the Cothorane family may be of some surprise to many Nullers, the architectural signature is evident to any who look at the various palaces and manor homes built from 1056 to 1168 NC (Nazreal Calendar). The propensity for building towers into buildings in which they did not have any business being part of is the first obvious sign, of course, and the abundant pillars that double as monoliths that seem to hold up nothing but the sky are another clue. Benarian style archways and buttresses have been implemented into the structures such as to reduce the the obvious Nazri influence and provide the much more practical defense that many Null nobles desired.

However, what is perhaps the most striking aspect of Cothorane architecture has to do with the interior – namely aspects of the interior that were never mentioned to the owner. When Radaban Cothorane first arrived at the city of Nullgate, his Nazri ancestry caused him to be treated like a detested dog who was too useful to kill by the nobles. His architectural skills were in high demand, but if he didn't cave in to the nobles' pitiful offers of payment or did anything that offended them, he'd find himself severely punished. After the first few manor homes, Radaban devised a plan to place him and his kin in a position of power so that they would never be abused again. This plan has been the bane and boon of endless noble families ever since.

When Radaban was hired to design the palace in Nullgate, he contacted the Dusk Guild and made an offer; he would design in various secret passages and entrances undetectable to the owner and make the blueprints available to the Guild. The Guild would silence the workers who learned too much, go about their business in the building and pay Radaban a sizable fee. He repeated this process for decades, as did his heirs, with none the wiser as to how the Dusk Guild was getting into their houses so easily. Eventually, word did spread and the Cothorane family got no more contracts and a whole new industry arose for them – selling the information of where the secret passages were to the owners of the homes. Unfortunately this left them in bad graces with both the nobles and the Dusk Guild. In the winter of 1179 NC the whole of the Cothorane family, in all of their homes, were found slain in their beds by Dusk Guild assassins. All, that is, except for Taneg Cothorane. Many have speculated that he was a member or even leader of the Guild at the time because of this and also due to the fact that only someone with knowledge of the blueprints for the Cothoranes' own homes could have achieved such a feat.

This has left the Nullish nobles with manors and palaces honeycombed with secret passages, many of them documented, but with the death of the whole Cothorane family it is unsure how many are unaccounted for. Until these old buildings are torn down to make way for new ones, the residents can only live with eternal paranoia about who may be hiding behind their walls.