Chronology

Opens in late summer of Year 0 with Minalan spellmongering at Boval Vale; the gurvani host descends in autumn, the long siege runs through winter, and the book ends with the river escape at the close of winter Year 1. Spans roughly six months of action.

Picks up immediately after Book 1's escape from Boval. Minalan's opening narration: "It was late summer, now, almost autumn, an eventful summer. Hells, it had been an eventful year." Battle of Timberwatch falls on Luin's Day (autumn equinox) of Year 1. Rard angles for a crown but is NOT crowned in this book - the coronation happens mid-Magelord at the summer Coronet Council of Year 2. **No overlap with Book 1; small (about five-week) gap to Book 3** for the wedding-travel short stories ("The River Mist of Tarly," Minalan and Alya's wedding) sitting in late autumn Year 1 (Fincmas).

Spans roughly eleven months covering Minalan's first year at Sevendor. Yule court at Wilderhall sits in the gap immediately before the book opens; Magelord picks up just after, in Numas (Briga's Day month, deep winter). Minalyan is born early in the book during the snow-that-never-melted chapter. Mid-book, Rard is crowned at the summer Coronet Council of Year 2 - this anchors the Year-of-Rard reign-count for everything afterward (Rard Year 1 = mid-Year 2 onward). Climax is the dragon at Cambrian Castle. Late autumn brings the Magic Fair, the Spellmonger's Trial, and Sire Cei's wedding to Estret all stacked into the final moon (Minalan: "less than a moon in our past"). The earlier short story "The River Mist of Tarly" (Minalan and Alya's own wedding) sits in the small gap between Warmage and this book.

Tyndal and Rondal POV. Begins AFTER Magelord ends - the boys open the book in trouble for things they did at Yule of Year 2/3, and in early chapters Rondal recounts the slaying of the dragon at Cambrian Castle (Book 3's climax) as a past event. Spans about fourteen months from late winter (Numas) of Year 3 through the winter-into-spring transition (Esfonmas) of Year 4, covering Inarion Academy, Relan Cor, Cargwenyn, and the spring offensive. **Overlaps heavily with Book 5 (High Mage)** - Tyndal and Rondal are pulled off detached duty for the Alka Alon Convocation that drives the High Mage plot. The Stonesinger novella (later collected in Book 6) is a back-fill set in spring of Year 3.

Prologue dateline: "Gavard Crossing, Northern Gilmora, 3rd Year Of King Rard I's Reign." With Rard crowned mid-Year 2, his 3rd reign-year begins mid-Year 4 - the prologue dateline reads as the in-world chronicler's reckoning, while the body of the book spans roughly fourteen months from late winter Year 3 through early spring Year 4. **Overlaps with Book 4 (Knights Magi)** through the spring and summer of Year 3 - Tyndal and Rondal are pulled off their detached duty for the Alka Alon Convocation that opens High Mage. Covers the Greenflower wounding plot, the founding of the Order of the Secret Tower, and the Convocation. **Does NOT overlap with Book 6** - Book 6 begins after Book 5 ends.

Picks up sequentially after High Mage. Spans about five months from late spring (Floramas) through the autumn equinox (Luin's Day, Colitasmas) of Year 4. Mid-book Midsummer Festival is held at Salik Tower (Chapter 17: Midsummer); Duke Anguin makes his clandestine visit at midsummer, and the next tower raised on the orphan march is named Anguin Tower in his honor. The march itself ends at Lemsiddons on Luin's Day, when Pentandra submits her name for the autumn rites. The book closes with a Sevendor coda (Karshak Lodge arrives at Matten's Helm in late winter), but the core arc closes at the autumn equinox.

Spans roughly eleven months from the Sevendor Magic Fair in late autumn (Gespamas) of Year 4 through late summer (Baismas) of Year 5. The book is bracketed by the conception and birth of Istlan, Minalan and Isily's second child: Isily becomes pregnant at the Magic Fair (Chapters 7-8: "The Solace Of The Snowflake" / "Ishi's Tits") and gives birth in summer Year 5 (around Chapter 36). Mid-book is "An Enchanting Yule" (Chapter 11) at Yule of Year 5; the climax (Chapter 40: Castle Salaisus) is the Magewar, which is the same event covered in **Court Wizard Chapter 36 ("The Magewar")** just after the Midsummer Raid. The brief epilogue jumps forward to an early-autumn legal meeting at Stapledor. **Runs parallel to Book 8 (Court Wizard)**, which runs about one month longer to cover the dragon attack on the Vorone palace and its aftermath; **Book 9 (Shadowmage)** also overlaps from Yule onward and extends two months past both into Fincmas.

Pentandra POV. Picks up after Journeymage with Pentandra accepting the post of Court Wizard for Duke Anguin's Restoration. Spans roughly twelve months from late autumn (Gespamas) of Year 4 through the autumn equinox (Colitasmas, Luin's Day) of Year 5, covering her arrival in Vorone, the harsh first winter, the reorganization of the ducal court, the Midsummer Raid, and **culminating in the dragon attack on the ducal palace** (Chapter 40). Final chapter "Aftermath" closes at the first cold breath of autumn. **Overlaps with Books 7 and 9** in Year 4/5; Book 9 (Shadowmage) shows the dragon attack from Tyndal/Rondal's POV and extends past Court Wizard's end.

Tyndal and Rondal POV. Begins around Yule of Year 5, after Anguin's Restoration takes hold. Spans roughly twelve months from Yule (Geledesmas) of Year 5 through Fincmas (Festival for the Dead, late autumn) of Year 5, covering the rescue of Ruderal, the Brotherhood of the Rat investigation, the Cats of Enultramar, **the dragon attack on the ducal palace at Vorone** (shown here from Tyndal and Rondal's POV), and the rising threat of the Necromancer of Olum Seheri. **Goes beyond Book 8 (Court Wizard)** which ends at the dragon attack aftermath; Shadowmage continues for another two months. Ends before the Yule gap that leads into Book 10 (Necromancer).

Picks up after a Yule gap following the Year-5 cluster. Opens with "The Spellmonger's Yule" recap chapter and the Beryen Council that met "a few days after Yule" of Year 6. Spans roughly twelve months from Numas of Year 6 through Briga's Day of Year 7, the deadline by which Minalan must leave Sevendor to begin his three-year exile to the Magelaw. The Olum Seheri raid that names the book is mid-book at Midsummer of Year 6 ("We shall plan on Midsummer, then," says Pentandra in the war council). Aftermath chapters cover autumn business at Sevendor, Yule of Year 7, and packing for exile - the final chapter (80: "Forseti") closes with "spring threatening to break out across the land, and the days before Briga's Day were growing fewer," with Minalan's father arriving with carts to help haul belongings overland. The book closes as Minalan departs Sevendor on Briga's Day; the "Road to Vanador" short story sits in the month-long cart trip immediately after.

Picks up after a roughly month-long gap from Book 10 covering the "Road to Vanador" short story - Alya is sent ahead by the Ways at Yule of Year 7 while Minalan travels overland by cart with his father; he arrives at Vanador on the late-winter / early-spring cusp (Esfonmas, the Melt Month) of Year 7 with snow still on the ground. Spans roughly ten months covering the founding of the Magelaw, Vanador Spring, the summer build-out, and the winter campaign culminating in the Battle of Spellgate at Yule of Year 8 against Gaja Katar. **No overlap with Book 10 (Necromancer)**; the gap holds the Road to Vanador novella.

Opens "two days until Briga's Day" of Year 8, with the Spellgate snow still stained dark from the winter's battles that closed Thaumaturge. Spans roughly five months covering the Council of the Wilderlands, the Battle of Stanis Howe, the Battle of the Eastern Bank, and the Beryen Council. Ends on a gorgeous late-spring morning at Sevendor with Alya prepared to spend the summer there while Minalan readies a dangerous journey - "two wars in two seasons" behind him. **No overlap with Book 11 (Thaumaturge)** - sequential after Spellgate.

The Anghysbel expedition departs in summer of Year 8, slotting between Arcanist (which closed at Floramas) and Mad Mage of Sevendor (which opens 22 Baismas at Spellgarden). Spans Tallarmas (Mow Month) through Delsolmas (Midsummer) - the core summer months. Alya warns the trip will last "weeks. Months, perhaps. All summer long." Mid-book the party reaches Anferny for "a brief midsummer respite" with the Lakeshire Tal Alon Midsummer fair "another few weeks" out; they harvest the striekema, open the Cave of the Ancients, and find Ameras's vault. The return is rushed when Minalan is poisoned by an Enshadowed agent; they leave Anghysbel just before "the late summer rains would start in earnest." Pentandra meets them on return with news of the Mycin Amana / Darkfaller crisis. **Sequential between Arcanist and Mad Mage of Sevendor**, no overlap with either.

Multi-POV book (Antimei prologue, then Pentandra and Rondal) running parallel to the Minalan-POV books of Year 8. Spans roughly seven months from Briga's Day (when Pentandra's Tower Arcane reception in Falas opens the main story) through Midsummer of Year 8. Chapter 1 ("a glorious spring day") is concurrent with Arcanist's late-spring close; Chapter 13 ("A Summer In Vorone") covers Pentandra preparing the Summer Capital for Duke Anguin's arrival, concurrent with Footwizard's Anghysbel departure; Chapter 26 ("The Spellmonger's Return") is Footwizard's late-summer return; the closing chapters cover Antimei's prophetic vision foretelling "the Mad Mage of Sevendor fortifies his hand" - the prophecy that immediately precedes Minalan starting his journal at Spellgarden on 22 Baismas. **Ends right before Book 14.5 (Mad Mage of Sevendor) begins**, no overlap. The Sevendor Magic Fair / Spellmonger's Trial that follows is the opening of Book 15 (Marshal Arcane), where Alurra is kidnapped from the Fair.

Minalan's journal of his madness following the Anghysbel expedition. Begins at Spellgarden on 22 Baismas (late summer) of Year 8 and runs through 26 Gespamas (mid-autumn) - roughly three months. The book's in-text dateline reads "9th year of King Rard I's reign," and these are the most explicitly dated entries in the entire series, so the chronology anchors here. Concurrent with the closing chapters of Hedgewitch (Antimei's prophetic vision: "the Mad Mage of Sevendor fortifies his hand"). Closes alongside Hedgewitch at the Spellmonger's Trial leading to winter; Marshal Arcane picks up immediately after at Fincmas Year 8.

Spans roughly three months from late autumn Year 8 through the week after Yule of Year 9. **Picks up just after Hedgewitch and Mad Mage of Sevendor close** (no overlap) - the Sevendor Magic Fair / Spellmonger's Trial that ended Hedgewitch leads directly into Alurra's kidnapping that opens this book (Chapter 1: "A Walk In The Woods"). Early chapters cover the captive march to Darkfaller, Pentandra and Rondal's response, the Darkfaller raid prep (Chapters 7, 11), Mycin Amana's counter (Chapters 13-14), the Briga / Flame That Burneth Bright thread, and the Magelaw / court / Merwyni / sea-mage threads as they build toward Yule. Chapter 36 ("A Wedding In Autumn") is Azar and Noutha's wedding at Megelin "a few weeks before Yule" of Year 9; Chapter 40 ("Yule In Sevendor") is the Yule court of Year 9; Chapters 41-44 are the spider attacks on Castabriel and Darkfaller Village right after the Yule court; Chapter 45 ("Talk Of The Future") is "a week after the battle" with Larask becoming Minalan's new apprentice.

Picks up cleanly after Marshal Arcane closes - Minalan opens the book "still tired from my exertions at Yule" with the royal couple visiting in "chilly winter weather" weeks after the Yule spider battles. Spans roughly five months from Friyamas (late winter) through Tallarmas (early summer) of Year 9. Covers post-Yule political fallout (Rard and Grendine's Sevendor visit), Tavard's Gilmoran misadventure, and the lead-up to the next phase of the kingdom's realignment. **Sequential after Marshal Arcane**, no overlap.

Spans roughly six months from late summer Year 9 through late winter Year 10. Picks up after a roughly 2-3 month gap from Preceptor; the gap (summer of Year 9, Tallarmas-Delsolmas) holds Minalan tutoring Prince Tavard's cousins ("I encountered it this summer while tutoring Prince Tavard"), the final wrap of the broader Korbal/Mycin Amana war (Loiko at chapter 1: "it's only been a few weeks since the war ended"), Anghysbel refugees settling in for winter, and wedding preparations. Prologue covers Tyndal and Rondal's double wedding at Vanador set in "late summer, or early autumn" - the Wilderlands "just considering changing from rich and vibrant greens to a multitude of hues" with late-season wildflowers blooming. Chapter 1 ("The Beryen Council") opens at Carneduin with "autumnal chill cut through our cloaks" - just after the wedding. Chapter 5 ("Duin and Luin") is set explicitly at "Luin's Day dawned crisp and cold... as the first day of Autumn began in Vanador" (Colitasmas Y9). Chapters 6-30 cover preparations and the journey to Farise; Chapters 31-50 cover the actual Farise conquest, which Minalan describes as taking "three months." The book closes with Minalan as the new Doge of Farise, training the first Farisian warmagi and looking ahead to "this spring" when Merwyn will press their offensive. **Picks up after Book 16 (Preceptor) with a summer-Y9 gap; runs sequentially.**