Spellgarden

Spellgarden is the Spellmonger's personal country estate in the western Magelaw, midway between Vanador and the Mindens. Selected for Minalan by Carmella with Pentandra's advice during the magelord's post-Restoration exile, Spellgarden was both his working laboratory and his family's summer residence through the back half of the saga. The estate's tower-keep is one of the few paracletically-aware structures Carmella ever built.

The site

Spellgarden sits on a low double-peaked ridge with a gentle vale between, just south of Spellgate (the pass into the Magelaw). The site overlooks the broad vales of the Wildwater to the west and the Anvil to the east; on a clear night the lights of Baerlon Tower, Salik Tower, and Traveler's Tower are all visible from the summit. The Wilderfolk had originally called the place Rumon (loosely red mountain, for its iron-rich rocks). Minalan renamed it Spellgarden in keeping with Spellgate to the north.

The keep

Carmella's design for the central tower-keep was an experimental piece. The structure is a four-story round keep with three square supporting towers in an equilateral triangle and an attached crenelated entry-hall, a homage to Torford Castle on the Castali coast. The whole thing was built quickly using snowstone and Karshak stonesinging, and at Carmella's request the keep was bound to a paraclete — a sentient enchantment along the lines of the Sudden Fortress at Olum Seheri but permanent. The tower can defend itself, summon constructs, and direct subordinate enchantments without continuous orders.

The estate also includes:

• Two arable manor sites near the escarpment (~80-90 acres each), augmented by Olmeg-style agricultural magic
• A forward base for Lady Dara's Sky Riders on the second peak
• An unexpected new lake (formed by Met Sakinsa influence in Book 16) at the base of the western escarpment
• Ample weirwood, including some of the only second-growth weirwood saplings in the kingdom (Olmeg's pet project)

Use

From Anguin's Restoration onward Spellgarden became Minalan's preferred summer residence, with Sevendor Castle kept as winter home in Castali tradition. Alya, the children, and the household made the move every year; the staff and the dedicated yeomen of the surrounding estates kept the place running through Minalan's frequent absences. Sir Cei and Lady Estret, with their children, were regular visitors. Pentandra and Arborn's family combined with the Sevendori children at Spellgarden for the great cross-family gatherings of Marshal Arcane.

Notable events

Spellgarden's lake appeared overnight between Books 15 and 16 — an unintended consequence of the Met Sakinsa influence Minalan had brought back from Anghysbel in Footwizard. The arrival of Wilderlands refugee migration in Book 16 began at Spellgarden a week after the family moved back for the summer. The estate's tower-keep paraclete is one of the few magical entities that has direct conversational rapport with both the Snowflake and the awakened Magolith.