Martell Manor

The quiet bloom beside the water.

At the edge of Sindale’s mist-veiled marina, where the waters whisper and the air smells faintly of salt and secrets, rises a manor too pristine to be innocent. It did not grow from the soil like Sin Manor, but arrived like a storm in velvet—quiet, sudden, and impossible to ignore. With dark walls and blooming gardens, the estate feels more conjured than built, as though it willed itself into being the moment the Martell name touched Sindale’s registry. And though the family claims to be here for peace… the house hums with unfinished business. Its gardens breathe with strange herbs, its walls soaked in memory, and its presence... unmistakably fae.
Though newer to Sindale than its Sin counterpart, the Martell name carries weight. Old money from New York, criminally entwined and politically unshakable, the Martells are whispered about in every city worth its crime. But in Sindale? They came quietly. At first.
The move was sudden—a reaction to tragedy. Following the attempted kidnapping of Amelia Martell, her father, Xander Martell, made a rare call. Not to his lawyers. Not to his soldiers. But to Hiram Lodge, once his closest friend, now a business rival. What was asked that night remains between them. But what arrived weeks later was Martell Manor.
Xander, a man of cold steel and darker convictions, built his empire on power few dared to speak of. He carved tunnels through the criminal underworld and crowned himself in silence. Yet, even kings bleed for their children.
His wife, Julia Walker-Martell, is something else entirely—sunlight woven into skin. Her family descends from the Court of Sunwalkers, fae royalty with grace in their bones and light in their blood. She redecorated the manor’s top floor herself—each room a soft return to her ancient lineage. Flowers bloom out of season. Doors lead where they shouldn’t. Time lingers oddly near the attic.
They raised two children: Spencer Martell, sharp-tongued and wildfire-tempered, heir to both blade and bloom. And Amelia Martell, all charm and sweet rebellion, a girl raised among thorns and diamonds.

A Family Made of Fire and Fable

To the untrained eye, the Martells are polished—wealthy newcomers with a tragic past. But ask anyone with the Sight, and they’ll tell you: the house watches. The flowers murmur names at night. And if you linger too long in the garden, the shadows might ask you to stay.
No one knows why metal never rusts inside the house. Or why Amelia's bedroom light never flickers, even in storms. Or why the lake behind the manor never freezes—even in winter.
But some things are better left unlearned. After all, a flower doesn't need to roar to be dangerous.

Purpose / Function

A house bought in blood and favour. Martell Manor was not chosen for its beauty—it was chosen out of desperation. After the violent and deeply personal kidnapping of his daughter Amelia, Xander Martell knew he could no longer afford the illusion of safety. The supernatural underground of New York had turned volatile, and the Martell name—once a whispered deterrent—was now painted with blood and betrayal.
Seeking distance without weakness, Xander called in a favor he had sworn never to use: he reached out to Hiram Lodge, his old friend turned business rival. Their history was layered in shadows—shared crimes, diverging codes, and an unspoken grudge—but Hiram delivered. Using political influence and buried connections, Hiram arranged for the discreet purchase of a lakeside property in Sindale.
In doing so, he helped Xander carve out a quiet exile for his children—a gilded cage where Spencer could keep watch, and Amelia might heal. While Xander remained in New York to wage war in the underworld, Martell Manor became a sanctuary wrapped in glamour… and silence. But favours owed to Hiram Lodge never stay buried forever.

Architecture

Tucked beside the glittering edge of the Sindale Marina, Martell Manor cuts a striking silhouette in black stone and moonlit elegance. Originally restored with municipal funding as a potential lakeside retreat for the Sin family, the manor was quietly sold and claimed by the Martells who then altered it to fit their needs. This is no ordinary refuge. It is a fortress in disguise.
The architecture is Neo-Classical Revival, with sweeping arched windows, iron-railed balconies, and a bold façade painted in the deepest shade of night. At twilight, its curved stairways and sculpted hedges glow like something out of a dark fairytale. The house does not beg for attention—it demands it, silently.
But step through the door and everything shifts.
The interior is strikingly modern: polished concrete floors, minimalist lighting, sculptural furniture in monochrome tones. Sunlight slices through vast windows in the day, and the rooms are curated for both beauty and defense—smooth lines conceal secrets, and mirrors are angled with intention. Bright accent colors—forest green, copper, rich indigo—punctuate the neutral palette, each hue carefully chosen by Julia Martell herself.
Potted herbs, enchanted vines, and wild-grown orchids fill the spaces like silent guardians. The scent of lavender and citrus thyme lingers in the hallways, hiding the traces of older magic.
Upstairs, the manor sheds its modern mask.
Julia has transformed the second floor into a Fae sanctuary—walls washed in pale gold and mossy green, gauzy fabrics drifting in the breeze of open windows, and hand-carved doors that hum with glamor. Even the doorknobs feel alive. It’s a tribute to the courts they once knew, a place where Amelia and Spencer might breathe easier beneath the weight of expectation.
The manor may be new to Sindale, but it knows the old world. And it has eyes.

The House of Martell blooms in shadow and sun alike. Rooted in old magic and older grudges, it stands untouched by time, yet stained by memory. To approach its doors is to be welcomed.
To be let in?
That means you’ve been chosen.
Martell History

Type

Mansion / Villa

Parent Location

Sindale