The Rose Gate
The Rose Gate is the official gate of the Rose Court. It's a stone arch, covered with deep red roses that serves as an entrance to the formal rose gardens at the front of Kilinaire Castle. When Kilinaire is cursed, the Rose Gate is locked to only led to the Forest Rose Gate near Pilot Bay, but once the curse is broken, the Rose Gate can led to any gate the user has access to.
The Rose Prince, Leith, can decide who can enter through the gate, and is always magically alerted to it's use.
While the gate is powered by crafted gold, the roses of the gate have become enchanted themselves over time. They open and close with the daylight hours and bloom year round, even in the snow.
Note: For the Rose Gate in the human realm see: The Forest Rose Gate
I first wanted to examine the Rose Gate more closely, so I walked down the main path with Tait scampering along behind me. I stopped short of the gate, not wanting to accidentally stumble into a wolf pack again. The smell of the roses in the sun surrounded me, and I brushed one deep red flower gently with a finger. It was the same type of rose I had seen growing near the miner’s cabin. I could feel a faint hum again, deep in my bones, but other than that, the roses here didn’t seem to be behaving strangely. Beautiful, but completely normal with their petals opened wide to the sun. The gate was wider than I could reach with my arms stretched out, and the rose-covered stone arch was higher than I could touch even with a jump. Two people on horses could probably ride through it without touching. Or a minivan.
Through the gate I could see the dirt trail and forest I’d thought were the way home as I dashed toward the gate yesterday, but now I could clearly see that it was a different forest altogether. The trail was actually a faint road, wide enough for a carriage, and the massive trees towered above a mossy forest floor covered with tiny flowers and mushrooms. A faerie forest.
I wanted to explore it, but I knew stepping through the gate would only take me back to the wolves.
“I visited the clearing with the cabin twice the night I came here,” I said. “That must be where the gate leads. The roses are the same. Why did I never come through to Faerie?”
“It’s the magic of the gate,” piped up Tait. “You can’t pass through without permission from the lord or lady of the castle.”
“I guess they don’t want humans stumbling through it any old time,” I said.
“Not just humans. No one can go through it. How do you think those wolves are kept out?”
Something to be grateful for.
The Rose Prince, Leith, can decide who can enter through the gate, and is always magically alerted to it's use.
While the gate is powered by crafted gold, the roses of the gate have become enchanted themselves over time. They open and close with the daylight hours and bloom year round, even in the snow.
Note: For the Rose Gate in the human realm see: The Forest Rose Gate
From the books:
I yelped as my feet hit the gravel path at the bottom of the stairs. I ignored the sharp little rocks as I passed exuberant rose bushes edging the path. A high stone wall surrounded the garden, but at the end of the path, a stone arch covered in roses formed a perfectly circular gate. I could vaguely make out a dirt trail on the other side. It must be the way out.***
We started with the front garden, which I’d seen briefly as I fled through it the day before. On closer inspection it was lovely, with formal hedges lining the wide gravel path that led to the Rose Gate. The hedges were neatly trimmed to waist height and swirled off maze-like to line fanciful paths that hid benches and flower beds.
I first wanted to examine the Rose Gate more closely, so I walked down the main path with Tait scampering along behind me. I stopped short of the gate, not wanting to accidentally stumble into a wolf pack again. The smell of the roses in the sun surrounded me, and I brushed one deep red flower gently with a finger. It was the same type of rose I had seen growing near the miner’s cabin. I could feel a faint hum again, deep in my bones, but other than that, the roses here didn’t seem to be behaving strangely. Beautiful, but completely normal with their petals opened wide to the sun. The gate was wider than I could reach with my arms stretched out, and the rose-covered stone arch was higher than I could touch even with a jump. Two people on horses could probably ride through it without touching. Or a minivan.
Through the gate I could see the dirt trail and forest I’d thought were the way home as I dashed toward the gate yesterday, but now I could clearly see that it was a different forest altogether. The trail was actually a faint road, wide enough for a carriage, and the massive trees towered above a mossy forest floor covered with tiny flowers and mushrooms. A faerie forest.
I wanted to explore it, but I knew stepping through the gate would only take me back to the wolves.
“I visited the clearing with the cabin twice the night I came here,” I said. “That must be where the gate leads. The roses are the same. Why did I never come through to Faerie?”
“It’s the magic of the gate,” piped up Tait. “You can’t pass through without permission from the lord or lady of the castle.”
“I guess they don’t want humans stumbling through it any old time,” I said.
“Not just humans. No one can go through it. How do you think those wolves are kept out?”
Something to be grateful for.
***
"The rest of the garden was covered in a blanket of snow, but the roses arching over the gate remained blissfully unaware of the cold. Their deep red seemed even darker against the white of the winter grounds."
***
"[The roses] were tightly closed for the night but still heavy with flowers even when the rest of the garden still slept."
***
“I can tell if someone goes through the gate. It’s part of the spell. It woke me up.”
Location: The formal rose gardens of Kilinaire.
Appearance: A stone arch covered in dark red roses
Crafted By: Clíodhna
Appearance: A stone arch covered in dark red roses
Crafted By: Clíodhna
Article by Hanna Sandvig