Diaries / The Sorcerer’s Margin Notes
The Sorcerer’s Margin Notes
The other side of the castle walls: a Sorcerer of the Dark Side, his newt, years of sieges and every class of students that beat him to the formula.
Fiction. The diaries, legends, reports and some of the staff are invented. The academies are real.
- 15 December 2027Another Year, Still MortalAt the end of 2027 the sorcerer counts up a year of sieges in Perth and Sydney, and resolves to become immortal next year. He has said this before.
- 24 November 2027Rumours of a SequelThe sorcerer hears the castle’s builders are making yet another chapter of The Wizard's Chamber story, and writes down his demands for a bigger part.
- 27 October 2027A Proper Fright, PleaseWith Halloween coming, the sorcerer asks the castle to make the sanctum scarier, and learns it is an adventure for families, not a fright night.
- 15 September 2027Room to MoveAn expectant mother joins a class in the sanctum, and the sorcerer notes that nobody in the Headmaster’s castle has to crawl, squeeze or climb at all.
- 18 August 2027A Pirate Next DoorThe sorcerer discovers that a pirate captain keeps prisoners just down the corridor at both of his castles, and considers an alliance of villains.
- 14 July 2027The Winter Holiday InvasionWinter school holidays fill the castle with young students who notice everything, and the sorcerer wonders why the grown-ups bother coming at all.
- 23 June 2027Still Watching the NorthThe first half of 2027 is nearly over, and the sorcerer watches the horizon for the Brisbane castle of The Wizard's Chamber. He has not seen it yet.
- 19 May 2027The Headmaster’s VoiceThe sorcerer complains that the Headmaster talks to his students through the walls, and learns how every kind of student can follow the hour together.
- 14 April 2027Teenagers Without SupervisionThe autumn school holidays bring a class of teenagers with no parents in sight, and the sorcerer checks the castle rules to see if that is allowed.
- 17 March 2027Not From Any BookA student asks the sorcerer which famous book he comes from, and Wendell explains, at length, that he and the Headmaster’s castle are entirely original.
- 17 February 2027An Exit I Was Not Told AboutThe sorcerer learns that any student may leave the sanctum early, that gamesmasters watch the whole hour, and that the potions give off no smoke.
- 13 January 2027The Summer of Small ClassesIn the summer holidays a pair of cousins tries for a Saturday session at the castle, and the sorcerer learns how small classes get their turn.
- 16 December 2026A Siege in a StockingChristmas is coming, and the sorcerer discovers that an hour in the Headmaster’s sanctum can be wrapped up as a gift voucher. He is appalled.
- 18 November 2026Phones Under Lock and KeyThe sorcerer tries to sneak a scrying mirror past the castle gate and learns why phones, cameras and smartwatches stay in the lockers.
- 22 October 2026To Whoever Reads My MarginsThe sorcerer realises strangers are reading his margin notes, and writes a few words of welcome, and several warnings, for anyone turning his pages.
- 16 September 2026Whispers from BrisbaneWord reaches the sorcerer that a third castle for The Wizard's Chamber is planned for Brisbane in the first half of 2027. He starts packing early.
- 19 December 2025A School by the Sea19 December 2025: Magic School opens in Manly as the sequel to The Wizard's Chamber, and the sorcerer hears about a headmistress he has never met.
- 15 January 2025An Epidemic of RobesSummer holidays bring classes in cloaks, pointed hats and round spectacles, and the sorcerer can no longer tell the students from his own order.
- 18 October 2024A Second Sanctum in Sydney18 October 2024: The Wizard's Chamber opens at Escape This Sydney CBD on George Street, and the sorcerer must now besiege two cities at once.
- 20 June 2024The Old Castle Goes QuietJune 2024: the Northbridge sanctum where The Wizard's Chamber first played closes for good, and the sorcerer visits its gate for old times’ sake.
- 6 March 2024Beginners, AllegedlyA class that swears it has never escaped a room before walks into the Headmaster’s sanctum, and the sorcerer has strong views on beginners.
- 21 October 2023Eight Candles, One SanctumA Saturday birthday class of eight young witches and wizards arrives at the castle, and the sorcerer finds that party hats beat castle walls.
- 12 July 2023Small Wizards, Large ProblemsSchool holidays fill the castle with very young students, and the sorcerer copies down which of them may enter the sanctum and who must bring a grown-up.
- 14 April 2023The Hay Street Siege Begins14 April 2023: The Wizard's Chamber opens at Escape This Perth CBD, and a sorcerer’s siege of the castle meets its very first class of students.
- 29 March 2023A Castle in a BasementWeeks before The Wizard's Chamber opened on Hay Street Mall, a Sorcerer of the Dark Side finds the Headmaster’s new sanctum is underground.