Auret

The Auret was the headquarters of the Guild Arcane in Calimport and commonly considered one of the most impressive sights to behold in that city.
==Location==
The Auret was located in Ziana Drudach of Najja Sabban within Wizard Ward. It was the major landmark of its sabban; in fact, Najja Sabban was colloquially called "the Auret Sabban" by citizens of Calimport.
==Structure==
The building was an immense minaret standing seven stories tall, with a diameter of more than at its base. Unlike the Guild Arcane's Minargents in other cities in Calimshan, it appeared to be constructed of solid gold instead of silver.Empires of the Shining Sea states that the tower was only "gold-topped" and otherwise was silver like other Minargents. However, Calimport corrects this, claiming that the entire structure was gold.The name "Auret" is a portmanteau of the English words "aureate" ("golden") and "minaret". It is strange that the word would be a play on English words and not Alzhedo ones, but "aureate" is from the Latin word for gold aurum, and Latin may have been the inspiration for the Jhaamdathan language, one of the precursors of Common, which is typically represented by English in Forgotten Realms sourcebooks. Alzhedo itself was another precursor of Common. Thus, perhaps "aur" is a phoneme of either Alzhedo or Jhaamdathan for "gold". Its walls were enchanted with a unique magical illusion; sigils continuously drew themselves onto the wall of the tower, as if being etched onto a molten surface.
The arcane tower had no visible doors. Instead, when members of the Guild Arcane approached from either the ground or the air—Guild members wore magical rings that granted them the power of flight—an opening would form in the golden walls allowing them to enter.
==Services==
Besides serving as the base of operations for the Guild Arcane, the spire contained the High One's Library. This library was the only library in Calimport that exclusively contained tomes of arcane knowledge—no books on any other topics.
==Defenses==
Only senior members of the Guild Arcane were allowed access to the library, and the library was warded such that it was impossible for any of the books—or even any sort of copies of the books—to leave the library's rooms.
==Inhabitants==
The leader of the Guild Arcane in Calimport was Sultan Eli yn Adnan el Beza, who was also the ruler of the entire city ward in which the Auret stood.
==History==
The Auret was destroyed in a fire in the , after an event known as Akham's Duel, when two powerful mages, Akham el Qaandan and Haneq el Fustaf battled over who should be the next Caleph Arcane. It was later rebuilt.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===References===
Category:Guildhalls
Category:Towers
Category:Locations in Ziana Drudach
Category:Locations in Najja Sabban
Category:Locations in Wizard Ward
Category:Locations in Calimport
Category:Locations in Calimshan
Category:Locations in the Lands of Intrigue
Category:Locations in West Faerûn
Category:Locations in Faerûn
Category:Locations on Toril
Category:Locations