Garden

A Garden, Odaiba Girls' School, and several of its Lilies

Gardens are institutions which are, first and foremost, training facilities for Lilies and bases which they can operate from. They also serve as schools for the Lilies and educate them in other subjects. Almost all Gardens are similar to boarding schools in that they require their Lilies to live in dormitories on campus; this is so that they are able to respond to Huge attacks as quickly as possible.

All known Gardens maintain Lilies from ages 15 to 17 as their main combat forces. It is common for them to have preparatory divisions for prospective Lilies of younger ages, but girls from these divisions are generally not sent into real combat. As most Lilies start experiencing a sharp decline in their Magi capacity beginning at age 18, and become unable to fight effectively at some point after, Gardens do not provide higher education (though Hijiribashi is affiliated with a university of the same name.)

In Japan, most Gardens were repurposed from existing girls' schools and are overseen by the Ministry of Defense, aside from a few that instead answer to MEXT. They are assigned a "national defense area" by the government and required to protect it. This is also known as the Garden's territory. Operating in another Garden's territory without permission is frowned upon, but some Gardens do it frequently.

Beyond these common points, Gardens differ significantly from each other in culture, battle tactics, and everything down to their favored CHARMs.

Legion Systems

Gardens have different ways of organizing their Lilies into legions.

The two most popular systems are:

• Top legion, in which the Garden staff select Lilies based on certain criteria (often simply their strength) and assign them to legions. The most prestigious legion is known as the Garden's top legion.
• Instructor approval, in which Lilies themselves form legions, subject to the final approval of an instructor. Normally, one Lily appoints herself captain and has authority over the activities and membership of the legion.

A variety of other systems exist, including Gardens that form legions on the spot whenever a mission needs to be undertaken, or Gardens that have a top legion but otherwise allow Lilies to self-organize.

Oaths of Sisterhood

It is relatively common for Gardens to have an officially recognized tradition where two (or sometimes more) Lilies vow to protect and aid each other. This is a personal bond, distinct from the formation of legions; while Gardens commonly require or strongly encourage Lilies to enter a legion, very few require them to choose a partner. According to Futagawa Fumi, the purpose of these traditions is to foster cooperation and friendship between the two Lilies, as well as to encourage the physical contact with other Lilies necessary to purify negative Magi.

Usually one of the Lilies is in a higher school year than the other, and usually the two are in the same legion together, but these are not always required.

Lilies who have made these oaths have a variety of labels depending on the Garden, but at many of them, they are informally known as "sisters." The oaths themselves are known as "oaths of sisterhood."

Traditions of this sort include:

Garden	The oath is called...	The Lilies are called...	Details and restrictions
Alchemilla	Blood Pledge of the Vǫlva		Similar to the Crownshine Oath, according to Futagawa Fumi.
Herensuge	Shieldmaiden System (楯の乙女制度)	Shield Sisters	One Lily must be in a higher school year.
Irma	Crownshine Oath (冠輝(かんき)の誓い)		No restrictions, but one Lily is commonly in a higher school year. The Lilies exchange bracelets called "Crownshine Bracelets" as proof of their vow. The Crownshine Oath has other unusual traits; see the wiki page on Irma for details.
Kaiseizan		Fang Sisters	Made between 3 Lilies. No other restrictions.
Ludvico	Schwester's Oath	Schwesters (German for sisters)	One Lily must be in a higher school year. The Lilies exchange their medal necklaces as proof of their vow.
Odaiba	Blood Oath		Complex restrictions depending on the Lilies involved. They must be in the same legion. In the past, Lilies would shed blood onto the earth together, but just exchanging Magi has become more common. They often exchange rings as well.
Ryuto	Oath of Gullinkambi		The Lilies each craft medals themselves, then exchange and wear them.
Sakuranomori	"Dividing a shell" (ひとつ貝)		One Lily must be in a higher school year.
Sarnath Girls' Academy	"Om Team" (阿吽の陣)		One Lily must be in a higher school year.
St. Mercurius	Oath of Minne	Ritter (German for knight) Adelheit (German for lady)	No restrictions; either Lily can be the Ritter or the Adelheit. According to Futagawa Fumi, it's "like a vow between lovers."
Yurigaoka	Schutzengel's Oath (守護天使(シュッツエンゲル)の誓い)	Older Lily: Schutzengel (German for guardian angel) Younger Lily: Schild (German for shield)	One Lily must be in a higher school year. There is a wedding-like ceremony, including a contract signed by both Lilies and witnessed by Garden staff. When a Lily's Schild has her own Schild, the three Lilies are known as "Norns."
Yurigaoka	Roommate Request System	Roommates	Also known as the "Roommate's Oath." Unofficially used as an oath of sisterhood by Lilies of the same age who can't be Schutzengels.
Yurigaoka	Building a CHARM		Among Yurigaoka's Arsenals, promising to build a custom CHARM for someone is unofficially considered to be equivalent to taking the Schutzengel's or Roommate's Oath with them.