alarm.
As Elizabeth wrote earlier, the children under the age of eighteen were ushered into a large chamber beneath the citadel. The rest of us took our positions for the coming battle. The torches and candles were put out and the only members who were making sounds were the four wizards casting the incantation to cloak us from the Raven’s seers.
A few of the Raven’s wizards and sorceresses were also casting the same incantation in order to cloak themselves from us, and so we sat patiently while waiting for the members of the Raven Coven to make themselves known.
One of the Raven’s wizards maneuvered himself unseen to the opposite side of the citadel, and once he was in place, he magically shot fireballs into the wall of the citadel.
We knew that he was only attempting to draw our fire in the wrong direction, so only one wizard from our side magically fired back.
In response to our weak retaliation, fireballs came at us from three wizards from yet another direction. Again we knew that this was done only to draw our fire in the wrong direction, so we again gave a weak response.
Trying to seize the advantage in a battle when both sides have three or more seers is almost impossible, but if you have a good leader, then that leader could take the advantage of a disadvantage. So when the Raven magically fired fireballs from every point, but one, that one point was where Hanford ordered to be heavily fired upon.
Our first round of fireballs took out a good portion of their partisans, and a few of their frontline wizards, but before we could re-aim our fire beyond the partisans, the Raven’s surviving wizards and sorceresses magically fired all they had.
The sky had lit up bright with all the fireballs passing each other in flight. Wizards and partisans on each side were spread out to minimize the casualties, so once each fireball had landed, only one to two people were hit by it—if any.
Once the main fire had begun, our wizards who were reciting the cloaking incantation had shifted their chant to the barrier incantation, so when the fireballs that were fired against us would land, they would have less of an impact. I believe the Raven’s wizards had done the same.
As the wizards and sorceresses were exchanging fireballs, the Raven’s surviving partisans and wolf-likens had stormed the citadel, and as they were entering, they were met by our partisans.
It became immediately obvious that the Raven’s partisans were instructed to ignore our partisans when they could and go after our wizards and sorceresses. Some Raven’s partisans or likens had actually made it past our partisans as they went after their primary target. Most were cut down though by the wizards or sorceresses as they approached them, but a few had succeeded, only to be killed moments later by one of our partisans.
With wizards on both sides chanting the barrier incantation throughout the battle, the battle waged on for hours, and compared to other battles fought throughout history, the number of casualties were light.
Neither side was able to dominate the fight, and just before the last liken-moon (liken-moon is my word for the moon that is needed to change man into beast). Anyway, before the last liken-moon of the month could set, someone from the Raven’s side had sounded a horn.
The Raven’s surviving partisans and likens quickly withdrew from the fight, and just after their partisans had reached their frontline wizards the Raven withdrew completely.
Once the battle was over, our slightly wounded had picked up the dead and the seriously wounded; including the Raven’s dead and seriously wounded. All of the Raven’s dead and wounded were partisans though.
Some had complained about treating the Raven’s wounded as one of ours, but Hanford retorted, “Kindness begets kindness. The Wizard Wars aren’t ever going to end if we continue to behave like savages towards one another.”
And so the seriously wounded (our wounded and the Raven’s wounded alike) were carried to the lab where Catherine and Catherine’s three apprentices could attend to them. Catherine is Hanford’s sister, a powerful sorceress and the main healer for the coven.
The dead were carried away and placed in a room to wait their ceremonial burial.
Once a path between the chamber beneath the citadel and the main assembly room was cleared from any signs of battle, the children were escorted to the assembly room. There the children waited as the adults cleaned up the signs of battle everywhere else.
Later this evening is the burial ceremony for the ones who had died in the battle, so everyone is preparing for that.
That’s it for what I can scribe down.
(Randolph’s handwriting)
It’s Friday night, and before I go to bed I thought I should say that the burial ceremony went as it should. Our fallen wizards, sorceresses and partisans were each given a wizard’s ceremony. The Raven’s fallen were also a part of the ceremony and they were buried alongside our fallen without distinction.
Oh and in spite of last night’s attack on the citadel, several more acorn covens had showed up while seeking refuge.
I should also say that Hanford doesn’t care to keep prisoners, and while ignoring the objections from the others, Hanford had the Raven’s injured partisans escorted to the perimeter of our borders and then released once their wounds had been treated.
Anyway that’s all I have for right now.
It’s Saturday night. Friday night to Saturday morning was uneventful. After everyone had awakened and had eaten his or her morning meal, Hanford had called an assembly meeting.
Apparently Elizabeth and I weren’t the only ones among the acorn covens who had to leave their Legacy volumes behind. Most of the Legacy volumes are only different within the last two hundred years. Before that the history of the Legacy volumes are mostly the same for everyone. Therefore, starting Monday morning, there will be a workshop to teach the history of our legacy.
The attendance to the workshop is open to all ages and it’s voluntary.
Elizabeth is planning
