The Academy wasn’t the only place to suffer casualties, either. Though we were the only ones directly attacked by the Dark Arcana and the undead armies, the Soldiers of Light were busy wreaking havoc in cities and towns across the globe. While none of them unleashed an attack as widespread and devastating as the one in Ani’s hometown,nowitches and mages were safe from their cruelty.
As of now, the death toll outside our boundaries is still unknown, largely because the authorities are loathe to admit their failings in protecting their own citizens. But when that number comes through, it will live on in our hearts with the others.
Theywill live on.
In the wake of the devastating attacks, we find solace in this accounting. This remembrance. It’s up to us now—the survivors—to carry on the legacy of the dead, insuring that the lives ofallwitches and mages will somehow be better.
It’s a tall order. And most days, I’m still not sure we can see it through.
But we have to try.
In the Hall of Remembrance, we’ve lit an eternal flame of witchfire to honor the fallen—a silver flame that calls us back for every funeral and reminds us of our implicit promise—that no matter how difficult it seems,yes, we have to try.
Most of the dead were returned to their families—a small kindness in the midst of their endless despair. But we buried Anna Trello on the grounds of the Academy she so loved—the place she gave up everything to protect.
I visit her grave every Friday, bringing her a bouquet of yellow roses from Mom and keeping her up to date on our progress here—the rebuilding efforts. The healing. The new friendships and bonds formed over the darkest days, ushering us into the light. Whenever I’m with her, I think of Mom’s prophecy—the one I now know was meant for Anna.
Fear not the evasive Queen of Air
Though her manner is course, her outcome is fair
By thought or by deed, by word or by blade
Her sacrifice can’t be unmade
The last two lines are carved into her headstone.
Dozens of students are still in the infirmary, the healing mages and witches of the Academy working tirelessly to care for them. I try to help out when I can, recreating different forms of the healing spell I performed on Doc in the caves. It’s an imperfect science, but I’m getting stronger every day.
Thanks to Professor Broome and several other potions and healing arts teachers, they finally crafted an effective spell to return the siphoned magick to its original owners. Unfortunately, the same dark magick Professor Phaines used to steal it in the first place was also deployed elsewhere, neutering thousands of mages and witches worldwide. APOA is working on locating the missing essences, but it’s very likely a lot of them were destroyed in the Soldiers of Light attacks.
We may never know the true cost of this war.
I’m told that in the ensuing chaos after the fall of the undead army—after Ani returned to himself and the Black Sun vanished, no longer calling them to rise—Eastman and his mages were quickly captured. Many of the mages chose to end their own lives rather than face justice, but Eastman was taken alive. Casey and Quintana escorted him back to APOA headquarters in London, where he’s currently facing charges of sedition, domestic terrorism, and murder, among other things.
He’s maintaining his innocence, sticking to the story that he reallywastrying to protect us, but the evidence is pretty damning. In the days that followed, we found most of the material stolen from the archives in his possession, including my mother’s research and his own conspiracy-theory, rabbit-hole findings about magick causing the downfall of society as we know it.
Personally, I hope he rots in hell. Or in prison, with Janelle Kirkpatrick. I heard she’s not loving life these days either.
Despite the capture of Eastman and many of the mages following his lead, the outside world is still not safe for witches and mages. APOA has contracted Kirin to help draft legislation that would eradicate the registry of magickal humans and categorize all crimes against witches and mages as hate crimes punishable to the fullest extent of the law.
But as challenging as it is to change legislation, it’s even more difficult to change hearts and minds. Eastman and the Soldiers of Light lit the fuse on a powder keg of hatred and anti-magick violence that dates back centuries.
Millennia.
Yes, we defeated the enemy, and in some ways, justice will be served.
But the work of defeating their ideology is just beginning.
As for the Dark Arcana, we believe we’ve defeated them as well. But even with the Arcana objects destroyed, we have no idea whether the Dark One will rise again someday, reincarnated and ready to champion some other terrible cause.
Will it happen in our lifetime?
There are no answers. No timelines. No guarantees.
But the day after that brutal battle, when the first rays of a new dawn illuminated the sky, that was it for us. Day one in a brand new world. And every day since then, we’ve been doing what we can to bring the Academy back to life. Through a mix of magick, hard work, and a deep commitment to honor the fallen, we’re rebuilding the classrooms and dorms and offices. Repaving the pathways. Replanting the trees and flowers. Breathing life into the shadow of death.
When I first enrolled at the Academy, they said I’d be alternating houses, living in different dorms in accordance with my magickal affinities so I could learn from other students. But the rules have changed now, the old traditions making way for the new. I fully intend to embrace and strengthenallmy magickal gifts, taking extra classes, reading all the books, immersing myself in this world I’ve only just begun to explore.
