THE WOMEN WE OWE.
Magic was old when the lands were young. Sybole, the first wizard, taught magic to other men, keeping them inferior to himself, while making up the numbers to oppress the lands.However, for a separate foul purpose, he trained a woman to wield magic, and unwittingly created his opponent.That first witch, determined to rid the lands of the tyrants, secretly taught magic to other women, and led them and the peasants in war against the wizards. Utterly unprepared for hybrid warfare, in which physical forces were supported by magical people, the wizards were routed and driven out of the Homelands.Now, restricted to the area of the Bad Mountains and regions further, Sybole plots in his strong castle of Losgorath, setting up an army to regain control of the territories he once lorded over.Besides training hundreds of wizards, he has created a force of tens of thousands of fighters, born as abominations in the bodies of captive women.The successor witches have kept themselves informed of his plans, and have set up training facilities for warriors. They have also introduced a system in which every able-bodied man is enrolled in the peasant militia.But, as Sybole’s hordes will be led by wizards, the witches know that regular warrior forces will not be able to resist an enemy that will come at them with a mix of steel and magic.They need to vastly increase the number of witches that can take to the battlefield. To this end, they have converted Sybole’s captured castle into a boarding school for girls, growing them up and teaching them magic.In a land of villages, the witches check female children at a young age, and take away those found to have the faculties that would make them suitable to become wielders of magic.Set in the time in which apocalyptic conflict between the two sides has become imminent, this story is about Niarnica’s life, from birth to graduation from the witch school.