Characters and places belong to Mr. Andrzej Sapkowski.
The very lovely cover image I found online and it belongs to Niki Vaszi.
Nothing could compare to the events that unfolded on the unforgiving battlefield that the wavy meadows of Sodden had become. Nobody, not even the most experienced soldiers of either sides could remember ever witnessing such thing before and certainly, the memory of that day would leave a mark on those who survived.
The resonating thunders and explosions took over the once bucolic landscape and overpowered the roar of the battle, covering the ringing of steel meeting steel and the uproar of the men and the horses. The multicolored explosions shined across the sky like fireworks, turning the scenario into a cruel mockery of the celebrations of Belleteyn.
Nothing about the battle was ordinary, not even the thick smoke that rose above the fields, even if it came from the destruction and fire that were relentless companions of war, however, it carried the strong and pungent smell of ozone that denounced its extravaganza: the battle was not fought only by regular soldiers and common people defending their land.
It was not an ordinary battle in any matter, for not only it was fought with thirst for revenge, reflected in the chaos that dominated every sense as the multitude of over one hundred thousand people clashed at the feet of the Kite Hill in Sodden, it also was differentiated for the extraordinary participation of the northern mages. Among them, Yennefer observed her companions as she readied herself for the next spell: Phillipa Eirlhart displayed the slyest of the smirks and Triss Merigold at her other side, looked less confident, her beautiful face distorted by an odd mixture of fear and concentration.
Behind her, the enchantment flung by Radcliffe made Yennefer's ears ring and was followed closely by a green flash of lighting that exploded not so far behind the men that formed a tight circle around the mages, providing them with a shield from the swords of the black ones.
From their privileged position, Yennefer could see with enough anticipation that a large group of nilfgaardian soldiers was approaching the hill, aiming to halt the magic menace that had been weakening their forces. That gave the raven-haired sorceress enough time to prepare herself to cast a powerful spell that roused the force of the earth beneath the feet of the black cladded soldiers, opening large gaps on the ground that engulfed them and pulled them under.
Immediately, Philippa took advantage of the chaos that Yennefer's spell had caused, and used the jumbled ground as prime matter to build an earth golem. The raven-haired sorceress and Radcliffe followed her example and the three golems marched mercilessly smashing the remaining nilfgaardian soldiers.
With the corner of her eye, Yennefer saw that now Vilgefortz had joined them followed closely by Artaud Terranova, Yoël Grethen, Sabrina Glevissig and Lytta Neyd.
"Nilfgaard is aware of our presence and position," the mage of Roggeveen yelled, his potent voice almost did not need the magical enhancement to be heard over the chaotic sounds of the battle. "Prepare yourselves because they are sending their mages."
As it had been Vilgefortz command, one of the earth golems was struck by a purple lighting and was shattered in thousands of pieces. Sabrina cursed loudly and laughed.
"Let them come then!" She shrieked clearly amused.
A group of mounted nilfgaardian soldiers broke into the shield of northern men around the mages. The knights charged against the sorcerers, but they also acted fast. Vilgefortz conjured a magical staff with which he parried the attacks driven by the mounted soldiers. Sabrina and Philippa hurled fire balls and Yennefer managed to made a few soldiers fall under the hooves of their horses with a wave of kinetic energy.
The high pitched scream coming from Triss made Yennefer turn around to aid her friend, however a northern soldier carrying the colors of Verden was faster and drove his sword across the nilfgaardian, showering Triss with blood. While Yennefer ran to her friend, she had to divert a purple ball of fire and saw that group of soldiers of both sides was not as lucky and was fully hitten by a spell that made them burn, screaming horribly.
"Pull yourself together, Triss!" Yennefer commanded as she reached her friend at the same time as Coral. The skelligian enchantress reaction was fast enough to cast a magical shield just in time to protect the three sorceress from the attack of the nilfgaardian mages.
Yennefer saw, however, Dagobert, a mage from Vole, had not been quick enough.
"The mages!" Vilgefortz voice came from somewhere behind them. "Attack the nilfgaardian mages!"
The youngest of the sorcerers of the high council of the Chapter carried himself as he truly belonged to the war. He had taken a horse and with his commanding voice, he pressed the attacks of the northern mages, like an experienced general.
It did not take long before another wave of nilfgaardian soldiers reached the group of mages, passing easily through the northern men. Yennefer had personally never experienced war before on her long life; her participation on wars never went further than sitting in long royal councils with the objective of making strategies over a map, moving wooden figurines at the will of the generals and kings. Now she was able to realize how cruel it seemed, like a mindless game of chess where the lives of thousands is gambled as the figurines move across the map.
In her experience, the chaos of the battlefield could be compared, although in a very imprecise manner, to the pogrom she had witnessed in Vengerberg many years ago. At that time she had no obligations to get involved or any other motivation other than the compassion that drove her right in the middle of the turmoil.
Now, at the feet of the Kite Hill in Sodden, everything felt different but the raw impulse to survive; Political reasons had brought her there in the form of an order she had no option but comply. It was all about a call she had to heed in the name of loyalty and that had put her, her companions and friends right in the middle of the most chaotic of the battlefields, driving her to kill in order to survive.
And the battle at the Sodden Hill had been unrelenting, proving the skills of each of the twenty two northern sorcerers; The battle had been also unforgiving, ending abrubtly the long lives of some mages that were fighting a war that was not theirs, like Dagobert and Gorzazd. Yennefer witnessed Vanielle of Brugge having a nilfgaardian sword ripping through her body in one fatal blown. The bruggian sorceress fell on her knees not so far away from Yennefer, who quickly retaliate against Vanielle's attacker; she casted a spell on the soldier that made him freeze completely, followed by a kinetic wave that made him explode in a thousand shards of ice.
Radcliffe with a shaken expression took the wounded sorceress his arms and retreated to the slightly more secure top of the hill. Yennefer wanted to yell at him that it was all useless, that his lifelong friend and lover was gone but there was no use nor time, as she had to cast a magical shield to protect herself from the rain of arrows and magical projectiles that felt over her.
"Careful with the mass attacks, Sabrina!" Vilgefortz voice echoed with a slightly amused tone. "Please, mind the soldiers of our side!"
The number of nilfgaardian fighters had diminished enough among the northern mages and soldiers to send a clear sign of retreatment of the invaders.
Perhaps it means something completely different, Yennefer thought, suddenly realizing the danger. She ran towards Triss, Coral and Yoël, who were the closest to her, in an attempt to warn them when her suspicion was confirmed; they were heavily attacked by the nilfgaardian mages as their soldiers marched back defeated.
Yennefer saw Triss immediately cast a series of spells in the direction of the southern mages. They were all cladded in black, Yennefer saw them at last for a brief moment before another explosion obfuscated the battlefield.
A piercing shriek reached the raven-haired sorceress from the place where Triss, Coral and Yoël had been, however, now was nothing but a black spot on the ground covered with darkened bodies.
Taken by a wave of rage, Yennefer gathered a dangerous amount of energy, pulling together a deadly enchantment against the group of nilfgaardian sorcerers. Over the cacophony of the dying battle, she heard a terrible scream, confirming that she had successfully struck at least a couple of nilfgaardians. Despite the violent explosion, one of them rose, and Yennefer could see clearly her green eyes flooded with wrath piercing through her.
Not even Yennefer's fast reaction was enough to deflect completely the attack from the nilfgaardian enchantress, the surge of energy hit her with such force that she was thrown backwards violently with a white flash.
Disoriented by the intense pain she felt in her head, Yennefer saw nothing but blackness and heard nothing but a penetrating ring. Suddenly aware she was laying on the dirt on the battleground, she turned around trying to calm her ragged breaths. She rubbed her terribly aching eyes and feeling moisture on her hands, she panicked.
"Yennefer!"
The chaotic sounds of a battle fought not so far away became louder, and so did the voice that was calling her name in the darkness.
"Yennefer!" The voice she now could recognize as Philippa's called her name again. "It's all right, I'm here. It's over."
Yennefer heard herself moan, the powerful pain in her head turning the world around into a surreal mess.