Remains of the Battle of Eldham Ridge
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Contents
History
During the 15th century, the Dark Wizard Achilles Hemlock escaped from The Dark Prison. Hemlock was known for the invention of many of the offensive spells and potions still used today, and he was an exceptionally talented wizard during his days at Hogsworth. Whilst there, Hemlock was sorted into Honeybadger and primarily excelled in Herbology. To many of his peers, he seemed like the perfect golden boy, but that all changed when he graduated. One day, Hemlock took a vacation to Gnollberg Port, and he was never the same after he returned. Nobody quite knows what happened to him on that trip to Gnollberg Port, but when he arrived home, he quickly realised that he could use his expertise in plants to hurt others.
From an outside perspective, Hemlock never had a clear motive, but he quickly took over many villages and imprisoned their residents. This was around the time he was captured and sent to The Dark Prison. When he broke out, he was quickly pursued by two equally powerful magicians, Olive Ironwood and Indigo Mulberry. Ironwood and Mulberry were the Ministry’s most prized Auralocks. Not only was their magical skill beyond compare, but they had also both ended up with exceptionally powerful Phoenix feather wands with twin cores. The two could fight together with incomparable power. Ironwood and Mulberry chased Hemlock all around Britain, but he kept just slipping out of their grasp. Strangely, when they finally found him, he seemed to be waiting for them in the mountains behind Eldham Ridge.
They attacked him, and Hemlock fought back harshly. In the end, he did what nobody thought possible and hit both their wands with a blast so strong that both of their wands shattered on the spot, knocking them back hard enough that they fell off the mountain. Neither Ironwood nor Mulberry survived the fall. After that, Hemlock mysteriously disappeared and was never seen again. The wand shards were not recovered until the 21st century, when it was found that a strong gust of wind–perhaps sent by Hemlock–had blown the shards into the French Alps.
Unique Properties
Ironwood and Mulberry’s wands had twin Phoenix tail cores. It is well known that when twin cores are against each other, a unique phenomenon of magical beams occurs. What many do not think about is the power that can be achieved when twin cores fight on the same side. Ironwood and Mulberry were known to intentionally put their beams against each other to cause explosions, or to attack at the same point to cause extra damage than the initial spell.
Historical Significance
The discovery of these wand shards was a huge breakthrough in magical history. It allowed historians and wand experts to team up and track the last spells cast from each wand. This information adds much to the story of Hemlock, including more about what happened during the Battle of Eldham Ridge, a full record of everybody the pair killed, and even hints at what happened to Hemlock after the battle.
Discovery
The wand shards were discovered by Magical Archaeologist Emilia Korch in the French Alps. Korch and his team were searching the area for the ruins of a fabled cabin within the mountains, said to be a hideout for some of the most powerful French wizards of all time, along with their possessions. At first, it was believed that the wand shards were one of these possessions, but one of Korch’s team, Karo Lilia, was a wand expert and quickly realised that the shards matched the woods, cores, lengths, and flexibility of the famous wands from the Battle of Eldham Ridge.
Korch and Lilia returned promptly to London, leaving the rest of the team to continue searching the mountains. The two of them went to Garry Jollivander to have him confirm Lilia’s suspicions of the origin of the shards. Jollivander studied the remains and was able to confirm they did indeed come from the Battle of Eldham Ridge. Instantly, the discovery made the front page of every major magical newspaper in Britain, such as the Daily Diviner, as well as papers across France and Europe. The discovery of the shards made Korch and Lilia’s careers, and they continued on from that point as partners, making many more great discoveries in their time.
Special Uses
The wands have been shattered and therefore no longer have any practical uses. While the shards still hold some magic, they cannot be harnessed and are very dangerous without the stability of a whole wand. If one attempted to use these, it is likely that the blowback would be strong enough to fatally wound the caster. While many wand experts and professors have expressed interest in studying the shards for their own magical research, experts at the Ministry of Magicians have strongly advised against this. As a result of this advice, the Minister for Magicians has declared that it is only safe for the shards to be put on display within a heavily guarded area of the Ministry itself.
Trivia
- You can attend a Magical Archaeology class hosted by the Academics team to learn about Remains of the Battle of Eldham Ridge, as well as various other magical historic artefacts.
