The Chapter That Changes Everything — How a Real 496 AD Battle Became the Heart of The Witch’s RebirthAnd why Chapter 26 is the audiobook sample that stops listeners cold.
- Michaela Riley
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
If you have ever wondered whether The Witch’s Rebirth trilogy is truly rooted in real history — Chapter 26 of Labyrinth of Shadows is your answer.
The Battle of Tolbiac. 496 AD. King Clovis of the Salian Franks facing the Alemanni. Six thousand soldiers on each side. Three days of brutal combat. And at the center of it all — a reborn witch holding the fate of Western civilization in her hands.
This is not invented. The Battle of Tolbiac happened. King Clovis was real. His conversion to Christianity on that battlefield is one of the most consequential moments in European history — it shaped the entire religious and political character of medieval France, and by extension, the Western world.
What history forgot is what I put back in.
What history says happened at Tolbiac
The historical record tells us that Clovis, facing near-certain defeat against the Alemanni, made a desperate vow. He would convert to Christianity — the faith of his wife Clotilde and his advisor Bishop Remigius — if the Christian God gave him victory. According to the chronicles, the Alemanni suddenly broke and fled. Clovis kept his vow. He was baptized on Christmas Day 496 AD, taking approximately three thousand of his warriors with him.
Historians have debated for fifteen centuries what actually turned the battle.
I think I know.
What The Witch’s Rebirth says happened at Tolbiac
Merona was there.
In Chapter 26, as Armaeus unleashes dark lightning and hellfire on the Frankish forces — as Clovis watches entire battalions incinerated where they stand and makes his desperate vow to a God he has never worshipped — Merona arrives.
She calls the elementals. Earth snakes from the soil and drags Armaeus’ demons down. Wind tears through enemy ranks. Fire forms a protective barrier around the Frankish forces. Water douses the demon’s hellfire. And then Murdach, Mairead, and the Morrigan herself arrive — the full weight of ancient Celtic power turning the tide of a battle that would reshape Western civilization.
Clovis sees it all. He attributes it to the Christian God. He keeps his vow.
The history books recorded the miracle. They just didn’t know what caused it.
Why Abby Filsinger’s narration makes this chapter unforgettable
Chapter 26 is the audiobook sample for Labyrinth of Shadows for a specific reason. It contains everything this trilogy is — in a single chapter.
The chaos and thunder of a real historical battle. The desperation of a real historical king. The demonic voice of Armaeus booming across a battlefield. Merona’s commanding call to the ancients — Aether, Domhan, Uisce, Dóiteáin, Aontacht — words that carry the weight of five thousand years. Murdach’s steady voice cutting through the carnage. The Morrigan’s final whisper — the war is only just begun.
Abby Filsinger gives each of these voices a distinct life. Clovis’ desperation. Merona’s iron resolve. Armaeus’ infernal arrogance. Murdach’s quiet, unshakeable devotion. And the Morrigan — ancient, knowing, unsettling — whispering a warning that sends a chill through everything that came before it.
When Merona says “My will might” — her answer to Armaeus telling her that no tricks can save her — it is one of the most quietly devastating lines in the trilogy. In Abby’s narration it lands like a blade.
The real history hiding in plain sight
Everything in Chapter 26 is anchored in documented history and genuine Celtic mythology:
❖ The Tuatha Dé Danann — the supernatural race Merona draws power from — appear throughout ancient Irish mythology as the original divine inhabitants of Ireland, driven underground by the arrival of the Gaels.
❖ The Morrigan — the shape-shifting goddess of war, ravens, and fate — is one of the most powerful figures in Celtic mythology. Her presence at a turning point in history is entirely consistent with her role in the old stories.
❖ The four elements Merona calls — Aether, Domhan, Uisce, Dóiteáin — are the Irish words for sky, earth, water, and fire. I spent years researching this language before I wrote a single word of this trilogy.
❖ Clovis’ conversion at Tolbiac — one of the most studied events in medieval European history — becomes something richer and stranger and truer when you understand that a reborn witch was standing at the edge of that battlefield, holding the line between the world and the dark.
How to experience Chapter 26
If you have been reading the ebook or the physical book — Chapter 26 is the chapter I recommend listening to in audio first. Abby Filsinger’s narration of the battle sequence, Merona’s elemental incantation, and the Morrigan’s closing warning are the reason I chose this chapter as the audiobook sample.
You can listen to the sample right now — or dive straight into the full unabridged audiobook and experience all ten hours of Merona’s story the way it was always meant to be told.
The history books forgot her. She’s about to rewrite them.
Get the full audiobook experience:
🎧 Unabridged · 10 hours · Narrated by Abby Filsinger · $14.99
📖 Ebook — start reading in 60 seconds · $1.99
✍️ Autographed trilogy — all 3 books personally signed · $59.99 · Free shipping
Infinite tales await. ❖
— Michaela Riley
11x Award-Winning Author · Founder, Blackwell Spines
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