The number of wizards in the Nine Cities Alliance now totals fewer than a thousand.
They appear exhausted, listless and dispirited.
For more than two months, they've had no idea how they managed to survive.
Apart from the necessary rest for meditation to restore their spiritual force, they've spent the rest of their time spellcasting and battling.
Everyone has grown numb as if living in purgatory.
The seemingly unscathed Nine Cities Alliance has in fact reached the point of utter depletion.
The medicines and Aether Stones needed by nearly a thousand wizards have been drained by two months of war, and their Wizard Tools used in battle have also suffered severe damage.
The Alliance does indeed have a number of pharmacists, but resources have long been exhausted.
As for refining new Wizard Tools, that is simply not something that can be done in a short time frame; it's measured in years.
Throughout these two months, there have been continuous desertions from the wizards.