Hedge Maze in Hogwarts Legacy (Blackwood Maze)

Publish date: 2024-07-05

A Horticultural History of the Blackwood Maze

4 parts of book A Horticultural History of the Blackwood Maze can be found in front of the entrance to the Hedge Maze or in the middle of the Hedge Maze, always on a pedestal of plants.

Part One A Horticultural History of the Blackwood Maze

Few witches or wizards correctly trace the history of Scotland's indigenous mazes back to their rightful source: the fifteenth century Dark Wizard known as Eunon Blackwood.

Born Eunon Wood to a non-magical branch of the Wood family, Eunon was misunderstood by his Muggle parents and, in an effort to fit in, sought solace in the family trade: hedge trimming.

He could allegedly control the blackthorn bushes with his mind, creating beautiful designs with ease. This both impressed and infuriated his rather intolerant family. Their resentment only worsened upon young Eunon's invitation to Hogwarts, where he was Sorted into Hufflepuff house.

It was at Hogwarts that Eunon first met one Artemisia Black. Disowned by the Black family for her mother's dalliance with Artemisia's Muggle father, the half-blood Artemisia's relationship with blood purity Was a complex one; she considered herself worthy of her mother's maiden name and blamed her father for her ostracisation. At the same time, she did not fault Wood for his Muggle parentage, but rather considered him too an unwilling, innocent victim of Muggle impurity.

Part Two A Horticultural History of the Blackwood Maze

The teenage Artemisia played a pivotal role in Eunon's growth as a wizard, but also his descent into darkness, each stoking the other's disdain for their Muggle parents. And as Eunon changed, so did the results of his work: the hedges he nurtured grew vicious and volatile.

The wedding of Eunon and Artemisia was a curious affair, for Artemisia's Muggle father and Eunon's Muggle family were all invited. It is believed that Eunon's family would have avoided the affair altogether if not for rumours of Artemisia's considerable dowry which, unbeknownst to them, was not a pile of gold but a single, golden medallion bewitched with the Gemino curse. Enticed by their greed, the Muggles agreed to attend.

Part Three A Horticultural History of the Blackwood Maze

To celebrate his union with Artemisia, Eunon erected his greatest work, claimed to have been inspired by the Greek wizard Daedalus: the most magnificent maze he had ever created.

All of the wedding guests were invited to venture into the maze in search of riches ostensibly hidden therein

But the witches and Wizards recognised something in Eunon, so the story goes, stayed back. Those who entered did not and return.

The terror did not end there. As many as a thousand Scottish Muggles met their end in the Blackwood Maze over the years that followed, enticed into its depths by the promise of gold.

Part Four A Horticultural History of the Blackwood Maze

Tragedy eventually befell Eunon and Artemisia Blackwood at the hands of none other than their daughter, Lysandra. Born a Squib, Lysandra was a disappointment to her parents from the moment her lack of magical ability became apparent.

Lysandra's frustration with her parents reached its peak in her sixteenth year and, after a particularly nasty fight, Lysandra reported her mother to Muggle witch hunters.

They came for Artemisia early one spring morning and, at nightfall, burned her at the stake.

It is not known what became of Eunon after Artemisia's demise only that neither he nor his daughter was ever seen again.

Eunon Blackwood's maze mysteriously disappeared from its home in Stonehaven not long afterwards, only to reappear in different places for a short time, ensnaring Muggles and magical folk alike.

So it remains to this day.

Many have attempted to tame the Blackwood Maze, as it is now known, but Herbologists suspect it still answers to the Dark will of its former master, and it has thus far evaded control.