If you aren't looking for them, it's unlikely that you'll be in the right place at the right time. I've been here for over a year, and I've still never been present for a rook attack. I've seen the aftermath, sure, but never the actual attack.
I didn't experience a rook attack until about 3 months into game play. Mostly because I was never in the places where rook attacks commonly happen. It wasn't until another player summoned me to one when I said I'd never been that I experienced one.
And I was VERY unprepared.
I had no idea what to do.
I knew to click on the focusing orb but why wasn't anything happening?
I had to donate things???
not to mention the lag and lack of some skills that make attacks easier to manage.
My first attack was chaos.
So I learned the ways of a rook attack and went back to a second one about a month later. It was fun and I actually understood why I was there. =) so do your research and then experience one is my advice. And also take the game in in tiny bits instead of all at once. Good luck and welcome new player!