Adored and Abhorred

987 years ago:

The world of Etune is made up of three continents. The two in the northernmost hemisphere are known as Dretoa and Raileth. The largest continent dominates the southern hemisphere and is called Abara. Each continent is divided into provinces, with each being governed by its own people, with people being such a loose word. Werewolves run each pack individually and have a Lycan King who assists each pack when needed. Dragons are more diplomatic, and each clutch is overseen by its leader, while an Elder Dragon rules over them all. Werebears, Werecats, and Werebirds have their individual lands and mostly keep to themselves. The merfolk are the last of the shifters and they rule the seas. While they sometimes live on land, it is much more common to find them on the islands sprinkled around Etune if they weren’t underwater.

Adrixi pondered how many leaders would make it to the gathering. She had never heard of them all meeting at once ever before. She looked over at Matthias gripping the taffrail while he puked over the side of the ship. Poor boy, she thought as she studied him. The younger Celestial had learned so much in the last seven years with her. It was such a blessing that Adrixi found him when he was five years old. His dark brown hair was almost as dark as her own. Matthias still looked pure, as his magic hadn’t yet left its marks on his skin and features. His small ears were still round, his eyes were still blue-green. He was finally starting to master his levitation of objects and could occasionally even get past mental barriers to read people’s thoughts as they walked down the streets. She didn’t need to read his thoughts now to know he wished he had stayed at home.

This was too important for him to miss. He wasn’t ready to take on the responsibility of being the Celestial witch just yet, but it was his fate. Adrixi was the third Celestial witch ever born. Her predecessor found her when she was twenty-two by mere chance. Zeke was a wonderful mentor to her. He founded the city that every Celestial witch will forever call home. His mentor was never mentioned. Zeke refused to speak about her but ensured that every Celestial witch would be written down in history in the future. “It is important for the next one,” he always said to Adrixi.

So, she obeyed, and she kept a journal of her whole life in the pages that followed his own. Zeke had lived until just shy of a hundred years ago. She even started Matthias a section of his own, for posterity, so he could fill it in as he got older. He had been making notes occasionally throughout the year, but it wasn’t his favorite part of being a Celestial.

The sea was rough and choppy as they sailed through the waters from the comfort of Celestine Manor. Yurac Province was small in comparison to the whole of Raileth, the continent she called home. Adrixi tucked her raven hair behind her angular ears as she watched Corazon Island come into view. The island looked to mostly be mountains jutting out of the sea itself - tall, imposing, and foreboding. There was a small inlet of water that they were instructed to take to get to the center of the island. The sheer height of the rock walls made her feel insignificant. She cast her stormy eyes up to the sky to search for the top of the nearest one.

The barrelman shouted out from above, “We’re in the offing! Slow down! Swing a wide berth from the left and we’re there!”

Adrixi adjusted the silver mantle around her shoulders that held her cloak in place. She told the rest of her Coven that they were here and to come up on deck with her mind-link. Nine witches made up the Coven, one for each element: water, fire, earth, air, life, death, light, and shadow. Lastly, of course, was Adrixi. The Celestial witch was the only one with mastery of all as well as the cosmic magic that flowed through her veins. It was a burden and a responsibility.

****

Two weeks prior:

Adrixi had called the Coven together to celebrate the completion of Celestine Manor. It was a joyous occasion since Zeke had wanted a home big enough for the lot of them. Originally there were several small houses butted up against one another. The entire Coven had gathered together for almost three days before she had the vision.

She had been sitting under the trees of a small coconut grove that had already produced its fruit for the year. She was preparing for the next few lessons on fire control for Matthias when she blacked out.

Adrixi saw the birth of a boy. He had the crescent birthmark that each Celestial witch had, signifying they were special. This boy became a man. His power could call down storms that ravished the earth. He placed a curse upon the shifters to remain forever in their animal forms. He siphoned the lives of the dragons and enslaved the witches to do his will. He emitted such pain and anger that she felt it through her vision.

When she awoke, she found out that she had been catatonic for three days. She was exhausted and weak. Shakily, she made it back inside the manor where the life witch looked her over. She was fed and fretted over. She wrote down what she saw and slept for two days.

She was jostled awake with news of several more seers having visions that matched what she had written down for the council. Of the nine other visions, only eight matched hers exactly. She sent a representative to speak to the odd one out and dismissed it as a rumor when she heard it was a child.

She sent messengers to every leader of the magical world to gather in two weeks to discuss and prevent this from happening.

****

Now, they were here. They were meeting in the old lands where they believed the heart of the world resided. It has always been said that magic originated here on this very island. The Coven departed the boat off a narrow wooden bridge that was let down onto a rickety old dock. Each was careful to cross quickly.

Within a few hours, thirty-three leaders had arrived in total. Adrixi noticed that each had also brought their second in command to witness this magnificent event. Historical, she mused to herself. She kept Matthias close. Ever since her vision, people looked at him differently. She knew it wasn’t him. The mark wasn’t even in the same spot.

They discussed and argued. They bickered and fought. They mulled over all the different viewpoints and options and finally, after eight hours, agreed to a spell. The spell would dampen the magic of the world so that the prophesied Celestial would never be able to amass the power needed to do such terrible things. To show their unity and lend strength to the spell, all thirty-three held hands in a large circle. They began casting the carefully crafted spell, chanting it over and over. The winds whipped their hair into their faces, stinging them mercilessly. Tears streamed from the eyes of all present. The strain to hold on was almost more than Adrixi could bear. Lightening cracked above their heads, intensifying the streaks in each witch’s skin channeling the spell. Adrixi looked to her left and right at her Coven, worried they may have taken on too much. She looked at the fire witch beside her watching her veins emit a deep red glow charring the skin around them. She looked fiercely determined. She looked over to the water witch and noticed his veins were bright blue. It looked as if each of his veins were crying with the strain of the task. He dripped water everywhere. She was certain her own face resembled theirs. Her veins had always appeared through her skin as if she had silver tattoos across her body. Suddenly, a bright light erupted from the center of the circle, each body connected by a gleam of pure white. The crash of the heavens above made all who were witnessing the event cover their faces or turn away momentarily.

The gasps turned into wailing. Shrieks went up and people surged forward to understand what happened. Each person in the circle had vanished. A swirling and sparkling mixture of dust climbed towards the heavens. The only remaining proof of their existence were orbs filled with glimmers of alternating colors and light. A single spark in the center was the only thing they had in common other than their size. Matthias walked forward to the pile of enchanting orbs and leaned over with tears freely flowing down his face. He picked up the closest one as it rolled off the edge of the pile near him. It fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. He went rigid, his once blue-green eyes now speckled with purple and white shimmers. The beta of the Lycan King stepped forward and commanded them all to hush and stop moving.

Matthias began to speak in several voices at once, “Should these ever be reunited, the spell will revert and all will regain what we have locked safely here. We are still here within each Life Essence. Gather the first one you can and protect it with your life.”

What they didn’t know: using the spell to dampen magic would take away the shifters’ ability to change forms without the help of a witch. It would be painful even still. Mate bonds could no longer be detected. Merfolk lived as humans on land and dragons were no longer seen flying through the sky. Life would change forever as they knew it.