For thousands of years my people lived amongst humans in secret (mostly). You would call us witches, warlocks, gypsies, sorcerers, charmers, and enchanters. We lived in peace, hiding our identity until a terrible evil drove through the earth seeking out magical beings to consume their powers and slaughtering everyone in its path. Legend says that it began when one of my kind fell in love with a demon and sought to sever his ties with the underworld. Instead, she opened a gateway for other demons to walk the earth who had been unable to do so. Disasters, unrelenting violence, and plagues covered the earth. Millions upon millions died. The Fae people, pleasure seekers, now found the earth too immoral and turbulent even for them and fled back to their realm vowing to never return. Angels fled back to heaven to further separate themselves from their hellish counterparts.
My people swore that no more harm would come to mankind due to the demons’ quest for power. So, my ancestors fled to our homeland, Adora. Adora has existed since the beginning of time hidden in plain sight parallel to our once home, Earth. Adora used to be purely ornamental in its purpose as it hosted various gatherings, weddings, Council meetings, and novelty vacations. Now more than five hundred thousand souls call it home. As a magical race, thankfully our world expanded as our population grew. But even hidden in our own little world, demons sought out our power. So, to protect ourselves, the elders took drastic measures. They created the Order.
I was told that once power ran freely through the people. I have never known such a time. The First Council gathered our most powerful and wove the Spell of the Making, infusing the power of our people into a circle of seven. These seven grew more powerful while the coven’s power diminished in balance. Dedicated to protecting our coven and our home, The Order was born.
Our coven settled into life in Adora and created a balanced system in the wake of the transfer of power. The Order hunted and killed demons. The Guard protect our homes and help keep order. The Council governs the coven with the King at its head. Our people abide by the laws set forth by the King and Council. These laws are called the Covenant.
Our people settled into factions. Alchemists, practicing the science of potions. Weavers maintain our history of spells while also weaving new ones. Seers are blessed with gifts to recall the past, present or future. Elementalists harness control over the elements to varying degrees of success. Members of the Order are born with top shelf varieties of gifts from any of the above categories and beyond. The general populace operates magically on average a two or three if the scale is one to ten with ten being the most powerful. Ten being the Order. There certainly members of the coven with stronger gifts, but there are also some with gifts that barely register on the scale. The division of ancestral power is as uncontrollable as the weather.
The Order is reborn every thirty years. During the Year of the Making, only seven babies are born. The first is born with the Mark of the Alpha etched into the palm of their right hand. The six to follow are born with the Mark of the Order etched into the palm of their left hand. At age nine we are sent to live full time in the dormitory rooms of the Academy. At eighteen, we are inducted into the Order. We are born with a singular purpose in life and it is an honor. We are born to serve.
My name is Ariana, but my team calls me Ari. I am the Alpha. The first female Alpha in the history of our coven, to be exact. But to be honest, my gender is hardly the most controversial detail of my time as Alpha. And I’m just getting started.
