The Dark Side of Magic (The Dark Side, Book 2)

What's in a Name?

[Author's Note: Hey, guys! Sorry for the wait! I was sick, yet again. :(

This chapter has taken me a few days to complete - and, for the third time in a row, I STILL didn't write the scene that I've been intending to. Next chapter, I SWEAR! haha. This one reached 5000+ words before I even realized, and while I seriously considered just carrying on, 5000+ words already works out to 9-10 pages. If I had written the scene as I intended to, my wordcount would easily have reached 7000...maybe more. So, I'm putting that aside until next chapter.

I really hope that you all enjoy this chapter, though. It was interesting to write, so I hope that it is at least half as interesting to read. Also, forgive me for some of the very impossible to pronounce names that you will come across in Kylie's conversation with Rowan. The Aztec ones especially are rather mind-boggling, haha.

As Shakespeare wrote:

What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell just as sweet;

(Romeo and Juliet. Act II, Scene II.)

P.S., I hate the new formatting for the website. That is all. Enjoy!] 

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Kylie watched forlornly as Blain angrily marched out of the room, refusing to even look at her. Sighing, she turned towards Rowan.

They were finally alone, and she needed to talk to him.

"Are you sure you want to do this now, Kylie? You look exhausted," Rowan said, watching her with concern.

"Now's the only time to do it," she said simply. "I'll sleep when I'm dead - again," she cracked, laughing without humor.

Rowan smiled sadly, but nodded his consent.

"How do your visions work, Rowan? How often do you have them? What triggers them?"

"My visions are...a bit of a mystery," Rowan sighed. "They're...unnatural in nature, I believe. The coven assumes that the sight comes from my family, but I have combed through my history and my ancestors. There is no documented evidence that proves any of them were seers of any sort."

"Is the sight always hereditary, then?" Kylie asked.

"No, not always. Typically, however. As you know, legend says that Aradia was the first witch. And she was...but what few of our kind understand is that Aradia wasn't a born witch. They call her a messiah, but they know little of her origin. The reason for that is because Aradia wasn't human at all - not really. She was created."

"Created?" Kylie asked.

"Indeed," Rowan replied. "There is a lot of debate as to who created Aradia...Some factions claim she was sent to earth by the Greek goddess Hekate, others claim she was sent by the Roman goddess Trivia. It has also been suggested that the Egyptian goddess Isis, the Roman goddess Minerva, the Thracian goddess Bendis, or the Greek goddess Circe sent her. Still others claim the Norse goddess Freyja, the Egyptian goddess Werethekau, the Aztec goddess Malinalxochitl, the Slavic goddess Kupala,  the Hittite goddess Kamrusepa, or the Aztec goddess Coyolxauhqui sent Aradia to earth."

"That's a lot of conflicting theories," Kylie said. "Do you know which is true?"

"Not for certain, no. Although, a large part of me is inclined to think that the pantheon responsible predates any of those I mentioned above. Regardless, Aradia was technically the first witch...but, she is more a figurehead than where our origins lie. Aradia took half a dozen families under her wing and taught them all that she could about magics. The first natural-born magic users are the children of those six families. All natural-born magic users can trace back their lineage to one of those six families. Only one of those families bears a natural inclination to the sight, and I am in no way related to them."